After an 8,000-mile journey from China, Washington’s two new giant pandas landed at Dulles International Airport on Tuesday to continue a conservation program at the National Zoo that goes back more than half a century.
Just under a year after D.C.’s last giant pandas left for China, Qing Bao, a 3-year-old year-old female, and Bao Li, a 3-year-old male, arrived in Virginia about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. They traveled from Chengdu, China, and made a stop in Anchorage.
The zoo is closed Tuesday so the animals can get settled into their new lodgings. Though it will be at least several weeks before visitors will have a chance to see the bears, panda fans were already gearing up.

The Biden administration has issued a stern warning to Israel, giving the country one month to make significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential consequences regarding the continued supply of U.S. weapons. In a letter obtained by The Times of Israel on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, expressing concern over the significant drop in aid entering Gaza over the past several months. The letter highlights that this decline raises questions about Israel’s commitment to its prior assurances regarding the entry of aid into Gaza and the use of U.S. weapons in compliance with international law.

The United States fined German airline Lufthansa $4 million for its treatment of a group of Jewish passengers who were denied boarding a 2022 flight in Frankfurt after they had flown to Germany from New York. The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday that the fine is the largest the agency has issued against an airline for civil-rights violations, although Lufthansa was given credit for $2 million for compensation it gave the passengers, cutting the fine in half.

Dozens of people rallied outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. Tuesday, demanding that the company remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the U.S. Kellogg, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, announced nearly a decade ago that it would remove artificial colors and ingredients from its products by 2018. The company has done that in other countries. In Canada, for example, Froot Loops are colored with concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice and blueberry juice. Natural colors are also used in Australia and the United Kingdom. But in the U.S., the cereal still contains artificial colors and BHT, a chemical preservative.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN that the United States needed to take action to push Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to reduce civilian casualties, referring not to Israelis but Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“We all support Israel. It is in our national interest, our security interest to do so, our values interest to do so over time,” the longtime California representative said on Monday. “But right now, the leverage that we have given Netanyahu has been used in a way that is most destructive.”
Christiane Amanpour, chief international anchor for the cable-news network, asked Pelosi to explain what that “leverage” meant.

INDIA (VINnews) — A woman in India was extremely lucky, after an empty water tank fell on her, seemingly right from the sky.

The Small Business Administration has run out of money for its disaster assistance loans, delaying much needed relief for people applying for aid in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses and people affected by disasters. The organization said earlier said it expected to run out of funding by the end of the month. Congress can approve more funds, but doesn’t reconvene until Nov. 12. The SBA is pausing new loan offers until it gets more funding, which means loans that have not already been offered will be delayed by at least a month. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said people should keep applying for the loans, however.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suggesting he will have significant influence on American agriculture policy if Donald Trump is elected president, the latest in a series of roles he has envisioned for himself in a second Trump administration. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist and environmentalist who ran for president as an independent before endorsing Trump, on Monday posted a video on social media that he filmed outside the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington. “Corporate interests have hijacked the USDA dietary guidelines to make natural unprocessed foods merely an afterthought. That’s one reason why 70% of the American diet now consists of ultraprocessed food.

Walgreens is planning to close around 1,200 locations, as the drugstore chain and its rivals struggle to define their role for U.S. shoppers who no longer look to them first for convenience. Drugstores that once snapped up prime retail space in towns and cities across the country are in retreat. They’ve been battered by shrinking prescription reimbursement, persistent theft, rising costs and consumers who have strayed to online retailers or competitors with better prices. The boost they received from taking the lead on vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic has long since faded. Walgreens’ announcement Tuesday morning comes as rival CVS Health wraps up a three-year plan to close 900 stores and Rite Aid emerges from bankruptcy, whittled down to about 1,300 locations.

Vice President Kamala Harris once again ventured into abstract territory, delivering a confusing and meandering response that touched on constellations while discussing crime. This latest incident led to the vice president being dubbed “Galileo Harris” by some observers.
During an interview with Roland Martin on Black Star Network, Harris was asked about Donald Trump’s repeated focus on crime in cities governed by Democrats. Her response took an unexpected turn, as she attempted to connect her point to an analogy about stars in the sky.

A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris poll reveals that former President Donald Trump holds a slight advantage over Vice President Kamala Harris among early voters in key battleground regions. The poll indicates that 48% of early voters in these pivotal states are casting their ballots for Trump, while Harris trails closely with 47%. Approximately 5% of respondents either selected a third-party candidate or have not yet cast their vote.
Mark Penn, the poll’s co-director, commented that Trump’s “swing state strategy is paying off,” as the GOP contender now leads by 2 points overall in these states, with 48% backing him compared to 46% supporting Harris.

The White House has revealed that the United States has been closely monitoring Iranian threats against former President Donald Trump for years, and has issued a stern warning of “severe consequences” if Tehran attacks any U.S. citizen. “This is a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority,” said Sean Savett, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council. “We strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats. Should Iran attack any of our citizens, including those who currently or formerly served the United States, Iran will face severe consequences.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY.), a member of the so-called “Squad” in Congress, again accused the Jewish state of genocide on Monday.
“The horrors unfolding in northern Gaza are the result of a completely unrestrained Netanyahu government, fully armed by the Biden administration while food aid is blocked and patients are bombed in hospitals,” the politician, who is known as AOC, wrote. “This is a genocide of Palestinians.”
“The United States must stop enabling it,” she added. “Arms embargo now.”
The congresswoman also blamed U.S. President Joe Biden in her message marking the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack in southern Israel.
(JNS)

BEIRUT (AP) – Hezbollah’s acting leader declared Tuesday that the Lebanese group is focused on “hurting the enemy” by targeting Haifa and other parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv.

Vice President Kamala Harris managed to raise eyebrows again on Monday, this time by reaching for the stars—literally—when attempting to answer a question about crime. During an interview with Roland Martin on Black Star Network, Harris took a detour into astronomy when asked about Donald Trump’s focus on crime in Democrat-run cities. “I talked with somebody once who said, ‘You know, if you just look at where the stars are in the sky. Don’t look at them as just random things; if you just look at them as points, look at the constellation—what does it show you?’” Harris rambled. “So you just outlined it, Roland, what does it show you? That the cities that he picks on in terms of Black population or Black mayor or both. C’mon.” Naturally, the internet pounced.

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