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University protests dominate media coverage, obscuring the true horror of Gaza war

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University protests dominate media coverage, obscuring the true horror of Gaza war

The mention of mass graves is so deeply disturbing that it’s preferable to think of such wartime horrors as dark remnants of another era, chapters of history we’ll never repeat. The Armenian genocide, the Bolshevik revolution, Nazi Germany, El Salvador, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The fairy tale that the human race has evolved beyond such barbarism was shattered (again) last week when reports surfaced that three mass burial sites had been unearthed in Gaza. The shocking development should have made headlines, but it barely made it onto most people’s radars.

The media are instead hyper-focused on how we protest atrocities rather than the atrocities themselves.

Anti-war demonstrations on college campuses dominate conversations and coverage about the Israel-Hamas war. Every imaginable news source — legacy print outlets, user-generated posts, broadcast and cable news — has its sight set on the encampments and rallies breaking out on campuses across the nation.

The protests are worthy in their own right for drawing attention to critical issues. They’ve raised awareness (and hackles) around the staggering Palestinian death toll, antisemitism, occupation, the oft-forgotten hostages and free speech. The largely peaceful demonstrations, dealt with ineptly at best by university heads and law enforcement, are rightfully the leading national story, and its stars are a generation that many older folks had written off as apathetic.

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In SEO terms, the protests present the perfect setting for a media blitz. They’re taking place at colleges and they come with powerful images and ample social media content. As an example, protests at USC unfolded live on television across various local stations, with choppers capturing the action from every imaginable angle. They’re also an easier way into the war, bringing the Mideast conflict home to America without the horror of witnessing a real battle.

But blanket coverage of the uprising by students is so omnipresent, it’s overshadowed news from the very war they’re protesting.

There’s been a stunning lack of coverage and outrage following an announcement Friday by Palestinian authorities that they’d uncovered 390 bodies from mass grave sites around Gaza’s Nassar and Shifa hospitals, facilities that were raided and destroyed in Israeli strikes. The bodies were reportedly found in the pits, buried by bulldozed debris, after the Israeli Defense Forces ended operations in the region.

Exterior of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Nov. 10.

(AFP via Getty Images)

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Women and children are among the deceased; the majority are still unidentified. Some of the dead were allegedly found stripped naked with their hands bound behind their backs. “It indicates serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and these need to be subjected to further investigations,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a chief spokesperson for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk.

The sheer barbarity of these scenes may explain why they haven’t garnered more attention. It’s simply too awful to process, so we turn away.

And if the discovery of mass graves is a hard story to watch, it’s an even harder one to cover. Israel continues to restrict international journalists’ access to Gaza, so there are fewer reporters there to bear witness. For those who are there, it’s one of the deadliest wars on record for media workers, and civilian casualties are more than 34,000. If reporters do survive, they’re faced with intense investigative digging to get to the truth. And when their stories are finally reported, they’ll be lambasted, trolled and harassed by one side — or both — for their perceived bias.

But we need answers, and short of an independent investigation (the Biden administration has left it up to Israel to investigate itself), we’re left to guess whether war crimes have or have not been committed.

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The dearth of information is partly due to the contraction of American newsrooms. Journalism outlets big and small have lost the resources, access and the expertise to cover wars like they once did. It’s also up to elected officials to draw attention to potential war crimes, especially when the U.S. plays such a central role in the conflict.

Politicians like Mike Johnson have instead been busy raising their profiles by inserting themselves into the Palestinian-Israeli mire. Painting himself as a defender of student safety, the Republican House speaker instead put hundreds if not thousands of anti-war protesters in danger — Jewish students included — by conflating their pro-Palestinian stances with sympathy for Hamas. “The things that have happened at the hands of Hamas are horrific, and yet these protesters are out there waving flags for the very people who committed those crimes. This is not who we are in America,” Johnson posted Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.

It was refreshing to see that ABC News didn’t just quote him and move on, as many other news outlets did. The network reported that there had been no documented cases of demonstrators waving Hamas flags. Such details matter when the safety of students is at stake.

But critical questions remain around Gaza’s mass graves, and there’s the matter of accountability.

