AP News Summary at 11:47 p.m. EST
Israeli forces cut off north Gaza to isolate Hamas as an advance on the urban center looms
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces have severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with intense airstrikes overnight, setting the stage for an expected push into the dense confines of Gaza City and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war. Already, the Palestinian death toll passed 10,000, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Some 1,400 Israelis have died, mostly civilians killed in the Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas that started the war. The figures mark a grim milestone in what has quickly become the deadliest round of Israeli-Palestinian violence since Israel’s establishment 75 years ago.
WeWork seeks bankruptcy protection, a stunning fall for a firm once valued at close to $50 billion
NEW YORK (AP) — WeWork has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a stunning fall for the office sharing company once seen as a Wall Street darling that promised to upend the way people went to work around the world. The company offered few specifics about the course of its restructuring, but noted that it was requesting the “ability to reject the leases of certain locations,” which WeWork says are largely non-operational, as part of the filing. All affected members have received advanced notice, the company said in a late Monday announcement.
Trump lashes out from the witness stand at judge, NY attorney general as he testifies in fraud trial
NEW YORK (AP) — A defiant Donald Trump has sparred with a New York judge and slammed the state attorney general suing him, using the witness stand at his civil fraud trial to defend his riches and lash out at a case that imperils his real estate empire. The former president testified Monday in a lawsuit accusing him of fraudulently inflating his net worth in financial statements to lenders and others. He suggested the judge hearing the case was biased against him and he called the state attorney general who brought the case a “political hack.” The testy exchanges underscored Trump’s unwillingness to adapt his famously freewheeling rhetorical style to a formal courtroom setting. He denies all wrongdoing.
Abortion debate has dominated this election year. Here are Tuesday’s races to watch
WASHINGTON (AP) — The most-watched races in Tuesday’s off-year general election have all been dominated by the ongoing debate over abortion rights. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is seeking reelection against Republican Daniel Cameron. There’s a statewide ballot measure in Ohio on whether to amend the state Constitution to protect access to abortion services. And control of both chambers of Virginia’s state legislature is up for grabs. In all of those races, Democrat and Republican candidates have argued over abortion access. It’s a common theme in American politics since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision last year overturning Roe vs. Wade.
2nd police officer acquitted in death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neck hold, given ketamine
BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — A second Denver-area police officer has been acquitted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. The 23-year-old Black man was put in a neck hold and injected with ketamine after police stopped him as he walked home from a convenience store. The jury found Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty of homicide and manslaughter on Monday. He faced years in prison if convicted. McClain’s death fueled outrage about racial injustice in policing. An earlier trial resulted in a split verdict against two officers. One was acquitted. The second was convicted of homicide and third-degree assault.
Israelis overwhelmingly are confident in the justice of the Gaza war, even as world sentiment sours
JERUSALEM (AP) — At a time when world sentiment has begun to sour on Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza, the vast majority of Israelis are convinced of the justice of the war. Still under rocket and missile attacks on several fronts, they have little tolerance for anyone railing against the steep toll the conflict has exacted on the other side. They have rallied to crush Hamas after its militants breached the country’s borders from the Gaza Strip and triggered the war. More than 1,400 people were killed in that attack and over 240 taken hostage. Capturing the prevailing sentiment in Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said other countries would have reacted the same way to such a cross-border attack with mass casualties.
Captain found guilty of ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ in boat fire that killed 34 off California coast
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal jury has found a scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Captain Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer on Monday. The charge is a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Boylan was the only person to face criminal charges connected to the fire. He could get 10 years behind bars.
Why one survivor of domestic violence wants the Supreme Court to uphold a gun control law
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a challenge to a 1994 law prohibiting people facing domestic violence restraining orders from having guns. Tuesday’s case is the first involving guns to reach the justices since last year’s landmark decision expanding gun rights. Ruth Glenn knows the danger of putting a gun in the hands of a violent spouse or partner. Glenn was shot three times outside a Denver car wash in 1992. The shooter was Glenn’s estranged husband, who was under a court order to stay away from her. Two years later Congress enacted a law to keep people like Glenn’s husband from having guns. A Texas man is challenging the law.
Ex-college football staffer shared docs with Michigan, showing Big Ten team had Wolverines’ signs
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A former college football staffer shared documents with Michigan that showed a Big Ten opponent had spreadsheets of the Wolverines’ signs last year obtained before his team played Michigan. The material relied on intelligence gathered from multiple conference schools that had already played the Wolverines, according to the former staffer. He says he has since given Michigan the material along with screenshots of text-message exchanges with staffers at other Big Ten schools. The alleged actions are potentially in violation of the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy. Michigan is under NCAA investigation for impermissible scouting.