Nation & World Glance
Biden says ‘key elements’ of a Gaza deal are on the table as he meets with Jordan’s King Abdullah
WASHINGTON — declaring that “every innocent life lost in Gaza is a tragedy,” President Joe biden welcomed Jordan’s King abdullah II to the White House monday for talks on how to end the months-long war and plan for what comes afterward.
The meeting with abdullah comes as biden and his aides are working to broker another pause in Israel’s war against Hamas in order to send humanitarian aid and supplies into the region and get hostages out. The White House faces growing criticism from arab americans over the administration’s continued support for Israel in the face of rising casualties in Gaza since Hamas launched its Oct 7 attack on Israel.
“The key elements of the deal are on the table,” biden said alongside the king, though “there are gaps that remain.” He said the u.s. would do “everything possible” to make an agreement happen: a pause to fighting for at least six weeks and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
a senior u.s. administration official said Sunday that after weeks of shuttle diplomacy and phone conversations, a framework was essentially in place for a deal. The official said Israeli military pressure on Hamas in Khan Younis over the last several week s has helped bring the militant group closer to accepting an agreement.
abdullah said biden’s leadership was “key to addressing this conflict,” as he raised the plight of the tens of thousands of civilians killed and wounded in the fighting.
Shooter entered Texas megachurch with young son and used Ar-style rifle in the attack, police say
HOUSTON — The shooter at a Texas megachurch on Sunday had a history of mental illness and brought their young son to the attack that was carried out using an ar-style rifle and ended in an exchange of gunfire with two off-duty officers, authorities said monday.
Houston police identified the shooter as Genesse Ivonne moreno, 36, who they say wore a trenchcoat and carried a backpack upon entering Lakewood Church, which is led by the pastor Joel Osteen. moreno used both male and female aliases, but investigators who looked at past police reports found that moreno identified as female, Houston Police Commander Chris Hassig said.
The attack happened in between services at the Houston megachurch — located in a former nba arena — and sent worshippers scrambling for safety.
during the shooting, moreno’s 7-year-old son was shot in the head and remained in critical condition monday, authorities said. moreno, who was killed by the officers, was not a known member of Osteen’s congregation, said church spokesman don Iloff.
Police and FBI investigators said they have not established a motive for the shooting but were looking into a dispute involving moreno and the family of moreno’s ex-husband. Hassig and others said moreno had a history of mental illness, including being placed under emergency detention in 2016, but provided no additional details.
France accuses Russia of a disinformation campaign in a key election year
PARIS — France condemned “hostile” disinformation maneuvers after the country’s authorities on monday accused russia of operating a long-running online manipulation campaign against ukraine’s Western backers, in the lead up to the second anniversary of moscow’s military invasion of its neighbor.
The French foreign ministry said in a statement “no manipulation attempt will distract France from its support for ukraine in the face of russia’s war of aggression.”
earlier monday, French Foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné said that a network of “at least 193” websites had been set up with the aim “to spread russian disinformation,” speaking alongside his German and Polish counterparts after a meeting near Paris involving ukraine-related talks and other issues.
Séjourné said “russia seeks to destroy europe’s unity and even worse, wants to make our democracies exhausted … by blurring the limit between real and fake (news), by manipulating information.”
The French agency responsible for fighting foreign digital interference, Viginum, released a report describing the network codenamed “Portal Kombat” that it analyzed between September and december in 2023.