During the pre-social media era, you could make a fake family more easily, as this 1999-set story shows.
THE NEWS
Congress investigating media outlets that had reporters ’embedded’ with Hamas

(Unsplash)
Congress has begun investigating various media outlets that had reporters “embedded” with Hamas during the terror organization’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
That was when terrorists, likely drugged up and with instructions to commit atrocities against Israeli civilians, did just that, beheading babies and burning entire families alive.
Further details revealed after the attack that killed an estimated 1,400 show that the terrorists raped both men and women, and murdered them in stunningly brutal fashion.
Having reporters embedded with an event is a common occurrence for media organizations, such as at protests, parades and such. But the legal and ethical questions of allowing reporters to knowingly accompany terrorists on a murder spree raise red flags the size of the state of Texas.
It’s the Washington Examiner that confirmed Republicans in the House are looking into the facts after footage was unearthed that shows freelance journalists for CNN, New York Times, AP and Reuters present during the terror.
“Photojournalists Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, Hatem Ali, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, and Yasser Qudih were at the center of a November article called ‘Broken Borders: AP & Reuters Pictures of Hamas Atrocities Raise Ethical Questions.'”
It was published by Honest Reporting and the article itself prompted Israel’s government to demand answers about possible “collusion.”
In the House, 15 lawmakers are demanding that those outlets “hand over detailed information about the six photojournalists and communications with them.”
A letter obtained by the Examiner suggested subpoenas are still possible.
The letter said, “As you know, estimates are that over 1,200 Israeli civilians were murdered in this horrific attack, including hundreds of children. Over 200 Israeli men, women, and children were kidnapped and held in Gaza, where torture is rampant. If these photojournalists had prior knowledge and failed to alert authorities, they may be complicit in the death of hundreds of innocent civilians and numerous war crimes.”
The letter comes from Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and others. It was addressed to Mark Thompson of CNN, Meredith Kopit Levien of the New York Times, Daisy Veerasingham of the AP, and Reuters president Paul Bascobert.
The letter notes that media outlets already have been criticized for using freelance reporters who are described by advocacy groups as having participated in, or least were aware of, the looming atrocities before hundreds were dead.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., earlier wrote to the same executives demanding answers.
The evidence is devastating: Eslaiah had shared an image online of himself being kissed by Hamas leader Yahya Winwar and a video showing him on a motorbike on October 7, holding a grenade.
While several organizations have cut ties to Eslaiah, the New York Times has defended its relationships with others.
The Republicans informed the legacy media corporations that the freelancers could, in fact, be designated as terrorist affiliates.
Being sought are communications, phone logs and financial records involving the reporters.
The letter warns members will ensure “proper accountability” on the dispute.
IMPORTANT NOTE TO WND READERS: Shortly after Hamas terrorists fired over 5,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7 and then proceeded to attack the Jewish state by land, sea and air – torturing, burning, beheading and murdering well over a thousand people, including women, children and infants, and wounding and abducting hundreds more – world reaction was, in its own way, almost equally shocking.
For after the biggest one-day mass slaughter of Jews since the Nazi Holocaust, what followed was an outpouring of celebratory demonstrations, unbridled Jew-hatred, deliriously gleeful support for Hamas and bitter condemnation of the nation of Israel. Not just in the Arab-Muslim world, but throughout the Western world as well, including all across America.
Why? What is behind the explosion of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, pro-terror sentiment in the United States, where Israel has long been one of America’s closest friends and allies? Why are hordes of young “woke” LGBT demonstrators marching in support of Hamas – when Hamas wouldn’t think twice about binding and blindfolding them and throwing them off the roof of a tall building – as they routinely do in the Muslim world?
It turns out there’s one area of agreement that is so powerful, deep-seated and all-consuming that the vast differences between the deranged left and the murderous jihadists melt away into Kumbaya harmony.
All of this and much more is completely exposed in November’s issue of WND’s critically acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine, titled ISRAEL VS. GLOBAL JIHAD: How Jew-hatred, radical Islam and Leftism are pushing us toward World War III. Beyond a deeply insightful dive into why leftists are surging toward radical Islam – which hates and dreams of raping and butchering them – this Whistleblower issue includes fantastic articles by everyone from top Israeli analyst (and former Israel Defense Forces officer) Caroline Glick to Harvest Christian Fellowship’s Pastor Greg Laurie on the current war in Israel and biblical prophecies regarding the End Times … which he says are now upon us.
