AP News Summary at 11:35 p.m. EDT
Pressure rises on Israel to pause fighting and ease siege as battles intensify near Gaza City
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops have encircled Gaza City in heavy fighting with Hamas militants, the miiltary says, as the Palestinian death toll rises above 9,000. U.S. and Arab leaders are raising pressure on Israel to ease its siege and at least briefly halt its attacks in order to aid civilians. U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading to the region for talks Friday in Israel and Jordan. President Joe Biden has suggested a humanitarian “pause” in the Gaza fighting to let in aid for Palestinians and let out foreign nationals. Hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and dozens of wounded left Gaza Wednesday for the first time, and dozens more were leaving on Thursday.
‘A curse to be a parent in Gaza’: More than 3,600 Palestinian children killed in just 3 weeks of war
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — In just 25 days of war, more than 3,600 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza, according to the strip’s health authorities. They were hit by airstrikes, smashed by rockets, burned by blasts and crushed by buildings. Among the dead were avid readers, budding journalists and infants too young to comprehend what was happening. The advocacy group Save The Children says more children were killed in Gaza in October than in all conflict zones around the world combined last year. With nearly half of the crowded strip’s 2.3 million inhabitants under the age of 18, children are the most vulnerable victims of Israel’s powerful airstrikes.
House approves nearly $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel. Biden vows to veto the GOP approach
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved a nearly $14.5 billion military aid package for Israel, but without humanitarian assistance for Gaza. The partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President Joe Biden. Biden has said he’d veto the bill. Next steps are uncertain, since Democrats say the GOP bill will go nowhere in the Senate. Johnson’s approach requires the emergency aid be offset with spending cuts at the IRS, taking money intended to be used to go after tax dodgers. Biden instead wants nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine, Gaza, U.S. border security and other needs. The House also approved a resolution condemning support on college campuses for Hamas.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of defrauding cryptocurrency customers
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York jury has convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud charges. The 31-year-old California man was convicted Thursday in Manhattan federal court by jurors who rejected his testimony that he didn’t defraud thousands of customers worldwide who counted on him to safeguard the billions of dollars they deposited in accounts. Bankman-Fried has been jailed since August, when a judge concluded he’d tried to influence prospective trial witnesses. He was extradited to the United States last December from the Bahamas, where he had operated the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and a hedge fund, among other businesses.
Eric Trump testifies he wasn’t aware of dad’s financial statements, but emails show some involvement
NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Trump has testified that he was never involved with or aware of financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of their family business. He clarified his answer Thursday after he was shown decade-old emails from a fellow Trump executive asking him for information for the financial statement. Eric Trump testified: “We’re a major organization, a massive real estate organization — yes, I’m fairly sure I understand that we have financial statements.” But, he insisted: “I had no involvement and never worked on” Donald Trump’s financial statement. Eric Trump followed brother and co-executive Donald Trump Jr. in testifying at the family’s New York civil fraud trial. Their father is scheduled to testify Monday.
Minnesota justices appear skeptical that states should decide Trump’s eligibility for the ballot
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Supreme Court justices appear skeptical states have the authority to block ex-President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. Some of the justices suggested Thursday Congress is best positioned to decide whether Trump’s role in the U.S. Capitol insurrection should prevent him from running. Justices sharply questioned an attorney representing Minnesota voters who sued to keep the Republican off the state ballot under the U.S. Constitution’s rarely used “insurrection” clause. The oral arguments are unfolding during an unprecedented week. A court in Colorado also is debating Trump’s eligibility under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. A Trump attorney says the eligibility question shouldn’t even be before the court.
Maine mass shooting puts spotlight on a complex array of laws, and a series of missed chances
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The architect of Maine’s “yellow flag law” said it was designed to stop shootings like the one that claimed 18 lives, and that the tragedy needs to be examined to see if changes are needed. Investigators are still piecing together details of what information was shared with police and how police responded before mentally ill Army Reservist Robert Card opened fire in Lewiston, killing 18 people. State Sen. Lisa Keim, sponsor of Maine’s yellow flag law, called it a “massive failure” that neither Maine law nor a red flag law in New York where Card was hospitalized prevented the tragedy. She said she hopes the governor’s independent panel will provide answers ahead of lawmakers’ return to work in January.
Former Memphis police officer pleads guilty to federal charges in Tyre Nichols’ death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Memphis police officer has pleaded guilty in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, becoming the first of five officers charged to reverse course. Desmond Mills Jr. pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice. It is part of a larger agreement under which Mills agreed to also plead guilty to related charges in state court and cooperate with state and federal investigations, including civil rights investigations by the U.S. Justice Department. Federal and state prosecutors agreed to a recommended sentence of 15 years.
Vaping by high school students dropped this year, says US report
NEW YORK (AP) — A new government report shows fewer high school students are vaping. About 10% of high school students said they had used electronic cigarettes in the previous month. That’s down from 14% from the same survey conducted last year. Fewer high schools students also smoked cigarettes and cigars. The use of e-cigarettes among middle school students was about the same as last year. The report was released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC considers the annual survey its best measure of youth smoking trends.
Listen to the last new Beatles song with John, Paul, George, Ringo and AI tech: ‘Now and Then’
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The final Beatles recording featuring John, Paul, George and Ringo is here. Released Thursday and titled “Now and Then,” the song comes from a batch of unreleased demos written by the late John Lennon in the ’70s. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr used the tape to construct the songs “Free As a Bird” and “Real Love,” released in the mid-1990s. But there were technical limitations to finishing “Now and Then.” That changed in 2022, 21 years after Harrison’s death, when Starr and McCartney were able to utilize the same artificial intelligence restoration methods used during the making of “The Beatles: Get Back” to complete “Now and Then.”