King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands expressed “deep horror and shock” over the attack on several Jews in Amsterdam Thursday night following a soccer game where Maccabi Tel Aviv played.
“We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” Willem-Alexander said to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Willem-Alexander added that the Dutch government would ensure the safety of Jews and Israelis visiting the country and facilitate their safe return to Israel.
Herzog <a href="https://x.com/IsraelPresident/status/1854834888865624084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1854834888865624084%7Ctwgr%5Edc571f97ec087b969bd6ebe4e56b01afb4bf64d6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fliveblog_entry%2Fking-of-the-netherlands-we-failed-the-jewish-community-during-world-war-ii-and-last-night-we-failed-again%2F">told the king</a> that the attacks “echoed dark and grim times for Jewish people and must be equivocally condemned.”
According to victims of the attacks, organized gangs of Arab and Muslim rioters waited for Jews who were leaving the soccer game and attacked them in the street. Social media videos show attackers hunting, beating, and injuring Israelis while shouting “Free Palestine” and curses in Arabic.
The Embassy of Israel to the United States shared footage of the attack and provided phone numbers that Israelis in trouble could call.
Dutch Jews reportedly rescued victims and took them to the airport or safe places, <a href="https://x.com/mottiseligson/status/1854723475518161055">according to</a> Chabad media director Motti Seligson.
Israelis were instructed by the country&#8217;s foreign ministry to stay in their hotels to ensure their safety. At 9:00 a.m., the ministry told traveling Israelis it was safe to go to the airport, but advised them to avoid displaying Jewish and Israeli symbols, the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/pogrom-in-amsterdam-as-israeli-soccer-fans-come-under-brutal-assault-by-rioters/">Times of Israel reported</a>. Israelis were advised to go back to Israel as soon as possible.
Five injured people were taken to the hospital and 62 people have been arrested, <a href="https://x.com/POL_Amsterdam/status/1854809676837195930">according to Amsterdam police</a>. Israeli officials claim 10 Israelis were injured.
The attack occurred just days before the 86th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, a pogrom carried out by Nazis in Germany on November 9, 1938, during which Jewish-owned stores, businesses, and synagogues were vandalized.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office requested increased security for the Dutch Jewish community.
“The harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked,” Netanyahu’s office stated. “Prime Minister Netanyahu views the horrifying incident with utmost gravity and demands that the Dutch government and security forces take vigorous and swift action against the rioters, and ensure the safety of our citizens.”
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar reportedly flew to the Netherlands to meet with Dutch officials at Netanyahu’s request.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said he spoke with Netanyahu on Friday <a href="https://x.com/MinPres/status/1854783199945080920">and stressed that </a>perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted.
Israeli civilians who lost their passports will be permitted to board planes with photocopies or transit documents, the Jerusalem Post reported. During the attack, unconfirmed images appeared on social media claiming to show Israeli passports that were stolen during the attack.
Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon and many others have called the attack a “pogrom.”
&#8220;‘Globalize the intifada’ was not just a slogan for these terrorist supporters,” Dannon <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/israeli-soccer-fans-target-wave-violence-amsterdam">told Fox News</a>. “I urge the Dutch government to help all Israelis and Jewish people immediately. It’s time to respond with force against these barbaric rioters.&#8221;
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett <a href="https://x.com/naftalibennett">took to X</a>, claiming “Arabs are rampaging around and brutally beating Israeli tourists.” He called on the Dutch authorities to take action, claiming that people were run over, beaten, and driven into a river.
Right-wing Netherlands political leader Geert Wilders also described the attack as a pogrom <a href="https://x.com/geertwilderspvv/status/1854751655591350331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1854751655591350331%7Ctwgr%5Ee3a65fedae02ab9028a600a68e7d8d0fc402f09e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fpogrom-in-amsterdam-as-israeli-soccer-fans-come-under-brutal-assault-by-rioters%2F">on X</a>.
“We have become the Gaza of Europe,” Wilders posted. “Muslims with Palestinian flags hunting down Jews. I will NOT accept that. NEVER. The authorities will be held accountable for their failure to protect the Israeli citizens. Never again.”

