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Childbirth In Gaza: Navigating Shelling And Power Cuts

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(CTN NEWS) – Just one month ago, Jumana Emad, a resident of Gaza, was on the cusp of welcoming her baby girl into the world.

She joyfully shared pictures of her heavily pregnant belly, eagerly anticipating the arrival of her new family member.

Her husband was equally excited, her hospital bag was meticulously packed, and her four-year-old daughter, Tulin, was brimming with anticipation at the thought of meeting her baby sister.

The Emad family was on the brink of a new chapter filled with love and laughter.

However, in the blink of an eye, their world was upended.

On October 7th, a tragic and cataclysmic event unfolded.

Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization, executed a devastating attack that resulted in the loss of more than 1,400 lives in Israel and the horrifying abduction of over 200 individuals.

In response to this act of aggression, Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza.

The Hamas-run health ministry reported that these airstrikes have caused the deaths of nearly 7,000 people.

In the midst of this chaos, Jumana found herself in the most vulnerable of situations: she was in labor, and her surroundings were filled with continuous shelling.

Fear and uncertainty pervaded her every thought and action.

Facing these dire circumstances, the 25-year-old freelance journalist heeded Israeli evacuation orders, leaving her home in the northern part of Gaza.

Just two days after the Israeli airstrikes commenced, she embarked on a perilous journey southward, away from the tumultuous heart of Gaza City.

With a heart heavy with anxiety, Jumana took her daughter to the refuge of a relative’s house, bearing just a single piece of clothing, a box of milk, and a small bag for her young daughter.

In a voice message, Jumana painted a poignant picture of the immense hardships, fear, and uncertainty that had suddenly become her reality.

The story of Jumana Emad reflects the profound impact of the ongoing conflict on the lives of innocent civilians in Gaza.

It serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the toll such conflicts take on individuals and families, especially those in the most vulnerable stages of life.

Jumana’s Journey to Motherhood Amidst the Chaos of Conflict

Jumana’s messages vividly painted a portrait of the harrowing reality she and many others faced during this period of conflict.

Sleepless nights were marked by incessant shelling, making it impossible for pregnant women like Jumana to even step outside for a simple walk, let alone procure basic necessities.

The war had turned the ordinary rhythms of life into a nightmare.

Amidst her messages, Jumana repeatedly highlighted the additional hardships brought about by power outages, internet disruptions, and water shortages.

These were not just inconveniences but critical challenges faced by families struggling to survive and expectant mothers preparing to give birth.

On a fateful Friday, the 13th of October, Jumana went into labor.

Her initial plan was to head to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, a large medical facility.

However, she received word that the hospital was under immense pressure due to the ongoing conflict. As a result, Jumana made her way to Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, a smaller hospital located in the heart of the Gaza Strip.

But the journey there was anything but straightforward.

In the throes of labor pains, Jumana faced the challenge of finding transportation to the hospital.

Taxi drivers were gripped by fear, and ambulances were preoccupied with more critical emergencies.

Her recollection of those hours of labor was a chilling account of terror and uncertainty.

The hospital itself faced the peril of intense shelling in the vicinity.

The deafening sounds of explosions made Jumana fear for the safety of the hospital itself.

Injured individuals were constantly arriving, and the echoes of screams filled the air.

Amidst all this chaos, Jumana’s foremost concern was for her first daughter, who was miles away from her.

Despite the overwhelming fear, Jumana’s unwavering determination was clear: she was resolute in her desire to bring her baby into the world.

Jumana experienced a profound sense of shock and relief when, several hours later, she gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Talia.

The sound of her newborn’s cries brought solace, signifying that they had all survived.

However, the challenges persisted. There was no immediate bed available for Jumana following childbirth.

She was left in pain and bleeding, waiting for a bed to be located. In cramped quarters, she had to wait for her turn, while other women who had also just given birth found themselves lying on couches and the hospital floor.

The conditions were far from ideal, but they were a stark reflection of the challenging circumstances in which these women had to welcome their newborns into the world.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provides a stark estimate that approximately 50,000 pregnant women are currently in Gaza, with 5,500 of them expected to give birth within the next 30 days.

These figures reveal the staggering scale of the challenge that Gaza’s healthcare system faces.

Hospitals are stretched to their limits and are grappling with severe shortages of medical supplies and essential resources.

A day after giving birth, Jumana shared a video of herself in a taxi, cradling her newborn daughter wrapped in a white blanket.

Her journey back to her family was not without its tribulations.

The hospital’s elevator had been disabled due to a power outage, forcing Jumana, still in pain after childbirth, to descend multiple flights of stairs, holding her newborn in her arms.

Jumana’s Harrowing Journey: Finding Hope Amidst the Shadows of War

Once outside the hospital, Jumana was confronted with the daunting task of securing transportation back to her place of residence.

This endeavor was marked by a frustrating hour-long search for a taxi. Many drivers were hesitant, fearing the proximity of a recent shelling incident in the area.

Eventually, they found a taxi, albeit at a higher fare, and it did not drop them off directly at their destination.

The arduous journey of childbirth amid such challenging circumstances took a toll on Jumana, leaving her emotionally drained.

She confessed that she no longer had the desire to engage in daily activities.

However, she reassured that baby Talia was thriving, reflecting a blend of features from her, her sister, and her father.

Jumana’s reflections on the situation were poignant.

In a different world without the shadow of war, she would have aspired to celebrate the birth of her daughter with a joyful event.

Her plans would have included inviting all her family members and hosting an Aqiqah, a traditional Islamic celebration.

These aspirations, now suspended, serve as a stark reminder of the deep impact of conflict on the lives of ordinary families.

Despite the uncertainty that clouds her family’s future, Jumana finds solace and hope in the presence of her new arrival.

She poignantly describes her newborn daughter as “my hope in this life of war and death,” illuminating the enduring resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

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Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

google

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

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Pixa Bay

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

google

Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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2024 | Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

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Washington — Trump Media,  The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal from social media platform X about a search warrant acquired by prosecutors in the election meddling case against former President Donald Trump.

The justices did not explain their rationale, and there were no recorded dissents.

The firm, which was known as Twitter before being purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, claims a nondisclosure order that prevented it from informing Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.

The business also claims Trump should have had an opportunity to exercise executive privilege. If not reined in, the government may employ similar tactics to intercept additional privileged communications, their lawyers contended.

trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

Two neutral electronic privacy groups also joined in, urging the high court to hear the case on First Amendment grounds.

Prosecutors, however, claim that the corporation never shown that Trump utilized the account for official purposes, therefore executive privilege is not a problem. A lower court also determined that informing Trump could have compromised the current probe.

trump

Trump utilized his Twitter account in the weeks preceding up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to spread false assertions about the election, which prosecutors claim were intended to create doubt in the democratic process.

The indictment describes how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification, and falsely claiming that the Capitol crowd, which battered police officers and destroyed glass, was peaceful.

musk trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

That case is now moving forward following the Supreme Court’s verdict in July, which granted Trump full immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.

The warrant arrived at Twitter amid quick changes implemented by Musk, who bought the company in 2022 and has since cut off most of its workforce, including those dedicated to combating disinformation and hate speech.

He also welcomed back a vast list of previously banned users, including Trump, and endorsed him for the 2024 presidential election.

SOURCE | AP

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

Supreme Court

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP

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