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Celebrity chef José Andrés’ aid group has sent 200 tons of food to Gaza. Who is he and what is World Central Kitchen?
Celebrity chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen nonprofit have sent aid to Gaza, shipping almost 200 tons of food this week to Palestinians. The organization shipped the food from Cyprus on the Open Arms ship, which belongs to a Spanish nonprofit that helps vulnerable people in emergency situations.
Who is José Andrés?
Andrés, 54, is a Spanish-born chef who moved to the U.S. years ago to work in restaurants in New York City and Washington, D.C. He helped open several restaurants in the nation’s capitol and then created his own restaurants around the country, including Nubeluz, in New York City, and Jaleo by José Andrés, with locations in Washington, D.C., Orlando, Las Vegas, Chicago and Dubai.
While working in D.C., Andrés volunteered at DC Central Kitchen, which repurposes food in the city to provide for those in need. This sparked his interest in philanthropy, and he founded World Central Kitchen in 2010. Its first mission was delivering food to Haiti.
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What is World Central Kitchen?
World Central Kitchen mobilizes first responders to bring meals to people effected by natural disasters, crises and humanitarian emergencies around the globe
“Deploying our model of quick action, leveraging local resources, and adapting in real time, we know that a nourishing meal in a time of crisis is so much more than a plate of food — it’s hope, it’s dignity, and it’s a sign that someone cares,” the organization’s website reads.
The nonprofit recently sent food to war-torn Ukraine, to Texas during the wildfires, and to Japan following earthquakes. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they delivered meals to children learning at home, first responders and seniors who were at risk.
The group also has a “Chef Corps” of chefs who use their local contacts to help deliver food during crises in their areas.
In April 2022, Andrés and his team were on the ground serving food out of a restaurant in Kharkiv, Ukraine — the first time he and his team operated in a war zone.
When a Russian missile struck nearby, four people with World Central Kitchen were injured.
But the attack barely slowed their operation. “What happened in the hours after was unbelievable,” Andrés told “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent Tracy Smith. “When the owner of that restaurant asked all the team members, ‘What do you want to do?’ they said, ‘We wanna keep cooking. We wanna keep fighting.'”
The organization has provided more than 60 million meals to those in need.
Gaza aid shipments
The U.N. has warned about the imminent risk of famine in Gaza, a narrow strip of land bordered by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean, where some 2.3 million Palestinians live. With its borders closed and war raging, an estimated 1.7 million of Gaza’s people had been displaced as of Jan. 20, according to the United Nations, with many having no access to food, water, medicine or appropriate shelter.
Malnutrition and dehydration are becoming a growing part of the humanitarian crisis.
President Biden announced during his State of the Union address last week that the U.S. military will help create temporary port on the Gaza coast to help increase the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter the area.
World Central Kitchen worked with the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus to open a corridor for the Open Arms ship to deliver food to Gaza. The group has collected 500 tons of food, currently stationed in Cyprus, including rice, flour, canned vegetables, protein and legumes.
The first World Central Kitchen boat left Cyprus on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the organization posted on social media that they were loading another boat with hundreds of tons of food that will be sent to Gaza soon.
PROACTIVA OPEN ARMS/AFP via Getty Images
They also airdropped food from a Royal Jordanian Air Force cargo plane, and have so far delivered 150,000 meals to Palestinians in Gaza, according to a social media post, as well as providing 5,000 meals to families in Lebanon who were displaced by the conflict.
Earlier this month, the U.S. also began airdorpping aid into Gaza. Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium have also sent aid.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.