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Israeli-French activist behind France’s recognition of Palestinian state : NPR

NPR
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Israeli-French activist behind France’s recognition of Palestinian state : NPR


French President Emmanuel Macron addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 23.

Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images


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Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images

PARIS — Ofer Bronchtein was brought to tears as French President Emmanuel Macron delivered his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, recognizing a Palestinian state for the first time.

“Honestly, I cried,” he told NPR in an interview in his Paris apartment after his return from New York. “I see it happening in front of me and I see the full room of the General Assembly and everyone is applauding.”

Bronchtein says his only regret is that the Israeli delegation walked out of the General Assembly. The Israeli and U.S. governments opposed the move. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said world leaders who recognized Palestinian statehood were granting a “tremendous reward” to the Palestinian militant group Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.

A white flag with a large watermelon slice on it is waved during the Red Line for Gaza protest in Paris on July 8. Most of the protesters are wearing red shirts, and they're walking down a street lined by multistory buildings.

Bronchtein refutes this, arguing it is no reward for a group that never sought a peaceful coexistence alongside Israel.

“I strongly believe that if there had been a Palestinian state before the 7th of October, if the Palestinians had been sovereign to run their lives as they wanted, the 7th of October [attack in Israel] would not have happened,” he says.

For Bronchtein, recognizing a Palestinian state at the U.N. was the culmination of his life’s work. The 68-year-old Israeli-French activist has long promoted the recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel to help resolve the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In recent years, he has been doing so as an informal adviser to President Macron. Now, as the French continue efforts for a lasting peace in the region, the president’s unofficial envoy is pushing for Paris to play a lead role in the process.

Ofer Bronchtein, a French-Israeli advocate for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, is an informal adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron on Middle East peace, in Paris, on Oct. 10.

Ofer Bronchtein, a French-Israeli advocate for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, is an informal adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron on Middle East peace, in Paris, on Oct. 10.

Agnes Dherbeys/MYOP/Redux


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Talking peace over whisky in Ramallah

Bronchtein was first introduced to Macron in 2019 by a mutual friend, he says. The next year, he and the French leader formed a bond during a presidential visit to Jerusalem, where Macron gave a speech on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp, and Bronchtein was serving as Hebrew interpreter for France’s delegation.

On that trip, as Bronchtein tells it, during a late-night whisky they shared in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Macron said he wanted Bronchtein to work with him on peace in the Middle East.

Macron understands the issues, and empathizes with both Israelis and Palestinians, Bronchtein explains. The president was looking for a way for France and Europe to play a larger role in the peace process.

Bronchtein, president of the nonprofit International Forum for Peace, receives no salary for consulting Macron, he says. He’s sitting at his desk covered with books and papers in the cluttered yet cozy Paris apartment he shares with his wife, American photographer Hally Pencer, and their Labrador Leo.

Bronchtein’s only condition is a direct line to Macron.

“I whisper in his ear usually after 12 o’clock at night,” when the president’s more available, Bronchtein says. “My job is to give some ideas, to react to what’s happening on the ground. Sometimes he listens to what I have to say, sometimes he doesn’t.”

A few months after that Middle East trip, Macron gave Bronchtein his first mission: to find ideas that could bring Palestinians and Israelis together. The activist spoke with hundreds of people across both societies, and assembled what he calls a suggestion toolbox. On top: Arab states should normalize relations with Israel, while Israel should recognize a sovereign Palestinian state. And France should lead the way on statehood recognition. “When the time comes,” Bronchtein recalls Macron always saying.

Life in and out of Israel and France

Bronchtein has French and Israeli passports, as well as a Palestinian one.

He was born in the Negev desert town of Beersheba, Israel, in 1957. All of his grandparents were born in what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

His paternal grandparents moved to Tunisia, then a French protectorate, where they gained French citizenship. Bronchtein’s father, at age 16, left Tunisia for France, and joined the Jewish resistance against the Nazis.

After World War II, his father boarded the Exodus 1947, a ship filled with hundreds of Holocaust survivors sailing from France to start their lives over in Palestine, which was then under British mandate. He went on to fight both the Arabs and the British for Israeli statehood in 1948. Bronchtein calls his father his hero.

Then in 1966, when Bronchtein was 9, the family left Israel for economic reasons and moved to an immigrant suburb of Paris.

Bronchtein returned to Israel in 1975, at age 17. And there he began a lifelong fight for social justice, peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Arabs.

Jailed for meeting a Palestinian official

He worked on building bridges across the divide, even when it was forbidden. In 1987, Bronchtein met in Spain with a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Mahmoud Abbas. (It was nearly two decades before Abbas became president of the Palestinian Authority.) Their encounter in Spain broke Israel’s ban on contacts with PLO representatives at the time. Bronchtein served 15 days in Israeli prison.

Things turned around when he became an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin during the negotiations leading to the 1990s Oslo Accords. Signed by Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the peace agreements outlined plans for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Ofer Bronchtein sits down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, April 21, 2011. Abbas followed through on a promise made by his predecessor, the late leader Yasser Arafat, to give Bronchtein a Palestinian passport as a symbolic gesture for his peace efforts.

Ofer Bronchtein sits down with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris, April 21, 2011. Abbas followed through on a promise made by his predecessor, the late leader Yasser Arafat, to give Bronchtein a Palestinian passport as a symbolic gesture for his peace efforts.

Ofer Bronchtein


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Ofer Bronchtein

Bronchtein remembers the hope surrounding that era. “After that it was like a honeymoon,” he says. “I was living in Tel Aviv at the time. I would take my car and an hour later I was on the beach in Gaza, having dinner with my friends. I did the same thing in the West Bank. We were going in and out without any problem. Many of the Palestinians I met became dear friends of mine.”

He says Palestinians enjoyed some of that freedom too, for a time, but it didn’t last.

In 1995, Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist. Israelis who opposed the Oslo Accords came to power. A Palestinian uprising known as the second intifada began in 2000. Bronchtein grew cynical and life became dangerous in Israel, with Palestinian attacks on buses. He and his wife moved to France with their three children.

Renewed hope for peace

Bronchtein says his hope eventually returned, thanks to dear friends on both sides of the conflict, and the desire for peaceful coexistence that those who know him best say is part of his soul.

In 2002, Bronchtein and a Palestinian partner, Anis al-Qaq, created the International Forum for Peace to foster dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.

“Bronchtein is unique,” says John Lyndon, executive director of Alliance for Middle East Peace, a network of organizations promoting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. While Bronchtein’s peace forum is not a member of the alliance, Lyndon says the two have partnered together on recent initiatives.

“What’s great about Ofer is that he’s brought civil society’s voice and impatience into what can often be sterile governmental context,” he says. “He hasn’t lost the fact that he’s an activist. I’ve seen him be the person in the meeting that is maybe upsetting the diplomats by saying the thing they need to hear. He maintains his access and his conversations with Macron, but he also speaks truth to power.”

As a gesture for his work, Palestinian Authority President Abbas gave Bronchtein a Palestinian passport in 2011.

But the Israeli-French peace activist has drawn detractors, too. France has Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, and Middle East tensions often play out in the country. Bronchtein says he receives insults from different sides over his activism, and even death threats from extremist Jews in France and Israel. He has refused President Macron’s offer of a security detail.

“Pushing the American president in the right direction”

Bronchtein has been a strong critic of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank after the Arab-Israeli war in 1967. He believes it goes against Jewish values and dehumanizes Palestinians, which has also fueled Palestinian hatred toward Israelis. And recently, Palestinians in the West Bank have seen an increase in their land confiscated and violence against them by Israeli settlers.

Israeli Control Transforms West Bank

Palestinians and journalists survey damage in an industrial zone following an attack by Israeli settlers the previous day in the West Bank village of Beit Lid, near Tulkarm, Wednesday.

But the level of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the last two years is something Bronchtein says he never imagined.

“To tell you honestly, I feel ashamed as an Israeli that some people in my name committed this terrible crime,” he says of Israel’s vast destruction of Gaza. “And lately, when I speak in front of Palestinians or even in the media, I ask for forgiveness. I hope that one day the Palestinians will forgive us for what’s happened in Gaza.”

He says Palestinians should also ask forgiveness from Israel “for the terrible things Hamas did on Oct. 7.”

In the wake of such destruction and loss, Bronchtein thinks there is a real chance to change the status quo. He says “a lot of Israelis would like to make peace.” But lasting peace will only be achieved when Palestinians are masters of their own destiny.

He believes Hamas will one day be vanquished, but says: “You cannot kill an ideology through violence. You kill ideology by giving people a chance to hope for a better future.”

Western allies formally recognize a Palestinian state. The U.S. won't.

France’s diplomatic move at the U.N. was deeply planned and coordinated for months with Saudi Arabia, and led countries to revive the call for a two-state solution. Israel threatened retaliation for it, and President Trump initially warned it could “encourage continued conflict.”

But Bronchtein and other analysts believe France’s move helped lay the groundwork for President Trump’s plan for peace in Gaza.

Bronchtein says it’s time for Israelis and Palestinians to write a new narrative, much like the Europeans did after the destruction of World War II. It should be a project for the future where they are not enemies, but eventually partners, he says. A narrative that respects the history, the identity and the pain of each side.



This story originally appeared on NPR

The price for peace in Ukraine: EU countries urged to plug €135bn gap for war-torn nation

France24
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The price for peace in Ukraine: EU countries urged to plug €135bn gap for war-torn nation

As 2025 draws to a close, the European continent is facing the most pressing of problems: how to raise financial support for Ukraine, almost four years into Russia’s full-blown invasion. Kyiv’s financial resilience is eroding and thanks to an unpredictable Trump administration questioning the cost of collective defence, Europe is now faced with shouldering the burden. EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen warned this week that urgent measures are needed to fill Ukraine’s €135 billion budget shortfall for the next two years. One option would be tapping €185 billion in frozen Russian assets –a move that has faced opposition from the likes of Belgium, where most of the assets are located. If no agreement is made among member states before the end of the year, it could have disastrous consequences. Von Der Leyen has stressed that what happens in Ukraine is fundamental not only to the country’s survival but to Europe’s future. We debate the future of financing Ukraine with our guests at the European Parliament in Brussels.


This story originally appeared on France24

Trump suit targets college tuition of undocumented California students

LATimes
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Trump suit targets college tuition of undocumented California students

Born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. by her parents when she was 1, Sara has lived in California nearly all her life. As an undocumented immigrant, she pays in-state tuition rates at East Los Angeles College — $619 per semester, a fraction of the $5,286 charged to out-of-state students.

Because of her immigration status, Sara is not eligible for Pell Grants and other federal student aid. Under a 2001 state law and the California Dream Act — Sara pays lower in-state tuition and receives state financial aid for college — she has been able to afford her education. When she receives her associate’s degree, she intends to transfer to a Cal State or UC campus and major in business administration.

But Friday her dreams felt more out of reach, after the Trump administration sued California, alleging the state’s laws granting in-state tuition rates and financial aid to undocumented students are illegal. The suit threatens the higher education goals of about 80,000 undocumented college students, many who arrived in the state as children.

“After I get my degree, I want to use it to work in California and contribute to my community,” said Sara, who requested to withhold her last name because she is fearful of federal immigration enforcement action. “How does that hurt anyone?”

Trump seeks to overturn California law

The Department of Justice on Thursday sued California and its three public higher education systems, seeking to overturn a decades-old state law that provides lower in-state tuition to undocumented students who have attended the state’s high schools. The Trump administration also sued to put an end to the California Dream Act, which it alleges gives illegal preference for financial aid to people who are not citizens.

The moves are the latest in a series of similar legal actions the federal government has taken this year against states including Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma and Minnesota.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said the government took the action because California has a “flagrant disregard for federal law.”

State leaders disagreed, saying they will defend the laws.

“The DOJ has now filed three meritless, politically motivated lawsuits against California in a single week. Good luck, Trump. We’ll see you in court,” said Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom. The other suits are against the Proposition 50 redistricting effort and a state law banning federal immigration agents from hiding their identities with masks.

Though other states have faced similar suits, California — with the largest number of undocumented students in the nation — stands as the biggest such test case of Trump’s second term. California has prided itself on its expansive public higher education system and its pioneering support of immigrant communities.

“It’s another attack on immigrants. So not a surprise at all,” said Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who said he would “review the case and identify any appropriate responses to it.” Bonta noted that with tuition and aid policies, California is “making its own decision. We have 10th Amendment state sovereignty.” He said the state is “using our own funds and following all the laws, and that Trump “really wants to micromanage the policy of cities and of states.”

In 2001, lawmakers passed AB 540, which gives in-state tuition rates to all students who graduated from California high schools after attending for at least three years. The California Dream Act passed a decade later and opened up state aid, including Cal Grants, to undocumented students. It was later expanded to include students who were citizens but had an undocumented parent.

The Trump administration’s challenge to California’s tuition and aid statutes focuses on a 1996 federal law that says people in the U.S. without legal permission should “not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state … for any post-secondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit … without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”

Legal scholars have debated whether the federal law affects California tuition and aid laws because the price tags apply to citizens and non-citizens alike.

Critics of Trump’s actions also say the law does not speak specifically to tuition rates. Some courts have interpreted the word “benefit” to include cheaper tuition.

Higher education institutions maintain that their tuition practices abide by the law.

“California Community Colleges are open-access institutions dedicated to serving all students. The California Community Colleges will follow all legal obligations and fully participate in the judicial process alongside our state partners,” said Chancellor Sonya Christian.

Community colleges enroll the vast majority of undocumented immigrant students in the state. Between 12,000 and 14,000 of such students attend CSUs and UCs.

“Although we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, our commitment remains unchanged: We will continue to ensure that all students who qualify under state law have access to an affordable, high-quality education,” Christian said. “We will also continue to comply fully with all current federal and state requirements.”

How students are responding

For students like Sara, the lawsuit stirs more uncertainty in a year she said has “shaken” immigrant communities, including her relatives who are citizens and permanent legal residents.

“We have ICE raids, we have people picked up off the street and in their homes. Now they don’t even want us to educate ourselves?” she said. “This is my home, not a place I can’t remember where I was born.”

Juan, an undocumented student at Cal State Northridge, shared similar sentiments. He also traveled as a toddler with his parents from Mexico to the U.S. and pays in-state education fees.

“Even with that, it is expensive — you pay for gas, books, computers,” said Juan, who requested that his last name not be used.

Juan has an older sibling who was approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which provides work authorization to people who moved to the U.S. as children and lack legal status. The program has largely been closed to new applications for years, so his options to earn money are limited.

“I help my parents, siblings and friends with odd jobs — running social media accounts, housework, pet-sitting,” he said. “That money can help pay for the lower tuition rates. It cannot cover out-of-state rates.”

At CSU Northridge, the in-state rate per semester is $3,925, compared with $10,585 for non-California residents.

Ju Hong, who attended UC Berkeley as an undocumented student and directs the UCLA Dream Resource Center, said he was “devastated” by the suit.

“I think we are going backwards,” said Hong, who was born in South Korea. “Immigrant youth and students and organizers won major victories with AB 540 though ground-up organizing for decades. This is not just about a legal action. It’s an attack on immigrant students and youth who have grown up, have studied here and contributed to California.”

Jack Feng, a graduate student at UCLA and immigrant rights advocate, said the moment calls for broader support for undocumented students across UC.

He said UC “should join the state of California in aggressively litigating against this attack.”

“UC should expand immigration legal services, mental health resources, and emergency financial aid for undocumented students,” said Feng, who is the external vice president of the UCLA Graduate Students Assn.

Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA Law School, said California’s tuition law does not appear to violate the federal law the Trump administration is using in its challenge.

“Federal law prohibits certain benefits to undocumented students based on residency in the state. But AB 540 does not make people eligible based on residency,” he said. “Instead it ties eligibility to whether students have graduated high school and attended three years of high school in the state.”

He said the difference between residency and high school graduation is a key legal point.

Arulanantham explained that in-state tuition is open to all students, regardless of legal status. But all students must meet the California high school attendance and graduation criteria — even if they now live in another state.

“There are lots of citizens who would not qualify for in-state tuition under a residence-based rule — but who do qualify based on the graduation criteria,” he said.

Arulanantham said California’s tuition law has at times helped more students who have legal documentation than those who do not.

A 2012 report from the University of California that tallied AB 540 recipients from 2002 to 2011 showed that, in those years, U.S. citizens and people with legal authorization were frequently more likely to make use of the law than undocumented immigrants.

In the 2010-2011 academic year, the report said, 1,260 documented UC students received California resident tuition rates compared with 620 “potentially undocumented” people.

UC said it has not compiled a public report of more recent data.

The California law has withstood earlier challenges. The state Supreme Court upheld it in 2010 after out-of-state students sued. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case.

In those cases, judges said undocumented immigrants were not receiving preferential treatment because of their immigration status but because they attended and graduated from California schools. They said U.S. citizens who graduated from the state’s schools had the same opportunity.

Thursday’s complaint was filed in the Eastern District of California. In June, after the Trump administration sued over the law in Texas, the state agreed to stop giving in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. Kentucky and Oklahoma also said they would not defend their tuition laws.

Undocumented students have joined the Kentucky case to fight to keep the law there in place and are attempting to do the same in Oklahoma. Illinois and Minnesota said they would challenge the Trump lawsuits against their states. None of the cases have reached a conclusion.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this story.



This story originally appeared on LA Times

Targeting thousands in passive income per year? Here’s my number 1 tip

Motley Fool
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Targeting thousands in passive income per year? Here’s my number 1 tip


Image source: Getty Images

Generating passive income is a common financial goal and it’s not hard to see why. Life is expensive and a bit of extra cash can make a huge difference.

Interested in creating a solid passive income stream that brings in a substantial amount of cash every year? Here’s my top tip.

The secret to passive income

There are many different ways to generate passive income today. Personally, I have a few different strategies that bring in cash with minimal effort.

My key tip for those seeking passive income is: become a business owner. But I need to clarify a few things here.

Money for nothing

There are two main types of business owners – active owners and passive owners.

The first type trades time for money. An example here is someone who actively runs a coffee shop.

The second type owns the business but does no work themselves. This type of owner puts in minimal effort but still gets a large chunk of the profits.

Becoming the second type of owner is the key to generating passive income, in my view. Because with this set-up, we’re paid for doing almost nothing.

Easy to get started

Now, I realise that not everyone has the financial resources to go out and buy a whole business. To become a passive business owner, however, you don’t need to.

Today, anyone can become a business owner by buying shares in a company. As a shareholder, you’re essentially a part-owner of the business and that means that you’re entitled to a share of the profits.

If the business pays out its profits to shareholders in the form of dividends, you’re entitled to a share. That means regular cash payments coming into your account.

It’s worth pointing out that today, investors can start buying shares with just a few hundred pounds. So, becoming a part business owner really is a possibility for just about everyone.

Of course, finding good businesses to invest in can have its challenges. But that’s where resources like The Motley Fool come in.

This UK business throws off a ton of cash

One stock that I believe is worth considering for passive income is M&G (LSE: MNG). It’s a well-established savings and investment business that operates globally.

