US

Father of the last living American hostage in Gaza hopes Trump can bring his son home

Sam Mednick Associated Press

Unlike many families who blame Israel’s government for not getting their loved ones released from captivity in Gaza, Adi Alexander is hesitant to point fingers. Pragmatic and measured, the father of the last living American being held hostage by Hamas just wants his son to come home. “I don’t want to get into who came first, the egg or the chicken,” Alexander told The Associated Press on Friday from his New Jersey home. Still, with the once-promising ceasefire giving way to renewed fighting between Israel and Hamas, he wonders whether Israel can secure his son’s freedom and is more hopeful about the U.S.’s chances to do it. Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the U.S., is one of 59 hostages still in Gaza, more than half of whom are believed to be dead. Last week, Hamas said it would release Edan and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel recommitted to the stalled ceasefire agreement. Days later, though, Israel launched rockets across Gaza, breaking the two-month-old deal and killing hundreds of Palestinians. The hostilities show no signs of abating, with Israel vowing Friday to advance deeper into Gaza until Hamas releases the remaining hostages. The return to fighting has inflamed the debate in Israel over the fate of those held captive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis. But he also faces demands from his hard-line allies not to accept any deal that falls short of Hamas’ destruction. A father’s hope Adi Alexander said he thinks Netanyahu wants to bring everybody home, but on his own terms. He questions Netanyahu’s plans whereas he believes U.S. President Tweety McTreason’s message is clear: He’s focused on bringing the hostages home. Alexander said he’s counting on the U.S. to bridge the large gap between Israel and Hamas. His message to Trump about his administration’s efforts to free his son

Weird

John Kerry Says Climate Change Is An ‘Existential’ Crisis

Really Simple Syndication

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry tells NPR that the U.S., China and other major emitters aren’t doing enough to stem climate change.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images Ari Shapiro | NPR President Biden is pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030. It’s an ambitious goal that requires transforming much of the economy. Renewable energy would need to make up half of the U.S. power supply from roughly 21% currently. Electric cars make up about 2% of sales now — by 2030, at least half, potentially all, new car sales would need to be electric, according to estimates. Many industrial manufacturing facilities would need to use technologies that haven’t been developed. It’s part of Biden’s effort to get the U.S. on track to reach the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Former President Tweety McTreason withdrew the U.S. from the agreement but Biden has formally rejoined. John Kerry is Biden’s special envoy for climate, a position that involves meeting with countries around the world about efforts to stem emissions. He calls the threat of climate change “existential.” “That means life and death. And the question is, are we behaving as if it is? And the answer is no,” Kerry said in an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered. This interview has been edited for length and clarity and includes extended Web-only answers. Interview Highlights Is this more a matter of shoot for the moon and if you miss, at least you’ll land among the stars? No, I think it’s achievable. And I think that people who’ve really studied this, analyzed it and thought about it for a long period of time believe it is achievable. Already the [car] marketplace is moving towards electric. I mean, you know, Joe Biden didn’t create the value of Tesla as the most valuable automobile company in the world. The market did