“The grave in question was dug — by Gazans — a few months ago,” tweeted Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Force. “This fact is corroborated by social media documentation uploaded by Gazans at the time of the burial. Any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false and a mere example of a disinformation campaign aimed at delegitimizing Israel.”

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Israeli officials said the corpses buried near Nasser Hospital had been exhumed to check whether they were those of Israeli hostages. An Israeli military official said that all remains were then “respectfully returned to their place.”

Gaza authorities affirm that graves were dug before the Israeli military’s arrival, but allege that the IDF added bodies to the site. Gaza Civil Defense said that only about 100 people were buried in graves before the IDF raid, and that 390 to 392 bodies (accounts vary) had since been recovered.

The widely reported slaughter of innocent Israelis and Palestinians, and the taking of hostages, prompted the protests in the first place. Now, the cries of demonstrators are the story. But we can certainly pay attention on both fronts, even if one of them requires a lot more work and emotional girding. It’s our moral imperative to pay attention or risk becoming bystanders as another dark chapter on wartime atrocities writes itself.

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Politics

148 House Democrats vote against bill to deport migrants who assault police

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148 House Democrats vote against bill to deport migrants who assault police

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A bill aimed at booting illegal immigrants out of the U.S. if they assault a police officer passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening.

It’s one of several pieces of legislation that House Republican leaders are putting up for a vote this week as part of National Police Week.

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The bill passed with a 265 to 148 vote, with 54 Democrats voting with the GOP.

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM COMPARES SUPREME COURT PRAYER DECISION TO TALIBAN, CALLS FOR COURT-PACKING

A significant number of House Democrats, who are led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, shunned the House GOP’s bill. (Getty Images)

The bill is called the Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act and is led by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J. 

He said in February when the bill was being introduced, “There is no reason that an illegal alien who attacks our law enforcement should remain in our country; that shows zero respect for our rule of law or our institutions, and they will not be positive contributors to society.”

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The bill would require illegal immigrants to be detained by federal authorities until they can be deported. It would also “create a new category for migrant inadmissibility” specifically dealing with illegal immigrants who were accused of assaulting police, Van Drew said.

GOP HOPES FOR HOLDING HOUSE COULD COME DOWN TO 6 RACES IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE

Times Square brawl

This image from video shows a brawl between New York City Police Department officers and illegal immigrants in Times Square on Jan. 27, 2024. (Manhattan District Attorney via AP)

The No. 3 House Republican, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital when the bill passed, “House Democrats just voted to protect violent illegal immigrants over our brave law enforcement officers. Once again, the Democrat Party proves they are the most anti-law enforcement party in history.”

It comes after several recent instances of illegal immigrants attacking police have gained national attention as the country continues to grapple with the ongoing illegal immigration crisis at the southern border.

ONE OF NATION’S MOST VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS COZIES UP TO BIDEN FOR PENNSYLVANIA RALLY

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Speaker Mike Johnson

Speaker Mike Johnson is having the House vote on a host of National Police Week-related bills. (Getty Images)

 

A group of illegal immigrants was seen on video violently attacking two New York City police officers in Times Square in late January.

And in early March, a man who came to the U.S. illegally was accused of killing a Washington State Patrol trooper when he crashed into him on an interstate highway, according to Fox 13.

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California legislators want to review controversial electric charge

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California legislators want to review controversial electric charge

A state Assembly committee voted Wednesday to advance a bill that would require a legislative review of a controversial new monthly fixed charge on electric bills.

The state Public Utilities Commission, which is led by appointees of Gov. Gavin Newsom, approved the $24.15 a month charge last week. In return for paying the new fee, consumers will get a lower rate for each kilowatt hour of power they use.

The Newsom administration says the new billing structure is needed to encourage more people to buy electric cars and replace gas appliances in their homes, which would reduce the use of planet-warming fossil fuels.

A coalition of more than 250 consumer and other groups has been protesting against the new monthly charge, saying that millions of Californians who live in apartments or small homes that use little electricity will see their bills increase to subsidize those using far more power.

