Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah ahead of an expected assault
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army has told Palestinians to begin evacuating a part of the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, along the border with Egypt, signaling that a ground invasion is imminent. That’s according to an Israeli Defense Force statement on Monday. People were told to move to Muwasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast. The army said it’s expanded assistance into the area, including field hospitals, tents, food and water. Israel has vowed to undertake a Rafah offensive for months to weed out remaining Hamas militants there. On Sunday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Hamas wasn’t serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah.”
A look at commencement ceremonies as US campuses are roiled by protests over the Israel-Hamas war
Weekend commencement ceremonies at some U.S. universities went off with few interruptions despite the national wave of protests over the Israel-Hamas war. In Boston, Northeastern University’s commencement ended peacefully Sunday at Fenway Park. Some students waved Palestinian and Israeli flags. The University of Michigan’s commencement was held Saturday with a few interruptions. At Ohio State University, officials say a person fell from the stands to their death Sunday during the school’s graduation ceremony. Details about the death weren’t immediately available. Some students and others at the ceremony were visibly upset. But the commencement continued, and speakers did not mention what happened.
Prosecutors move deeper into Trump’s orbit as testimony in hush money trial enters a third week
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president’s reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. Hope Hicks is a former White House official and by far the closest Trump associate to have taken the witness stand so far in Manhattan. Her testimony was designed to give jurors an insider’s view of a chaotic and pivotal stretch in the campaign, when a 2005 recording showing him talking about grabbing women without their permission was made public. Testimony resumes Monday as prosecutors get closer to calling their star witness and Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.
Brad Parscale helped Trump win in 2016 using Facebook ads. Now he’s back, and an AI evangelist
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Parscale was the digital campaign operative who helped engineer Trump’s 2016 presidential victory with the heavy use of Facebook ads. Now Parscale is back working for Trump and is an evangelist for artificial intelligence. Parscale has a company called Campaign Nucleus that is working for Trump’s campaign. He says his suite of AI-powered tools can spin up customized emails, parse oceans of data to gauge voter sentiment and find persuadable voters and amplify the social media posts of “anti-woke” influencers to help conservative candidates, according to an Associated Press review.
Nervous about falling behind the GOP, Democrats are wrestling with how to use AI
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden campaign and top Democrats are wrestling with how best to use artificial intelligence, exposing the party’s anxiety over falling behind Republicans in the race to deploy technology that could transform the future of elections. Democratic strategists say they are nevertheless treading carefully in embracing tools that disinformation experts warn could pose a threat to democracy. So far, they say, AI is primarily helping them find and motivate voters and to better identify and defeat disinformation.
As China and Iran hunt for dissidents in the US, the FBI is racing to counter the threat
WASHINGTON (AP) — American officials say foreign countries like China and Iran intimidate, harass and sometimes plot attacks against political opponents and activists in the U.S. A series of cases brought by the Justice Department shows the frightening consequences that geopolitical tensions can have for ordinary citizens as governments historically intolerant of dissent inside their own borders are increasingly keeping a threatening watch on those who speak out thousands of miles away. The practice of governments harassing dissenters is known as transnational repression, and U.S. officials say there’s been an alarming rise in cases. China denies that it engages in the practice.
Macron sets Ukraine as top priority as China’s Xi Jinping pays a state visit to France
PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is welcoming China’s Xi Jinping for a two-day state visit to France. He is seeking to press Xi to use his influence on Moscow to move toward ending the war in Ukraine. The leaders are also expected to discuss trade issues. Macron recently denounced trade practices of both China and the U.S. as shoring up protections and subsides while Europe’s industry remains open and is stuck in overregulation. Xi’s state visit marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries and follows Macron’s trip to China in 2023. After his stop in France, Xi will head to Serbia and Hungary.
3 bodies in Mexican well identified as Australian and American surfers killed for truck’s tires
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say relatives have positively identified three bodies found in a well as those of two Australian surfers and one American who went missing last weekend. Baja California state prosecutors said relatives from the two countries had viewed the corpses recovered from a remote well and recognized them as their loved ones. Thieves apparently killed the three, who were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Baja peninsula, to steal their truck because they wanted the tires. They then allegedly got rid of the bodies by dumping them in a well near the coast. Three suspects are being held in connection with the case.
Heavy rains ease around Houston but flooding remains after hundreds of rescues and evacuations
HOUSTON (AP) — Floodwaters have closed some Texas schools after days of heavy rains pummeled the Houston area and left hundreds of people in need of rescue. Authorities say a 5-year-old boy died after riding in a car that was swept away in fast waters. Forecasters expect storms to begin tapering off in southeastern Texas on Monday. But high waters have closed some roads and left residents facing lengthy cleanups in neighborhoods where rising river levels led to weekend evacuation orders. Houston is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historic rainfall that flooded thousands of homes and resulted in more than 60,000 rescues.
On D-Day, 19-year-old medic Charles Shay was ready to give his life, and save as many as he could
BRETTEVILLE-L’ORGUEILLEUSE, France (AP) — D-Day veteran Charles Shay is about to take part next month in the 80th celebrations of the landings in Normandy that led to the liberation of France and Europe from Nazi Germany occupation. Then a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic, the Penobscot tribe citizen from Maine says he was ready to give his life. He also sought to save as many as he could. Now 99, he’s spreading a message of peace with tireless dedication. Nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the U.S., Canada and other nations who landed on June 6, 1944 on the Normandy shores. Shay said he did his job and “did not have time to worry” about his situation of being there and perhaps losing his own life.