For the 2024 financial year, it paid its investors 20.1p per share in dividends. So, if someone owned 2,000 shares in the company today (a stake worth around £5,200), they received about £400 in dividends.

Note that this translates to a dividend yield of about 7.7%. That’s a far better return than cash savings accounts provide at present.

Now, it’s worth pointing out that when someone is a part-owner of a business, they always face some risks of investment losses. With this company, there are risks around volatility in the financial markets and competition from bigger, more powerful players.

I like the overall risk/reward proposition though. The company is performing well today – with profits on the up – and its valuation is very reasonable.



This story originally appeared on Motley Fool

Cancer is a wrecking ball – but there’s 1 important lesson battling it teaches you | UK | News

Express.co.uk
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Cancer is a wrecking ball – but there’s 1 important lesson battling it teaches you | UK | News


Dashing through the snow – by taxi, by train, and by running as fast as I could – I made it to the theatre just in time to see a play about a brother’s mental breakdown. Emerging victorious into the theatre bar, my friends applauded as I told my tale of travelling from the mean streets of South London to the sparkly showbiz world of Soho, twinkling with the glow of Christmas lights. I told them how, despite having incurable cancer and being unable to run due to a massive hernia, I strode gazelle-like through the streets of London. That was the story I wanted to tell this week. That’s what I wanted to happen.

As I thought about my route from my cancer hospital to Soho Theatre in central London, I envisaged myself as a bit like a contestant on the Channel 4 show Hunted. Their goal is to get to the extraction point and win a share of £100,000 while evading capture. And while their route is all about avoiding being stopped by the hunters, I planned a route that I hoped would prevent encounters with people ambling while looking at their phones and travellers unsure of how to use a ticket barrier.

The problem I had was that while I was planning my route, I was having chemotherapy, and no hospital in the UK would let me leave the premises with a cocktail of dangerous drugs attached to my arm and a pricey infusion machine.

This meant that, to arrive at the theatre by the 7pm curtain-up time, I had to be freed from the shackles of healthcare by 5.20pm.

Even then, it would be tight, but I still held on to hope.

I had hope because it’s all I can have, as an incurable cancer patient who wonders how many more times he’ll even be able to consider going to the theatre.

I had hope because when hope is gone, everything is lost.

I had hope because I had really wanted to see the show ever since I saw it advertised on Facebook months ago.

But at 5.20pm, I still had two infusions to go, and so as the clock struck 5.21pm, all my hope was gone.

I should have known I had no chance of making it when I phoned my hospital’s scheduling team on Monday to ask whether I should be concerned about not having any treatment booked in for Wednesday, and was told I was on a list and that I’d know by 8pm on Tuesday. (I actually got my appointment time at approximately 4pm on Tuesday, so 23 hours before treatment.)

I should have known I had no chance of making it when I walked into the blood test room on Tuesday morning and the nurse told me how they were completely screwed the day before, as they had 350 people booked in for blood tests, with some patients waiting three-and-a-half hours.

I should have known I had no chance of making it when I walked into the waiting room before treatment on Wednesday afternoon, and a nurse came out to apologise for the delays.

And so, in the same way having incurable bowel cancer has meant I have had to revise my plans for life and death altogether, I had to adapt my expectations for the evening.

I was supposed to watch the play with a group of friends, but since they didn’t know each other very well, I sent them some pictures via WhatsApp with a brief description for them to discuss before the lights went down and the play began.

And I decided that, despite feeling nauseous from my treatment that day, I’d meet those friends at the bar after the show finished.

It wasn’t quite the night out I’d envisaged, but I had a really nice time. (And I’ve booked a ticket for the play when I don’t have chemotherapy so will get to see the production.)

I guess it goes to show that, despite cancer doing its best to smash a wrecking ball through my life, fun things can happen when there’s a bit of readjustment.

Sometimes this readjustment is easy, and sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world. This is why I’m leading the Daily Express’s Cancer Care campaign so that all cancer patients can have access to mental health support both during and after treatment.

This support will help them readjust and come to terms with their disease so that they can live as good a life as possible for as long as possible.



This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk

Danny & Baez’s Relationship Explained

TVLine
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Danny & Baez’s Relationship Explained








Michael Gibson/CBS

If you’re a longtime Danny/Baez ‘shipper, Friday’s “Boston Blue” probably left you dizzy. It kicked off with the first on-screen “I love you” between the “Blue Bloods” faves, then wrapped with their long-distance romance suddenly in doubt. 

At the start of Season 1, Episode 6 (“Code of Ethics”), Danny and Baez are finally enjoying their first romantic evening together in a month. When Sean moved out, he took every last piece of furniture with him — which leaves our lovebirds with nothing but a bottle of bubbly, two champagne flutes… and a bed.

