Trump’s Special Negotiation Envoy Visits Controversial Aid Distribution Center In Gaza
U.S. doctors invite special envoy to see Gaza hospitals for themselves
GetSmart Preview: 🚗 Driver’s License Tests in Sweden Are Hardcore
Newsbites
Chart of the week: The typical American adult lives a median of 18 miles from their mother, although the distance varies widely depending on the area of the country.
Russia-Ukraine: President Trump is trying to increase the pressure against Vladimir Putin and Russia, saying the U.S. will impose tougher sanctions and tariffs against the country and its trading partners by early August unless progress is made toward a ceasefire. "I want to be generous, but we just don't see any progress being made," Trump said. Trump had previously told Putin he had until the start of September to make a peace deal with Ukraine before “severe tariffs” would commence.
More: The war has been going on for 2 years and 6 months with an estimated 1.5M or more casualties (deaths and injuries) across both sides.
A Delta flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam made an emergency landing in Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after 25 passengers were injured due to violent turbulence. Based on early data, the flight experienced significant altitude fluctuations about 45 minutes into the flight over the state of Wyoming. There were 275 passengers on the flight and 13 crew members. The Federal Aviation Administration and Delta are investigating the turbulence which occurred on an Airbus A330-900 aircraft.
The U.S. will impose a new batch of tariffs on dozens of nations starting August 7, per an executive order from President Trump. The new “universal” tariff policy will include a 10% baseline for countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus, and a minimum 15% rate for deficit nations. Canada faces a hike from 25% to 35%, though 85% of its goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement will not be affected. Mexico secured a 90-day delay after negotiations, but steep tariffs on cars, fentanyl, and key metals still apply. See every country’s new tariff rate here.
More: the U.S. and UK agreed to a trade deal this week marketing the second major trade deal since Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs in April.
Shooting in NYC: Four people were killed in a shooting in midtown Manhattan on Monday. The attack took place in an office building on 53rd street and Park Ave, which houses tenants including the NFL and Blackstone financial group. The shooter was a 27-year-old male from Las Vegas, who took his own life after the assault. Officials said he intended to target the NFL’s headquarters, but took the wrong elevator. The attacker had a note in his wallet claiming he had a degenerative brain disease known as CTE, and accused the NFL of hiding the risk of brain injuries associated with football. The shooter played football in high school but not at the professional level.
Support for Israel dropping: A new poll from Gallup shows that 32% of Americans support the military action in Gaza by the Israeli government, a 10% drop from about this time last year. 71% of Republicans approve of the military action while only 8% of Democrats feel the same way. (more below in main story)
Eleven people were stabbed on Saturday inside a Walmart in Michigan by a 42-year-old man. All of the victims are expected to survive. Although there is no clear motive, police are calling it a terrorist act. The local sheriff said "At the time of the deputy's arrival, multiple citizens, including one who was armed with a pistol, were confronting the male suspect in the parking lot and preventing him from harming further people and leaving." Derrick Henry, a marine veteran with his permit to carry pointed his pistol at the man until the police arrived. (video)
Trump’s Special Negotiation Envoy Visits Controversial Aid Distribution Center In Gaza
Israel is coming under more pressure from Western governments as Palestinians continue to die while trying to receive food from aid stations. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by the U.S. and Israel, runs the controversial food distribution sites. According to a UN report, more than 1,373 people have died while trying to get food since GFH took over distribution. Several hundred of those have come in recent weeks.
A recent report from the Hamas run health ministry said seven more people have died from starvation in recent days and that the total number of such deaths since 2023 has reached 154 including 89 children.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, who is delivering the aid, has denied that hundreds of people have died near their aid sites, claiming the UN’s reports are “false and exaggerated statistics.” Others say Hamas is causing the violence inside the crowds of people waiting for food. Israeli Prime Minister has also said that there is “no starvation.”
Trump’s special envoy visits Israel
For the first time in three months, Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s point person for negotiating, and Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel traveled to Israel to tour and inspect the aid stations.
Mike Huckabee shared images this morning praising GHF, saying,
“Went into Gaza today & observed humanitarian food program by US launched GHF. Hamas hates GHF b/c it gets food to ppl w/o it being looted by Hamas. Over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months.”
