The US is making its biggest push yet to get Israel and Hamas to halt fighting. Is it succeeding?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is keeping up its biggest push of the eight-month-old war in Gaza to get Israel and Hamas into a cease-fire. But the world is still waiting for signs that the cease-fire appeal that President Joe Biden began a week ago is working. Biden spoke from the White House on May 31 to publicly outline terms of a deal that would halt fighting in Gaza and release hostages. Nimrod Novik, a former adviser to the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, says Biden’s outlining of the proposal has served to ‘out’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by revealing the seriousness of the effort to free hostages held by Hamas.
Biden apologizes to Zelenskyy for monthslong congressional holdup to weapons that let Russia advance
PARIS (AP) — President Joe Biden has for the first time publicly apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make battlefield gains. Biden and Zelenskyy met Friday in France, where they attended ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Biden told Zelenskyy he apologized to the Ukrainian people for the weeks of not knowing if more assistance would come while Congress waited six months before sending him a $61 billion military aid package. The Democrat insists Americans stand by Ukraine. Biden says: “We’re still in. Completely. Thoroughly.” Zelenskyy has appealed for bipartisan U.S. support “like it was during World War II.”
Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testifies about her father in his federal gun trial, ending 1st week
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Hunter Biden’s daughter Naomi testified in his federal gun trial about visiting her father while he was at a California rehab center. She told jurors Friday that he seemed to be improving in the weeks before he bought the revolver in 2018. As she was dismissed from the stand, she paused to hug her dad before leaving the courtroom. The defense began calling witnesses shortly after federal prosecutors wrapped up their case. Hunter Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell started by calling another gun store clerk who was there when the gun was purchased. Lowell raised questions about what he saw as inconsistencies on the form.
US-built pier in Gaza is reconnected after repairs, and aid will flow soon, US Central Command says
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military-built pier designed to carry aid into Gaza by boat has been reconnected to the beach in the besieged territory after it broke apart in storms and rough seas. U.S. Central Command said Friday food and other supplies will begin flowing in the coming days. The pier section that connects to the beach in Gaza was rebuilt two weeks after heavy storms damaged it and abruptly halted what had already been a troubled delivery route. Central Command says operations at the reconnected pier will be ramped up soon with a goal to get 1 million pounds of food and other supplies moving through the pier into Gaza every two days.
Former astronaut William Anders, who took iconic Earthrise photo, killed in Washington plane crash
SEATTLE (AP) — William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic “Earthrise” photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, has been killed when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90. His son confirmed the death Friday to The Associated Press. The San Juan County Sheriff says a report came in shortly before noon Friday that an older model plane crashed into the water and sank near the north end of Jones Island.
Biden looks to Pointe du Hoc to inspire the push for democracy abroad and at home
POINTE DU HOC, France (AP) — President Joe Biden has spoken from Pointe du Hoc, marking his second trip to the Normandy coast during his visit to France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Biden used the site Friday to rally Americans in defense of democracy, which he says is under threat from Donald Trump in this year’s election. The cliffs of Pointe du Hoc were scaled by Army Rangers during the invasion. The mission was memorialized by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, when he paid tribute to “the boys of Pointe du Hoc.” Biden says the legacy of Pointe du Hoc is a call to “stay true to what America stands for.”
Thomas acknowledges more travel paid for by Harlan Crow. Colleagues report six-figure book payments
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Clarence Thomas is belatedly acknowledging more travel paid for by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, while several colleagues reported six-figure payments as part of book deals. Thomas, who has faced criticism for failing to report luxury trips paid for by Crow and others over many years, said in his annual financial disclosure Friday that, in 2019, Crow paid for a hotel room in Bali, Indonesia, for a single night, and food and lodging at a private club in Sonoma County, California. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reported a nearly $900,000 advance for her upcoming memoir and four tickets to a Beyoncé concert valued at $3,700 from the singer herself. The reports offer a partial picture of the justices’ finances.
Kids are upstaging their political parents — by acting like kids
WASHINGTON (AP) — For one shining moment this week, the country’s ongoing political crises were swept away by the comedic power of one wildly exuberant 6-year-old. Rep. John Rose of Tennessee was giving an impassioned defense of former President Donald Trump when his young son Guy went into action. As C-Span recorded the moment, Guy mugged for the camera, stuck his tongue out, rolled his eyes and generally seemed to be having a blast. The nation reacted with a burst of pure bipartisan giddiness. His moment in the spotlight is the latest example of kids upstaging their political parents and bringing a moment of levity to the official workings of government. It’s also a solid case study on the sheer unifying power of humor.
The Danish prime minister is assaulted by a man on a Copenhagen square, reports say
BERLIN (AP) — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been assaulted by a man on a square in the capital of Copenhagen. That’s according to a report Friday by the state news agency Ritzau. Copenhagen police say on the X platform that one person has been arrested in the case and an investigation is underway. There is no immediate word on how the assault happened or if Frederiksen was hurt in any way. The prime minister’s office told the Danish state broadcaster DR that she was “shocked” by the incident. The reports have given no further details and it is unclear in what context the assault happened. But it came during the European Union parliamentary elections, which conclude across the bloc Sunday.
New charges for alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer cast scrutiny on another man’s murder conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — New charges brought against the man accused of a string of killings on New York’s Long Island are raising questions about another man’s murder conviction. Prosecutors said Thursday that Rex Heuermann was responsible for the death of Sandra Costilla in 1993. For years prosecutors believed that Costilla’s death may have been linked to the killings of two other young women who disappeared around the same time and were found in similar positions. John Bittrolff was convicted in 2017 of killing those two women. His lawyers say the new indictment against Heuermann casts further doubt on their client’s guilt and are asking for prosecutors to reopen the case.
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