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A ground squirrel with cheeks stuffed with nuts, seeds or grains, is a common sight. But a new study provides the first evidence that California ground squirrels also hunt, kill and eat voles. The study, led by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UC Davis, is the first to chronicle widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels. Published in the Journal of Ethology, the study fundamentally changes our understanding of ground squirrels. It suggests that what was considered a granivorous species actually is an opportunistic omnivore and more flexible in its diet than previously assumed. The observations occurred in 2024 — the 12th year of the Long-term Behavioral Ecology of California Ground Squirrels Project conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County. Out of 74 observed interactions with voles between June and July, 42% involved active hunting of these small rodents by ground squirrels. “This was shocking,” said lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at UW-Eau Claire who leads the long-term ground squirrels project with Sonja Wild of UC Davis. “We had never seen this behavior before. Squirrels are one of the most familiar animals to people. We see them right outside our windows; we interact with them regularly. Yet here’s this never-before-encountered-in-science behavior that sheds light on the fact that there’s so much more to learn about the natural history of the world around us.” Wild has observed hundreds of squirrels in nature and yet, even for her, when the undergraduate students came in from field work and told her what they had witnessed, she said, “No, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.” Then she watched the video. “I could barely believe my eyes,” said Wild, a postdoctoral research fellow in the UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy department. “From then, we saw that behavior almost every day. Once we started looking, we saw it everywhere.” Through videos, photos and direct observations at the regional park, the authors documented California ground squirrels of all ages and genders hunting, eating and competing over vole prey between June 10 and July 30. The squirrels’ carnivorous summer behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with an explosion in vole numbers at the park reported by citizen scientists on iNaturalist. This suggests that the squirrels’ hunting behavior emerged alongside a temporary increase in the availability of prey, the study said. The scientists didn’t observe the squirrels hunting other mammals. “The fact that California ground squirrels are behaviorally flexible and can respond to changes in food availability might help them persist in environments rapidly changing due to the presence of humans,” Wild said. Smith added that many species, including the California ground squirrel, are “incredible opportunists.” From raccoons and coyotes to spotted hyenas and humans, the flexibility these mammals apply to their hunting strategies help them change and adapt with the human landscape. “Through this collaboration and the data coming in, we’re able to document this widespread behavior that we had no idea was going on,” Smith said. “Digital technology can inform the science, but there’s no replacement for going out there and witnessing the behavior because what animals are doing always surprises us.” The researchers said many questions remain unanswered, including how widespread the hunting behavior is among squirrels, whether and how it is passed down from parent to pup, and how it effects ecological processes. The authors are also excited to return to the field next summer to see what impact, if any, this year’s vole hunting may have on squirrel reproduction compared to the past decade. Co-authors include Joey Ingbretson, Mackenzie Miner, Ella Oestreicher, Mari Podas, Tia Ravara, Lupin Teles and Jada Wahl of UW-Eau Claire and Lucy Todd of UC Davis. Several co-authors conducted field work during their undergraduate studies. Their work was partly funded by the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, Diversity Mentoring Program and Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates. Additional funding sources include the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Vicki Lord Larson and James Larson Tenure-track Time Reassignment Collaborative Research Program.
