Big Protest against Israel Held at Northeastern Univ.; More Than 100 Students and Faculty Members Take Part

 Northeastern University in Boston launched a large ptotest against Israel yesterday which was joined by students from Berklee College of Music, the Boston Globe website reports today (April 26, 2024). 

"I'm feeling really invigorated and inspired and agitated in a good way," said Ixchel, an upperclass student at Northeastern.

By 8 a.m. tents sprung up on Centennial Common. Throughout the day more than 100 students and faculty members banded together, chanting and linking arms in a circle around the common at the center of campus.

"I think it's really beautiful to see that kind of solifarity, said Maya, a senior at Northeastern.

 As for the large group of Northeastern police officers who arrived in riot gearto oversee the encampment, Maya said their presence was "uncomfortable and scary" and she felt they were " trying to intimidate students." 

"We are students who are expressing our free speech, and we should have the right to do that like any other political organizing group that doesn't get based with that kind of police repression." Maya said. 

Around 5:30p.m., student organizers gathered crowds into the center of the grassy common. "Don't talk t o cops," one organizer said into a microphone. "Don't talk to administrators; administrators are cops."

Some 15 tents dotted the grass, many covered in tarps and Palestinian flags. Handmade cardboard signs were spread on the common. "The cold is coming in, said one student , who noted that hand warmers and extra blankets were in ample supply.

Around 7 p.m. students from Berklee College of Music marched rto Northeastern 's campus to join the encampment. 

Jake, 20, a junior at Northeastern studying computer science, is Jewish. As he sat on a bench outside of t he grassy common with a group of friends, he said he is wary of "protests that  start out with good intentions but then turn antisemitic. " 

"I come out here to support rto  other Jewish students,to show we're not going to be intimidated out of being on our own campus, " said Jake who is from New Jersey. 

Police Arrest Protesters at Univ. of S. Calif.; Clashes between Pro--Palestinian Demonstrators, School Admin.

 Police arrested protesters yesterday at the University of Southern California (USC) campus, which closed to the public amid clashes between pro--Palestinian  demonstrators and aauthorities at the school and nationwide, the USA  Today website reports today (April 25, 2024). 

Hundreds of students and off--campus activists protested for hours at the university , joining movements at colleges across the country , demanding that universities cut any ties to Israel and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

Arrests were made at the USC campus last night, a Los Angeles police spokesperson told USA Today. 

The university closed the main campus due to"significant activity on campus," USC 's Dept. of Public Safety said in an alert to students. 

"If you are in the center of campus, please leave; LAPD will be arresting people who don't disperse," USC's Dept. of Public Safety wrote on  X (formerly Twitter). 

Senate Passes $95B Foreign Aid Package; Provides Billions to Ukrane, Israel, and Taiwan

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 79 -- 18, passing a $95 billion foreign aid package that provides $61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel, and $8 billion to Taiwan, the New American website reports today (April 24, 2024).  

President Joe Biden said Senate Democrats and Republicans joined together to answer a historic call, stating on X:

"Tonight , a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history's call at this critical inflection point. Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our natural security and send a message to the wortld about the power of American leadership: We stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression. I will sign this bill into law tomorrow."

Earth Day Falls on April 22 Ecvery Year; Environmental Protection Agency Created in 1970 for Cleaner Water, Air, Land

 Earth Day falls on April 22 every year, the USA Today website reports  today (April 21, 2024). 

This year, it falls on a Monday and shares the date with the start of the Jewish holiday, Passover.

Earth Day has been celebrated for over 50 years, but is not federally recognized. 

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 when 20 million people went to inaugural events at schools, universities, and other public areas around the country, according to the Library of  Congress website. 

Senator Gaylord Nelson advocated for Earth Day and called on students to fight for environmental causes and oppose environmental degradation with  he same energy  that they displayed in opposing the Vietmam War, states the Library. 

Then, the Library adds, in July of 1970 , the Environmental Protection Agency was created after the public demanded cleaner water, air, and land as more disasters caused by climate change and pollution impacted the country.

Israel Attacks Iran Today to Retaliate for Iran's Israeli Attack; Israel's Limited Attack May Be to De-escalate Conflict

 Israel launched an attack on Iran today (April 19, 2024) in response to Tehran's unprecedented air assault on its territory , the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty website reports. 

The Iaraeli retaliation appeared limited in size and scope, with experts saying it was aimed at de-escalating soaring tensions , while still sending a clear message to Iran. 

Raz Zimmt, a senior researcher at the Israel--based Institute of National Security Studies, said Israel's use of quadcopter drones sugggests its aim was to "expose the vulnerability of the Iranian security forces" on their own turf. 

Zimmt said the attack was not without its risks, but out of  all the options available to Israel, it was probably the least risky. 

Reuters quoted an unnamed Iranian official as saying that Tehran "has no plan to strike back immediately."

Many of World's Coral Reefs Turn White in Global Bleaching;54 Countries Have Had Bleaching Reefs as Climate Change Warms Ocean Waters

 Along coastlines from Australia to Kenya to Mexico, many of the world's colorful coral reefs have turned a ghostly white in what scientists said this week amounted to the fourth global bleaching event in the last three decades, the Reuters website reports today (April 17, 2024). 

At least 54 countries and territories have experienced mass bleaching among their reefs since February 2023 as climate change warms the ocean's surface waters, according to the U.S.National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch, the world's top coral reef monitoring body. 

Bleaching is triggered by water temperature anomalities that cause corals to expel the colorful algae living in their tissues. Without the algaes'  help in delivering nutrients to the corale, the corals cannot survive.

"More than 54% of the reef areas in the global ocean are experiencing bleaching--level heat stress," Coral Reef Watch coordinator Derek Manzello said. 

Announcement of the latest global bleaching event was made jointly by NOAA and the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), a global intergovernmental conservation partnership. For an event to be deemed global, significant bleaching must occur in all three ocean basins --  the Atlantic, Pacific. and Indian -- within a 365--day period. 

Poll: Large No. of Young Adults Say Bible Has Positive Effects on Them; Youngest Adults Show Signs of Interest, Curiosity, Transformative Interaction

 The American Bible Society released the first installment of its State of the Bible USA2024 report on April 11, the Christian Post website reports today (April 15, 2024). 

Itrs new poll reveals that the share of young adults who think the Bible has had a transformative effect on their lives has increased, even as a majority of them remain "Scripture Disengaged."

American Bible Society Chief Program Offfcer and Editor--in--Chief of the State of the Bible series John Farquhar Plake, said, "Our youngest adults show signs of interest, curiosiy, and transformative interaction with it, and added, "If  this trend continues, we have good reason for hope."