Protesters

King Of The Netherlands Condemns Amsterdam Pogrom

Amsterdam

Anti-Semitism

Israel

Netherlands

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/geert-wilders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Geert Wilders</a>, the leader of the incoming ruling party of the Netherlands, gave a strong defense of Israel on Thursday while addressing the Dutch Parliament.
Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, is a nationalist whose party won control of the government in November and is in the process of being installed. He is known for his hardline views on immigration and opposition to Islam.
&#8220;I lived in Israel for a while, a long time ago. I&#8217;ve seen it too,&#8221; Wilders said. &#8220;Then it was still from Jordan where the terrorists entered. I also experienced what it was like when those terrorists crossed the border and how you had to take shelter in air raid shelters. And how then the army, with helicopters and magnesium bombs lightings, looked where people were, to protect their population.&#8221;
&#8220;I know one thing, it&#8217;s hatred from these kinds of Islamic groups like Hamas, the Islamic Jihad group, and also Hezbollah,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;There are many of those groups. And they deny the Jewish state&#8217;s right to exist.&#8221;
He then appeared to be address another member of Parliament, saying: &#8220;And I think you once made a picture like that, too, or your colleague, about what Israel would look like. Well, you also denied Israel&#8217;s right to exist in that picture. And I think that this is not only anti-Semitic, but that is exactly how it should not be done.&#8221;
&#8220;They are being attacked by people who want a country and a people not to exist,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s not what Israel does. Israel puts the Arabs in the Knesset, in parliament. In Israel, they are full-fledged citizens, who are better off living in Israel than living in the Palestinian territories. Israel does not attack another country and has never attacked another country without first being attacked itself. Not in the Yom Kippur war and not in any war.&#8221;
He said that radical Muslims &#8220;are out to destroy the Jewish State and kill its inhabitants.&#8221;
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&#8220;And for me and my political party, it is not difficult to see with whom we stand in solidarity,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;Are we with the Jewish people, who are fighting for their existence, or are we with Islamic extremists, terrorist scum who want to exterminate them? And I tell you, until the very end, I support the State of Israel.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is what I said in the Dutch parliament today:
I will defend Israel to the very end! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/formatiedebat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#formatiedebat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tweedekamer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tweedekamer</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wilders?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wilders</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Israel</a> <a href="https://t.co/QRSVN2Bf8K">pic.twitter.com/QRSVN2Bf8K</a>
— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) <a href="https://twitter.com/geertwilderspvv/status/1793315089279267145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2024</a></blockquote>

NETHERLANDS-POLITICS-PVV

Hardline Dutch Political Leader Geert Wilders Gives Passionate Defense Of Israel To Parliament

Geert Wilders

Global Politics

World

A 28-year-old Dutch woman has decided to die by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/euthanasia">euthanasia</a> because she says she&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/depression">depressed</a>.
Zoraya ter Beek lives in a small village in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/netherlands">Netherlands</a> near the German border with her boyfriend and two cats in a nice home. She has scheduled her death date for May and spoke with <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/im-28-and-im-scheduled-to-die">The Free Press</a> about her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/social-issues">decision</a> despite being physically healthy.
Ter Beek says she was studying to become a psychiatrist but was never able to finish school due to mental health issues, plus having autism and borderline personality disorder, the outlet notes.
She said her psychiatrist told her, “There’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never gonna get any better.”
“I was always very clear that if it doesn’t get better, I can’t do this anymore,” ter Beek said.
The Netherlands native reviewed the process, saying she’ll be administered a sedative before getting a lethal injection at home on her couch. “The doctor really takes her time. It is not that they walk in and say: lay down please! Most of the time it is first a cup of coffee to settle the nerves and create a soft atmosphere,” ter Beek explained. 
She continued, “Then she asks if I am ready. I will take my place on the couch. She will once again ask if I am sure, and she will start up the procedure and wish me a good journey. Or, in my case, a nice nap, because I hate it if people say, ‘Safe journey.’ I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m a little afraid of dying, because it’s the ultimate unknown,” she said. “We don’t really know what’s next—or is there nothing? That’s the scary part.”
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The Netherlands was the first country in the world to make euthanasia legal in 2001, the outlet noted.
“I’m seeing euthanasia as some sort of acceptable option brought to the table by physicians, by psychiatrists, when previously it was the ultimate last resort,” Stef Groenewoud, a health care ethicist at Theological University Kampen in the Netherlands, told The Free Press.
“I see the phenomenon especially in people with psychiatric diseases, and especially young people with psychiatric disorders, where the health care professional seems to give up on them more easily than before,” she continued.
There were 8,720 euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands in 2022, accounting for around 5% of all the country’s deaths, per <a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/2023/04/more-euthanasia-cases-in-2022-29-couples-helped-to-die/#google_vignette">DutchNews</a>. This represented a 4% increase from the previous year.
Last year, officials in the Netherlands also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dutch-government-makes-life-termination-available-for-children-as-young-as-one-year-old">expanded</a> the availability of “life termination” for children between one and twelve years of age for reasons of “hopeless and unbearable suffering.”

sad woman

Physically Healthy Dutch Woman, 28, Opts For Euthanasia Because Of Depression: ‘I Can’t Do This Anymore’

