The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released combat footage on Monday that showed commandos raiding locations in Gaza and recovering hostages that Palestinian Islamic terrorists kidnapped on October 7. The footage was recorded on a helmet camera as the operators carried out the mission in Nuseirat, a camp in the Gaza Strip. The Saturday raids at the two locations resulted in the rescue of four hostages that have been in Hamas captivity for eight months: Noa Argamani, 25; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. Heavy gun fire can be heard in the video as the soldiers run toward the building where some of the hostages were being held. The commandos can be seen forcefully clearing rooms in the building before they find three of the hostages. While in the room, gunfire erupted as soldiers appeared to be firing out of the window. Heavy gunfire erupted again as the hostages escaped the building as Israeli forces appear to have been laying down covering fire. WATCH: This is the moment the IDF rescued the hostages. Heroes of Israel. They should inspire the world. pic.twitter.com/i9GWEph5Fk — Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) June 10, 2024 The mission marks the most successful hostage rescue operation for the IDF since Hamas captured at least 250 people from Israel during its October 7 terrorist attack. In February, the IDF rescued two Israeli hostages — Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 71 — who were being held by Hamas in Rafah. The rescue mission had been planned by the IDF for weeks, said IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, who added that during the rescue operation, Israeli forces were under fire from Hamas while in the buildings and on their way out of Gaza with the hostages. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video message that the mission was “one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations I have witnessed over the course of 47 years serving in Israel’s defense establishment.” “IDF, ISA and Special Forces, as well as the forces who supported [those in the field], have conducted an unprecedented operation — daring in nature, planned brilliantly, and executed in an extraordinary fashion,” he continued. “The various security agencies cooperated closely — the IDF, ISA, and Special Forces — acting as one single unit.” He noted that there was “heavy” gunfire that erupted during the rescue operation, which he said happened in the most complex [urban environment in Gaza]. “I do not remember having completed operations of this kind — at this intensity and with this level of cooperation and success,” he said, later adding: “We will do everything possible to return all the hostages home.” Zach Jewell contributed to this report. Related: WATCH: Footage Emerges Of Israel Rescuing Hostages From Palestinian Terrorists

Actor Mark Ruffalo took some backlash for a Sunday post suggesting that an Israeli military operation — which resulted in the rescue of four hostages held by Hamas terrorists since October 7th — was not worth it because of the number of Palestinian civilians who were supposedly killed. Ruffalo, who took on the role of the Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, repeated the number of casualties declared by the Hamas-controlled Gaza officials and suggested that it was not an even exchange for just four of the remaining hostages. “It’s so good to see the hostages returned,” Ruffalo began, but pivoted immediately. “A ceasefire would have gotten many more hostages back and no civilians and children killed. This siege is cruel and senseless. Grinding innocent human beings and their culture into blood soaked rubble and dust, to be buried and forgotten. 4 for 274 including kids. It’s a sinful equation that keeps repeating.” Critics quickly pointed out to Ruffalo that the hostages were not “returned,” they were rescued — and one noted that there was a very simple way to avoid any civilian casualties in the future. Simple method to avoid civilian casualties: https://t.co/c2lKpbSkiH — Mor Hogeg (@MorHogeg) June 9, 2024 The three-step plan Hogeg advocated was as follows: “1. Don’t kidnap innocent people. 2. If you do, don’t hide them among civilians. 3. If you did, don’t complain when those innocent people are rescued.” 4. And don’t complain when the people hiding hostages in their homes are killed or injured during the extraction process. At the point at which they assist Hamas, they become combatants themselves and any consequences for that allegiance are on them. — Rochelle Wentz (@rochellewentz) June 9, 2024 Rochelle Wentz followed that up with a fourth step: “And don’t complain when the people hiding hostages in their homes are killed or injured during the extraction process. At the point at which they assist Hamas, they become combatants themselves and any consequences for that allegiance are on them.” “Hey, @MarkRuffalo, you know what would have saved all civilians from being killed? If Hamas hadn’t smashed the ceasefire that existed on Oct. 6 with a genocidal orgy of murder, rape, and kidnapping. For every drop of blood shed since then — on both sides — Hamas bears full guilt,” Jeff Jacoby added. Hey, @MarkRuffalo, you know what would have saved all civilians from being killed? If Hamas hadn’t smashed the ceasefire that existed on Oct. 6 with a genocidal orgy of murder, rape, and kidnapping. For every drop of blood shed since then — on both sides — Hamas bears full guilt. https://t.co/AhbnQCHoHd — Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) June 9, 2024

