Let's begin with the war between Israel and Hamas.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is on his way to
Israel for the second time since the war began.
Lincoln is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
tomorrow and said minimizing civilian casualties will be on the agenda.
Here's Lincoln on us efforts to increase aid in the Gaza Strip.
We've been able to establish
over the last couple of weeks,
efforts to get trucks moving.
We've had about 50 to 60 trucks a day of assistance going in.
We need that and want that to increase and I expect you'll see that
in the coming days.
At the same time, we've been working to make sure that
our nationals and other foreign nationals can get out.
And over the last two days, you've seen Americans
and their families begin to come out of Gaza
and we expect that to continue
over the coming days.
Egypt says it is prepared to accept as many as
7000 foreign nationals evacuating from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing
that will include up to 400 additional American citizens. Today.
President Biden called for a humanitarian pause in the war in
response to a pro Palestinian protester calling for a cease fire.
Biden said quote, a pause means give time to get the prisoners out.
The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll has exceeded 9000
people warning of an imminent health catastrophe at at least two hospitals.
They have failed. A refugee camp in central Gaza was hit by a strike today.
This comes after the Israeli defense Forces confirmed two days
of airstrikes on a different refugee camp in northern Gaza.
The Health ministry says 195 people died in those attacks.
The United Nations Human Rights Office said
these attacks could amount to war crimes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, us,
officials believe Russia's Wagner paramilitary group
may provide an anti aircraft defense system
to the Iran backed militant group,
Hezbollah.
According to the WSJ,
it's still unconfirmed whether or not the
system has been delivered since the Israel
war began.
Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israel along the country's border with Lebanon.
Both the Wagner group and Hezbollah have fighters present in Syria.
The US has placed an aircraft carrier in the
Eastern Mediterranean to discourage the conflict from escalating further.
Donald Trump.
Jr was back in a New York courtroom today,
testifying in the fraud trial against the Trump organization.
During his testimony,
he repeated that he relied on the company's
accountants to verify the accuracy of financial statements
on his way out of the courtroom.
He had this to say to reporters, quote, I think it went really well.
If we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.
Unfortunately, the A G has brought forth a case that is pure,
a
political persecution,
end quote.
Another defendant in the case, Donald Trump's other son,
Eric then took the stand late this morning where
questioning centered around his knowledge of his father's financial statements
and evaluation of Trump property in Westchester County, New York.
He reportedly raised his voice when repeatedly
asked about his father's financial statements.
The former president himself is set to take the stand on Monday
in other Trump news yesterday,
a Colorado judge rejected a bid from the former president to stop the
case to keep him from the 2024 presidential ballot in that state.
Judge Sarah Wallace said she will let the trial
proceed so she is able to hear more evidence.
She says she intends to make a ruling by Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, today in Minnesota,
a similar hearing will begin as an advocacy group
there attempts to remove Trump from that state's ballot.
Minnesota Secretary of State has asked for a quick ruling so we can
notify local election officials on next steps ahead of the state's primary.
In each case,
the group filing the lawsuit alleged Trump should
be disqualified from running for office because he
violated the 14th amendment and engaged in insurrection
in relation to the January 6th Capitol riots.
Jurors in the trial of FTX found Sam Beman
freed will be working overtime as they deliberate,
deliberate a verdict.
The judge told the 12 jurors that he will keep
them until 815 tonight so they can reach a decision.
He also told them that the government will provide
pizza and Uber rides home after they are done
closing arguments in the trial concluded yesterday with
the prosecution's rebuttal finishing up this morning,
Beman Fried faces charges of wire fraud,
securities fraud and money laundering for which he could
face a potential life sentence if found guilty.
Now, because of a scheduling issue, the jury will continue deliberating on Monday.
If no decision is reached tonight,
one of the police officers charged in the death of
Tyree Nichols changed his plea today in a Tennessee courthouse,
Desmond Mills Junior now pleads guilty to federal
charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice
and agreed to plead guilty on state charges as well.
Prosecutors are recommending a 15 year sentence but the judge on the
case will make the determination in a hearing set for May 22nd
Mills Junior is the first of the five officers charged in the case to change his plea.
It's unclear if any of the others will follow.
29 year old Nichols died after injuries he sustained
from a beating by five Memphis police officers,
the former gang leader who has been charged
in connection with the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur
appeared in a las Vegas courtroom today,
Dwayne Keith Davis pleaded not guilty to orchestrating the 1996 shooting
Davis who was arrested at the end of September
was in the vehicle that the shots came from,
that killed the rapper.
He will remain jailed without bond.