Physically Healthy Dutch Woman, 28, Opts For Euthanasia Because Of Depression

Depression

Europe

Euthanasia

Social Issues

Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a top contender to be the next leader of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nato" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NATO</a>, encouraged Western allies to stop fretting over the prospect of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> returning to the White House.
&#8220;We should stop moaning and whining and nagging about Trump,&#8221; Rutte said to the Munich Security Conference, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-02-17/stop-whining-about-trump-and-focus-on-europes-interests-dutch-pm-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Reuters</a>. He added, &#8220;It&#8217;s up to the Americans. I&#8217;m not an American, I cannot vote in the U.S. We have to work with whoever is on the dance floor.&#8221;
Trump, who is running another campaign for a second term, prompted a firestorm this month when he told an anecdote about how he used hardball tactics to negotiate with other world leaders on supporting the NATO alliance.
At an event in South Carolina, Trump spoke about how NATO was &#8220;busted&#8221; until he got <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-16/nato-members-ramp-up-defense-spending-after-pressure-from-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allied countries to increase their</a> defense spending under pressure to do more to meet the <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49198.htm#:~:text=The%202%25%20defence%20investment%20guideline,ensure%20the%20Alliance's%20military%20readiness." target="_blank" rel="noopener">2% minimum GDP defense investment guideline</a>.
&#8220;One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, &#8216;Well sir, if we don&#8217;t pay and we&#8217;re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?&#8217; I said, you didn&#8217;t pay? You&#8217;re delinquent? He said, &#8216;Yes, let&#8217;s say that happened.&#8217; No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay,&#8221; Trump said.
Some took Trump&#8217;s comments as suggesting he would allow the United States to neglect its <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_110496.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Article 5 duties</a> and even take Russia&#8217;s side in the event of an attack, but the former president indicated he&#8217;s focused on getting NATO allies to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-explains-nato-stance-after-negotiating-story-draws-controversy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;equalize&#8221; contributions</a>.
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Rutte, who is seen as a leading candidate to follow Jens Stoltenberg as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-21/rutte-seizes-lead-in-nato-job-race-as-he-exits-dutch-politics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secretary general</a> of NATO later this year, explained to German news outlet Deutsche Welle his position, saying, &#8220;Let&#8217;s stop moaning and nagging and whining about Trump&#8221; because the 2024 election has not happened yet.
&#8220;We need to invest in our defense expenditure. We need to massively ramp up arms production, and we need to massively do more in support to Ukraine,&#8221; Rutte said. &#8220;This has nothing to do with Trump,&#8221; he continued, adding later how allies should &#8220;be making sure that our defense is at maximum capacity.&#8221;

Mark Rutte, Netherlands’ prime minister

Dutch Leader Urges Allies To Stop ‘Whining’ About Trump

Dutch Leader Urges Allies To Stop 'Whining' About Trump

2024 Election

Donald Trump

NATO

Russia

The Netherlands

Ukraine-Russia War

Rikkie Kolle, a 22-year-old man, beat out nine women to attain the title of “Miss Netherlands” on Saturday, sparking outrage on social media as many users said the win showed we are experiencing a trend of erasing women. 
 The Miss Netherlands competition is part of Miss Universe, and Kolle will compete in the 72nd Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador later this year. 
“A man just won &#8216;Miss Netherlands&#8217; 2023,” Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek tweeted. “Considering the fact that we live in a post-Truth world, I wasn’t even expecting anything else. It’s all so predictable and unoriginal at this point,” she added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A man just won “Miss Netherlands” 2023. 
Considering the fact that we live in a post-Truth world, I wasn’t even expecting anything else. It’s all so predictable and unoriginal at this point. <a href="https://t.co/j6NKo2cCvu">pic.twitter.com/j6NKo2cCvu</a>
&mdash; Eva Vlaardingerbroek (@EvaVlaar) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvaVlaar/status/1677976646148554753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Kolle, the first transgender-identifying “Miss Netherlands” winner, also participated in the “Holland&#8217;s Next Top Model” television show in 2018, <a href="https://nos.nl/artikel/2482139-rikkie-kolle-wint-als-eerste-trans-vrouw-de-titel-miss-nederland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Dutch public broadcaster NOS. He will be the second man to compete in Miss Universe, with the first hailing from Spain in 2018. Miss Universe has allowed trans-identifying contestants since 2012, People <a href="https://people.com/human-interest/daniela-arroyo-gonzalez-will-be-first-transgender-woman-compete-miss-universe-puerto-rico/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>. 
The Miss Netherlands judges said Kolle “has a strong story with a clear mission,” adding that they were &#8220;convinced that the organization (of Miss Nederland, ed.) will enjoy working” with him, according to translated comments from NOS. 
&#8220;I DID IT !!!!!&#8221; Kolle posted to Instagram. &#8220;It&#8217;s unreal but I get to call myself @missnederland 2023. It was an educational and beautiful journey, my year can&#8217;t be broken anymore. Making my community proud and showing it can be done,&#8221; the translated post says.
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Some on Twitter mocked Kolle&#8217;s victory, with one user <a href="https://twitter.com/ThaGoat888/status/1678037670868467713" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointing out</a> that it’s really “Mr. Nederland.” Others posted clown face emojis on their tweets reporting the news. 
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“The Netherlands is home to some of the most beautiful women on earth,” another account <a href="https://twitter.com/ada_lluch/status/1678031091410653187" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>. “Of all these beautiful women, they just nominated a transgender man to be Miss Netherlands 2023. A man with a penis should be disqualified from any female beauty pageant and the fact that statement will gain me haters is just insane.”
Another <a href="https://twitter.com/jacksonhinklle/status/1678046705722314754" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, “The West has completely lost the plot.”
Others pointed out the difference between Kolle and the runner-up — a woman — and said it’s clear who the winner should have been. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Nathalie Mogbelzada is the real Miss Netherlands 2023
&mdash; End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1678028735549784064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“Nathalie Mogbelzada is the real Miss Netherlands 2023,” End Wokeness, a popular conservative account, posted in reply to pictures of Kolle and first runner-up Mogbelzada.

