President Joe Biden threatens to cut off supplies of offensive weapons to Israel if it invades Rafah. Stormy Daniels will be questioned at Donald Trump’s trial. And another pageant queen gives up her crown days after Miss USA stepped down.
Here’s what you should know today.
Biden says US will not transfer offensive weapons if Israel invades Rafah
President Joe Biden said the United States would not provide Israel with weapons that could be used on population centers if its military invaded Rafah. The move would mark a shift in American policy toward Israel, although Biden said Israel would remain “secure in terms of the Iron Dome and its ability to respond to attacks.”
If the Israeli military launches a ground offensive on Rafah, its administration will not provide “weapons that have historically been used to deal with Rafah, to deal with cities,” Biden said in an interview with CNN yesterday, adding that the US-supplied bombs have killed Palestinian civilians. More than 1 million people are sheltering in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s comments came a day after a senior administration official confirmed that the White House suspended a shipment of offensive weapons last week. This decision left Benjamin Netanyahu’s government deeply frustratedsaid an Israeli official.
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Israel demanded that Rafah not be included in a ceasefire agreement, according to one former and four current US officials familiar with the discussions. An Israeli official denied this characterization.
A dramatic effort to expel Johnson is immediately blocked
President of the Chamber Mike Johnson and his allies easily defeated an effort by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to oust him from power, ending – for now – threats against his presidency. The vote to kill Greene’s motion to vacate the House speaker’s seat was swift, with 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voting to kill it, versus the 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats who voted to move forward. Both Republicans and Democrats said they did not want a repeat of the three-week paralysis that occurred following the impeachment of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall.
Johnson drew Greene’s ire after he worked with Democrats to help avert a government shutdown, promoted the renewal of a critical surveillance tool and handed over billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine after months of delays.
When Greene announced her motion to remove Johnson, her colleagues promptly booed her — and when it became clear that she had no support to back her motion, she began to waver. See how the dramatic afternoon unfolded.
Daniels returns to the witness stand at Trump trial
Stormy Daniels is expected to face more questioning today for donald trumpThe former president’s defense lawyers at his secret trial two days after the adult film star detailed her encounter with him in 2006, which the former president denied.
Trump lawyer Susan Necheles began her cross-examination Tuesday by asking Daniels if she hated Trump, to which Daniels responded, “Yes.” Necheles also suggested that Daniels fabricated the encounter and a later incident involving a mystery man who allegedly told her to “leave Trump alone.” Here’s what else you should know about today’s trial.
It is unknown who will be called to the witness stand after Daniels, although former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is expected to testify at some point. However, Trump said he would “absolutely” testify in the case, but has since softened his stance. Although he may be an “uncontrollable customer,” as one criminal defense lawyer put it, he could offer some useful information.
Read more Trump coverage:
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The Trump family’s impact on Florida’s Republican National Convention is growing with the selection of Barron Trump as a fugitive delegate, marking the 18-year-old’s first step into the political arena.
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The Georgia State Court of Appeals said will consider an appeal of Trump challenging the decision not to disqualify Fani Willis as the district attorney overseeing the 2020 election interference charges against him.
Federal authorities find civil rights violations at Southlake schools, student lawyers say
The U.S. Department of Education is trying to negotiate a resolution with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake to resolve four student civil rights complaints against the Texas agency — a move that experts say signals that federal authorities have supported the allegations of the students of racism and anti-LGBTQ discrimination. A letter from the Department of Education sent this week to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which represents the students, said Carroll district officials have been contacted about negotiations.
Carroll authorities now have 90 days to reach a deal with federal authorities, experts said. The resolution could result in the implementation of some of the same types of diversity and inclusion programs that local voters rejected in landslide elections in recent years. Read the exclusive story here.
NBC News senior reporter Mike Hixenbaugh and correspondent Antonia Hylton have spent years reporting on the debate over how to handle racism in Carroll schools, which has become a national symbol for similar battles across the country. The NBC News podcast series “Southlake” also documents the clashes in the suburb. Hixenbaugh’s upcoming book, “They Came for the Schools: One City’s Struggle for Race and Identity and the New War for America’s Classrooms,” reveals what happened after a fourth-grade teacher reported the new library restrictions in the classroom at Southlake in 2021. Read an excerpt from the book here.
Colon cancer increases in young people
A new study shows that colon cancer cases have increased dramatically among people too young to be screened. Researchers analyzed CDC data between 1999 and 2020 and found that diagnoses in children ages 10 to 14 increased by 500% between 1999 and 2020; more than 300% for teenagers aged 15 to 19; and 185% in people aged between 20 and 24. Health experts say such dramatic numbers could be the result of the rarity of colon cancer in young people — but agree that the jumps are still a cause for concern.
At the same time, cancer diagnoses and deaths, once thought to only affect older people, are declining among people aged 60 and over. “This reflects the changing face of colorectal cancer,” said one expert.
Experts said the rise in colon cancer cases could be linked to food processing methods or exposure to plastics. Doctors recommend that people start having routine colonoscopies at age 45, and those who are younger should know the symptoms and understand their family history. Read the full story here.
Miss Teen USA gives up her crown days after Miss USA does the same
Miss Teen USA is relinquishing her title, the second time this week that pageant royalty has given up her crown. UmaSofia Srivastava, 17, said in an Instagram post that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.” She also thanked “those who support me for who I am…not who I have momentarily become.” Srivastava’s resignation comes days after Miss USA Noelia Voigt announced that he was giving up his title to prioritize your mental health.
Politics in brief
RNC Change: Charlie Spies’ abrupt resignation as chief counsel of the Republican National Committee came after weeks of sustained lobbying of MAGA influencers influencing Trump’s thinking, sources said.
Biden in the vote: A usually straightforward movement to add Biden to Ohio’s general election took another twist yesterday when an effort to ensure his name appeared in November paralyzed in the state Legislature.
Vice President’s Choice: Two of Trump possible running mates come with politically charged complications: the Republican governors who would choose his successors have turbulent relations with the former president.
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Team pick: Indian Americans are awakening to their political power
Indian Americans, currently the largest exclusively Asian group in the US, are undoubtedly making a mark in the political arena. They have had an explosive presence in local, state and national elections, such as former Republican Party presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. But experts say the real power comes from voters, 68% of whom are Democrats. In swing states like Arizona, attracting Indian-American voters could constitute a campaign’s margin of victory.
We talk to Indian Americans across the country about the issues they care about most (think Gaza, gun laws, reproductive care) and who they’ll vote for in the fall (many don’t know yet). Here’s what they told us. – Sakshi VenkatramanNBC Asia-America reporter
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