Several members of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy said Wednesday that there should have been a discussion about the new fixed charge in 2022. That was when Newsom proposed it in a massive bill tied to his budget. In a few days it passed with little public discussion.

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Pacific Gas and Electric had asked the commission for the new monthly fee in a regulatory filing just three months before the bill’s approval.

“We should have had this discussion two years ago,” said Marc Berman, a Democrat from Menlo Park. “We really don’t know the impact this will have.”

In January, Jacqui Irwin, a Thousand Oaks Democrat, introduced a bill to undo much of Newsom’s 2022 bill.

Assembly leaders last month stopped Irwin’s bill from being heard in committee, but she then agreed to weaken the bill.

Her current bill, known as AB 1999, would require a study in 2028 of who pays more or less under the new $24.15 charge and whether it has unintended consequences. She said the legislature would then decide how the fee should be changed.

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The coalition has argued that Newsom’s bill will cause a financial windfall for the electric companies because it eliminated a $10 cap on fixed charges that had been in place since 2013.

Irwin’s bill would keep the utilities from raising the fixed charge by more than inflation.

The new charge affects customers of investor-owned power companies, including PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. It does not apply to customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power or other municipal utilities.

Irwin said Wednesday that the Legislature needed to review the fixed charge rather than leaving the decision to the utilities commission. She said the commission had become “a rubber stamp” for utilities’ requests.

The committee voted 9 to 0 to advance the bill to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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The fixed charges are scheduled to begin as soon as late 2025.

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Vulnerable Dem incumbents move to the center in key swing states as Biden panders to far-left base

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Vulnerable Dem incumbents move to the center in key swing states as Biden panders to far-left base

Democratic incumbent Senate candidates across the country in key battleground states are moving more and more to the center and right as polls continue to show President Biden trailing former President Trump in many key swing states.

Biden trails Trump in six battleground states with about six months to go before the election, according to Fox News polling last month, with Biden finding himself behind in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has made it a point to tout her bipartisan credentials on the campaign trail.

“I know what Nevada families are going through,” Rosen said in her first ad launching her re-election campaign. “It’s why I first ran for Congress. And it’s why in the Senate, I’ve worked with both parties to solve problems. And always focused on making a difference in people’s lives.”

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Democratic senators, from left, Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin and Bob Casey (Getty Images: Anna Moneymaker, Drew Angerer, Ethan Miller, Sarah Silbiger)

Rosen, like many other incumbent Democrats, is in a tough re-election campaign under the backdrop of historically low approval ratings for Biden, while also carrying a record of voting with the president 98.6% of the time last year, Fox News Digital reported.

“Since day one, Sen. Jacky Rosen has worked to get things done in a bipartisan way,” a Rosen campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why she’s been recognized as one of the most bipartisan and effective senators in the nation. No matter what year it is, Sen. Rosen will always be focused on bringing Republicans and Democrats together to deliver for Nevadans.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen

Sen. Jacky Rosen, speaks to the media after a Senate Democratic policy luncheon on Oct. 17, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

Longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up for re-election in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which Biden narrowly won in 2020 in a race he has acknowledged will be “tough.”

Casey recently distanced himself from the defund the police movement, despite recent endorsements from groups advocating that police departments be defended, and promoting a bill that would have overhauled policing practices at the height of 2020s protests and riots. 

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‘BIDEN HAS FAILED’: DEMS SOUND OFF AFTER HANDLING OF BORDER CRISIS FRACTURES THEIR OWN PARTY

President Joe Biden

President Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024, in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Casey has faced strong criticism from his Republican opponent, businessman Dave McCormick, for allegedly shifting positions on key issues like immigration over the years, particularly when he is up for re-election.

The Pennsylvania Democrat has adopted a populist message on the economy, where Biden is underwater with voters, according to Fox News polling, by attacking “greedflation” – a blunt term for corporations that jack up prices and rip off shoppers to maximize profits – and trying to reframe the election-year narrative about the economy.

“Casey’s biggest vulnerability is the Biden administration,” GOP consultant Vince Galko recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Casey wins or loses based on what Biden does in the next couple of months.”