Rikki Kolle

‘Post-Truth World’: Man Wins Miss Netherlands, Sparking Outrage On Twitter

Beauty Pageant

Transgender

Dutch archeologists have announced the discovery of an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/archaeology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">archeological</a> site that was a religious burial ground used as a solar calendar — a discovery that’s been dubbed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands.”
Researchers announced the find this week after excavating the site between 2017 and 2018. The location, described as a &#8220;sanctuary,&#8221; includes a burial mound and ditches that allow the sun to shine through on the summer and winter solstices, similar to the famous Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. Roughly a million objects from the site and surrounding areas were excavated — some of which date to the Stone Age.
“What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious sanctuary on an industrial site,” the municipality of Tiel, where the site was discovered, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/21/archaeologists-unearth-stonehenge-netherlands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on its Facebook page. “This is the first time a site like this has been discovered in the Netherlands.”
The sanctuary was roughly <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/4000-year-old-archaeological-site-dubbed-stonehenge-netherlands-unearthed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four</a> soccer fields long and built with wood and soil. There were multiple mounds, cemeteries, wooden posts, and a “ritual” road; the solar calendar was likely located on the largest mound, De Telegraaf, a Dutch newspaper, <a href="https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/443844941/sporen-van-4000-jaar-oud-heiligdom-gevonden-in-tiel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The solar calendar would have been used to determine harvest days and important events. The site is also believed to have been used for rituals, as &#8220;rows of poles stood along pathways used for processions.&#8221; The large mound was likely an observation point, and it’s believed all three mounds were used for roughly 800 years.
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“A person, for example a priest or priestess, stood on the hill, which was flat on top and on which probably stood a large pole. The priest then viewed the position of the sun from the fixed point of the pole. There were more posts around the hill as markers. They helped the priest determine the exact time of the year,” a <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/stonehenge-of-the-netherealnds-archaeologists-discovery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spokesman</a> told De Telegraf.
“On certain days the sun shone straight through those passages on the hill. Just like in Stonehenge, where the sun shines through the stones on important days,” the spokesman added.
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The outlet notes that in the openings on the mount, where the sun shines through, archeologists discovered human skulls, animal remains, a spearhead, and other valuable items. Several graves at the site were also discovered, including one with a woman buried with the oldest bead ever found in the country. Researchers revealed the glass bead had come from Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, indicating the people had contact with groups over 3,000 miles away, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/stonehenge-like-4000-year-old-sanctuary-discovered-netherlands-2023-06-21/#:~:text=AMSTERDAM%2C%20June%2021%20(Reuters),a%20similar%20purpose%20to%20Stonehenge." target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a>.
&#8220;Glass was not made here, so the bead must have been a spectacular item, as for people then it was an unknown material,&#8221; Stijn Arnoldussen, a professor at the University of Groningen, told The Guardian.
It took researchers six years to analyze all the artifacts discovered at the historic site. While some items date from the Stone Age, others hail from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman Empire, and Middle Ages, according to Reuters. Many of these items are expected to go on display for the public to see.
WATCH: 
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Sunset over Stonehenge

4,000-Year-Old ‘Stonehenge Of The Netherlands’ Discovered

Archaeology

History

Archeologists from a museum in the Netherlands have been banned by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/egypt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Egyptian</a> authorities from working at a historic dig site for portraying black celebrities — including Eddie Murphy, Rihanna, and Beyoncé — as ancient Egyptian rulers and figures in an exhibition.
The National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands, recently unveiled an exhibition, <a href="https://www.rmo.nl/tentoonstellingen/tijdelijke-tentoonstellingen/kemet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">titled</a> “Kemet: Egypt in Hip Hop, Jazz, Soul &amp; Funk,” which has Egyptian Queen Nefertiti portrayed by both Rihanna and Beyoncé, King Tutankhamun portrayed by American rapper Nas, and Pharaoh Ramesses portrayed by Eddie Murphy. An email <a href="https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2023/06/05/egypte-boos-om-tentoonstelling-leids-museum-mag-geen-opgravingen-meer-doen-in-egyptische-necropolis-a4166431" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Monday by Dutch news outlet NRC shows that Egyptian authorities banned a team of the museum&#8217;s archeologists from performing excavations at Saqqara — a historic and culturally significant site in Egypt.
Egyptian authorities accused the Dutch museum of “falsifying history” with an “Afrocentric” approach, the Dutch outlet reported.
“The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden has been working at Saqqara since 1975,” Wim Weijland, the managing director of the Dutch museum, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/egypt-bans-archaeology-team-mime-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN. “For the upcoming season, the museum has been denied the permit to excavate here.”
Saqqara, a burial ground just south of Egypt’s capital Cairo, is an important archeological site in Egypt and has been the location of some of the most prominent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/3200-year-old-tomb-of-temple-guard-discovered-in-egypt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">archeological finds</a> this year. The <a href="https://arce.org/resource/saqqara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">site</a> has the tombs of the kings of the first, second, and third dynasties, and is the site of the oldest pyramid in the country.
“Ancient Egypt and Nubia have been an undeniable source of inspiration for musicians of African descent for over 70 years,” the exhibition’s translated description reads. “The artists embrace and claim these ancient African cultures to express resistance, empowerment and spiritual healing. They often refer to the name that the Egyptians themselves gave to their country: Kemet, &#8216;the black,’ a reference to the fertile soil along the Nile.”
Weijland defended the exhibition to CNN, saying its purpose is to “show and understand the depiction of ancient Egypt and the messages in music by black artists” and “show what scientific, Egyptological research can tell us about ancient Egypt and Nubia.”
This is not the first time Egyptian authorities have expressed concern with the way Egyptian historical figures are portrayed. Last month, the Egyptian government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/egyptian-government-slaps-jada-pinkett-smiths-cleopatra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> Netflix of “falsifying Egyptian history” by portraying Cleopatra as a black woman in “African Queens: Queen Cleopatra.” The director of that film, Tina Gharavi, admitted that the choice of Adele James as the Egyptian queen was a “political act.”
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“No one with even a little education could make a film showing Cleopatra as black,” Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former minister of antiquities, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/egypt-bans-archaeology-team-mime-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
As for the pushback on the “Kemet” exhibition, the Dutch museum is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65835611">asking</a> Egyptian authorities to reconsider. &#8220;The Egyptian authorities have every right to terminate a permit for an excavation; after all, it is their land and their heritage. However, the museum considers the underlying argument for this decision incorrect.&#8221;

