Breast milk donors step up amid baby formula shortage – National & International News – MON 16May2022

Breast milk donors step up amid baby formula shortage. Buffalo shooter deliberately sought out black victims. Israeli forces admit they may have killed journalist, attack her funeral.

NATIONAL NEWS

Breast milk donors step up amid baby formula shortage

The shortage of commercial baby formula on shelves has increased interest in human milk banks. These institutions allow mothers to donate surplus breast milk to feed babies whose mothers can’t breast feed. Milk banks are normally connected with larger health institutions and prioritize donations for medically fragile babies.

Since formula producer Abbott shut down production in February due to contamination concerns, workers at milk banks say they are getting a lot more calls both from parents desperate to feed their infants and from potential donors. The Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast in Newton, Mass., typically receives 30-50 calls a month from women looking to donate. Last Thursday alone, 35 donors called in wanting to help.

Milk banks collect formula from donor moms and pasteurize it. Donor milk may not be a good option for some babies. The directors of the banks also say that since they are focused on feeding babies with medical issues, receiving more donations will help them to broaden their recipient pools. Some parents are also able to find breastmilk for their babies through social media, including a Facebook group called Human Milk 4 Human Babies.

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Buffalo shooter deliberately sought out black victims

On Saturday, 18-year-old gunman Payton Gendron drove more than 200 miles from his home in Conklin, NY, to a predominately black area of Buffalo, NY, to target black people, according to police. Police say Gendron had travelled to the area previously to decide where best to launch his attack. He chose a Tops grocery store, which was one of the few grocery stores in the area and was always busy. He struck there, killing 10 people, and planned more targets had he not been apprehended.

A 180-page racist screed apparently written by Gendron is still being authenticated. In it, Gendron expresses his desire to terrorize all white non-Christian people to get them to leave the country. It appears Gendron became radicalized online during the pandemic. Police are investigating whether he acted alone or had support from other individuals or organizations.

Gendron had previously been placed under observation after making “generalized threats” at his high school. However, the owner of the gun store where Gendron bought his weapons said there was no alert from the FBI when he sold him the guns. Gendron was not apparently under surveillance by any law enforcement agency.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel admits it might have killed journalist, attacks her funeral

Last week, an Al Jazeera reporter was shot dead while covering Israeli police raids at a refugee camp in the West Bank.  Shireen Abu Akleh was wearing a helmet and vest that clearly identified her as a member of the press. Akleh received a fatal shot to the head and another journalist who was with her was injured. Following Akleh’s death, witnesses and fellow journalists at the scene were unequivocal in their statements that it was Israeli soldiers who killed Akleh, and it was deliberate. 

Israel’s prime minister and defense forces attempted initially to shift the blame onto Palestinian gunman. Local news reports even showed images of armed Palestinians, who turned out to be miles away from the scene. The journalists on scene insist there were no armed parties present other than Israeli military.

The military has now admitted that one of its soldiers may be responsible for killing Akleh. Israeli police also showed up to Akleh’s funeral and brutalized mourners. The police claim that rocks were thrown at them, but this appears to be false.

Palestinian authorities have refused to sign on to a joint investigation of the incident with Israeli authorities. Instead, they are referring the case to the International Criminal Court.

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