T

The Gazette

May 2025

Witkoff blasts Hamas response to ceasefire proposal as ‘totally unacceptable’

Steve Witkoffspecial envoy
I received the Hamas response to the United States’ proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,
Steve Witkoffspecial envoy
That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire,

Tim Walz calls on Democrats to ‘be a little meaner’ as party suffers from ‘toxic’ brand

Tim Walz (D-MN) called on his fellow Democrats to "be a little meaner" on Saturday as he fuels speculation about a 2028 presidential run during a stop in South Carolina

Tim Walzminnesota Governor
Maybe it's time for us to be a little meaner, maybe it's time for us to be a little more fierce because we have to ferociously push back on this,

Wildfires burning across central Canada force additional evacuation orders and more shelters to open

About 17,000 residents of Manitoba in central Canada have been evacuated because of nearly two dozen active wildfires

A growing number of New Orleans fugitives’ friends and family arrested for aiding in jail escape

A former jail employee is accused of driving escapee Lenton Vanburen to a relative’s home and helping him FaceTime family the day of the escape, while another friend later offered him a hiding place in a vacant apartment he had been hired to repaint

Robert Hodgeslouisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel
They’re tired, they’re looking over their shoulder, looking for resources,
We understand that some of you might be reporting a friend, a loved one, a relative and albeit not easy, it is critical to your safety and the safety of the public that you report them,

Turmoil, worry swirl over cuts to key federal agencies as hurricane season begins

Experts are alarmed over the large-scale staff reductions, travel and training restrictions and grant cut-offs since President Donald Trump took office at both the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which prepares for and responds to hurricanes, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which tracks and forecasts them

Sam Montañoamerican community organizer and politician
There’s really been a brain drain within FEMA in addition to the loss of overall employees,
Susan Cutteramerican geographer
My nightmare is a major catastrophic storm hitting an area that is reeling from the impact of all of this nonsense from the Trump administration and people will die. And that could happen in Florida, that could happen in Texas, that could happen in South Carolina,
Ken Grahamnational Weather Service Director
Our services have never been better,
Geoff Harbaughassociate FEMA Administrator
FEMA is shifting from bloated DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens,
Louis Uccelliniformer National Weather Service chief
It should be all hands on deck and we’re being hollowed out,
Jeannette N. Suttonalbany emergency management professor
We’ve just relied on FEMA for so much for so long and not knowing who’s going to fill the gap and how we’re going to fill it is really scary,

A river dammed by a huge Swiss landslide is flowing again. That’s a relief to authorities

Buildings that weren’t buried were submerged in a lake created by the small Lonza River, whose course was dammed by the mass of material

Matthias Bellwaldpresident
The Lonza appears to have found its way, but it too early to be able to give an all-clear,
The speed at which this lake is emptying comes from the river eroding the deposit,

Germany’s Merz secures long-awaited Trump meeting on June 5

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington for his inaugural meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, almost a month after starting his term leading Europe’s largest economy

Russia bombards Ukraine overnight as Trump’s patience with Putin wears thin

Ukraine suffered another bombardment of aerial attacks from Russia Friday night into Saturday morning as successful talks toward a peace deal to end the war appear far from happening

Donald Trumppresident
What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire