Blinken’s trip: Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking today in Saudi Arabia urged Hamas to accept Israel’s latest offer of a cease-fire and hostage release. Israel has said it would accept a lower number of hostages to be released in return for an initial cease-fire. This is Blinken’s seventh trip to the Middle East since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7. He said there has been measurable progress in recent weeks in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza but more needs to be done. Â
Israel-Hamas war: At least 22 people are reported to have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah in Gaza overnight. Houthi rebels are believed to be responsible for a missile attack on a cargo ship in the Red Sea. The ship was being operated by a French company and registered in Malta. In the U.S., protests continued on college campuses, ranging from Columbia University in New York to George Washington University in Washington and Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.Â
Small businesses: Vice President Kamala Harris is on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, today. It’s the kickoff stop on her nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour. She’ll meet with small business owners and highlight steps the administration has taken to help launch and grow small businesses. She’ll point out that last year more than $178 billion, representing more than 28% of federal contract spending, went to contracts with small businesses. She’ll also note that this year the Small Business Administration will nearly double the number of loans going to small businesses to 500,000 with a value of $250 billion, twice what the SBA was doing during the final year of the Trump Administration.
Federal workers: CNN reports that its investigation of plans that have been prepared by Donald Trump’s advisors and officials from his first administration show that in a second Trump Administration civil service protections would be eliminated for 100,000 federal employees. The workers would then be forced to either pledge loyalty to Trump or be fired. Trump would seek to replace career civil service workers with political appointees who would have no loyalty to the Constitution. CNN identified a key promoter of the plan as Russell Vought, who served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the first Trump Administration.
Elon Musk: The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Elon Musk against an order by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk wanted the Supreme Court to overturn an agreement he had reached with the SEC regarding his use of Twitter to carry quotes from him about his company Tesla. The SEC said that what Musk was posting on Twitter about Tesla was fraudulent and affecting the price of Tesla’s stock. Musk’s agreed with the SEC to stop the posts about Tesla.
Dan Rather: After an 18-year absence from CBS, Dan Rather returned to the network yesterday in an interview on the program CBS Sunday Morning. Rather, who anchored the CBS Evening News for 24 years, was forced out after presenting an erroneous report about President George W. Bush’s military service that was based on a fake document. Netfix carries a documentary on Rather beginning Wednesday. Rather is 92 years old. He said he has missed being at CBS every day since being forced out.
