TV News LIES

The state of Alabama executed convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith on Thursday in a first-of-its-kind execution using nitrogen gas to asphyxiate the inmate.

Smith, 58, was the first person in the U.S. – and likely the world – to be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia after a drawn-out legal battle over Alabama’s methods of execution. He was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. at a southern Alabama prison after breathing nitrogen gas through a respirator mask, according to officials.

The execution took about 22 minutes, the Associated Press reported. For several minutes, Smith appeared to be  to remain conscious. He later appeared to shake and writhe on the gurney, sometimes pulling against the restraints, for at least two minutes. That was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing, until breathing was no longer perceptible.

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The Israel-Gaza war has taken a severe toll on journalists since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on the militant Palestinian group, launching strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

CPJ is investigating all reports of journalists and media workers killed, injured, or missing in the war, which has led to the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992.

In a case that strikes at the heart of Israel’s national identity, South Africa formally accused the country of committing genocide against Palestinians and pleaded Thursday with the United Nations’ top court to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the allegations. As a sign of how seriously they regard the case, Israeli leaders have taken the rare step of engaging with the court to defend their international reputation. Israel often boycotts international tribunals or U.N. investigations, saying they are unfair and biased.

About three dozen rabbis and rabbinical students from U.S. organizations on Tuesday protested at the United Nations, urging a ceasefire in Gaza and asking U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to allow such resolutions to pass instead of vetoing them in the Security Council.

The protests were organized by U.S. Jewish groups including Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and Rabbis for Ceasefire. Social media posts by the groups said 36 rabbis were at the demonstration inside the U.N. Security Council Chamber.

The Huffington Post reported that the rabbis gained access to the building as part of a guided tour.

A spree of swatting incidents at nearly 200 Jewish synagogues and schools last week is believed to be a connected effort by foreign actors, according to a confidential FBI memo.

“Swatting,” named for the elite police groups specializing in high-risk operations, is when an individual or group of people make a misleading or false report to emergency services in an attempt to draw numerous armed authorities to a specific place.

The memo, obtained by ABC News and reportedly sent to partner law enforcement agencies, said more than 30 of the FBI’s 56 field offices are working to investigate the string of false reports.

Air Canada has been forced to apologize after a man with spastic cerebral palsy was forced to drag himself off a plane when the flagship carrier failed to provide a wheelchair for him.

Rodney Hodgins, 49, a hardware salesman from British Columbia who requires the use of a motorized wheelchair, flew to Las Vegas with his wife, Deanna, to celebrate their anniversary in August.

But when the plane landed, the flight attendant told the couple there wasn’t time to get a wheelchair on board before the plane had to prepare for takeoff again, Deanna Hodgins wrote in a recent Facebook post.

When the attendant said Hodgins would have to pull himself off the plane alone, the couple at first thought she was joking – but then she repeated the request.

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