Sereen Haddad is a bright young woman. At 20 years old, she just finished a four-year degree in psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in only three years, earning the highest honors along the way. Yet, despite her accomplishments, she still can’t graduate. Her diploma is being withheld by the university, “not because I didn’t complete the requirements”, she told me, “but because I stood up for Palestinian life.”

Haddad, who is Palestinian American, had been raising awareness on her campus about the Palestinian fight for freedom as part of her university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. The struggle is also personal for her. With roots in Gaza, she has lost more than 200 members of her extended family to Israel’s war.

She was part of a group of VCU students and supporters who attempted to set up an encampment in April 2024. The university called in the police that same night. Protestors were pepper sprayed and brutalized, and 13 were arrested. Haddad was not charged, but she was taken to the hospital “because of the head trauma that I endured”, she told me. “I was bleeding. I was bruised. Cuts everywhere. The police slammed me down on the concrete, like, six different times.”

But last year’s attempted encampment wasn’t even the reason Haddad’s degree is being withheld. This year’s peaceful memorial of it was. And how that scenario played out, with the university and campus police constantly changing the rules, illustrates something worrisome far beyond the leafy confines of an American campus.

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The Israeli military intensified strikes throughout Gaza on Friday, even as President Trump signaled that talks about a potential 60-day ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas were close.

"We'll see what happens – we are going to know over the next 24 hours," he told reporters early Friday morning, saying that it was up to Hamas to agree to the framework of the deal because Israel already had. Israeli officials have not said publicly whether or not they've agreed.

Israeli officials have not said publicly whether or not they've agreed, but have said there are positive signs that they're ready to negotiate.

TVNL Comment:  Netanyahu will NEVER agree to a permanent truce until every Palestinian is dead.  He has made that perfectly clear, but Donald Trump cannot process any information he has not made up himself.

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Months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, leaving at least 13 people dead and many more unaccounted for Friday, including about 20 girls attending a summer camp, as search teams conducted boat and helicopter rescues in fast-moving floodwaters.

Desperate pleas peppered social media as loved ones sought any information about people caught in the flood zone. At least 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain poured down overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.

Authorities stressed that the situation was still developing and that the death toll could change, with rescue operations ongoing for an unspecified number missing. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said six to 10 bodies had been found so far. Around the same time, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported that 13 people had died in the flooding.

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The Pentagon’s decision to halt some weapons shipments to Ukraine blindsided even people who are usually closely briefed on such matters, including members of Congress, State Department officials and key European allies, according to six people familiar with the situation.

The surprise move on Monday has fueled concern and frustration, including among top Republicans, that one senior Pentagon official appeared to hold outsized influence over the deciHegsetsion.

They noted that the decision to halt the weapons shipments to Ukraine seemed to be made with little coordination within the administration after massive cuts to the National Security Council shrank the once-powerful policy body to a fraction of its former size.

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A fast-moving wildfire in central California became the largest in the state this year after exploding in size overnight as hot temperatures and dry conditions increased the wildfire risk ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.

The Madre Fire broke out on the afternoon of July 2 in a remote area of central California near Highway 166, according to Cal Fire. The fire rapidly spread to over 35,000 acres overnight as it burned through grasslands in a section of the Los Padres National Park.

By 5 p.m. PT on July 3, the fire grew to more than 52,000 acres and was only 5% contained, according to Cal Fire data. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for small communities near Highway 166 as the fire moved toward the Carrizo Plain National Monument, about 69 miles southeast of San Luis Obispo, California.

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