The special envoy also met with the Israeli military that is operating the aid sites. Palestinians told BBC they think it is a PR stunt by the U.S. and Israel.
U.S. doctors invite special envoy to see Gaza hospitals
One U.S. doctor and a U.S. nurse working at the Nasser hospital in Gaza appealed to the Trump Administration to come and visit the hospital to see for themselves the starvation and terrible conditions of the Gazan patients. Dr. Tom Adamkiewicz told reporters, “these children are in very very bad life threatening conditions. There are children that are starving here. I have seen it with my own eyes.”
Elidalas Burgos, a nurse from the United States, urged the special envoy to come visit the hospital inside Gaza.
“Come into the ICU with me and walk around and take a look at the patients. And you will see what is really happening is a forced starvation of an entire population…it’s a manmade disaster that is designed this way to hurt the entire population.” (video)
Trump says U.S. will assist in aid stations
During a press conference with the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Trump told reporters that the U.S. will be setting up food centers in the Gaza strip where “people can walk in” without boundaries or fencing which have been present in other aid stations. He also announced a $30M in food aid that will be matched by Israel to help deliver more aid.
In dissent with Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, President Trump said “I’m looking for getting people fed…right now, to me, that’s the number one position, because you have a lot of starving people.” When asked about Netenyahu’s claim that there is no starvation happening, Trump responded, “I don’t know. I mean, based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry.”
Support for Israel in U.S. is shrinking
A new poll from Gallup shows that 32% of Americans support the military action in Gaza by the Israeli government, a 10% drop from about this time last year. The view on Israel changes drastically depending on which party people identify with. 71% of Republicans approve of the military action while only 8% of Democrats feel the same way.
Trends: Child Adoptions to the U.S. From Foreign Countries Have Plummeted
The number of children from foreign countries adopted to the U.S. has plummeted over the past 20 years. From its peak of 23,000 in 2004, the number of international adoptions to the U.S. declined 94% to just 1,300 in 2023.
Over the past two decades, the top 5 countries of origin for adoptions were China, Russia, South Korea, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. Over time, all of these countries have increasingly limited or completely banned international adoptions, including Russia in 2013, Ethiopia in 2018, and China in 2024.
A number of reasons are cited for the decline, including stricter regulation and ethical concerns surrounding the practice, higher costs and longer timelines, changing social, political, and economic priorities in the home countries (especially China and South Korea), and multiple fraud and abuse scandals.
The average cost to adopt a child internationally can range from $25,000 - $50,000 and typically takes 2-4 years.
For example, a three-year investigation in South Korea, which concluded in 2025, found that the government was responsible for facilitating an international adoption system that was filled with fraud and abuse. Over the course of many years, which peaked in the 1970s and 80s, South Korean officials viewed international adoption as a less expensive way to care for abandoned or needy children instead of building up a welfare state.
The trend is not just happening in the U.S. Foreign adoptions to countries such as Italy and Spain have also decreased 95% plus since the early 2000s.
While international adoptions to the U.S. have largely ended, overall the number of annual adoptions in the U.S. has remained largely consistent, although the overall numbers fell during the pandemic.
GetSmart: 🚗 Driver’s License Tests in Sweden Are Hardcore
Forget parallel parking being the most difficult maneuver of the driver’s license test. In Sweden, drivers must practice driving over slippery road conditions to learn how to handle a vehicle when it spins out of control. Known in Sweden as “Riskutbildning part 2” or simple “Slippery” in English, the second phase of the driving test takes three hours and involves traversing slippery surfaces. The driver must “go alone in the car and feel what it is like to lose control of your car for real” (video).
Founding Members
David Richards (St. Croix Catholic School)
Lisa Stokman (Holy Spirit Academy)
Price (MN Doctors For People)
Gabriel Flynn
Publishers’ Representative
gabeflynn@yahoo.com
Michael Olenchuk
Full Stack Developer, Military Contractor
michaelolenchuk@gmail.com
A huge thank you to our Founding Members! To become one, shoot us a note at john@thenewsmemo.com
Copyright © 2024 The News Memo, All rights reserved.