John Kirby Makes Surprising Revelation That Hostages Might Be Held by ‘Other Groups’ Besides Hamas ☞ RedState
“There’s other groups that could have some [hostages], and of course, it’s gonna be on Hamas to go get them and to be able to produce them in exchange for additional Palestinian prisoners.”
New Zealand scraps its plan to ban smoking : NPR
“When incoming Finance Minister Nicola Willis was asked over the weekend for details about those other revenue sources, she mentioned tax and other revenue from tobacco sales.
“We have to remember that the changes to the smoke-free legislation had a significant impact on the government books, with about $1 billion there.”
Suspect pleads not guilty after three men of Palestinian descent shot in Vermont ☞ BBC – UK
“The three men, who are all aged 20, were visiting the home of one of their relatives over the Thanksgiving holiday when a white man confronted them with a gun outside the property, police said.
He allegedly fired at least four rounds at them without speaking and then fled.”
Six teens in court in connection with beheading of French teacher ☞ Reuters
“The teacher had shown his pupils caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, angering some Muslim parents. Most Muslims avoid depictions of prophets, considering them blasphemous.”
Russia’s bid to arrest Meta spokesperson revealed amid media crackdown ☞ Al Jazeera – Qatar
“Andy Stone, a spokesperson of US tech giant Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is wanted on unspecified criminal charges, Russian news wires reported late on Sunday, referring to an Interior Ministry database.
Russia added Meta to its list of “terrorists and extremist” organisations last year.”
US Tourist Spray-Painted 155 Places to Spread Awareness of Teeth Grinding ☞ Business Insider
“The US citizen, detained on Saturday, has been charged with damaging both private and public property, including underpasses, trash cans, roads, electric poles, house gates, and store shutters, Chosun Ilbo reported.”
Shocking moment Disneyland guest strips NAKED and crawls around ‘It’s a Small World’ ride – leaving onlookers stunned ☞ Daily Mail Online
“Footage taken by other users showed the man walking stark naked along the edge of a boating stream under a fairytale castle before slipping into the chilly water as another staff member remonstrates from the opposite bank.”
NYC Library Vandalized By Pro-Palestinian Protesters Needs $75,000 Clean-Up Amid Migrant Budget Cuts ☞ The Daily Wire
“The NYPD ended up arresting 34 protesters, including some who spray-painted ‘Free Palestin’” on the library’s pillars. Library display boards outside the building were also vandalized with green and red paint — the colors of the Palestinian flag — and the words ‘Free Gaza.'”
Biden apologized to Muslim-American leaders for questioning death toll from Hamas-linked org: report ☞ New York Post
“Biden huddled with five Muslim American leaders the day after his Oct. 25 comments about reported Gaza deaths roiled the Islamic community, vowing to ‘do better.’”
Meta Downplayed Harmful Content on Its Platforms, According to Complaint ☞ Business Insider
“For example, Meta said that for every 10,000 content views on its platforms only 10 or 11 would contain hate speech, or about 0.10% to 0.11%, per data for July through September 2020 in its CSER report…”
“An average of 19.3% of users on Instagram and 17.6% of users on Facebook reported witnessing hate speech or discrimination on the platforms according to a TRIPS report from May 2020…”