Ethan Cohen

🚨Pacific Palisades Fire 🚨 Some shots from the fire last night. The winds are up to 80 mph and houses were burning down all along the Malibu coastline via Pacific Coast Highway. Heed evacuation orders. #PalisadesFire #EatonFire #HurstFire #fire #LAFD #wildfire

Ethan Cohen @itsecohen, @eccunion news editor alum and now assistant editor @lbcurrent and executive producer @BeachTVCSULB, asks a question to @washingtonpost photojournalists @jabinbotsford and @demetriusfreem during #MediaFest25.

HAPPENING NOW: Big Los Angeles Sheriff presence on the corner of Alondra Boulevard and Hunsaker Avenue in the city of Paramount. Police have streets and blocks blocked off and are not letting people through. Bangs can be heard and mace can be felt and smelled.

Dear Members of the @PulitzerPrizes board, My name is Emily Damari. I was held hostage in Gaza for over 500 days. On the morning of October 7, I was at home in my small studio apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas terrorists burst in, shot me and dragged me across the border into Gaza. I was one of 251 men, women, children, and elderly people kidnapped that day from their beds, their homes, and a music festival. For almost 500 days I lived in terror. I was starved, abused, and treated like I was less than human. I watched friends suffer. I watched hope dim. And even now, after returning home, I carry that darkness with me - because my best friends, Gali and Ziv Berman are still being held in the Hamas terror tunnels. So imagine my shock and pain when I saw that you awarded a Pulitzer Prize to Mosab Abu Toha. This is a man who, in January, questioned the very fact of my captivity. He posted about me on Facebook and asked, “How on earth is this girl called a hostage?” He has denied the murder of the Bibas family. He has questioned whether Agam Berger was truly a hostage. These are not word games - they are outright denials of documented atrocities. You claim to honor journalism that upholds truth, democracy, and human dignity. And yet you have chosen to elevate a voice that denies truth, erases victims, and desecrates the memory of the murdered. Do you not see what this means? Mosab Abu Toha is not a courageous writer. He is the modern-day equivalent of a Holocaust denier. And by honoring him, you have joined him in the shadows of denial. This is not a question of politics. This is a question of humanity. And today, you have failed it.

In a panel of student journalists that include former @ECCUnion editor @itsecohen, these photographers discuss their experiences covering the January wildfires. #acp25 #eccunion

Donald J. Trump is now the 47th President of the United States.

President Donald Trump.

Long Beach has sent nearly two dozen firefighters to help combat the blaze of the #LosAngeles Wildfires. At least 5 people are confirmed dead and thousands of structures are destroyed. @lbcurrent lbcurrent.com/news/2025/01/0…

It’s easy to look at these houses being engulfed in flames simply as numbers, but they’re so much more. They’re spaces of security and shared memories. Symbols of the very essence of the human experience. Many Americans are now faced with a new and awful reality. Heartbreaking.

The @BeachHillel exhibit at Long Beach State raised awareness of hostages taken in the Israel-Hamas conflict, igniting both curiosity and debate from passing students. @lbcurrent lbcurrent.com/news/2024/11/2…

@BeachHillel Long Beach State biology major Jake Banafsheha, 19, wraps tefillin (Jewish daily ritual) with help of Rabbi Mendel Rosenbluh on the main quad.

@BeachHillel A student walking by the display shouted “terrorists” toward members of the Hillel. Jenna Klinghoffer, 20-year-old political science major, said she was verbally berated by a student who said the war has killed so many people.

Happening Now: @BeachHillel is hosting a solidarity event to mark 410 days since hostages were kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza, sparking the Israel-Hamas war which has lasted for over 13 months. @lbcurrent #IsraelHamasWar

Shocking pogroms against Jews in Amsterdam - fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv report that the attacks were premeditated by groups of Arabs. They gathered in clusters of 5 to 10 in alleys and key exits from various train stations, particularly around Dam Square and the streets near Israeli hotels. They had precise information on where to wait, and as soon as they spotted Israelis, they attacked with knives, bats, and other weapons, with some reports of vehicles with Palestinian flags involved in hit-and-run incidents. The police left Maccabi fans unaccompanied after they exited the Johan Cruyff Arena, providing no escort from the moment they boarded the trains to their hotels. One man is heard pleasing “I’m not Jewish”. He was beaten regardless. It took the police nearly an hour and a half to respond, and many fans recorded police vehicles standing idle while the Arab crowd not only attacked but also threw fireworks into hotels where Israelis were hiding. One fan, who managed to escape after a terrifying hour reached Amsterdam Airport covered in blood and injuries, expressed his frustration, saying, "The Dutch police sold us out to let the Arabs lynch us." Israel’s Prime Minister ordered the immediate release of two rescue planes to assist the citizens. Is this 1939 Germany or 2024 Amsterdam?!

In case you missed it, the California State Universities banned encampments and limited aspects of student expression. Read more about it in my story for the @lbcurrent: 📸: Samuel Chacko lbcurrent.com/news/2024/09/0…

On Aug. 19, the Chancellor’s Office sent a system-wide email to all 23 CSU's announcing that campuses will no longer allow encampments, pathway-blocking protests, and face coverings that conceal identities. Visit LBCurrent.com ✍️: Ethan Cohen 📷: Samuel Chacko

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” ―George Orwell, 1984

Introducing the Long Beach Current! After 75 amazing, years as the Daily 49er, we're excited to debut our new name. We're still the same trusted source for campus news but with a fresh look. Welcome to the next chapter! Want more information? Head to lbcurrent.com.

@sahouraxo This is disinformation. Israel’s target was Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander responsible for the death of 12 Israeli children and 1983 bombing deaths of roughly 300 U.S. Marines stationed in Lebanon. @CommunityNotes Source: nytimes.com/2024/07/30/wor…

BREAKING: The scene in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut right now after Israel bombed the densely populated area of Haret Hreik, targeting residential buildings. This is terrorism.