India’s startup ecosystem closes 2024 on a transformative note, marked by pivotal advancements in AI, deeptech, fintech, and edtech. This year has been defined by resilience, evolution, and significant opportunities. 2024 emerged as the year of startup IPOs, with 12 companies going public and collectively raising billions. Leading the charge was Swiggy’s landmark $1.35 billion IPO, cementing the ecosystem’s global stature. Venture capitalists enjoyed a windfall, earning over $4 billion in IPO returns—double the 2023 figures. Major players like SoftBank, Peak XV, Accel, and Elevation reaped the rewards of patient investments, turning long-term bets into substantial gains. Despite global economic challenges, India’s markets showcased resilience, supported by robust economic growth, regulatory reforms, and sustained investor confidence. With at least 25 IPOs already anticipated for 2025, the momentum shows no signs of slowing down. Big-ticket funding dominated headlines in 2024, with startups raising over $10 billion. Notably, family offices emerged as significant contributors, injecting over $1 billion into the ecosystem. While early-stage funding remained vibrant, growth-stage investments reflected a cautious yet quality-focused approach amidst global uncertainties and shifting interest rates. Challenges persisted, though. Layoffs decreased significantly compared to 2023, yet nearly 9,000 employees faced job cuts. Corporate governance issues continued to trouble notable startups like Byju’s, while others, including Koo and Reshamandi, shuttered operations. CNBC-TV18 spoke to Dr Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder & MD of Venture Catalysts; Mrigank Gut-Gutia, Partner at Redseer; Vaibhav Anant, Founder of Bambrew; and Vivek Pandey, Co-Founder of Ecozen who reflected on the milestones of 2024 and shared their outlook for 2025. Below are the excerpts of the discussion. Q: Tell us what were the key milestones of the year gone by and what will continue to drive momentum and deal activity in 2025? Sharma: The key milestone of 2024 is AI transformation which is happening. The o1 which is the next level of ChatGPT is transforming the things globally. Now the things have moved from LLM to the o1 level where they are able to think and they can also respond and listen to the queries. So basically, next level AI transformation is happening globally. In space tech Tesla has brought back the rocket engine that is also a big milestone. So, the impact of that is also happening in India. You can see a lot of AI transformation happening. Q: 2024 also saw resurgence of major funding rounds, with VC firms injecting over $10 billion into the ecosystem. What was expected to be a chilly winter for venture capital saw funding spring, with Indian startups seeing large ticket deals in winter 2024-2025, setting an optimistic tone. What's fuelling this winter funding spring? Sharma: Two things which are fuelling the winters, which has just gone, I would say. One, the 12 IPOs, which have just happened in this year. In the last three years, Indian stock market, the success of startup is established. And the return also. Remember, there was Paytm IPO, the big chunk of that has gone to the global investors as an exit. From there, it started. So global investors have realised that Indian stock market is responding to startups very, very well. And that is why you can see the Zomato and Swiggy story also now this year. So that is giving the confidence to global investors, that if you invest in India, the exit mechanism is already in place. Number two is the bottom line focus of the large companies, which was not the case three years back. The funding winter has taught us a lot. Almost all the large companies, they are focusing a lot on bottom line, because they're targeting IPO in Indian stock market. That is why the strength of Indian startups is also reflected to the global investors. And that is why you see these startups becoming more attractive to the global investors. Q: Quick commerce has been the buzzword for this year. Could you start by explaining why this segment has taken off the way it has and where the current GMV average spends and the number of users stands? Gut-Gutia: Quick commerce has had a fantabulous year. Looking at the data sets of the total size of the sector, we see that every month the sector is breaking all the records in terms of growth. So most of the months this year, the quick commerce sector in India, when we look at the GMV levels, it is growing at more than 80% on a year on year (YoY) basis. And if you talk about the actual GMVs that we expect, I think by the end of FY25 or let's say by the whole FY25 period, I think we will see the sector exceeding the GMV of close to $6 billion. So, for a sector that was just about less than $1 billion, maybe four or five years ago to reach the $6 billion scale by FY25, I think it's a fantastic achievement. I think one of the biggest factors that is driving the growth of the sector is the monthly transacting users. So just about a few months ago, the sector had about 9 million monthly transacting users. But because of this phenomenal growth in adoption and experience, we expect that the monthly transacting users will be more than 15 million. It's already there in these last few, last couple of months, and the average for the whole year might also be sitting around the 15-17 million mark. Essentially what is happening is that user is just spending across the categories, not just grocery, but across electronics and home goods, some part of fashion, beauty, and so on. So, it's really spending across the segments and the huge convenience that quick commerce has afforded to our customers that is really driving the phenomenal growth in the sector. Watch accompanying video for entire discussion.No. 9 Kentucky, focused on getting better, welcomes Jackson St.