EGYPT-HERITAGE-ARCHAEOLOGY

Egyptian Authorities Ban Dutch Archeologists From Historic Site For ‘Falsifying History’ With ‘Afrocentric’ Exhibition

Egypt

Officials in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/netherlands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Netherlands</a> are expanding the availability of &#8220;life termination&#8221; for children between one and twelve years of age.
The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/europe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European</a> nation will soon permit doctors to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/euthanasia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">euthanize</a> children deemed to have conditions which will lead to “hopeless and unbearable suffering,” according to an <a href="https://www-rijksoverheid-nl.translate.goog/actueel/nieuws/2023/04/14/kabinet-werkt-aan-regeling-levensbeeindiging-voor-kinderen-tot-12-jaar-die-ondraaglijk-en-uitzichtloos-lijden?_x_tr_sl=auto&amp;_x_tr_tl=en&amp;_x_tr_hl=en&amp;_x_tr_pto=wapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> from the Dutch government released earlier this month. Officials claimed that the new policy only concerns “a small group of terminally ill children” whose “palliative care options are not sufficient to relieve their suffering and who are expected to die in the foreseeable future.”
“This is a very complex subject that deals with very harrowing situations. Situations you wouldn&#8217;t wish on anyone,” Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said in the announcement. “I am pleased that, after intensive consultation with all parties involved, we have come to a solution with which we can help these terminally ill children, their parents and also their practitioners.”
The new policy also seeks to loosen requirements for physicians who attempt to euthanize children since they already “feel reluctance to perform late termination of pregnancy or termination of life in newborns.”
The government formerly required doctors to demonstrate before a committee that the administration of assisted suicide occurred with “due care,” after which the committee sent the assessment to the Public Prosecution Service, where officials would decide whether to initiate a criminal investigation. Officials will now consolidate the committee process and forward the case to the Public Prosecution Service without medical files, meaning that the agency must base any criminal investigation “exclusively on the judgment of the assessment committee.”
Physicians must therefore &#8220;come to the conviction that termination of life is the only reasonable alternative to remove the child&#8217;s hopeless and unbearable suffering&#8221; based upon &#8220;prevailing medical opinion.&#8221;
The announcement from the Dutch government did not specify what role parents of the children play in determining whether euthanasia will be administered. Current law <a href="https://www.government.nl/topics/euthanasia/euthanasia-assisted-suicide-and-non-resuscitation-on-request" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allows</a> children to request euthanasia from the age of twelve, even as parental consent is mandatory until the age of sixteen.
Legislative allowances for assisted suicide, sometimes called medical assistance in dying and abbreviated as MAID, has quickly expanded within Western nations. Canada, for instance, considered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/canada-moves-toward-assisted-suicide-for-minors-critics-erupt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amendments</a> to the nation’s criminal code last year that would increase the availability of the practice such that a citizen with only a “mental illness” can now request euthanasia, whereas the practice was previously limited to people with serious physical illnesses or disabilities. “You do not need to have a fatal or terminal condition to be eligible for medical assistance in dying,” according to a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assistance-dying.html#a2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">webpage</a> published by the Canadian government.
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Although the new <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-33.html#h-119953" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> does not explicitly allow minors to pursue assisted suicide, the Canadian government <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/article12/p3a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> that “children’s decision-making about health care issues occurs within a complicated legal framework.” The doctrine of the “mature minor,” for example, “allows children who are sufficiently mature to make their own treatment decisions.” Statutes related to parental consent and mature minor status vary between provinces.
Critics of assisted suicide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/holds-autonomy-as-the-highest-virtue-christian-physician-reacts-as-canada-erodes-limits-on-assisted-suicide-for-teens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">note</a> that governments with socialized medicine have clear incentives to promote the practice rather than funding treatment for certain patients, thereby ignoring the innate value of human beings and their fundamental right to life.
Death with Dignity, an organization which pushes for expanded assisted suicide in the United States, <a href="https://deathwithdignity.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claims</a> that the practice ensures “people with terminal illness can decide for themselves what a good death means in accordance with their values and beliefs.” Authorities in the state of Oregon, which ranks among the most liberal with respect to assisted suicide laws but does not permit minors to be euthanized, said in a <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PROVIDERPARTNERRESOURCES/EVALUATIONRESEARCH/DEATHWITHDIGNITYACT/Documents/year25.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that 431 people received lethal doses of medication prescribed by physicians last year.

