Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City early today as Israeli warplanes target the Palestinian enclave. Photo: Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images
“Israel unleashed another wave of airstrikes this morning, the heaviest since the violence broke out a week ago, AP reports. Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired more than 3,100 rockets into Israel.
At least 188 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, including 55 children and 33 women. Eight people in Israel have been killed in rocket attacks launched from Gaza, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier.” Read more at Axios
“Among the dead in Sunday’s bombing raids were two prominent Palestinian physicians, whose deaths, along with reports of damaged medical facilities, have raised concerns of an ensuing health crisis. Ayman Abu al-Ouf, the head of coronavirus response at Gaza’s largest hospital, was reported killed on Sunday along with Moein Ahmad al-Aloul, one of the few neurologists in the territory. Al-Aloul’s five children died with him.
Speaking on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign in Gaza would ‘continue as long as necessary.’ But reports from Israeli news site Walla on Sunday reported on possible cease-fire talks, mediated by Egypt, in light of the Israeli military’s successes in targeting Hamas and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
As the conflict drags on, calls for a cease-fire have increased. The 57 member states of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation called on Israel to halt its attacks in Gaza and demanded intervention from the U.N. Security Council. Representatives from Turkey and Iran chided recent normalization agreements signed by Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates as enabling Israel’s behavior. ‘The massacre of Palestinian children today follows the purported normalization,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
Red, white, and blocked. At the United Nations, the United States continues to block a U.N. Security Council call for a cease-fire; 14 of the 15 council members backed a statement on Sunday—introduced by China, Norway, and Tunisia—condemning both Israel and Hamas for ongoing violence and calling for an immediate cease-fire. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said her country is still ‘working tirelessly through diplomatic channels’ to halt hostilities.
Congressional calls. Despite the Biden administration’s inertia, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are raising their voices. Two Senators on the Committee on Foreign Relations, Chris Murphy, a Democrat, and Todd Young, a Republican, issued a joint statement on Sunday encouraging a cease-fire. It followed a similar joint statement by 28 out of the 50 sitting Democratic Senators urging an ‘immediate cease-fire.’” Read more at Foreign Policy
“The Associated Press’s top editor on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera, and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts.
Separately, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s bombing of a building housing the media organizations as a possible war crime.
Sally Buzbee, AP’s executive editor, said the Israeli government has yet to provide clear evidence supporting its attack, which leveled the 12-story al-Jalaa tower.
The Israeli military, which gave AP journalists and other tenants about an hour to evacuate, claimed Hamas used the building for a military intelligence office and weapons development. Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said Israel was compiling evidence for the United States. but declined to commit to providing it within the next two days.” Read more at Boston Globe
“An Arizona Republican who heads up the county elections department that is the target of a GOP audit of the 2020 election results condemned former president Donald Trump for continuing to push false claims of electoral fraud months after his defeat and called his recent comments ‘unhinged.’
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer on Saturday called on Republicans to stop supporting Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud and slammed the former president for falsely accusing Maricopa County of deleting an elections database.
‘This is unhinged,’ Richer tweeted, adding that he was ‘literally looking at our voter registration database on my other screen. Right now. We can’t indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country.’
Richer’s comments reflect the escalating tensions over what Republicans in Arizona’s largest county see as a controversial election review commissioned by the GOP-led state Senate. After using a legislative subpoena to seize Maricopa County’s 2.1 million ballots and its voting machines, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann (R) has pushed for county supervisors to come to the chamber to answer questions from the private auditors she has hired to conduct the review.
Jack Sellers (R), chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, declared that the recount of the 2020 election results in the county was becoming ‘dangerous.’
‘This is not funny,’ he wrote in a statement Thursday.
Maricopa County officials and Gov. Doug Ducey (R) have repeatedly certified President Biden’s win in the 2020 election. He was the first Democrat in nearly 25 years to win the state. But that hasn’t stopped the auditors — led by a Florida firm whose founder has promoted baseless claims of election fraud — from continuing a review that has raised concerns from the Justice Department about whether the partisan audit is violating federal law.” Read more at Washington Post
PHOTO: LUDOVIC MARIN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
“Bill Gates left Microsoft amid a probe into his relationship with a staffer. An investigation began in 2019 into the billionaire’s prior romantic relationship with a female employee that was deemed inappropriate. Gates’s spokeswoman said his decision to leave the board in 2020 wasn’t related to the matter.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Leaders of all but one of India's 36 states and territories have imposed coronavirus restrictions as cases keep mounting and calls grow for a second nationwide lockdown. Experts say a 10- to 15-day pause would give the health system time to recoup material and manpower, but the central government is resisting, even as UK researchers say early data gives ‘a degree of confidence’ that existing vaccines work against the variant first spotted in India. China, meantime, suspended climbing at Mount Everest over Covid-19 fears. And Taiwan -- an early success story -- limited the size of gatherings in its capital as it battles its biggest outbreak since the start of the pandemic. In the US, experts warn about the unintended consequences of new mask guidance. With much of the country still unvaccinated, many more Americans may now be shedding their masks than the CDC recommended.” Read more at CNN
“Officials at Bucknell University have ordered an investigation into what they described as a ‘horrific’ episode of harassment targeting residents at a house for L.G.B.T.Q. students on its campus in Lewisburg, Pa., last week.
