Geoff Bennett:
Ten people died near aid sites belonging to the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to medics on the ground. Five more people have died from starvation or malnutrition in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of hunger-related deaths in Gaza to 180 since the war started. That’s according to local health officials.
Meantime, in Jerusalem, dozens of Israelis protested outside the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader faces mounting pressure to end the war and secure the return of the remaining hostages as part of a cease-fire deal.
Today, Netanyahu faced more blowback for his Cabinet’s unanimous decision to fire the country’s attorney general, claiming she exceeded her power. That attorney general had been prosecuting Netanyahu for corruption. Israel’s Supreme Court immediately froze the move and is considering its legality.
Here at home, over 3,000 Boeing workers who build fighter jets and weapons went on strike today. It’s the second strike for the aerospace giant in less than a year. The workers from three Midwestern plants rejected Boeing’s latest contract offer of a 20 percent wage increase over four years. Boeing’s defense branch accounts for more than a third of the company’s revenue.
This all follows a bigger work stoppage last year when 33,000 commercial plane workers went on strike for more than seven weeks.
In Montana, a suspected killer is still at large more than three days after law enforcement said he’d gunned down four people in cold blood at a local bar. Authorities say 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, a U.S. Army veteran, is armed and unstable. He was known as a regular at the Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, where the shooting took place.
Officials say he escaped in a stolen vehicle that contained clothes and camping gear. Yesterday, the state’s attorney general warned residents that the suspect could come back to the area.
Austin Knudsen (R), Montana Attorney General: This is a dangerous individual who has committed an absolutely heinous crime against this community and these victims. We have got air assets, ground assets. We’re going to catch this guy. This is still absolutely priority number one.