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Washington — Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday sought to end his bid to revive the case against President-elect Donald Trump arising from his alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents, which would bring to a close the historic and unprecedented case against the nation's 45th and 47th president. In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Smith cited Trump's recent victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the November presidential election and referred to longstanding Justice Department policy that forbids the prosecution of a sitting president. The district court judge presiding over Trump's case, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, had ruled earlier this year that the charges should be dismissed because Smith was unlawfully appointed. The special counsel appealed the decision, but has now asked the 11th Circuit to dismiss his appeal. In his brief filing , Smith cited a separate request to dismiss his other case involving Trump, which involves an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election. The special counsel said in that filing submitted to a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that after consultation with the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, "the department's position is that the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated." "The American people re-elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate to make America great again. Today's decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump and is a major victory for the rule of law," Steven Cheung, Trump's spokesman, said in a statement. "The American people and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country." It's likely the courts will grant each of the special counsel's requests in the two cases, marking the culmination of the monthslong prosecutions against Trump. In the documents case, dismissing the appeal as to Trump would leave in place the lower court's order tossing out the charges against him. The appeal will continue as to Trump's two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, because unlike the president-elect, "no principle of temporary immunity applies to them," Smith wrote. "The special counsel's decision to proceed in this case even after dismissing it against President Trump is an unsurprising tribute to the poor judgment that led to the indictment against Mr. De Oliveira in the first place," John Irving, de Oliveira's lawyer, said in a statement. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should. If they prefer a slow acquittal, that's fine with us." A lawyer for Nauta declined to comment. Trump became the first former president to face federal charges when a grand jury returned an indictment against him in June 2023. The prosecution came months after FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search of Trump's South Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, in August 2022 and recovered more than 100 documents marked classified that he kept after his first term ended in January 2021. Following the search, Trump mounted a separate legal battle that brought the appointment of an independent arbiter to sift through the material seized by the FBI, though the 11th Circuit ordered an end to that review in late 2022. Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November of that year to take over the federal investigation into Trump's handling of sensitive government records and pursued charges against the president-elect for unlawfully retaining national defense information and attempting to obstruct the Justice Department's probe. Trump was charged alongside two employees, Nauta, an aide, and de Oliveira, the property manager as Mar-a-Lago. Trump, Nauta and de Oliveira pleaded not guilty to all charges. The president-elect claimed his prosecution was a politically motivated attempt to harm his candidacy in the race for a second term. Prosecutors used court filings to reveal information about how Trump allegedly stored records containing the nation's secrets at his resort, as well as how he, with his co-defendants, allegedly engaged in a scheme to deceive federal investigators and stymie their probe. They included photos showing boxes of material stacked on the stage in Mar-a-Lago's ballroom and in a bathroom on the property. Other images taken by the FBI during its August 2022 search show boxes of records in a storage room and in Trump's office, some of which prosecutors said contained highly sensitive information alongside personal keepsakes and other items from his presidency. Cannon initially set a trial date for May 20, 2024, but she postponed the proceedings weeks before they were set to begin. The president-elect and his lawyers attempted to have the case against him dismissed on a variety of grounds, claiming he was selectively prosecuted, he was shielded from federal charges by presidential immunity and Smith was appointed in violation of the Constitution. Trump succeeded in persuading Cannon that the special counsel's appointment and funding for his office were unlawful, and she ordered the case to be dismissed in July. But Smith appealed the decision to the 11th Circuit. Both he and Trump's lawyers submitted filings with the court presenting their views on Cannon's ruling, though the court had not yet set a date for arguments. It was expected that an eventual decision from the 11th Circuit would wind up before the Supreme Court. The documents case was one of two that Smith brought against Trump. In Washington, D.C., he faced charges related to an alleged attempt to subvert the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election. The president-elect pleaded not guilty to the four counts he faced there, and the dispute landed before the Supreme Court as Trump argued presidential immunity shielded him from prosecution. He was also charged by local prosecutors in separate cases in Fulton County, Georgia, and New York City. The New York case stemmed from a hush-money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels after the 2016 election, and a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies in May, making him the first former president convicted of a crime. He was set to be sentenced last month in New York, but it was delayed . The Fulton County case involved an alleged plot by Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia. He pleaded not guilty to charges in the sprawling racketeering case brought by District Attorney Fani Willis. Proceedings had been halted, though, while a state appeals court considered whether Willis should be disqualified from the case. It's unclear how Trump's victory will affect his prosecution in Fulton County. Trump's bid for a second term loomed over his prosecutions, as it was widely expected his federal cases would be dropped if he succeeded in winning the White House. Now, Smith has sought to bring an end to both of the historic prosecutions of the former and next president. Once both cases are settled, Smith is likely to file a final report with the attorney general, as is required by special counsel regulations, and is expected to resign from his post before Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20, two sources familiar with Smith's plans previously told CBS News. Garland has pledged to publicly release all special counsel reports completed during his tenure — a commitment he has so far upheld — and he is likely to do so for Smith's report, too. Should the disclosure of Smith's findings stall and be delayed into the Trump administration, the odds of its release become increasingly slim as the president-elect has said he intends to nominate many of his top defense attorneys to leadership roles within the Justice Department. Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended Trump in the two federal cases and in New York, are set to serve as deputy attorney general and principal associate deputy attorney general respectively, two powerful posts within the Justice Department. Trump has said he will nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the top job as attorney general. Donald Trump Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
Stock market today: Wall Street rises with Nvidia as bitcoin bursts above $99,000Bow officials defend actions following pink wristband protest
I’m still visiting every museum in NYC. Here are 9 of my favorites from 2024.Tesla has reported a sharp 40% decline in European sales, a slump that comes amidst controversy surrounding CEO Elon Musk's vocal support for newly re-elected US President Donald Trump. The decline has sparked debates about the interplay of politics and consumer behaviour, as well as broader challenges within the electric vehicle (EV) market. In November 2024, Tesla sold 18,786 vehicles across the European Union, a stark drop from the 31,810 units sold during the same month in 2023. The year-to-date figures from January to November also show a 15% decline compared to the previous year. This downturn coincides with an overall 10% drop in EV sales across Europe, with major markets like France and Germany witnessing even steeper declines of 24% and 22%, respectively. Despite these trends, hybrid vehicles have gained ground, with sales rising by 18.5% and overtaking petrol cars in market share. While some have attributed Tesla's sales woes to backlash over Musk's political stance, analysts argue that other factors are also contributing. Felipe Munoz, an automotive analyst at Jato Dynamics, noted that new EU tariffs of 7% on Chinese-made cars, which include certain Tesla models, have dampened sales. He also highlighted the impact of last year's price cuts, which temporarily boosted Tesla's sales but created an unfavourable comparison for this year. Munoz stated, "Not all the cars sold by Tesla in Europe are Chinese-made, so tariffs alone aren't to blame. The demand for EVs is cooling, competition is intensifying, and Tesla's Model Y is ageing. A refreshed version is expected next year, and this could explain the current slump." Musk's endorsement of Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign has alienated some of Tesla's traditionally liberal customer base. His support included high-profile fundraising efforts and public appearances alongside Trump, followed by his appointment as one of the president-elect's leading advisers. This shift has led to visible discontent among Tesla owners, particularly in the US, where some have affixed stickers to their cars reading, "I Bought This Before Elon Went Crazy" or "Anti-Elon Tesla Club." In Europe, the reaction has been similarly negative in some quarters. German pharmacy chain Rossman announced in August that it would stop purchasing Tesla vehicles for its corporate fleet. The company cited an "incompatibility" between Musk's political affiliations and Tesla's pro-environment ethos. Rossman's fleet includes 800 cars, of which around 30 are Teslas. Another challenge for Tesla lies in its ageing vehicle lineup. The Model Y, one of Tesla's flagship models, is awaiting a refresh, and consumers may be holding off on purchases until the updated version is released next year. Additionally, the competitive landscape for EVs has become more crowded, with traditional automakers and newer entrants offering increasingly compelling alternatives. Munoz believes Musk's foray into politics has had an impact but expects the effect to be temporary. He commented, "While Musk's political involvement has cost Tesla some sales, it's unlikely to be a long-term issue. The company's challenges are more about market dynamics and product lifecycle." Tesla's sales decline underscores a broader shift in the EV market. As initial enthusiasm for EVs wanes and competition intensifies, manufacturers face increasing pressure to innovate and adapt to evolving consumer preferences. For Tesla, this means addressing concerns over its ageing models, maintaining competitive pricing, and perhaps navigating the fallout of its CEO's political decisions. The coming year, with the anticipated release of refreshed Tesla models, will be pivotal in determining whether the company can regain its momentum in Europe.