In a letter to students, the university said a group of men ‘harassed and intimidated’ residents of Fran’s House, an affinity house for L.G.B.T.Q. students, and tried to break into the building on Thursday night. In interviews, residents said they were terrified and traumatized by the episode.” Read more at New York Times
“The nation’s top public health official on Sunday defended her agency’s abrupt reversal on wide-ranging mask recommendations, saying that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had weighed new data before announcing that Americans who had been vaccinated could go without masks.
‘We now have science that has really just evolved even in the last two weeks,’ CDC director Rochelle Walensky said on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ citing new data that coronavirus vaccines are curbing spread of the disease and offering protection against virus variants. Walensky, who appeared on four separate Sunday morning news shows to explain her agency’s new guidelines, also touted widespread access to those vaccines and called on tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans to go get shots.” Read more at Boston Globe
“The Biden administration announced Monday that roughly 39 million American families will begin receiving direct cash payments in July under a new child benefit created by Democrats’ coronavirus relief bill.
The Internal Revenue Service will on July 15 start delivering a monthly payment of $300 per child under 6 and $250 per child older than 6 for those who qualify. The monthly benefits will be deposited directly in most families’ bank accounts on the 15th of every month -- or the closest day to that date, if the 15th falls on a holiday or weekend -- for the rest of the year, without any action required. For instance, an eligible family with two children aged 5 and 13 will receive $550 from the IRS directly to their bank accounts on or close to the 15th of every month from July to December.
How Biden quietly created a huge social program
Biden administration officials estimate that households representing more than 65 million children -- or 88 percent of all U.S. kids nationwide -- will begin receiving the benefit through direct deposit, paper checks, or debit cards. Of that population, roughly 80 percent of that population will be sent the cash directly via direct deposit, administration officials told reporters on a call Sunday. High-income parents will receive a smaller benefit or none at all, depending on how much they make. The credit diminishes for individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $75,000, as well as couples earning more than $150,000.” Read more at Washington Post
“Monday is Tax Day, so if you haven’t already filed, it’s time to get moving. But don’t panic: If you're pressed for time, here’s how to file for an extension. One thing to keep in mind though: Even if you get an extension, your payment is still due at the tax filing deadline. So if you don't pay your estimated tax due by May 17, the IRS will charge you interest on the unpaid balance.” Read more at USA Today
“A key witness in the scandal surrounding Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is scheduled to appear in court Monday following a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Joel Greenberg will plead guilty to six of the 33 federal charges against him, including sex trafficking a minor, and has agreed to provide ‘substantial assistance’ in other federal investigations. The plea deal adds pressure on Gaetz, who is facing a Justice Department investigation over whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid for sex with adult women. Gaetz has denied the accusations.” Read more at USA Today
“SAN DIEGO — President Biden, under political pressure, agreed to admit four times as many refugees this budget year as his predecessor did, but resettlement agencies concede the number actually allowed into the United States will be closer to the record-low cap of 15,000 set by former president Donald Trump.
Refugee advocates say they are grateful for the increase because it’s symbolically important to show the world the United States is back as a humanitarian leader at a time when the number of refugees worldwide is the highest since World War II. But they’re frustrated, too, because more refugees could have been admitted if Biden hadn’t dragged his feet.” Read more at Boston Globe
“City council members in the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was killed have voted to drastically reduce the power of their police force. Wright, 20, died after he was shot by an officer who said she thought she was holding her Taser. The case prompted a fresh round of protests over police use of force against people of color. Under the new measure, all emergency calls related to physical or mental health or social need will go to a new community response unit instead of the police. Traffic enforcement also will be handled by a separate, unarmed force, and police will only be allowed to issue citations -- not conduct arrests or searches -- for nonmoving traffic infractions and other non-felony offenses. Meanwhile, organizers of New York City Pride have banned the NYPD from participating in the annual June parade, saying their appearance threatened members of the community who are ‘most often targeted with excessive force.’” Read more at CNN
“Amazon is making a push to reduce worker injuries. The online retailer is introducing on-the-job stretching exercises and staff meditation zones as it tries to reduce workplace injuries and improve mental health on the job.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“Starbucks joins a host of other national restaurant chains that are easing mask requirements in the wake of new guidance last week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The coffee giant said masks will be ‘optional for vaccinated customers beginning Monday, May 17, unless local regulations require them by law.’ Trader Joe's, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco and Publix are some of the chains now allowing mask-free shopping for fully vaccinated customers except where required by state or local mandate.” Read more at USA Today
“AT&T announced Monday that it plans to combine its entertainment and media company with Discovery Inc. in a deal that would create a TV, film and streaming behemoth featuring more than a half dozen top cable networks plus Warner Bros. studio and other properties.
