Rafah airstrikes: Israel says its airstrikes against selected targets in the city of Rafah in Gaza will continue until the Hamas leadership has been wiped out or the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 are returned. Cease-fire talks in Cairo were scheduled to resume today with Israel sending a delegation of negotiators. The World Central Kitchen said its operations to feed people in Rafah have been suspended due to the Israeli airstrikes. Doctors Without Borders says it has stopped treating wounded people at a field hospital in Rafah and are preparing to evacuate the area.
U.S. holds shipment: The BBC reports that a senior Biden Administration official confirms that the U.S. has delayed shipping 3,500 bombs to Israel because of concerns that Israel is going to move forward with a full assault on Rafah. The BBC quotes the unnamed official as saying that the U.S. is concerned that Israel has not fully addressed needs of civilians in Rafah. A spokesman for the Israeli military said that any disputes between the U.S. and Israel are being dealt with behind closed doors.
Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine today attacked a Russian oil refinery, starting a fire and injuring five workers according to the Russians. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the Russians today staged another missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure. He said electrical equipment in seven regions of the country was hit by missiles and drones. Ukraine says it needs more defensive weapons from the U.S. and other western countries to defend itself against Russian missile and drone attacks.
Judge Cannon: Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump, has indefinitely postponed Trump’s classified documents trial. Trump was indicted for stealing classified government documents when he left the White House and refusing to return them. The trial was supposed to begin in Florida this month, but Cannon’s order issued late yesterday cancelled the trial date and failed to set a new date. Cannon said she had many complicated motions to rule on before a trial could begin but for several months has not ruled on any of them. Some previous rulings by her that sided with Trump were thrown out by an appeals court.
Weather: Severe weather today threatens millions of people living in a wide area from northeast Texas to Maine. For the past several days severe storms have been accompanied by heavy rains, hail the size of softballs and tornadoes. Yesterday, two tornadoes struck the area around Portage, Michigan. There were about two dozen injuries reported and massive destruction of houses and businesses around Portage. The National Weather Service said nine tornadoes touched down in Michigan yesterday.
New factory: President Biden was campaigning in Racine County in Wisconsin today where an electronics factory that was promised by Donald Trump was not built. Trump attended the groundbreaking in 2018 for a new factory that was supposed to be built by the Taiwan company Foxconn that had been given tax breaks by his administration. The factory was not built as announced. Biden is announcing that Microsoft plans to build a $3.3 billion data center of its own on the site where the Foxconn plant was supposed to be built.