Brainrot, brat, extreme weather, midwest nice and weird round out the shortlist SAN MATEO, Calif. , Nov. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dictionary.com , the world's leading digital dictionary, today announced its 2024 Word of the Year: demure . Traditionally used to describe reserved or modest individuals, demure has taken on an expanded meaning this year to signify refined and sophisticated appearances or behaviors. "As remote work fades and in-person experiences become the norm again, the subtle art of personal presentation has taken on renewed importance," said Steve Johnson , Curriculum Design Manager of the Dictionary Media Group at IXL Learning . " Demure captures this cultural shift with a modern twist: a word that once carried traditional, often limiting connotations has been reimagined to celebrate understated elegance and suavity. Its evolving meaning gives people a way to express quiet confidence—embracing modesty and charm as intentional, empowering choices . " In making the annual selection, Dictionary.com 's lexicographers analyzed a wealth of data—including newsworthy headlines, search engine results and social media trends—to identify words that captured pivotal moments in 2024. The word demure dominated the cultural zeitgeist, with its usage in digital media surging a remarkable 1,200% between January and August. This meteoric rise is largely attributed to Jools Lebron, a content creator who popularized the phrase "very demure, very mindful" in a series of TikTok videos illustrating how to embody the term in professional, travel and social settings. The social media buzz surrounding demure sparked a similar spike in search interest. In the 11 months before Lebron's videos, there was no notable trend in Google searches for the term, but interest surged 14-fold by August 2024 . At its peak, searches for demure on Dictionary.com were 200 times greater than their previous rate. While the initial trend has cooled, the word remains five times more popular on Dictionary.com than it was before its breakout moment. Alongside demure, Dictionary.com 's lexicographers identified five additional words that shaped the cultural conversation in 2024, rounding out this year's shortlist. Read more about Dictionary.com 's 2024 Word of the Year at http://dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-year/ . About Dictionary.com Words define every aspect of our lives, from our ideas to our identities. Dictionary.com aspires to empower people to express themselves, make connections and find opportunities through the power and joy of language. With 96 million visitors each month, Dictionary.com is the premier destination to learn, discover and have fun with the limitless world of words and meanings. The brand helps you make sense of the ever-evolving English language so you can put your ideas into words—and your words into action. Press Contact Joslyn Chesson IXL Learning press@ixl.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dictionarycom-names-demure-as-the-2024-word-of-the-year-302315735.html SOURCE IXL LearningWASHINGTON (AP) — A lead organization monitoring for food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel's “near-total blockade,” after the U.S. asked for its retraction, U.S. officials told the Associated Press. The move follows public criticism of the report from the U.S. ambassador to Israel. The rare public dispute drew accusations from prominent aid and human-rights figures that the work of the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning System Network , meant to reflect the opinion of unbiased international experts, has been tainted by politics. A declaration of famine would be a great embarrassment for Israel, which has insisted that its 15-month war in Gaza is aimed against the Hamas militant group and not against its civilian population. U.S. ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew earlier this week called the warning by the internationally recognized group inaccurate and “irresponsible ." Lew and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the monitoring group, both said the findings failed to properly account for rapidly changing circumstances in north Gaza. Humanitarian and human rights officials expressed fear of U.S. political interference in the world's monitoring system for famines. The U.S. Embassy in Israel and the State Department declined comment. FEWS officials did not respond to questions. “We work day and night with the U.N. and our Israeli partners to meet humanitarian needs — which are great — and relying on inaccurate data is irresponsible,” Lew said Tuesday. USAID confirmed to the AP that it had asked the famine-monitoring organization to withdraw its stepped-up warning issued in a report dated Monday. The report did not appear among the top updates on the group's website Thursday, but the link to it remained active . The dispute points in part to the difficulty of assessing the extent of starvation in largely isolated northern Gaza. Thousands in recent weeks have fled an intensified Israeli military crackdown that aid groups say has allowed delivery of only a dozen trucks of food and water since roughly October. FEWS Net said in its withdrawn report that unless Israel changes its policy, it expects the number of people dying of starvation and related ailments in north Gaza