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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. intelligence agencies were tracking a potential Iranian assassination plot against former President Trump in the weeks before Saturday’s shooting, several officials said yesterday. They added that they did not consider the threat related to the shooting. U.S. officials say Iran has long considered retaliating against Trump for killing top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, and that there may be more attempts on Trump’s life in the coming weeks. Peter Baker, Adam Goldman, and Julian E. Barnes report for the New York Times; Erin Banco reports for POLITICO.
President Biden is finalizing plans to announce major changes to the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, including proposals for legislation to establish term limits for the justices and an enforceable ethics code, according to sources. Biden is also weighing whether to call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad presidential immunity, the sources said. Tyler Pager and Michael Sherer report for the Washington Post; Deepa Shivaram reports for NPR.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NY) was convicted yesterday of all 16 criminal counts in his corruption trial. Menendez had been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for taking official actions to benefit New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. The senator, who denies any wrongdoing, is due to be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces the possibility of decades in prison. James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey report for the Wall Street Journal; Larry Neumeister and Philip Marcelo report for AP News.
Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a man who was wielding two knives near the convention, Milwaukee’s police chief said yesterday. Jake Offenhartz reports for AP News.
A federal appeals court yesterday ruled that a Minnesota law requiring a person to be at least 21 years old before obtaining a permit to carry a handgun in public for self-defense is unconstitutional. Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.
TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) is set to subpoena Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at a July 22 hearing, which will examine federal law enforcement’s handling of Saturday’s assassination attempt against Trump. Juliegrace Brufke reports for Axios.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
A Georgia appellate court yesterday scheduled oral arguments on Trump’s appeal of a state court ruling allowing the Fulton County District Attorney to continue prosecuting the election interference case for Dec. 5. Holly Bailey reports for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and other militant groups was a planned, “systematic” assault against civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a new report. The report, based on interviews with survivors, hostages, first responders, and other witnesses, condemned what it said were various war crimes and crimes against humanity by Hamas and allied groups. Bryan Pietsch reports for the Washington Post.
Two Israeli strikes killed more than 20 people in separate parts of Gaza yesterday, one of which targeted a U.N. school being used as shelter, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military said it had targeted militants who had operated inside the building. About 17 people were killed yesterday in a separate strike in Mawasi, an Israel-designated safe zone, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israeli military said it had struck an Islamic Jihad commander in Khan Younis and that it was investigating reports that civilians were injured. Aaron Boxerman reports for the New York Times.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired several rockets toward the Israeli border town of Sderot, setting off air raid sirens there for the first time in days, the Israeli authorities said yesterday. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The New York Times reports.
Israel’s military yesterday said it had eliminated half of Hamas’s military leadership since the war in Gaza began in October, in addition to roughly 14,000 fighters who had also been killed or apprehended during the conflict. Adam Taylor reports for the Washington Post.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government. The outgoing administration will now play the role of a caretaker government until a new executive is appointed. In a statement, Macron urged “all Republican forces” to reach an agreement to end the country’s transition period “as soon as possible.” POLITICO reports.
Federal authorities charged the suspected leader of an Eastern European-based neo-Nazi group with harboring plans to poison Jewish and minority children in New York City. Georgian national Michail Chkhikvishvili was indicted on four charges, the Justice Department said yesterday, including conspiracy to solicit hate crimes and acts of mass violence. Andrew Jeong reports for the Washington Post.
Six people were killed and 28 others injured in a rare shooting attack on Monday near a Shia Muslim mosque in Oman’s capital Muscat, police say. The three attackers were killed by security forces during the incident. The self-styled Islamic State militant group (ISIS) said three of its members were involved in the attack. David Gritten and Jaroslav Lukiv report for BBC News.
U.S. Central Command today said ISIS is trying “to reconstitute,” as the number of attacks in Syria and Iraq is on track to double those of the previous year. Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Abby Sewell report for AP News.
A former Syrian military official who ran a notorious prison and is accused of torturing and killing political dissidents has been arrested in Los Angeles. Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, 72, is accused of attempted naturalization fraud in an effort to seek U.S. citizenship, and was detained just before he was scheduled to depart last week on a one-way flight to Beirut, according to court papers. Katie Benner and Adam Goldman report for the New York Times.
A New York grand jury indicted a former CIA analyst and prominent North Korea expert on charges of secretly working for the South Korean government in exchange for bribes. Sue Mi Terry, a former U.S. National Security Council member, first acted as a foreign agent in June 2013 as she started meeting with an unnamed “handler” on “multiple occasions,” according to the indictment. Michael Mitsanas, Audry Jeong and Yoonjung Seo report for CNN.
The Philippines and China have agreed to establish new lines of communication to improve their handling of maritime disputes, sources say. Neither country has commented at the time of writing. Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores report for Reuters.
China and Russia have begun live-fire naval drills, joint air defenses, and anti-submarine exercises in the South China Sea, according to Russian and Chinese state media. Joe Cash reports for Reuters.
Bangladesh deployed a paramilitary force yesterday after at least five people were killed in violent university protests over the introduction of quotas for government jobs. Authorities today urged all universities to close after the deadly violence. Saif Hasnat and Anupreeta Das report for the New York Times; Julhas Alam reports for AP News.
Colombia’s government has called off a ceasefire with some factions of the Estado Mayor Central rebels, led by commander Ivan Mordisco, the defense ministry said yesterday. Reuters reports.