by Zeeshan Aleem | Oct 4, 2026 | culture, Opinion, White House, World
When I learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called for passing a law aimed at revoking the citizenship of two Israeli directors who made a new documentary about the war in Gaza, I figured that he was engaging in his typical flair for dramatics. But when I saw the film for myself, I immediately understood why he felt so threatened by it.
“NAZA,” which is set to release in theaters across the U.S. in the coming weeks, is a jaw-dropping indictment of Netanyahu’s military operation. Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor interview 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers — whose appearances and voices are digitally altered to provide them with anonymity — to reveal vivid, often horrifying details of the Israeli military’s incursion into Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 war crimes.
One might wonder what’s left to learn or condemn after Gazans have documented so much of Israel’s brutal treatment of civilians through videos that have, at times, made social media feeds almost unwatchably grim. Moreover, many human rights organizations and scholars of genocide have for years characterized Israel’s ongoing operation as genocidal.
Yet even if you follow the conflict fairly closely, “NAZA” will likely reveal new information to you about how the Israeli military dominates Gaza and internally rationalizes its brutalization. And if you’re unconvinced that Israel’s military operation is beyond the pale, this might just be the thing that changes your mind.
What might frighten Netanyahu more than anything is some of the interviewees’ ultimate assessment of what they participated in.
“NAZA,” which is a Hebrew military acronym that means “collateral damage,” shreds the myth that the Israeli military
by Clarissa-Jan Lim | Oct 3, 2026 | Business, culture, News, World
The FlyDubai pilot who allegedly attacked his captain on a flight to Israel earlier this week used a crash ax and tried to seize control of the aircraft in an attempted terrorist act, a United Arab Emirates official said.
The pilot, who has been identified as an Omani national, used a crash ax to attack the flight’s captain and then tried to take control of the plane, UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said in a statement reported by Emirates News Agency. A crash ax is a tool to break windows during an emergency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke by phone on Saturday with Captain Smit Machchhar, who described taking blows “one after the other” during the call.
The Israeli ambassador to the UAE, Yossi Shelley, previously told MS NOW that the pilot had been employed by FlyDubai for a year.
The plane was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday when the incident happened. As it closed in on the Israeli border, the aircraft plunged more than 14,000 feet in 30 seconds, according to FlightRadar data.
Most of the passengers on the flight were Israeli, according to Netanyahu. Four were Americans. Machchhar, an Indian national, despite having been bludgeoned, described fighting back and opened the cockpit door so that others could intervene and subdue the alleged attacker.
Netanyahu called him a “hero.”
An investigation into the incident is underway. FlyDubai, an Emirati government-owned airline that has operated commercial flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv since 2020, has since temporarily suspended service to the Israeli city.
Inzamam Rashid contributed reporting.
The post FlyDubai pilot attacked captain with crash ax, UAE official says appeared
by Jill Filipovic | Oct 2, 2026 | Criminal Justice, culture, Opinion
A message shared in a groupchat in 2024 profoundly changed many lives: A student at Cornell University sent out a call to his fellow friends and fraternity brothers on a chat called “Chi Phi Actives” that there was “free p—-” available for the taking, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Documentation of this message exchange is central to the case, which is being brought against seven men in the chat, their fraternity, Cornell University, the local district attorney’s office and the bar accused of serving the subject while underage at the time.
Because that so-called “free p—-” was attached to a human woman, referred to as Jane Doe in the lawsuit. Jane Doe alleged she was rendered passive by alcohol and drugs; effectively a receptacle for the impulses and a misplaced desire for male bonding amongst more than a half-dozen men who she alleged proceeded to have nonconsensual sex with her while she remained in a compromised state.
Social media did not, in fact, make us more social; instead, it put a screen between us and other human beings.
