Happy Thursday! Welcome back to Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Let’s break down the latest news.
Israeli Airstrike Hits One of Gaza’s Last Functioning Hospitals…An Israeli airstrike hit the Nasser Hospital complex in southern Gaza early Thursday, killing at least six people, including a surgeon, and injuring dozens more. The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted a Hamas commander and other militants allegedly operating inside the hospital, but provided no evidence to support the claim. Hamas denied the allegations. The strike hit the hospital’s surgical wing, forcing the facility out of service. Nasser is one of the last major functioning medical facilities in Gaza, where the health care system has been devastated by more than three years of war. Thursday’s attack marks the seventh time the hospital complex has been struck since the conflict began in October 2023.
Common Sense Takeaway: Horrific. Attacking hospitals is a violation of international humanitarian law, and these children, doctors, and patients deserved to live. This war needs to end. The loss of life has already been unfathomable, and every additional day brings more devastation. We cannot continue supplying weapons to Israel while this destruction continues.
Deadly Shooting at Washington, D.C., Gym…One person was killed and at least four others were injured Thursday after a gunman opened fire inside VIDA Fitness near Logan Circle in Washington, D.C. The shooter barricaded himself in an apartment above the gym before turning the gun on himself, suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. One of the victims remains in critical condition. Authorities said a fire was also set inside the building and later extinguished. The motive remains under investigation, though officials believe the shooting may have stemmed from a dispute involving the apartment building. The gym has temporarily closed.
Common Sense Takeaway: Devastating and scary for everyone involved. As someone who grew up in the D.C. area, this is not a place you would ever expect to hear gunfire. It’s another reminder of how urgent common-sense federal gun legislation is. Gun violence spares no one, and my thoughts are with everyone affected. Praying for the recovery of those injured.
Democrats Flip Mississippi Senate Seat in Historic Upset….In one of the biggest upsets of the midterms, Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, flipping a Senate seat in a state Donald Trump carried by 23 points in 2024. The victory makes Colom the first Black senator elected from Mississippi since Reconstruction and marks the first time in 44 years that the state has elected a Democrat to the Senate. Colom, a district attorney, campaigned heavily on affordability, criticizing Hyde-Smith’s support for Trump’s tariffs, Medicaid cuts and military action in Iran. His win also marks the eighth Republican-held Senate seat Democrats have flipped this cycle, giving the party at least 55 seats in the next Congress.
Common Sense Takeaway: Thank GOD! I’m so proud of Scott Colom and his team for fighting relentlessly and refusing to give up, even when the odds were stacked against them. Democrats can compete and win in states the national party has too often written off. This is such an incredible story, made even better by the fact that Hyde-Smith previously rejected Colom’s nomination to the federal bench by Joe Biden. Now, he’s taking her Senate seat. You really can’t make this stuff up.
That’s all for today’s Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you tomorrow.
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— Ally
Israel is unquestionably committing genocide on Gaza! The whole world can see it! Netanyahu is a war criminal who is bombing, starving and destroying Palestinians in order to take all their land! How SHAMEFUL! The world stood back and didn't help Jews during the genocide of six million during WWII. Now, Netanyahu and Israel have become the same thing that the world said should not have happened and that we all hated! Nevertheless, the United States continues to provide weapons to Israel to commit genocide! Shame on America and all the world again for doing nothing. The genocide continues everyday! I only have my voice to speak out. I have only a small voice to use for those whose voices are being snuffed out - but I am compelled to use my voice no matter how small. That's my only power. Each person who doesn't at least use their voice to speak out against Israel's genocide on Palestinians is guilty of allowing these crimes against humanity to go on. Speak up folks! Please speak up! Every tiny voice joined together may be able to stop this inhumanity and save some lives.
I’m loving the Schadenfreud in MS. Spent a couple of years in Montgomery in 1959-60, I was 9-10. Horrifying Awakening. I’d never seen or heard racism before. It hurt my heart then & does to this day. Superficial reasons to hate people, how they look. Shame on anyone who thinks that way.