“To us,” they toast. But just as they’re about to kiss (again), Danny’s phone starts buzzing. It’s Lena, and the case she’s calling him on can’t wait. He apologizes and promises to make it up to Baez, but she’s not upset. “If anyone understands the demands of the job, it’s your old partner,” she says. 

The First Sign of Trouble


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlJBMNK6L2c

The following afternoon, Danny treats Baez to lunch. We join them mid-conversation, as he tries to convince his girlfriend that she and her daughter should join him in Boston.

“I’m thinking I could make a little bedroom for Elena, make it her favorite color,” he offers. 

“She would love all of that,” Baez says, however: “I’m still getting my head around Brooklyn, Danny. Living in Beantown…”

“So am I,” he interjects. “I’m not used to this city. But look, when I got the call that Sean was hurt in a fire, I made the four-hour drive to Boston in two hours and change. 

“Maria, I had to move here,” he argues — but did he?

“You can’t stop bad things from happening,” she counters.

“To him, no,” Danny admits. “But I can be here when they do [happen]” — and that, he says, is what convinced him to put down roots.

The Second Sign of Trouble


Boston Blue Episode 6 Recap: Danny & Baez's Relationship Explained
Michael Gibson/CBS

When Danny returns home from work, ready to dance the night away with his beloved, he instead finds Baez all packed up and prepearing to leave. She gotten the lead on a homicide and is headed back to Brooklyn. 

“I swear, even when we couldn’t be partners anymore, we spent more time together,” he says, referencing the unseen period between the “Blue Bloods” finale and the “Boston Blue” premiere. 

“I guess the distance between Boston and New York is a lot father than we thought,” Baez replies. “For a while now, I’ve been praying that you come to your senses and you move back home… but I finally get it. You’re just doing for Sean on the job what your dad did for you. It’s a blessing that you’re here, okay? So don’t ever be sorry about that, you hear me?”

Danny asks Baez if she can spare five more minutes. Not for that — get your heads out of the gutter! — but for a slow dance. But as “Bésame Mucho” plays on his phone, the couple embraces, but Baez voices the question they’ve both been avoiding: “Are we fooling ourselves, Danny? I mean, we’re gonna make it… right?”

“We’re gonna make it,” he tells her. But the look on his face — and the way he looks at the photo of them on his phone in a subsequent scene at the precinct — suggests he’s not entirely convinced of their happily-ever-after.

What do you think will come of Danny and Baez’s long-distance dilemma? Leave a comment with your hopes (and fears) for their future.





This story originally appeared on TVLine

Kim Kardashian’s All-White Outfit Is Covered in Safety Pins

RealityTea
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Kim Kardashian’s All-White Outfit Is Covered in Safety Pins


Kim Kardashian’s bold fashion statements never fail to impress, and her bodycon dress and high heels, adorned with dangling silver safety pins, prove just that. The reality TV star stunned everyone as she arrived at the birthday party of Petra Collins, the famous photographer, in Los Angeles. While she always slays wherever she goes, this time she took her fashion game up a notch in a white Dilara Findikoglu dress and Manolo Blahnik heels.

Kim Kardashian continues Dilara Findikoglu streak with safety pin-covered look

It looks like Kim Kardashian is all set to continue her high-fashion streak with Dilara Findikoglu, recently wearing a safety pin-laden dress and pairing it with matching heels. The 45-year-old wore a white bodycon dress by the fashion designer at a recent birthday party in Los Angeles. Earlier this year, she wore a black corset gown from Findikoglu for the London premiere of “All’s Fair” and later slipped into a mini dress during the same trip.

While all her dresses by the fashion designer have been ravishing, what made the recent one stand out was its gorgeous safety pin detailing. The SKIMS founder recently stepped out in style in Los Angeles for a birthday party. She made heads turn wearing a gorgeous white midi dress from the designer’s 2025 Fall collection.

While the dress itself had a minimalistic look, what gave it a standout touch were the safety pins. The piece was adorned with dangling silver safety pins along the neckline and hem. Plus, it featured a deep neckline for an added touch of boldness. Findikoglu is known for dramatic designs that evoke a punk and avant-garde aesthetic. And Kardashian’s hardware-detailing outfit truly did complete justice to the vibe.

The fashion mogul completed her ensemble with sandals from Manolo Blahnik. The sandals featured safety pin-adorned straps, further elevating the look. She opted for a wet hairstyle along with dewy makeup to add a dramatic finishing touch to her look. Kardashian didn’t wear any necklace and went for minimal to no accessories to let her outfit do all the talking. Her party look was the perfect nod to vintage punk aesthetics.

Originally reported by Chhavi Puri on theFashionSpot.



This story originally appeared on Realitytea

Tesla sued over crash of Model 3 that ‘exploded into a raging fire,’ killing 1

NYPost
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Tesla sued over crash of Model 3 that ‘exploded into a raging fire,’ killing 1

Tesla has been hit with another lawsuit over a deadly post-crash inferno, this time from a Washington state man whose wife died after his 2018 Model 3 “exploded into a raging fire” when an abrupt acceleration sent it into a utility pole and left rescuers unable to pry the doors open.

