World
Protestors Interrupt Nancy Pelosi During Live Taping of ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Outside the DNC
CHICAGO — Protesters interrupted a live broadcast of CBS’ “The Late Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday night, shouting loudly from the balcony of the Auditorium Theatre several times during two segments with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi was there to discuss the Democratic National Convention and also her new book, “The Art of Power.” Several minutes into Colbert’s segment with Pelosi, a protester began shouting from above regarding the war in Gaza.
Colbert addressed the person and the audience stating, “For the people who can’t tell, there’s a protest going on in the audience.”
The host then swiftly threw it to a commercial, while stating that he had planned to ask Pelosi about the protests and concerns regarding the Middle East. “The subject is on Israel and Palestine and if you have a seat, we have to go to the commercial break,” Colbert said. “When we come back, I’ll ask the next question I had on that subject.”
Colbert’s conversation with Pelosi began with a discussion about her involvement in President Joe Biden’s decision to step down from the 2024 Presidential race. Pelosi balked at the idea of being labeled the “architect” of that choice, and even at first said she hadn’t called Biden at all. The second night of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” live at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, right after the Democratic National Convention, was unexpectedly interrupted.
When they returned, Colbert first finished his questions about Biden, and whether it was rare to see a leader give up power in that way. He then switched gears.
“Let’s talk about another aspect of power: The U.S. using its power overseas,” he said, pivoting back to the question from the protestors. “As I said earlier, there is a political protestor here. There is a political convention in town, you are politician and protests are natural. People are protesting, even within the Democratic party, there is dissension over what is the proper use of American power, especially ourprotected power overseas, both firm and soft power. If the goal is the peaceful and prosperous future for both Israelis and Palestinians, what role does the United States play?”
Pelosi’s response focused first on President Biden’s current and past track record in foreign policy. “Let me just say this was a role that President Biden played very well for years he was chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee,” said Pelosi. “He was a senator for a long time, Vice President and President. So his experience globally has been huge.”
Pelosi recounted attending the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, during which he gave his now iconic address, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Pelosi noted that, “The very next sentence that he says in the speech is, ‘To the countries of the world, ask not what America can do for you, but what we can do working together for the freedom of mankind.’ That is our mission… So yes, we have had a commitment to Israel. It’s been in our security interest to do so. Israel was attacked by a terrorist organization. We want the hostages freed. But we don’t want children killed in Gaza. And so we have to come up with a solution. And right now, we just got word earlier today that Israel had agreed to the cease-fire agreement. We’re hoping that Hamas will too. But it takes me to the point of saying to you, war has no role in a civilized society. We have to learn more about trust and peace.”
During the end portion of this response, an audience member began shouting, repeating her words, “And war has no role in a civilized society,” followed by several other audience members also shouting, to which Colbert responded, “As you can see from the continuing protest out here, that answer is unsatisfying to some people. Would you like to respond to what they’re saying?”
Colbert then turned to the protestor and asked if they would like a response to their question asking if they would “listen” Pelosi’s response. Switching back to Pelosi, he then directed the question to her, “They have said that the United States should not have any role in supplying Israel arms to kill people of Gaza. That’s what they are saying.”
“Israel has a right to defend itself,” Pelosi said. “But the other part of it is that’s been so major for all of us for many years is that there must be two-state solution. You cannot have peace unless you have a two-state solution. Israel, a secure Jewish democratic state in the region. And the Palestinians having their own, secure country there as well. Unless you have a two-state solution, you will not have a resolution of this.”
At this point the shouting increased and Colbert instructed the protestors, “Please don’t interrupt my guest.”
Colbert then ended the segment. “Madame Speaker, we’re a live show and we have to go at this point. Please come again and we can continue the conversation.”
Pelosi then attempted to change the subject by ending, “I have to say, isn’t it great to be in Chicago?” The segment went to commercial shortly after. There wasn’t any further interruptions during the show; according to insiders, all protestors left on their own accord, and the matter was handled peacefully.
Hakeem Jeffries was the next guest, and Colbert also asked him about the ongoing conflict in Gaza in a hypothetical asking: How would a Speaker Jeffries advise a President Harris?
“What President Biden is doing right now, what Kamala Harris is doing as part of the Biden-Harris administration, to do everything possible to try to achieve a cease-fire agreement,” Jefferies said. “To bring the hostages home, to surge humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians who are in harms way, through no fault of their own. Surge that aid immediately and continuously. And to find a path toward a just and lasting peace. A safe and secure Israel and the Palestinian people being able to experience the dignity and self-determination that they deserve.”