Stylish Scandinavian newborn baby nursery with natural wooden baby cot and handmade mobile hanging over it

Dutch Government Makes ‘Life Termination’ Available For Children As Young As One Year Old

Dutch Government Makes Assisted Suicide Available For Children Between 1 And 12

Socialized Medicine

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/netherlands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dutch</a> television show “Gewoon Bloot” (“Simply Naked”), which displays nude adults in front of 10- to 12-year-old children and allows them to ask questions, recently focused an episode on people who identify as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender</a>.
Clips from a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/television" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episode</a> started circulating on Twitter. Host Edson da Graça reiterated the show’s premise, saying how nude adults stand in front of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">children</a> to “give them the opportunity to ask questions” about their naked bodies. 
“Today our guests are transgenders,” da Graça announced in the clip.
“That feeling can simply be a feeling, but you can also do something about it,” one show participant told the children. “For example, I had a surgery.”
“As you can see, there’s something in my underpants but I still have a vulva,” another person on the stage said. “I don’t feel comfortable with that body part, therefore I am wearing my underwear with a packer,” the person continued, referring to wearing padding or a phallic object to give the appearance of having a penis.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
PURE EVIL Children&#39;s TV in the Netherlands: Naked adults promoting transgenderism and sex change surgery as &quot;euphoria.&quot; 
After being indoctrinated, one child says: &quot;At first you think HUH? But later you realize that it&#39;s actually pretty normal.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/F0AaUng9ip">pic.twitter.com/F0AaUng9ip</a>
&mdash; Mark Alan Pearce (@PearceAlan1962) <a href="https://twitter.com/PearceAlan1962/status/1641133236024639491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Another participant mentioned “vaginoplasty,” which was described as a process by which “you can surgically change the male sex organ to the female sex organ.”
“At first you think, huh?” one of the children said in response to the presentation. “But later you realize that it’s actually pretty normal.”
“It’s actually really normal,” a young boy agreed.
“So it’s not just male and female. There’s an entire spectrum of genders besides male and female,” the host told the assembled kids. Next, a trans-identifying participant described feeling “euphoric” after having gender reassignment surgery.
“I woke up and I knew that my breasts were gone. That it looked like I had always wanted it to look. It finally matched the way I feel inside, and that made me feel ecstatic.” 
“So it feels a bit like flying?” one child asked.
“Yes,” the participant responded. 
“You simply feel intense happiness,” the host chimed in, to which the child replied, “I want that, too.”
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“Simply Naked” came under fire ahead of its March 21 debut for the shocking premise. Dutch public broadcaster NOS insisted that the show is meant to promote body positivity and reduce the stigma around nudity. 
“The aim is to teach children that each and every body is different and that not all bodies are perfect,” host da Graça said in an interview, as The Daily Beast previously <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/gewoon-bloot-dutch-body-positivity-kids-show-with-naked-adults-draws-fire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Dutch MP Tunahan Kuzu disagreed, calling the concept “ridiculous” and demanding a boycott. Conservative politician Thierry Baudet said the show was “promoting pedophilia.”

Watching TV

Dutch TV Show Presents Naked Transgender Adults To Children. One Participant Describes Gender Reassignment Surgery As ‘Euphoric’

Dutch TV Show Presents Naked Transgender Adults To Children. One Participant Describes Gender Reassignment Surgery As 'Euphoric'

Children

Television

The mystery of a shipwreck discovered in 2019 has finally been solved. Researchers studying the site off the coast of southern England discovered that the vessel was a Dutch warship used in “all major battles” of the second Anglo-Dutch war, Historic England <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/identity-17th-century-dutch-warship-confirmed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> Friday.
The Klein Hollandia was built in 1656 and owned by the Admiralty of Rotterdam, one of the five admiralties in the Dutch Republic. Initially labeled an anomaly after a hydrographic survey of the site was done in 2015, a diver confirmed it was a shipwreck four years later. It had since been known as the “Unknown Wreck Off Eastbourne,” until now. Teams from Historic England, the Nautical Archaeology Society, and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands worked on the find.
“From our very first dive on the wreck, back in April 2019, we have been fascinated by the range of material on the seabed,” Mark Beattie Edwards, CEO of the Nautical Archaeology Society, <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/identity-17th-century-dutch-warship-confirmed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “The impressive amount of wooden hull structure, the ship&#8217;s cannons, the beautifully cut marble tiles, as well as the pottery finds, all point towards this being a Dutch ship from the late 17th century coming back from Italy. Now, after four years of investigation and research, we can confidently identify the vessel.”
Based on the perceived importance of the ship, the dive site received special protections under the United Kingdom’s Protection of Wrecks Act of 1973. Italian marble tiles, pottery, and cannons were found alongside a large portion of the wood hull 103 feet deep, according to Historic England. The group notes that the marble tiles would have been used for “high-status” homes in the Netherlands.
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“The identification of the &#8216;Klein Hollandia&#8217; offers a glimpse back into the seventeenth century, giving us a chance to learn more about the maritime history of this period and to uncover treasures which have been underwater for hundreds of years,” Lord Stephen Parkinson, the U.K. Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, said of the find.
The ship was a major asset in the second Anglo-Dutch war, which lasted from 1665-1667. Holding strong through the entirety of that war, it sank in March of 1672, shortly before the third Anglo-Dutch war. Historic England claims that the sinking of the Klein Hollandia contributed to the start of the third war, which began the same month as the sinking and lasted until 1674.
The ship was part of a squadron escorting a fleet traveling from the Mediterranean to the Netherlands. It entered the English Channel where it encountered a surprise attack from an English squadron, leading to a “fierce battle,” Historic England says. The commander of the ship was killed, and the English were able to board and conquer the ship. Finally, after taking on “severe damage,” the ship’s life came to an end, sinking with both English and Dutch sailors on board, researchers say.
Researchers used tree ring analysis of wood samples to help identify the ship and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/27/remarkable-eastbourne-shipwreck-identified-as-17th-century-dutch-warship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discovered</a> through analysis using microscopes and mineral composition that the marble is from the Apuan Alps in Italy, an area that reportedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/27/remarkable-eastbourne-shipwreck-identified-as-17th-century-dutch-warship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">boasts</a> some of the highest quality marble in the country.