to reach between two and 15 per day sometime between January and March. The internationally recognized mortality threshold for famine is two or more deaths a day per 10,000 people. FEWS was created by the U.S. development agency in the 1980s and is still funded by it. But it is intended to provide independent, neutral and data-driven assessments of hunger crises, including in war zones. Its findings help guide decisions on aid by the U.S. and other governments and agencies around the world. A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, Oren Marmorstein, welcomed the U.S. ambassador's public challenge of the famine warning. “FEWS NET - Stop spreading these lies!” Marmorstein said on X . In challenging the findings publicly, the U.S. ambassador "leveraged his political power to undermine the work of this expert agency,” said Scott Paul, a senior manager at the Oxfam America humanitarian nonprofit. Paul stressed that he was not weighing in on the accuracy of the data or methodology of the report. “The whole point of creating FEWS is to have a group of experts make assessments about imminent famine that are untainted by political considerations,” said Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and now a visiting professor in international affairs at Princeton University . “It sure looks like USAID is allowing political considerations -- the Biden administration’s worry about funding Israel’s starvation strategy -- to interfere." Israel says it has been operating in recent months against Hamas militants still active in northern Gaza. It says the vast majority of the area’s residents have fled and relocated to Gaza City, where most aid destined for the north is delivered. But some critics, including a former defense minister, have accused Israel of carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza’s far north, near the Israeli border. North Gaza has been one of the areas hardest-hit by fighting and Israel’s restrictions on aid throughout its war with Hamas militants. Global famine monitors and U.N. and U.S. officials have warned repeatedly of the imminent risk of malnutrition and deaths from starvation hitting famine levels. International officials say Israel last summer increased the amount of aid it was admitting there, under U.S. pressure. The U.S. and U.N. have said Gaza’s people as a whole need between 350 and 500 trucks a day of food and other vital needs. But the U.N. and aid groups say Israel recently has again blocked almost all aid to that part of Gaza. Cindy McCain , the American head of the U.N. World Food Program, previously called for political pressure to get food flowing to Palestinians there. Israel says it places no restrictions on aid entering Gaza and that hundreds of truckloads of goods are piled up at Gaza’s crossings and accused international aid agencies of failing to deliver the supplies. The U.N. and other aid groups say ongoing combat, looting and insufficient security by Israeli troops make it impossible to deliver aid effectively. Lew, the U.S. ambassador, said the famine warning was based on “outdated and inaccurate” data. He pointed to uncertainty over how many of the 65,000-75,000 people remaining in northern Gaza had fled in recent weeks, saying that skewed the findings. FEWS said in its report that its famine assessment holds even if as few as 10,000 people remain. USAID in its statement to AP said it had reviewed the report before it became public, and noted “discrepancies” in population estimates and some other data. The U.S. agency had asked the famine warning group to address those uncertainties and be clear in its final report to reflect how those uncertainties affected its predictions of famine, it said. “This was relayed before Ambassador Lew’s statement,” USAID said in a statement. “FEWS NET did not resolve any of these concerns and published in spite of these technical comments and a request for substantive engagement before publication. As such, USAID asked to retract the report.” Roth criticized the U.S. challenge of the report in light of the gravity of the crisis there. “This quibbling over the number of people desperate for food seems a politicized diversion from the fact that the Israeli government is blocking virtually all food from getting in,” he said, adding that “the Biden administration seems to be closing its eyes to that reality, but putting its head in the sand won’t feed anyone.” The U.S., Israel’s main backer, provided a record amount of military support in the first year of the war. At the same time, the Biden administration repeatedly urged Israel to allow more access to aid deliveries in Gaza overall, and warned that failing to do so could trigger U.S. restrictions on military support. The administration recently said Israel was making improvements and declined to carry out its threat of restrictions. Military support for Israel’s war in Gaza is politically charged in the U.S., with Republicans and some Democrats staunchly opposed any effort to limit U.S. support over the suffering of Palestinian civilians trapped in the conflict. The Biden administration’s reluctance to do more to press Israel for improved treatment of civilians undercut support for Democrats in last month’s elections. Sam Mednick and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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