Former “American Idol” judge Simon Cowell credited his kid with saving him from a very dark time in his life after the reality star lost his parents and became what he called a “ridiculous workaholic.” Speaking on “The Diary Of A CEO” podcast, Cowell opened up about how his 10-year-old son Eric helped him get to a place where he could be “happy again” after Cowell said he had been on a “downward spiral” following the loss of his mom in 2015 and his father years earlier, People magazine reported. “I think particularly when I lost my mum, I was on a downward spiral at that point,” Cowell told the host. “I lost everyone, you know, I’ve lost my parents. It’s finality now. What I said about the material things I’ve got, everything just meant nothing at that point.” Simon Cowell credits his son Eric for saving him amid a ‘downward spiral’ after his parents’ death: ‘It changed everything in my life. It made me happy again.’ https://t.co/5LzBFv44sK — Entertainment Weekly (@EW) June 10, 2024 “I was desperately unhappy, I wasn’t particularly enjoying my work and I just thought you know what I’m just going to become a vampire then, and I would work through until 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning,” he added. “I would wake up at 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon and I actually got addicted to that kind of lifestyle. I just loved the intensity. It was almost like because of the loss I’d had, I’ve got to find something else to fill it. And it was I’m just going to be a ridiculous workaholic, and I was very successful but I wasn’t happy, I really, really wasn’t happy.” Cowell, who tied the knot in 2013 with Lauren Silverman, recalled the day he got the call that she was pregnant.  “When I got the call from Lauren, which starts, any call that starts with, ‘Are you sitting down?’ You know what‘s coming next. It was like, ‘Are you sitting down?’ ‘Yes,’ ‘Well,’ and she told me. And yes it did absolutely change, it changed everything in my life,” Cowell said. “It made me happy again.” “For me, it was perfect because like we were talking earlier about our childhoods, it was brilliant. Fantastic,” he added. “I remember the first time I watched ‘Jungle Book’ [with him] and I’m looking over and seeing the joy he had watching that movie. It was like, oh my God I remember how I felt when I saw ‘The Jungle Book.’” When the host pressed the “America’s Got Talent” judge if he would say his son “saved him,” Cowell replied, “Without question, without question. I really, really had reached the point where nothing mattered.” Cowell and Silverman welcomed their son to the world in 2014.

'My termination was a breach of my academic freedom'

'When they are trying to get down from subway surfing, the train conductor may step on the brakes a little too hard and that's when they lose their balance and can slip and get crushed by the train'

'A conflict between the very same people'

Senate Republicans Back Big Change To Prevent Repeat Of McConnell Era

Thin Lizzy was the first major rock band that I ever saw in concert. The group was opening for Queen in 1976 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. You never forget your first time, and so this band holds a special place in my rock and roll heart. I remember Phil Lynott standing center stage with his bass pointing out to the audience as the band broke into the song “Jailbreak.” It was wonderful. This Thin Lizzy’s Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums article presents a showcase of what I believe was the best song from The post Thin Lizzy’s Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

National elections have been occasions for celebration for European conservatives in the past year, with victories in national elections in Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. Alongside those, European polling indicated continued growth for conservative political groups ahead of the recently concluded European Parliament elections, in which conservatives charged to victory. While the votes are still being counted, conservative parties gained ground in the European Parliament, mainly at the expense of the Greens and French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renew party, which appears set to lose about 40 seats in the 720-seat European Parliament. Turnout in this year’s elections is estimated at 51%. If confirmed, that would be a 30-year high for European Parliament elections and would lend credence to voters’ concerns. In fact, owing to a crushing defeat of his Renew party at the hands of the National Rally in the European Parliament vote in France, Macron has already dissolved the French parliament and called snap elections. Thanks to their additional seats overall, conservatives will have greater influence on migration and climate policies and can contribute to a heightened respect for national sovereignty within the European Union. Perhaps the starkest message voters sent to the European Union was their rejection of Europe’s Green Deal, as the Greens are set to lose about a quarter of their seats. The Green Deal aims to make Europe carbon-neutral by 2050, in the most ambitious agenda of its kind, with dictates imposed by Brussels to force compliance. This push has featured the economic bulldozing of European farmers and the equivalent of billions of dollars in state spending to make progress on these unrealistic goals. With all conservative party groups poised to overtake the Greens, Europe has a window of opportunity to jettison the Green Deal’s unrealistic targets and bureaucratic dictates that ignore Chinese and Russian free-riding, disincentivize agricultural production, and fuel massive state spending. Not only does illegal immigration stand out as a lead issue in American voters’ minds, our transatlantic cousins also see illegal immigration, from Eastern Europe down across the Mediterranean, as a defining political issue. In prior years, Eastern European countries, such as Lithuania and Poland, have built border fences and reinforced border security patrols to prevent illegal migration, even in the face of European Union criticism. Sensing the direction of the political winds, the EU has recently expanded its border security force, Frontex, and signed legislation to speed up asylum-application processing at the borders of the European Union. Having now seen the popular support behind actions taken by countries such as Poland and Lithuania, as well as Italy, to curb illegal migration, often despite criticism from Brussels, conservatives’ victories in the European Parliament elections open the door for further enhancing border protection measures while reworking uncalibrated asylum systems. As they contemplate the outlook for their five-year terms, the newly elected conservative members of the European Parliament should work to reframe the bloc’s approach to national sovereignty. Philosophically, conservatives have long championed localism against centralization of power, arguing that turning from proximate decision-makers to far-off bureaucrats leads to worse policymaking. Yet, the European Union has steadily chipped away at national sovereignty in areas ranging from trade to defense policy, centralizing power in Brussels, and effectively demoting national lawmakers to bystanders. That centralizing tendency has fueled support for conservative parties reaching back even to the 2019 EU elections as conservatives have rejected this supranational overreach in favor of domestic solutions. Despite being bolstered by their success in the EU Parliament elections, conservatives should be wary of repeating recent history where electoral victories have not translated into governing victories. For example, after seven months of negotiations, the Dutch ended up with a technocratic prime minister, and both the Spanish and the Portuguese ended up with governing coalitions led by, or dependent on, Socialist parties. For that reason, it’s essential for newly elected conservatives to staunchly back their voters’ preferences when it comes to reducing illegal immigration, reworking climate policy, and respecting national sovereignty. The post France’s Macron the Big Loser as European Parliament Elections Take Right Turn appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Baltimore 12-Year-Old (Yes... 12) Arrested for Assault, Robbery