The federal complaint filed Friday claimed Jeffery and Wendy Dennis had no chance to escape because the sedan’s electronic handles died the instant the car lost power.

Wendy Dennis died at the scene while plaintiff Jeff Dennis suffered catastrophic burns.

A Washington State resident died and another was severely injured when their Tesla Model 3 caught fire after hitting a utility pole in Tacoma on Jan. 7, 2023. U.S. District Court

The filing alleges the Model 3 “suddenly and rapidly accelerated out of control,” surging for roughly five seconds before the Jan. 7, 2023 impact in Tacoma.

The crash triggered what the suit calls an “extremely hot fire” that engulfed the cabin and burned for hours.

Several people ran toward the wreck but were driven back by flames described as “increasingly intense.”

With the handles idled, they could only “watch helplessly from a distance as the severely injured Jeff and Wendy burned in the inferno.”

The suit says the blast exposed “the vehicle’s high voltage battery pack [containing] thousands of highly explosive batteries” and produced a “hard-to-extinguish fire” that blocked access to both occupants.

Lawyers say the blaze grew so fast, “it quickly becomes too hot for rescuers to react effectively.”

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jeffery and Wendy Dennis had no chance to escape because the sedan’s electronic handles died the instant the car lost power, according to a lawsuit. U.S. District Court

The complaint also blames defective acceleration and braking systems, alleging the automatic emergency braking never activated despite an unavoidable collision.

The filing lands as regulators probe whether Tesla doors trap occupants when low-voltage power fails — scrutiny fueled by a string of similar fire-entrapment lawsuits.

In Wisconsin, families sued over a Model S fire that killed five people in Verona on Nov. 1, 2024, after they allegedly became trapped as flames tore through the car.

A neighbor who called 911 reported “big flames” and “big bangs” and said she could “hear people screaming from within the vehicle.”

In Wisconsin, families sued over a Model S fire that killed at least three people in Verona on Nov. 1, 2024, after they allegedly became trapped as flames tore through the car. Christopher Sadowski

Emergency crews allegedly found the doors inoperable.

Rear-seat passengers had only a hidden mechanical release buried under carpeting — a mechanism the lawsuit says couldn’t be found in smoke and darkness. None of the five occupants escaped.

The Bauer family claims the victims survived the initial crash but died because Tesla ignored years of warnings that electronic releases fail after power loss.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Office said that “road conditions, excess speed, and impaired driving” all contributed to the collision.

The driver of the car and all of the passengers were legally drunk at the time of the crash, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

In California, parents of 21-year-old Krysta Michelle Tsukahara say a Cybertruck became a “death trap” when it burst into flames on Nov. 27, 2024, after hitting a tree in Alameda County.

Tsukahara survived the crash but couldn’t escape because the Cybertruck had no exterior handles and relied entirely on low-voltage buttons that went dead as soon as the fire began.

A Good Samaritan also failed to open the doors.

The only emergency option in her seating position was a concealed wire loop hidden inside the map pocket at the bottom of the door — a setup the complaint calls impractical as the cabin filled with fire.

Rescuers couldn’t break through the truck’s “armor glass” or stainless-steel doors in time. Tsukahara died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries.

All three suits claim Tesla knew for years that its electric door systems routinely fail when power is lost — and ignored repeated warnings from owners, first responders and regulators.

The filings also allege the company understated the fire risks tied to its lithium-ion battery packs.



This story originally appeared on NYPost

Blame Biden for rising costs, how to make the FAA fly right and other commentary

NYPost
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Blame Biden for rising costs, how to make the FAA fly right and other commentary

From the right: Blame Biden for Rising Costs

Democrats “blame President Trump” for America’s affordability problem “while ignoring their own responsibility for causing it in the first place,” fumes James Piereson at The New Criterion. “President Biden, with the support of his party in Congress, went on a spending spree when he took office,” causing inflation to hit more than 9% in mid-2022. “During Trump’s first term, food prices were generally stable,” but “Biden’s spending policies caused” them “to surge,” with gasoline skyrocketing to $4.84 per gallon in mid-2022. Electricity costs spiked more than 30% during Biden’s term. “There can be no doubt that rising prices . . . were caused by the blockheaded and incompetent policies of the Biden administration.”

Policy wonk: How To Make the FAA Fly Right

“The FAA is designed for stagnation,” frets Sean Tinney at The Hill, because its “centralized monopoly” holds “American airspace hostage to congressional dysfunction.” As a result, “regulatory capture” turns government shutdowns into “body counts.” The United States should follow the example of Canada, which “once faced similar challenges,” but “privatized air traffic control” in 1996. Air traffic control there is now funded by “user fees, not tax revenue,” while “delivering demonstrably superior performance.” The Canadian system’s “safety metrics show real gains,” and it’s “nearly six times safer” in regard to near-misses. “Privatized systems charge airlines and operators directly, creating clearer incentives and lower prices,” while delivering “what bureaucracy cannot: accountability, innovation, and resilience.”

