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Marathon US-Israel meeting produces optimism but no firm commitment to American plan for Gaza
JERUSALEM (AP) -- A marathon meeting between U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the fate of the Gaza ceasefire unclear. Officials signaled moderate optimism after Monday’s talks but offered no concrete commitment by Israel to the latest US-proposed plan. American negotiators appeared to acquiesce to Israeli demands that Hamas disarmament must come before any reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian enclave. They did not publicly signal that Israel had made any commitments to withdraw its troops from the 60% of Gaza they currently occupy. That’s a major sticking point in the plan.
Trump administration briefly pauses contentious border project in Texas’ Big Bend National Park
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration says it is temporarily pausing construction of a controversial border construction project in the Big Bend National Park while the head of the agency tasked with building the wall visits Texas to do an “on-the-ground evaluation.” The project through the national park in southern Texas has faced fierce bipartisan opposition by critics who say it is marring a pristine environmental area and that the region’s rugged and remote terrain already serves as a deterrent to migrants and smugglers. Rodney Scott, who heads Customs and Border Protection which is tasked with building the wall, said in an announcement on X Monday that he was visiting Texas to do an evaluation.
ICE pitches legal insurance to help shield local officers who make immigration arrests
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is pitching a plan to help shield local police officers who make immigration arrests from possible financial consequences if they are accused of on-duty misconduct. A planning document released Friday says the agency is proposing to subsidize liability insurance for state and local officers who are trained and deputized to enforce federal immigration laws. ICE’s partnerships with local departments have soared since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year and may get an additional boost with liability insurance by removing a hurdle that has made some local police departments reluctant to join. The Associated Press is the first to report on this insurance proposal.
US school vaccination rates inch down yet again and exemptions reach record high
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates have declined again, with exemptions reaching a record high. Federal data released Monday shows 4.2% of children are exempted from vaccine requirements, up from 3.6% the previous year. This marks the fourth consecutive year of rising exemption rates, mostly due to nonmedical reasons. Experts blame confusion in vaccination recommendations. The CDC reports a slight drop in measles-mumps-rubella shots, and that vaccination rates for polio and other diseases also are falling. The U.S. is experiencing its worst measles year since 1991. Some state health officials are urging parents to vaccinate their children as schools can be hot spots for outbreaks.
Flooding risk remains as storms move from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A deadly stretch of unsettled weather is continuing with thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding an ongoing threat from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic. The National Weather Service said repeated rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms would continue for one more day before a cold front sweeps the weather pattern off the East Coast Tuesday. Meanwhile, much of West Virginia, southeast Ohio and northeast Kentucky are under a flood watch through Monday evening. In Indiana, days of storms have left at least seven people dead. Elsewhere, high heat continues to scorch much of the South and Southwest.