Hamas asserting itself with public executions
Hamas is sending a signal that it’s not ready to disarm under a peace plan that has started to be implemented in stages in Gaza. Hamas has continued to conducted public executions of Palestinians who it deems to be enemies. Its fighters still roam through Gaza carrying weapons. Although phase one of the peace plan did result in the release of the 20 living hostages who Hamas still was holding and the release by Israel of about 2,500 Palestinians it was holding, it is not clear how negotiations for phase two of the Gaza peace plan will unfold.
Journalists covering the Pentagon dig in
Journalists are resisting the new policy by the Trump administration through Defense Secretary Hegseth that restricts coverage of news at the Pentagon to only the things that the administration wants. The administration says reporters who cover the Pentagon must by the end of today sign a pledge to cover only what the administration wants covered or surrender their press passes. Many news organizations are rejecting the ultimatum and saying they will not sign. Representatives for CNN, Reuters, The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and NPR have all said that journalists from their newsrooms are not signing the new paperwork that would limit what they can report. The right-wing pro-Trump news outlet Newsmax said its reporters also are refusing to sign. Pentagon officials have stopped holding routine news briefings, thrown out many news outlets from Pentagon workspaces and severely limited where reporters can go inside the building without an escort.
Airports refuse to play Trump administration video
Several major U.S. airports including Westchester County Airport are refusing to play a video of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in which she blames Democrats for the government shutdown. The video is intended to play at TSA checkpoints, with Noem stating, “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.” Airports that have announced they will not show the video include Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International, Portland International, Seattle-Tacoma International, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Los Angeles International and Buffalo, New York.
Trump cancels largest solar energy project in U.S.
Donald Trump’s administration has canceled the largest solar project in the U. S., which would have generated enough electricity to power two million homes. Known as the Esmerelda 7, the project was collection of seven solar projects in rural Nevada. Begun under former President Joe Biden, developers had planned to use 118,000 acres of federal land in Nevada’s desert as the home for solar arrays to generate electricity and battery systems to store it. While the Trump administration has largely targeted wind projects via a series of stop work orders and cancellations, it has also created additional hurdles for solar projects to get through federal review. Earlier this year, Trump and congressional Republicans effectively killed tax credits for wind and solar projects. Donald Trump has called wind and solar electricity generation “the scam of the century.”
SpaceX Starship completes test flight
SpaceX’s Starship megarocket completed an hour-long test flight Monday before making a fiery splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The company is racing to develop the vehicle to help NASA achieve a moon landing planned for 2027. Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy hailed the test flight as “another major step toward landing Americans on the moon’s south pole.” Duffy’s remarks come amid renewed skepticism that Starship will be ready in time to complete the mission in less than two years. Duffy — who is serving double duty as President Trump’s Secretary of Transportation — has been among the loudest voices warning that the U.S. must return to the lunar surface before China lands on the moon.
Alaska typhoon
At least one death has been confirmed after a powerful storm tore through western Alaska. Search and rescue efforts are underway across remote coastal communities to find missing residents. This comes after hurricane-force winds triggered record-breaking storm surge, displacing over 1,000 residents and tearing homes from their foundations. At least 51 people have been rescued in Kwigillingok and the nearby village of Kipnuk, a local tribal health agency and state officials said. The sparsely populated villages are more than 400 miles southwest of Anchorage.
