9:31 a.m. EDT National News – AP News Summary

Israel is considering Hamas’ latest response to the Gaza cease-fire proposal as diplomatic efforts are revived.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet is set to convene to discuss Hamas’ latest response to a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire in Gaza. Diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the nine-month war appear to have stirred back to life after a weekslong hiatus. The United States has rallied world support behind a plan that would see the release of all of the scores of militant-held hostages in return for a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Hamas suggested “amendments” last month. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that the original proposal was an Israeli one but has raised doubts over whether it would end the war — a key Hamas demand. Hamas sent another response this week, which the Israeli Cabinet was expected to discuss Thursday.

Hezbollah fired over 200 rockets into Israel after the killing of a senior commander.

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese Hezbollah group says it has launched over 200 rockets at several military bases in Israel in retaliation for a strike that killed one of its senior commanders. The attack by the Iran-backed militant group on Thursday was one of the largest in the monthslong conflict along the Lebanon-Israel border, with tensions boiling in recent weeks. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack. It acknowledged on Wednesday that it killed Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who headed one of Hezbollah’s three regional divisions in southern Lebanon, a day earlier. Hours later, Hezbollah launched scores of Katyusha rockets and Falaq rockets with heavy warheads into northern Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, followed by more rockets on Thursday.

Labour is hopeful and Conservatives morose as voters deliver their verdict on UK’s election day.

LONDON (AP) — British voters are picking a new government in a parliamentary election Thursday that is widely expected to bring the opposition Labour Party to power. A jaded electorate is delivering its verdict on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power since 2010. Polls opened at 7 a.m. in 40,000 polling stations in a vast variety of locales _ including church halls, a laundromat and a crematorium. Hundreds of communities are locked in tight contests in which traditional party loyalties come second to more immediate concerns about the economy, crumbling infrastructure and the National Health Service.

Biden at 81: Often sharp and focused but sometimes confused and forgetful.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Behind closed doors, in the Oval Office, on Air Force One or in meetings around the world, many people describe President Joe Biden in the same dual way. He is often very sharp and focused. But he also has moments, particularly later in the evening, when his thoughts seem jumbled and he trails off mid-sentence or seems confused, and he doesn’t grasp the finer points of some foreign policy details. The president is 81. And that he would be less sharp than he once was is not surprising. But these moments have taken on a fresh resonance following Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

FACT FOCUS: Trump wasn’t exonerated by the presidential immunity ruling, even though he says he was.

Former President Donald Trump is turning to his social media platform to declare “total exoneration” after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have broad immunity when it comes to their actions while in office. But the ruling did not exonerate him and left intact the long-established principle that there’s no immunity for purely personal acts. It did, however, significantly narrow his election interference case by finding that presidents enjoy absolute immunity for their core constitutional duties. The ruling does amount to a major victory for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, whose legal strategy has focused on delaying court proceedings until after the 2024 election.

Ukraine’s army retreats from positions as Russia gets closer to seizing strategically important town.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s military says it has retreated from a neighborhood in the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region which has been reduced to rubble under a monthslong Russian assault. Chasiv Yar is west of neighboring Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing the town. It’s highly sought after due to its strategic location and elevated position. Should Chasiv Yar fall, it would put nearby cities in jeopardy, compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of seizing the entire Donetsk region.

Hurricane Beryl roars toward Mexico after leaving destruction in Jamaica and eastern Caribbean.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl ripped off roofs in Jamaica, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and damaged or destroyed 95% of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before rumbling toward the Cayman Islands and taking aim at Mexico’s Caribbean coast with at least seven dead in its wake. What had been the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic has weakened to a Category 3, but remained a major hurricane. Its eye was forecast to pass just south of the Cayman Islands overnight. Mexico’s popular Caribbean coast prepared shelters, evacuated some small outlying coastal communities and even moved sea turtle eggs off beaches threatened by storm surge.

The questions about Biden’s age and fitness are reminiscent of another campaign: Reagan’s in 1984.

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan answered the age question with a clever joke that reset his campaign from a stumbling debate performance to a 49-state landslide and a second term. The wobbles came during his first debate with Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale. Two weeks later, the opponents returned to the debate stage and Reagan, the oldest president in history until President Joe Biden took that title, got his moment. He said: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” The 81-year-old Biden is hoping to bounce back after a disastrous debate against 78-year-old Republican Donald Trump.

Americans to celebrate Fourth of July with parades, cookouts — and lots of fireworks.

All signs point to big celebrations for Americans this Fourth of July. Travel records are projected to fall as people gather for cookouts, parades and fireworks. Some unique celebrations are also planned. In Down East, Maine, lobster boat races will be held off the rocky coast. In Philadelphia, descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence will ring the Liberty Bell. An annual tug-of-war contest is being held in California. And, of course, there’s the annual hot dog eating contest in Coney Island, New York.

With Taylor Swift heading to Germany, one city has taken her name — at least for a few weeks.

BERLIN (AP) — The Swifties are about to take over the German city formerly known as Gelsenkirchen, where American superstar Taylor Swift is set to give three Eras Tour concerts later this month. In honor of the singer, the city has renamed itself “Swiftkirchen” — at least temporarily — to welcome the tens of thousands of fans who are expected to come for her shows on July 17, 18 and 19, German news agency dpa reported. German news agency dpa reported that a yellow city sign with the new name was unveiled Tuesday by Swift fan Aleshanee Westhoff, who suggested the name change to the mayor a few weeks ago and started a petition.