NTD News Today

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the country's six-member war cabinet, an Israeli official said on June 17, in a widely expected move that came after the departure from government of the centrist former general, Benny Gantz. Mr. Netanyahu is now expected to hold consultations about the Gaza war with a small group of ministers, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, both of whom had been serving in the war cabinet. This could pose an additional challenge to the already-fragile negotiations aimed at ending the eight-month war in Gaza.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has said the threat social media poses to American children requires urgent action, and he is demanding that Congress put a label on social media apps as it does with cigarettes and alcohol. “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency—and social media has emerged as an important contributor,” Mr. Murthy said in an op-ed in The New York Times. Mr. Murthy cited several studies, including a 2019 American Medical Association study that showed teens who spend three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression.

President Joe Biden delivered a series of warnings about what a second Donald Trump presidency could hold during a star-studded Los Angeles fundraiser over the weekend, framing the 2024 presidential election as an inflection point in American history. The fundraiser, which featured former President Barack Obama, raised more than $30 million for President Biden’s reelection efforts, a campaign official told CNN. The conversation between Presidents Biden and Obama was moderated by TV host Jimmy Kimmel.

The Supreme Court on June 14 struck down a federal ban on bump stocks approved by former President Donald Trump. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for a 6–3 court. The court’s liberal wing, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented. President Trump had pushed for the ban in response to a 2017 mass shooting that killed 58 people at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas.

Hunter Biden has agreed to drop a lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani and Mr. Giuliani's former lawyer, Robert Costello, in which he accused the pair of violating his privacy over data allegedly recovered from his laptop, according to court records. Mr. Biden had accused Mr. Costello and Mr. Giuliani, who has served as a personal lawyer for President Trump, of being responsible for the "total annihilation" of his digital privacy in a lawsuit filed in September of last year.

Leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations turned their attention to artificial intelligence, economic security, and migration on the second and final day of their G7 summit, as their delegations worked on a comprehensive joint communique touching on many of the world’s major geopolitical and social challenges. The summit will also see the discussion of financial support for Ukraine, the war in Gaza, climate change, Iran, and the situation in the Red Sea, as well as China’s industrial and economic policies.

The Supreme Court ruled against plaintiffs in a lawsuit Thursday that challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s approach to regulating the abortion pill mifepristone. The ruling allows for the pills to continue to be mailed to patients without an in-person doctor’s visit. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for a unanimous court. The court ruled that the doctors and pro-life groups that had challenged access to the drug did not have standing to sue.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) political and economic forum have agreed to engineer a $50-billion loan to help Ukraine in its continued fight against Russia. Interest earned on profits from Russia’s frozen central bank assets will be used as collateral. Details of the deal are being hashed out by G7 leaders at their summit in Italy. The money could reach Kyiv before the end of the year, according to U.S. and French officials, who confirmed the agreement ahead of a formal announcement.

Russian prosecutors have sent the espionage case against jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich to court, accusing him of spying for the CIA. The Russian Prosecutor General’s office said it had approved the indictment and that Mr. Gershkovich will stand trial in the city of Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested in March 2023—making him the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges since the Cold War.

President Joe Biden will arrive at the G7 summit in Italy armed with over 300 new sanctions aimed at further isolating and financially weakening Russia. The measures are “guided by G7 commitments to intensify the pressure on Russia,” according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and they mark the latest attempt to limit the Kremlin’s revenues and hamper Moscow’s ability to source materials for its war in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed his frustration about Hamas submitting “numerous changes” to a U.S.-backed proposal for a cease-fire and the release of hostages in Gaza—a development that casts further doubt on the prospects of quickly securing a deal the United States hopes will bring “an enduring end” to the war. Mr. Blinken did not go into specific details about the changes, but continued to cast exclusive blame for the stalling of the deal—and the prolonging of the suffering of the people of Gaza—on the Hamas terrorist group, and not on Israel.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on a resolution holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio files of President Biden’s interview in his classified documents case, a move that comes just weeks after the White House blocked the release of the recording to lawmakers. The contempt action represents House Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the Justice Department and of Mr. Garland’s leadership.

Hunter Biden has been convicted of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. A sentencing date has not yet been set. The jury reached the verdict on June 11 after around three hours of deliberations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more than $400 million in new humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza as he again called on Hamas to accept a cease-fire proposal that he described as the most effective way to address the humanitarian emergency in the territory. The United States' top diplomat was speaking at an emergency humanitarian aid conference in Jordan, where he also called on other nations to give more aid in support of civilians in the war-torn strip.

Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has been killed in a plane crash along with nine other passengers, the country’s President Lazarus Chakwera has announced. The aircraft went missing on Monday after it failed to land at Mzuzu International Airport, about 240 miles to the north of the capital Lilongwe. The wreckage of the plane has been located, Mr. Chakwera said in an address to the nation.

The criminal trial of President Joe Biden’s son resumed on June 10 and is heading into its final stretch as jurors hear instructions from the judge. The defense and prosecution have rested their cases and Hunter Biden did not testify. Closing arguments are expected after a lunch break. Hunter Biden is facing three felony charges related to a 2018 firearm purchase. Authorities accuse him of lying to the federally licensed gun store by illegally claiming on his application that he was not a drug user at the time of purchase and then unlawfully possessing the gun for 11 days.

Israel’s dramatic weekend rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip, in an operation that local health officials say killed 274 Palestinians, came at a sensitive time in the 8-month-old war, as Israel and Hamas weigh a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire and the release of the remaining captives. Speaking after meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas was the only side that had yet to agree to President Biden's plan, which Washington says already had Israel's backing before Biden announced it on May 31.

French political parties were racing to field candidates and discuss possible alliances following President Emmanuel Macron's shock decision to call a snap election after a bruising loss in Sunday's vote for the European Parliament. There is no certainty Marine Le Pen's National Rally party will end up with enough seats to run the government, after trouncing Macron's party in Sunday's European Parliament vote. Other scenarios include a wide-ranging coalition of mainstream parties.

Federal prosecutors wrapped up their gun case against Hunter Biden on June 7 with two final witnesses in their effort to prove that the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form when he said he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Prosecutors called an FBI forensic chemist, Jason Brewer, who tested a residue found on the leather pouch that contained Hunter Biden’s gun. It came back positive for cocaine, though the amount was minimal, he told jurors. A Drug Enforcement Administration agent testified about text messages Hunter Biden sent to alleged dealers.

President Joe Biden for the first time publicly apologized to Ukraine for a monthslong congressional holdup in American military assistance that let Russia make gains on the battlefield. President Biden met in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who appealed for bipartisan U.S. support going forward “like it was during World War II.” The meeting comes a day after the United States announced it will send about $225 million in military aid to Ukraine, in a new package that includes ammunition Kyiv’s forces could use to strike threats inside Russia to defend the city of Kharkiv from a heavy Russian assault.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government will have to provide more funding to Native American tribal health care programs to cover expensive overhead costs associated with billing insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid. The ruling is a victory for the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona and the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming, which had each sued over the funding.

President Joe Biden delivered remarks on June 6, commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day landings at the Normandy American Cemetery in Northwestern France. “History tells us freedom is not free. If you want to know the price of freedom, come here to Normandy,” President Biden said during a nearly three-hour ceremony honoring those killed during D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. The president was accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron.

On day four of Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial in Wilmington, Delaware, defense lawyers cross-examined the firearms dealer who sold Hunter Biden the gun in 2018. Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter Biden’s late brother, Beau, took the stand after that. The president's son is accused of illegally purchasing and possessing a gun while abusing or being addicted to drugs, a violation of federal law. He pleaded not guilty to the three charges, though he's been open about his struggles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction. The charges were brought by special counsel David Weiss.

Border authorities are already starting to deport migrants, after President Biden invoked presidential powers to stop asylum processing when arrests for illegal crossings top 2,500 in a day. The Associated Press cited two senior Homeland Security Department officials who confirmed the first deportations under the new rule took place Wednesday, though they did not say how many were deported. The officials briefed reporters on condition their names not be used in keeping with regulations.

Boeing launched astronauts for the first time on June 5, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA. A pair of NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft. The trip by Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was expected to take 25 hours, with an arrival Thursday. They will spend just over a week at the orbiting lab before climbing back into Starliner for a remote desert touchdown in the western U.S. on June 14.

Tensions are escalating on the Israel-Lebanon border as the Israeli military warned it was prepared to launch a large-scale attack in the north to deter the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. Cross-border attacks from Lebanon led to large fires blazing through Israel’s northern region this week, consuming swathes of land and leading to the evacuation of residents. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the northern city of Kiryat Shmona near the Lebanese border, saying that Israel is prepared for “very intense action” in the north.

First son Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial continues in Wilmington, Delaware with Kathleen Buhle, Hunter’s ex-wife, taking the stand. Her testimony comes after the defense team cross examined the prosecutor’s first witness, FBI special agent Erika Jensen. Jensen introduced key evidence, including Hunter Biden's laptop. Both sides laid the groundwork of their case in opening statements Tuesday, as they battled over the fundamental issue at play: whether Hunter Biden purchased a gun while addicted to drugs.

Attorney General Merrick Garland pushed back on Republican lawmakers’ claims of a weaponized Justice Department on Capitol Hill on June 4 amid their threats to hold him in contempt of Congress. In his opening remarks, Garland defended the Justice Department’s work "to uphold the rule of law," and said he and the department will "not be intimidated” by what he called “unprecedented” attacks on the department. Garland has repeatedly refused to provide House impeachment investigators with the audio recordings of special counsel Robert Hur’s interviews with President Joe Biden and his ghostwriter. Those refusals led members of the Judiciary and Oversight and Accountability panels to advance contempt resolutions against him.

The federal gun case for President Joe Biden’s son Hunter begins on June 4 as lawyers make their opening arguments one day after a jury was seated. Hunter Biden is facing three felony charges from a 2018 firearm purchase during a time when he was addicted to crack cocaine, according to his memoir. Authorities accuse him of lying to the federally licensed gun store by illegally claiming on his application that he was not a drug user at the time and then unlawfully possessing the gun for 11 days.

Arizona would step directly into immigration enforcement by making it a state crime to cross the Arizona-Mexico border anywhere except a port of entry, under a proposal that’s up for a final vote by lawmakers on Tuesday. If approved, voters would decide in November if the measure becomes law. The measure, scheduled for a vote in the Arizona House, would let state and local police arrest people crossing the border without authorization. It also would empower state judges to order people convicted of the offense to go back to their home country.