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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
A 14-year-old student opened fire at a high school in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday, killing four people and injuring nine. The suspect had been questioned by local police in 2023 about online threats of a school shooting, according to the F.B.I. State authorities said he had used “AR-platform-style weapon” in the shooting, and would be prosecuted as an adult. The New York Times reports.
Hunter Biden’s second federal trial is set to begin today, after a six-year investigation into his finances, drug use, and reported tax evasion. The trial is expected to last around two weeks. Betsy Woodruff Swan reports for POLITICO.
A former police officer who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, received a reduced sentence yesterday, decreasing his prison term from 87 to 72 months. The resentencing is one of the first examples of the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling limiting the scope of an obstruction statute used to prosecute Jan. 6 cases. Samantha Latson reports for POLITICO.
A Republican House panel yesterday subpoenaed Gov. Tim Walz (D-MI), the Minnesota Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture over their response to a major pandemic fraud scheme. Kyle Stewart reports for NBC News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conflicting messages are confusing already fraught ceasefire talks, officials say. Netanyahu this week said Israel would not withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor, while his chief negotiator told mediators the military would pull out. Claire Parker, Loveday Morris, and John Hudson report for the Washington Post.
Israeli strikes in the occupied West Bank killed five people, including the son of a prominent jailed militant commander, according to Palestinian health officials. AP News reports.
Netanyahu derailed a potential hostage release deal in July, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, citing a document it obtained. The report gives credence to charges often leveled at Netanyahu of prolonging the war for his political benefit. Mick Krever, Becky Anderson, Jeremy Diamond, and Dana Karni report for CNN.
The second stage of the U.N.’s campaign to vaccinate children in Gaza against polio is underway. Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued striking the enclave, including a central Gaza hospital, killing five Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters; Lynsey Chutel reports for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
Washington is racing to propose a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal in the coming days, two U.S. officials and Egyptian sources told Reuters. However, Hamas’s new condition to increase the number of Palestinian prisoners released as part of a deal has raised concerns as to whether an agreement is possible, U.S. officials say. Steve Holland, Jonathan Landay, Andrew Mills, and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan report; Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The Justice Department charged two Russian media operatives in an alleged scheme that illegally funded a Tennessee-based company to create and publish propaganda videos on social media. A U.S. official has named the company as Tenet Media. Prosecutors allege that the operation aimed to fuel pro-Russian and pro-Trump narratives. Zachary Cohen, Donie O’Sullivan, Evan Perez, and Sean Lyngaas report for CNN; David Nakamura, Catherine Belton, and Will Sommer report for the Washington Post.
The United States yesterday announced a plan to counter Russian influence ahead of November’s election, as it tries to curb the Kremlin’s use of state media and fake news sites to sway U.S. opinion. The actions include sanctions, indictments, and seizing of web domains. Julian E. Barnes, Glenn Thrush, and Steven Lee Myers report for the New York Times.
Iran has intensified its efforts to discredit democracy and meddle in the upcoming presidential election, according to the U.S. government and experts. Steven Lee Myers, Tiffany Hsu, and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
An extensive police operation is underway in Munich today after a man reportedly approached the Israeli general consulate bearing a “long” weapon. He shot at police before officers gunned him down, reports say. Kate Connolly reports for the Guardian.
Haiti has expanded a state of emergency to the whole country as the government continues to battle gangs in the capital. The move comes as the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares to visit the nation today, where he will discuss “forthcoming steps in Haiti’s democratic transition.” Tom Bennett reports for BBC News; Brad Dress reports for The Hill.
Michael Barnier, the E.U.’s former chief Brexit negotiator, has been named as the new French Prime Minister after weeks of deadlock. The Guardian reports; BBC News reports.
Canada’s left-wing New Democratic Party has “ripped up” a yearslong deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals that has helped keep his minority government in power. The sudden exit puts Trudeau’s government at risk when Parliament returns for the fall and casts doubt on the timing of Canada’s next election. Holly Honderich reports for BBC News; Kyle Duggan reports for POLITICO.
Mexico’s lower house of Congress yesterday passed a contentious bill that would enable a sweeping judicial overhaul requiring all judges to stand for election. The bill is expected to pass in the Senate, where the ruling bloc is just one seat short of a supermajority. Megan Janetsky reports for AP News; Emiliano Rodríguez Mega and Simon Romero report for the New York Times.
Serbia is Russia’s ally and will never sanction Moscow or join NATO, the country’s deputy prime minister said yesterday, as he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The remarks by Aleksandar Vulin reflect close Belgrade-Moscow ties, despite Serbia’s proclaimed bid to join the E.U. AP News reports.
Russia is continuing its crackdown on leading scientists after it sentenced a top physicist specializing in hypersonic flight to 15 years for treason this week. Anton Troianovski reports for the New York Times.
A second plane linked to Venezuelan strongman President Nicolás Maduro is being investigated in the Dominican Republic, a source told CNN.
China is enjoying its “best in history” relations with African nations, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said today, as he pledged $50 billion in financial support and military aid for the continent. Simone McCarthy reports for CNN.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed ahead with a sweeping overhaul of his senior government, as his party revealed the names of nine candidates for top cabinet positions yesterday. Marc Santora and Maria Varenikova report for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN RELATIONS
President Biden is preparing to block an attempt by Japan’s Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel on national security grounds, sources say. The move could roil U.S.-Japan relations amid China’s growing influence in East Asia. Andrew Duehren, Alan Rappeport, and Lauren Hirsch report for the New York Times.
A U.S. Navy sailor has been detained in Venezuela after traveling on personal business, officials said yesterday. The detention follows a similar disappearance earlier this year when a U.S. Army soldier was arrested while traveling to Russia. NBC News reports.
A federal judge yesterday ordered the release of a former U.S. Green Beret indicted in connection with a failed 2020 coup attempt against Maduro. He has been released pending a trial on weapon charges. Joshua Goodman reports for AP News.
North Korean spies are infiltrating U.S. companies through low-level IT jobs using stolen identities, giving Pyongyang access to cash and intellectual property, U.S. officials and researchers say. According to the Justice Department, the scheme is netting hundreds of millions of dollars for Kim Jong Un’s regime. Dustin Volz reports for the Wall Street Journal.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Trump yesterday made a new bid to delay his criminal hush money sentencing, now two weeks away, according to court filings. Zach Schonfeld reports for The Hill.