Later, the woman reported it to campus police; after viewing her signed statement, prosecutors at the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office didn’t find grounds to bring criminal charges. The recent lawsuit alleged her initial report was not properly handled by campus police or the DA’s office (two men were expelled and the fraternity was suspended). Attorneys of some of the seven men named in the lawsuit have publicly denied allegations. Cornell on Thursday agreed to an independent investigation into the allegations. The Tompkins County DA said his office was unaware of some of the details
by Sydney Carruth | Oct 2, 2026 | Business, culture, News, White House
A bottle of Trump fragrance, commemorative Trump posters and trading cards, an 18-karat gold Trump watch and “the most exclusive dinner in the world,” featuring President Donald Trump himself.
Those are just some of the luxury prizes promised to crypto traders who enter the latest competition hosted by the membership-only arm of the crypto company that owns Trump’s meme coin.
The competition appears to be the latest attempt by the Trump organization, which includes Fight Fight Fight LLC, the crypto firm behind the $TRUMP Coin Club, to cash in on his presidency by offering donors exclusive access to the president.
It could take up to $1 million worth of $TRUMP coin to guarantee an invitation to the dinner, judging by data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The event, which promises to feature three mystery “legends” alongside the president, is scheduled to be held on Nov. 22 at the Trump National Golf Club just outside the nation’s capital in northern Virginia, according to a new event page launched on the coin’s website Wednesday.
The winners will be determined based on a leaderboard formula that appears to be designed to encourage sales of the coin.
When the contest ends on Nov. 12, the top 185 Trump coin investors will receive invitations to the dinner. The top 29 purchasers will get access to a “VIP Reception with YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT.” The four largest $TRUMP holders will also be gifted a “TRUMP 18K Gold Watch,” which retails for around $899 on the Trump retail website.
The dinner has further inflamed ethics concerns over the large sums of money Trump has made from his cryptocurrency ventures in his second term. The
by Carla Herreria | Oct 2, 2026 | culture, News
Gov. Kathy Hochul tapped New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday to serve as special prosecutor in an investigation into allegations that a woman was sexually assaulted at a Cornell University fraternity house in 2024.
Hochul said newly released information in the case raised “serious questions” about the Cornell Police Department’s investigation and the Tompkins County District Attorney’s decision not to prosecute on the allegations.
“This has, in turn, undercut my faith, and the public’s faith, in the District Attorney’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute the case at this time,” the governor said in a statement.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” Hochul’s statement continued. “This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands.”
After the investigation, the New York attorney general will decide whether any prosecution is warranted and whether to present the evidence to a grand jury.
The woman who alleges she was assaulted filed a civil lawsuit earlier this month, alleging she was sexually assaulted and drugged by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at their on-campus house in October 2024. The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, reported the incident to the Cornell Police Department three weeks later, prompting an internal investigation by the university. The district attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges, arguing the allegations did not meet New York’s legal threshold and describing Jane Doe’s involvement as voluntary and conscious.
The men listed as defendants in the lawsuit have issued statements denying
by Jordan Rubin | Sep 30, 2026 | culture, Deadline: Legal Blog, White House
When he was running for his first presidential term in 2016, Donald Trump told the nation: “I alone can fix it.”
A decade later, his administration is making a similar pitch to a federal appeals court, proclaiming the president as the only one who can save the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from what the Trump-allied center’s board says is certain ruin.
And how can he pull off that feat?
By letting the board recognize him personally at what is, by law, a memorial to Kennedy in the nation’s capital.
“This Court should reverse the district court and allow the Board and President Trump to restore the Kennedy Center to greatness,” Justice Department lawyers told the Washington appeals court Monday after a district judge ruled against them.
The district judge’s orders “preventing the Board from appropriately recognizing President Trump will cause donors to flee, financial contributions to dry up, and structural rehabilitation to cease,” the DOJ said, touting the president’s “unrivaled expertise and experience in real estate and construction.”
The board “has long recognized that President Trump’s efforts and prestige provide the sole hope for the Center’s financial survival and structural renewal,” the government’s brief said, kicking off appellate litigation that is set to continue through the fall.
Meanwhile, there is parallel litigation in the trial court before the district judge who ruled against the government, Obama appointee Christopher Cooper. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, the board member who successfully sued for the removal of Trump’s name from the center, earlier this month brought to Cooper’s attention that the president was spotted reading a placard that seemed to say “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED” while his allies