At the end of the night, after the show went off the air, Colbert addressed the audience and thanked them for coming, expressing his gratitude — but didn’t further address the protestors. “Thank you for a lovely night, it means the world for us, for you all to come out,” he said. “And I can’t begin to tell you what a joy it is to play this house in Chicago.”
As the Democratic National Convention has gotten underway in Chicago, protests have taken place around the city, including one on Tuesday where dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters and Chicago police clashed on Tuesday during a demonstration outside the Israeli Consulate in downtown Chicago.
The Auditorium Theatre is located in the South Loop area, several miles from the DNC, but a large number of police could be seen stationed outside the Auditorium as audience members filed out of the theater around 12:40 a.m. CT.
This is day two of Colbert’s Chicago live run, with Monday’s episode wrapping up just after 1 a.m. Central Time.
World
Trump says Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, killed in US-Nigerian operation
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President Donald Trump announced late Friday that U.S. and Nigerian forces carried out an operation that killed a global ISIS leader.
Trump identified the terrorist as Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, whom he described as ISIS’s second-in-command globally.
“Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing,” Trump continued. “He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans.”
100 US TROOPS LAND IN NIGERIA AS ISLAMIC MILITANTS THREATEN WEST AFRICA REGIONAL SECURITY
President Donald Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Fury against Iran at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 2. (The White House via X Account/Anadolu/Getty Images)
Trump also thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation in the mission.
“With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished,” he added.
Additional details surrounding the mission were not immediately available.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
US MILITARY IN SYRIA CARRIES OUT 10 STRIKES ON MORE THAN 30 ISIS TARGETS: PHOTOS
The announcement comes after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out multiple strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria in February as part of a joint military effort to “sustain relentless military pressure on remnants from the terrorist network.”
CENTCOM said U.S. forces struck ISIS infrastructure and weapons-storage targets using fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned aircraft.
DEADLY STRIKE ON US TROOPS TESTS TRUMP’S COUNTER-ISIS PLAN — AND HIS TRUST IN SYRIA’S NEW LEADER
The U.S. military carried out ten strikes against more than 30 ISIS targets in Syria following a December ambush that killed U.S. troops. (CENTCOM)
Trump told reporters on Jan. 27 that he had a “great conversation” with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“All of the things having to do with Syria in that area are working out very, very well,” he said at the time. “So, we are very happy about it.”
CENTCOM announced in February that more than 50 ISIS terrorists had been killed or captured and more than 100 ISIS infrastructure targets struck during two months of targeted operations in Syria.
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The U.S. launched Operation Hawkeye Strike in response to an ISIS ambush that killed two U.S. service members and an American interpreter Dec. 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said Israeli attacks have killed 2,951 people since March 2 with at least 8,988 wounded.
Published On 16 May 2026
World
Hamas used sexual violence ‘deliberately and systematically’ on Oct 7, commission report finds
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WARNING: This article includes graphic and disturbing accounts from the October 7 massacre in Israel.
Hamas and its Palestinian collaborators used sexual and gender-based violence “deliberately and systematically” as an inherent part of a wider strategy of the 2023 massacres in southern Israel, according to a report released Tuesday by the Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children.
The Israeli nonprofit said its investigation documented evidence of abuse at multiple sites during the Oct. 7 terror invasion, including the Nova Music Festival, kibbutzim near the Gaza border, Israel Defense Forces bases, among hostages in captivity and in the condition of recovered bodies showing signs consistent with sexual violence.
According to the report, investigators identified at least 13 recurring forms of abuse, including rape, sexual torture, shootings directed at victims’ genital areas and abuse carried out after death.
ISRAEL’S QUEST FOR JUSTICE EXPOSES HAMAS’ SYSTEMATIC SEXUAL VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN DURING OCTOBER 7 MASSACRE
A Hamas terrorist is seen walking around a residential neighborhood in southern Israel in undated bodycam footage released by the Israel Defense Forces. The footage was shown to foreign correspondents on Oct. 16, 2023, as part of a 40-minute reel compiled from the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. (Israel Defense Forces/AP)
Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, founder and chair of the Civil Commission and a principal co-author of the report, told Fox News Digital that the greatest challenge in compiling the findings was the team’s repeated exposure to graphic material and the trauma associated with reviewing it on a regular basis.
“We had to not only collect materials, but also review and analyze it alongside forensic experts while witnessing human suffering at its worst,” Elkayam-Levy said. “What motivated us was the denial, the hesitation and the questioning. We wanted to ensure that the world knows what happened to the victims.
“For us, it is a final act of justice for the victims,” she added.