Foreign desk: BBC’s Christian-Slaughter Blinders

“Not for the first time, the likes of the BBC are running interference for violent Islamist intolerance” by diminishing President Trump’s concern over “the violent persecution” of Nigeria’s “Christian minority by Islamist groups,” thunders Kunwar Khuldune Shahid at Spiked. Per a recent report, “more than 7,000” Nigerian Christians were killed “in the first seven months of this year alone.” Yet “too many outlets” are refusing “to accept that Christians are really being persecuted.” “The BBC is a case in point,” running an article that “concluded that the evidence of the killings was ‘difficult to verify,’” while barely attempting “to check” itself. “Nigerian Christians are not merely ‘collateral damage’ of ‘various security crises’, as the BBC would have it. They are murdered with the intent to purge Nigerian society of Christians.”

Business beat: FTC’s Meta ‘Overreach’

The Federal Trade Commission’s “defeat” in its antitrust suit against Meta is “a blow” to those on the “right and left” who seek to “punish politically disfavored businesses,” cheers The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. “Progressives who loathe large companies made common cause with conservatives” irate at “online speech policing.” The right “had a point,” but the FTC nonetheless “overreached.” It argued that Meta is monopolistic, but Judge James Boasberg cited evidence showing the company actually “competes vigorously with TikTok and YouTube.” Plus, “artificial intelligence and Elon Musk’s ownership of X.com are reinvigorating competition.” Nor are Meta’s “enormous profits” proof it’s a monopoly: “Breaking up a business merely because it’s big, as progressives including Biden FTC Chair Lina Khan want to do, can harm competition and consumers.”

Education watch: Homeschooling Is Soaring

Homeschooling’s “supercharged” growth during COVID hasn’t abated but is expanding, new research finds — and, marvels Reason’s J.D. Tuccille, at three times the rate. “Estimates put the total homeschooling population at about 6 percent of students” nationwide, twice as much as pre-pandemic. Homeschooling expert Angela Watson notes a “fundamental shift in how American families are thinking about education,” with other researchers citing a growing preference for non-public-school options. COVID closures, argues Tuccille, “gave parents a chance to experience public schools’ competence with remote learning, and many were unimpressed.” They’ve also been “unhappy with the poor quality and often politicized lessons taught to their children that infuriatingly blend declining learning outcomes with indoctrination.” Given such experiences, “the shift appears to be here to stay.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board



This story originally appeared on NYPost

Who Was the Miss Universe 2025 Runner-Up? Meet Veena Praveenar Singh – Hollywood Life

Hollywood Life
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Who Was the Miss Universe 2025 Runner-Up? Meet Veena Praveenar Singh – Hollywood Life


Image Credit: Getty Images

Although the Miss Universe competition ended in victory for Miss Mexico Fátima Bosch, Miss Thailand Veena Praveenar Singh finished the competition with grace as the runner-up. The Thailand native has competed in multiple pageants and represented her home country this year as it hosted the 2025 event.

“I gave everything I had on that stage, carrying the pride and honor of representing Thailand to the fullest,” Veena captioned an Instagram post in November 2025 following the pageant. “Today, I’m truly grateful to bring home the title of 1st Runner-Up for everyone in Thailand. Even though I didn’t take home the crown I hoped for, I poured my heart and soul into every step of this journey.”

Adding that she will “continue to fulfill the responsibilities that come with this honorable title, especially in creating meaningful impact and inspiring others through my project, SHERO,” Veena made sure to congratulate the new Miss Universe, Fátima, and the other women who made it to the top 5.

“I admire each and every one of them, and the strength, grace, and power they brought to this stage,” Veena concluded. “Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart.”

Below, learn everything there is to know about Miss Thailand Veena!

Veena Praveenar Singh Has Competed in Miss Universe Before

The 2025 competition was not Veena’s first rodeo. She previously competed in Miss Universe Saraburi 2025, Miss Universe Thailand 2025, Miss Universe Thailand 2018 finishing as the 2nd runner-up, Miss Universe Thailand 2020 as the 1st runner-up and Miss Universe Thailand 2023 as the 2nd runner-up.

Veena Praveenar Singh Is 29 Years Old

Veena was born on April 16, 1996, which makes her 29 years old as of 2025.

Veena Praveenar Singh Is Fluent in Multiple Languages

Miss Thailand is trilingual! As a graduate of Thammasat University with a degree in Russian from the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Veena is fluent in English, Russian and Thai, according to NationThailand.

Veena Praveenar Singh Is Married

In 2022, Veena married her husband, Harncharoen Singhtakwarl, a businessman in the e-commerce and digital field, per NationThailand. He also founded the agency INSPIRIO.




This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife

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