Mysterious Shipwreck Identified As 17th Century Warship That Sank After ‘Fierce Battle’

England

A new pilot study found that psychotherapy – without medical intervention – improved the mental health of autistic adolescents with gender dysphoria.
The <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-022-05832-4.pdf?pdf=button" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a>, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, found that guided, peer support group therapy showed positive mental health outcomes for autistic adolescents struggling with gender dysphoria. The study, conducted in the Netherlands, emphasized the importance of mental health treatments, while deprioritizing medical interventions like puberty blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgery.
&#8220;These findings add to a quickly growing stack of evidence suggesting that it’s the psychotherapy and support that is improving these kids’ well-being, not medicalized transition,&#8221; said Dr. James Cantor, Director of the Toronto Sexuality Centre, and associate professor of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine.
The authors of the study chose mental health as their treatment goal, as their aim wasn&#8217;t to &#8220;cure&#8221; gender dysphoria (or autism), but to &#8220;reduce their distress and increase positive feelings about their overall lives.&#8221;
&#8220;In the current study, we looked at psychological well-being and psychological complaints as measures of quality of life,&#8221; the introduction read.
&#8220;In a pilot study, we evaluate the effect of a newly developed peer support group for adolescents with [Autism Spectrum Disorder] and [Gender Dysphoria] on their quality of life,&#8221; the introduction continued. Data was collected from four consecutive cycles of the peer support group that were completed between March 2019 to December 2021.
The researchers contrasted mental health interventions with medical treatments, and emphasized the effectiveness of psychotherapies that are aimed at &#8220;learning to think in more nuanced ways about gender identity,&#8221; and &#8220;identifying and treating other problems.&#8221;
Dr. Cantor&#8217;s <a href="http://www.sexologytoday.org/2016/01/do-trans-kids-stay-trans-when-they-grow_99.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>, Sexology Today, is often cited as a resource that documents eleven studies finding that roughly 60–90% of children who identify as transgender, but do not socially or medically transition, will no longer identify as transgender in adulthood. These studies were referenced by the group of researchers, who acknowledged that gender dysphoria may resolve on its own.
&#8220;In a large proportion of children who express their desire for medical gender-affirming care, this seems to disappear during puberty,&#8221; the study read.
Many studies that were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researcher-debunks-claim-trans-youths-mental-health-improves-with-gender-affirming-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designed</a> to find out whether medical transition improves mental health could not adequately do so because the patients were simultaneously receiving psychiatric medication, counseling, and had supportive family environments, all of which are factors that are known to independently improve mental health.
Dr. Cantor agreed. &#8220;In the studies suggesting medical transition improves quality of life, the kids were also receiving psychotherapy at the same time,&#8221; he said.
There were some concerning elements to the study, including their inclusion of terms like &#8220;gender identity,&#8221; &#8220;gender journey,&#8221; and &#8220;gender spectrum,&#8221; which lack a scientific basis. Participants were also given free range to change their names and pronouns from &#8220;session to session.&#8221; Small sample sizes were also indicated as a limitation of the study.
The results found that while mental health outcomes improved significantly due to peer support, so did feelings of gender dysphoria.
&#8220;The kids in these support groups reported experiencing gender dysphoria more, even though their mental health was improving in other ways,&#8221; said Dr. Cantor. &#8220;This challenges simple ideas, such as that social minority stress is driving the mental health issues.&#8221;  
It also challenges the &#8220;<a href="https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/pediatric-gender-medicine-and-the" target="_blank" rel="noopener">affirm-or-suicide</a>&#8221; narrative, which implies that medically transitioning adolescents will prevent them from committing suicide. And it adds evidence to the &#8220;social contagion&#8221; theory, that finds peer influence contributes to youth gender dysphoria.
&#8220;But the paradoxical pattern is consistent with the possibility that the reported levels of dysphoria reflect the desire to continue qualifying for and receiving the support provided by these groups,&#8221; said Dr. Cantor.
&#8220;We need to remember this is only a pilot study,&#8221; he added. &#8220;It’s not the final word on anything.&#8221;
The study recognized the importance of taking both autism spectrum disorder and gender dysphoria into account, highlighting some of the important challenges that autistic people face that may lead them to become confused about their sex, including preoccupation, rigid thinking, and a lag in socio-emotional development.
“It is possible that kids who have a tendency to get obsessed or fixated on something may latch on to gender,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/psychologist-do-transgender-children-just-have-amanda-prestigiacomo">said</a> Dr. Kenneth Zucker, a psychologist with 30 years of experience running the largest Canadian childhood gender clinic. 
Dr. Zucker believes that many children identifying as transgender may do so because they are on the autism spectrum. The psychologist credits this confusion to the autistic tendency to fixate or obsess over a “special interest.”
“Just because kids are saying something doesn’t necessarily mean you accept it, or that it’s true, or that it could be in the best interests of the child,” he added.
Children and adolescents on the autism spectrum are disproportionately represented among the large, newly emerging cohort of children claiming to be transgender. Over the past 10 years, there have been at least <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zhanavrangalova/2017/11/15/growing-evidence-for-a-link-between-gender-dysphoria-and-autism-spectrum-disorders/?sh=6e3f4479153e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nine studies</a> connecting Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and transgender identities. Rates of autistic traits in these studies range from five percent to 54% among those with gender dysphoria, significantly higher than among the general population.
Data from the now-shuttered Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the U.K.’s Tavistock Centre found that autistic adolescents were significantly overrepresented in the population of referrals to the clinic. Pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass was commissioned to conduct a <a href="https://cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Cass-Review-Interim-Report-Final-Web-Accessible.pdfhttps://cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Cass-Review-Interim-Report-Final-Web-Accessible.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">review</a> of the services provided by the National Health Service and investigate why there has been such a huge rise in the number of adolescent biological girls seeking referrals to gender clinics. 
Dr. Cass found that approximately one third of youth referred to GIDS had autism or autistic traits. By comparison, the prevalence rates of autism spectrum disorder during childhood in the UK have been estimated at 1%.
There is a growing international consensus that minors experiencing gender dysphoria should be treated with psychotherapy first, not medical interventions. Health authorities in Sweden, Finland, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/englands-national-health-service-abandons-gender-affirming-model-of-care">U.K.</a> have unanimously concluded after systematic reviews of evidence for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones that the risks and uncertainties outweigh any known benefits. Psychotherapy will now be provided as the first and usually only line of treatment for gender dysphoric youth in these countries.
The Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (<a href="https://genderexploratory.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GETA</a>), a network of mental health professionals, wrote a new clinical guide for adolescents struggling with gender dysphoria. The guidance offers an alternative approach to &#8220;affirming&#8221; a minor&#8217;s chosen trangender identity to explore possible underlying factors that may be causing their dysphoria, including autism.
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New Study Finds Psychotherapy Improved Mental Health Of Autistic Adolescents With Gender Dysphoria