The report also detailed cases in which sexual violence was inflicted in front of or involving family members, including one incident in which relatives were allegedly forced to carry out acts on each other.
FREED HOSTAGE ROM BRASLAVSKI DETAILS ABUSE, STARVATION DURING 738 DAYS IN GAZA CAPTIVITY
People visit the site of the Nova music festival in Re’im, southern Israel, where revelers were killed in a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The visit took place on Jan. 14, 2024, marking 100 days since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. (Leo Correa/AP)
It further accused Hamas and allied perpetrators of using videos, digital platforms and social media as tools to magnify psychological harm, spread fear and publicize the attacks, including by distributing sexualized material.
Elkayam-Levy said she hopes the findings will not remain confined to academics, human rights organizations or activists, but will also be studied by counterterrorism and national security experts to better understand and confront such atrocities.
“We cannot prevent what we do not fully understand,” Elkayam-Levy said. “No single prosecution could ever capture the full magnitude of these crimes in the way this report does. It is therefore critical that policymakers, decision-makers, members of Congress and senators find ways to formally recognize these findings and hold hearings so we can begin addressing this issue. We want the findings of this report to receive formal institutional recognition.”
The report, Elkayam-Levy noted, underscores that victims of the Oct. 7 atrocities came from 52 countries, highlighting the global scope and impact of the attack.
Witness testimony cited in the report included an account of a woman being sexually assaulted before being beheaded. Another witness described seeing a woman dragged from a vehicle, pinned against a wall, repeatedly raped and then stabbed, with the assault allegedly continuing after her death.
In another case, a witness described discovering the body of a man whose genitals had been severed, lying beside the body of a woman holding them, in what the report described as an apparent effort to degrade and humiliate the victims.
A Hamas terrorist is seen walking around a residential neighborhood in southern Israel in undated bodycam footage released by the Israel Defense Forces amid the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces/AP)
JEWISH DEM LAWMAKER PANS NY TIMES, SUGGESTS PAPER ON ‘HAMAS’ PAYROLL’ FOR PALESTINIAN PRISONER DOG RAPE REPORT
Investigators said some female victims were found naked or partially unclothed, with evidence of severe mutilation and objects including grenades, nails and household tools inserted into their bodies. The report also cited gunshot wounds, cuts and burn injuries concentrated on intimate areas.
The report said some female bodies brought to morgues showed broken pelvises or legs, bloodied underwear and additional trauma to the abdomen or groin.
Former hostages, both women and men, have also testified to rape, sexual torture and other forms of abuse during abduction or captivity, according to the report. It said some female captives reported sexual assaults while receiving treatment in Gaza hospitals for injuries sustained during the attacks.
A bloodied handprint stains a wall inside a house in the Nir Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border after a Hamas attack days earlier. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Male hostages likewise described sexual abuse while in captivity, including assaults in showers and incidents carried out under armed threat while victims were naked, the report said. One former hostage recounted being sexually assaulted when a captor forcibly rubbed his genitals against the victim’s anus.
Last month, former hostage Rom Braslavski recounted the abuse he said he endured during captivity in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
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“They would hit me with whatever they had on hand. I underwent severe torture, bondage and sexual abuse. Everything they could do to me, they did. My body is still covered in scars. After four months of torture, I was clinically dead, rolling my eyes and passing out. They decided to stop the violence and brought doctors to treat me with injections and gave me food again,” he said.
The report said sexual and gender-based violence was “widespread and systematic” and constituted an “integral component” of both the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent treatment of captives, while calling the prosecution of such crimes an “urgent” priority to be pursued through international accountability mechanisms.
A soldier of the Military Rabbinate unit opens a container holding bodies killed during the Hamas attack on Israel’s southern border as identification continues at the Shura army base in Ramle, Israel, on Oct. 24, 2023. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Among its recommendations, the commission called for targeted sanctions against individuals and entities accused of carrying out or materially supporting the Oct. 7 attack and its aftermath. It also urged action against what it described as denial, minimization or politicization of the sexual crimes committed during the massacre and in captivity.
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“The Commission further recommends that Israel adopt a comprehensive gender strategy within its prosecutorial framework and establish a specialized chamber or panel of judges dedicated to the prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes committed on October 7th and during captivity,” the report said.
Elkayam-Levy said the report has received widespread international attention, including front-page coverage in U.S. and global media outlets. “We feel the discussion has shifted from questioning whether these crimes occurred to examining their consequences,” she said. “There is now a substantial legal evidentiary foundation preserved in a secure archive that cannot be denied.”
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