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Kidnapped Israeli soldier rescued

Laura L. Davis   Paste BN

An Israeli soldier was rescued after being kidnapped by Hamas. Your eye drops might cause an infection, the FDA is warning. And how a fight over a “creepy” emoji wound up at the Supreme Court.

👋 Hi! Laura Davis here. Hope you had a good weekend! Let’s get you caught up on Monday’s news.

But first: Could we be any more sad?? 😢🛋 Matthew Perry once said his death would "shock" people – but not surprise them. Sounds like he was right.

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Israel rescues soldier kidnapped by Hamas

A female Israel Defence Forces soldier kidnapped on Oct. 7 was rescued during an overnight ground operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Monday. Pvt. Ori Megidish is now home with her family and in good condition, the Israeli military said in a statement. She is the fifth hostage returned to Israel out of more than 200 taken captive by Hamas and brought to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attack.

Also on Monday: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly referred to Hamas members as “barbarians’’ while seeking to portray his country as a defender of civilization and rebuffing calls for a cease-fire. Asked about the huge death toll inflicted on Palestinians by Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes, Netanyahu said “not a single civilian" would die if they went to safe zones in southern Gaza. However, that’s not possible for all Gaza Strip residents, and Israeli forces have also bombarded the territory’s southern end. Follow our live coverage.

📬 Sign up for Paste BN's Israel and Hamas war newsletter to receive weekday updates on the escalating conflict.

👀 An eye-opening warning

Jeepers creepers! A warning for your peepers: Go check your drops! The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to stop using some over-the-counter eye drops due to a potential risk of infection that may lead to partial vision loss or blindness. The FDA flagged 26 eye care products from CVS Health, Rite Aid, Target Up&Up and more. Investigators found unsanitary conditions in the manufacturing facility and positive bacterial test results from environmental sampling of "critical drug production areas" in the facility, the agency said. 💧 Here's what to look for.

What everyone's talking about

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Alaska's snow crabs suddenly vanished. Will history repeat itself?

Second-generation fisherman Garrett Kavanaugh knows his industry is in crisis. Multiple fish species including snow crab and salmon have collapsed in Alaska, prompting sometimes drastic action from the government. Meanwhile, he's facing high diesel prices, a relatively low price for his catch and an ongoing boat loan payment. The shocking collapse of the snow crab fishery last fall shows that conditions for sea life can and are rapidly changing – even in ecosystems that have fed indigenous people for thousands of years. 🔎 Take a closer look at the big picture.

Can a city official 'cancel’ a constituent?

At this point, we basically all know how it goes with Facebook: Someone comes along and posts something weird, then they get blocked, and everyone moves along with their life. But now, a decision to block someone is in the middle of a Supreme Court case with potentially enormous consequences for how government officials interact with the public online. 

  • How did we get here? A dispute between two men. The city manager of Port Huron, Michigan, clicked the "block" button after Kevin Lindke posted a comment on his Facebook page. There were no words, just three "weird" smiley faces, Freed said. But Lindke says the smiling emojis weren't creepy, they were activism and protected by the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case, and another raising the same question, on Tuesday. 😊 Here's everything we know about the case.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at Paste BN. Say hello: laura@usatoday.com. This is a compilation of stories from across the Paste BN Network. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to Paste BN here.

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