If approved by federal regulators, the deal would create a top new competitor in the entertainment spectrum three years following AT&T’s blockbuster purchase of Time Warner that provided the telecom giant with CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT and the Warner Bros. studio.
The new company would combine with Discovery, which was founded as a documentary company in the Maryland suburbs in the 1980s but has grown to be the New York-based parent of networks including Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV and the Travel Channel.
Public interest groups, consumer advocates and President Trump’s Justice Department opposed AT&T’s Time Warner acquisition. The deal gave AT&T, which controls of much of the infrastructure bringing television and steaming services into American homes and smartphones, a premier entertainment company in WarnerMedia, one that owns top titles such as Game of Thrones and the Harry Potter movie franchise.” Read more at Washington Post
“New offer | Republicans in the Senate are set to present a fresh counter-proposal to U.S. President Joe Biden’s $2.25 trillion plan to rebuild infrastructure. While prospects for a deal are brightening, Erik Wassonwrites, discord over funding could still scupper an agreement.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, former lawmaker Albert Ho and eight others pleaded guilty to organizing a 2019 protest that highlighted local opposition to the Chinese Communist Party.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Uneven recovery | China’s industrial output and investment were lifted by strong exports and a hot property market while consumer spending lagged forecasts. The April data underline that while China remains a global growth driver and source of demand for commodities, the economic expansion may have reached its strongest point.
The U.S. Senate is poised to begin action this week on a packageof bills aimed at China by bolstering American competitiveness in technology and manufacturing.
China is vaccinating almost 14 million people a day against Covid-19, the fastest pace in the world.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Firefighters on Monday continue to work towards containing a fire that forced the mandatory evacuation of about 1,000 people in the Pacific Palisades area in Southern California. The L.A. Fire Department said blaze – which started late Friday – may head northwest, threatening homes. Officials said the cause of the fire was ‘suspicious’ and under investigation. Arson investigators identified one individual who was detained and released. Investigators then detained and questioned a second suspect.” Read more at USA Today
“Lives Lived: Eula Hall called herself a ‘hillbilly activist’ and became a one-woman relief agency for a chronically underserved part of Appalachia. She died at 93.” Read more at New York Times
“Chile’s constitution. With roughly 90 percent of votes counted, Chile’s ruling center-right coalition looks to have suffered a surprise loss in elections to choose a 155-person body to rewrite the country’s constitution. Independents, with 45 seats, will hold the most sway in the constitutional assembly, where new proposals need approval by a two-thirds majority. The ruling Chile Vamos coalition won 39 seats, while center-left and far-left candidates won 25 and 28 seats respectively.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Afghanistan cease-fire ends. Fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces recommenced on Sunday following a three-day cease-fire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The Taliban attacked a number of government checkpoints in Helmand province, the regional government said, adding that 21 Taliban fighters were killed. The clashes took place as peace negotiations resumed in Doha over the weekend.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Gujarat’s storm. Cyclone Tauktae, the strongest storm to hit the region in more than two decades is expected to make landfall in the Indian state of Gujarat today, potentially adding more strain to an already overwhelmed health system. More than 150,000 people have been moved from low-lying areas to shelters, prompting fears of further COVID-19 transmission. At least six people have already died in the heavy rains brought by Tauktae.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Iran’s presidential race. Two main contenders for Iran’s June 18 presidential election signed on as candidates on Saturday as registration closed. Ebrahim Raisi, the head of Iran’s judiciary and a losing candidate to President Hassan Rouhani in 2017, joined the race along with former parliament speaker Ali Larijani. The registered candidates, which include former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will now be assessed by the 12-member Guardian Council before their candidacies are approved.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“COVAX supplies. COVAX, the World Health Organization-backed initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries, is 140 million doses short of its distribution goals as exports from India’s Serum Institute have grinded to a halt since cases exploded there in March. UNICEF, the U.N. body responsible for purchasing vaccines for COVAX, has called on G-7 and EU nations to make up the shortfall, calculating that the countries could share 153 million doses and still meet their domestic vaccination commitments.” Read more at Foreign Policy
“Buzzfeed News reporters found President Biden’s Venmo account ‘after less than 10 minutes of looking for it’ raising concerns about digital security and privacy for general users of the peer-to-peer money exchanging app. The potential vulnerability was discovered after a New York Times profile mentioned that the president sends money to his grandchildren using the app.
‘For one of the most heavily guarded individuals in the world, a publicly available Venmo account and friend list is a massive security hole. Even a small friend list is still enough to paint a pretty reliable picture of someone’s habits, routines, and social circles,’ Gennie Gebhart of the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Buzzfeed. Although the White House has yet to comment, it already appears to have taken action: As of Friday night, Biden’s account no longer appears on searches within the app.” Read more at Foreign Policy