WHISTLEBLOWER is available in both the popular print edition and a state-of-the-art digital version, either single issues or discounted annual subscriptions.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
The post Congress investigating media outlets that had reporters ’embedded’ with Hamas appeared first on WND.
Bills’ Jordan Phillips rips Jason Kelce after Eagles player accused him of dirty tactics
Lawsuit accuses NY college of negligence for harboring ex-con who abused students
Fed’s Bank Bailout Fund Explodes To Record High As Massive Money-Market Fund Inflows Continue
Fed’s Bank Bailout Fund Explodes To Record High As Massive Money-Market Fund Inflows Continue
Money-market funds saw another large ($61.5BN) inflow last week. That is the sixth straight week of inflows, adding $290BN in that time to a new record high of $5.9TN…
Source: Bloomberg
In a breakdown for the week to Dec. 6, government funds – which invest primarily in securities like Treasury bills, repurchase agreements and agency debt – saw assets rise to $4.829TN, a $56.1BN increase.
Prime funds, which tend to invest in higher-risk assets such as commercial paper, meanwhile, saw assets climb to $946BN, a $6.1BN increase
Institutional funds saw the bulk of the inflows once again (+$43BN) while the unbroken trend of inflow into Retail funds continues (+$18.5BN)…
Source: Bloomberg
The resurgence in money-market fund inflows is diverging parabolically from bank deposits (which are basically flat on a seasonally-adjusted basis)…
Source: Bloomberg
Meanwhile, after a small uptick into month-end, November’s exodus from The Fed’s reverse repo facility continued in December…
Source: Bloomberg
While reserve scarcity is not evident quite yet, we did get some angst this week. as SOFR spiked relative to O/N RRP.
For now, The Fed balance sheet contraction accelerated last week, dropping $58.8BN (the biggest weekly decline since September)…
Source: Bloomberg
QT continued with a slight acceleration as ‘securities held’ fell $30.4BN…
Source: Bloomberg
And usage of The Fed’s Bank Term Funding Program (expensive bank bailout fund) exploded higher by $7.8BN (biggest increase since April) to $122BN (a new record high)…
Source: Bloomberg
For banks tapping the Fed’s BTFP, there’s an arbitrage to be deployed where institutions borrow from the facility and park the proceeds in their account at the central bank, according to Bill Nelson, chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute in Washington and a former Federal Reserve economist.
The interest rate on BTFP loans was about 5.18% as of Dec. 1 — one-year OIS swap rate +10bp, while interest on reserve balances is 5.40%
BTFP loans have a term of one-year and the rate is fixed for the term of the loan and can be repaid without penalty, and only backed by securities the bank owned as of March 12
“So borrow from the BTFP, leave the proceeds on deposit at the Fed, and collect the 22bp spread,” Nelson wrote.
If the BTFP rate falls further, banks can repay the loan early and take out a new loan. If IORB falls below the rate on the BTFP loan, institutions can repay the loan
“A similar arbitrage opened up for AMLF loans in May 2009 and the Fed quickly adjusted the program to close it,” he said
And for now, regional bank stocks continue to surge higher as their usage of The Fed’s bailout facility also soars. Is the market betting on a big enough collapse in yields that this $100BN-plus hole in bank balance sheets is miraculously heeled? Just what kind of economic contraction would that take? (and what would that great depression-like scenario do for banks loan books?) Asking for a friend…
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, equity market caps continue to rebound after recoupling with bank reserves at The Fed (as the latter also expands once again thanks to the RRP drawdowns)…
Source: Bloomberg
The Fed’s “temporary” bailout fund is up in March… and at the pace of exodus from the RRP facility, that could be the same time that reserve scarcity starts to rear its ugly head.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/07/2023 – 16:41
Elon Musk Wanted Confirmation From Tucker Carlson That SecDef Lloyd Austin ‘Really Said This’
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘World War II: From The Frontlines’ On Netflix, A Docuseries That Illustrates The Massive War With Enhanced Footage
The six-part docuseries consists of enhanced, colorized footage of the war, along with firsthand accounts from soldiers and Holocaust survivors.
Boost Mobile founder pushes carriers to back ban on cell phones in schools
“There’s a reason carriers stay silent – it’s the same reason tobacco companies stay silent,” Australian-born entrepreneur Peter Adderton told On The Money.
These three Democrats voted to censure ‘Squad’ Rep. Jamaal Bowman
Los Angeles Jews fear hanging Hanukkah decorations in current climate: ‘They could come burn it all down’