Sen. Bob Casey

Sen. Bob Casey leaves the Capitol after a vote on April 18, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said, “Bob Casey is consistently ranked among the most effective and bipartisan senators in Washington and has worked across the aisle to create jobs and lower costs. Meanwhile, his opponent David McCormick has only worked to increase his bottom line, from outsourcing American jobs to investing in Chinese military companies.” 

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In Wisconsin, Dem. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running in a state Trump won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020, and she has attempted to position herself as a “pro worker” candidate who champions the needs of the working class.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin

Sen. Tammy Baldwin speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

While Baldwin often touts her relationship with Biden, she recently joined several other vulnerable Democrats and opposed the president’s unfreezing of Iranian assets in October.

“Tammy Baldwin is willing to work with and stand up to anyone if it means getting the job done for Wisconsin,” Baldwin campaign spokesperson Andrew Mamo told Fox News Digital. “She has stood up for our workers by voting to repeal President Biden’s policy that let China cheat in the solar industry and successfully pausing his Indo-Pacific trade deal, and has gone to bat for our farmers by taking on the FDA for their wrongheaded decision to allow plant-based products to use the good name of Wisconsin milk.”

Incumbent Democratic senators in Ohio and Montana are also finding themselves in close races, with the Cook Political Report labeling both a “toss up,” prompting each senator to publicly take more moderate positions.

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Voting booths, man with glasses, mustache, in jacket voting

President Biden trails former President Trump in almost every single battleground state, often by a significant margin. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Sherrod Brown has served as a Democrat representing Ohio in the Senate since 2007 and finds himself running for re-election in a state that Trump carried by eight points in 2020 and is expected to carry again.

Brown, who carries with him a record of voting with Biden 99% of the time from 2021-2023, and 97% of the time since 2023, has broken with the president on a few issues in recent months.

Brown became only the second Democrat earlier this month to oppose Biden’s electric vehicle tax credit plan, Politico reported, and also bucked the president over his repeal of Title 42 last year. 

Brown Biden

Sen. Sherrod Brown and President Biden (Getty Images)

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, running in a state that Trump carried by almost 20 points in 2020, has been described by his GOP challenger Tim Sheehy as “two-faced” during election years, and has been taking positions to the right of Biden on key issues such as immigration.

Tester recently became the first Democrat in the Senate to back the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants charged with certain crimes like burglary, similar to the illegal immigrant alleged to have killed the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student for whom the bill is named.

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Tester has publicly criticized Biden’s handling of the border and recently secured over $10 million to support law enforcement in Montana. 

“Jon Tester does what’s right for Montana. President Trump signed more than 20 of his bills into law, including to help veterans, crack down on government waste and abuse, and support our first responders, and Jon stood up to President Biden by demanding action be taken to secure our border and protect Montana’s way of life,” Tester campaign spokesperson Monica Robinson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why Jon has been ranked one of the most effective U.S. senators of either party.”

While incumbent Democrats across the country move to the middle and pitch themselves as pragmatic problem solvers who work across the aisle, Biden faces accusations of moving even further to the left on issues such as the conflict between Israel and Hamas and student loan handouts. 

Biden has faced criticism, including from his own donors, over threatening to delay weapons shipments to Israel if they continue a military campaign to rid Hamas from the city of Rafah, Gaza. Republicans have alleged that Biden is siding with progressive activists in his own party in an attempt to win over voters in key swing areas like Dearborn, Michigan, rather than give full support to Israel. 

Sen. Jon Tester

Sen. Jon Tester recently became the first Democrat in the Senate to back the Laken Riley Act. (Getty Images)

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Biden has made a noticeable effort in recent months to win back his Democratic base by holding events with progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in April and issuing a “flurry of left-leaning policy announcements,” according to Axios. 

Biden continues to be plagued by historically low approval numbers and low popularity in key swing states as Republicans grow more and more optimistic about taking back control of the Senate, which Democrats currently hold 51-49.

Polling this week shows that Democratic incumbents, or likely nominees, in the Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Senate races all lead their respective GOP opponents, or hypothetical opponents, with less than six months to go until the general election in November, but the president trails Trump in almost every single battleground state, often by a significant margin.

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report

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