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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> network bosses have reportedly pulled veteran anchor Jim Sciutto off the air and ordered him to &#8220;address a personal situation&#8221; following a bad fall in Amsterdam.
The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11284817/Jim-Sciutto-takes-leave-absence-CNN-ordered-address-personal-situation.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Wednesday that Sciutto, 52, had not been on the air on Tuesday or Wednesday to host &#8220;CNN Newsroom&#8221; with his co-anchor Poppy Harlow — and that he had been placed on personal leave by the higher-ups.
The report tied Sciutto&#8217;s apparent personal leave to an internal CNN investigation into a &#8220;serious fall&#8221; he suffered in Amsterdam on the way home from one of three trips to Ukraine. Sciutto, who is also the network&#8217;s chief national security correspondent, traveled to the Eastern European nation three times — in February, March, and April — to cover to ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
According to a <a href="https://elink.thedailybeast.com/view/5b4ace787e55546bec167f8fhf0wr.b28/ed565e6f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published last week by The Daily Beast&#8217;s Confider, on at least one of those trips — despite the fact that CNN offered a more direct flight back from Poland to the United States — Sciutto and his producer apparently opted to make a stop in the Dutch capital on his way home. While there, he suffered what was described as a &#8220;serious fall.&#8221; Confider noted that the anchor had &#8220;since recovered,&#8221; but was then &#8220;directed by CNN to address a &#8216;personal situation.’”
Neither CNN nor Sciutto has publicly addressed his absence from the airwaves.
The network has appeared to struggle in the weeks and months since it merged with Warner Bros. Discovery and new head honcho Chris Licht took the reins. Licht has repeatedly and explicitly declared his intention to bring CNN back to a <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/cnn-announces-new-programming-plan-and-elon-musk-is-already-on-board/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more balanced approach</a> to reporting the news — and he has already presided over a number of shakeups within the company.
Among the casualties so far are veteran media reporter <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/breaking-brian-stelter-out-at-cnn-after-network-cancels-his-show/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brian Stelter</a>, former chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, and longtime White House correspondent <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/cnn-white-house-correspondent-john-harwood-out-at-network/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Harwood</a>. And prior to the merger, former network chief Jeff Zucker resigned over a consensual but undisclosed relationship with Allison Gollust (she left CNN a short time later). Popular anchor <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/he-wants-megyn-kelly-money-report-claims-chris-cuomo-could-hit-cnn-for-up-to-60-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Cuomo</a> was fired just weeks earlier over reports that he advised his embattled brother, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, amid multiple scandals regarding sexual misconduct allegations and concerns that he had mishandled his state&#8217;s response to COVID.

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