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Joe Biden will meet with his national security team on Monday, the White House said, as the United States sends more fighter jets and warships to the Middle East amid growing fears of a retaliatory attack by the Iran to Israel.
Tensions rose after last week’s assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed a former Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr. Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, which has vowed revenge.
Amid fears that Israel’s war in Gaza could turn into a wider conflict, the president will also speak with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the White House said. “The overall goal is to lower the temperature in the region, to deter and defend against those attacks, and to avoid regional conflict,” Jonathan Finer, the White House’s deputy national security adviser, told the CBS News’ Face the Nation. He added that the United States and Israel were preparing for every possibility.
Kentucky governor releases timetable for Harris VP announcement, fueling speculation
Speculation is mounting over who Kamala Harris will choose as her running mate, with rumors swirling after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear canceled an appearance in his state without explanation.
But Beshear is not alone: ​​Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is also considered a likely candidate, also canceled a fundraising trip this weekend amid reports that Harris was interviewing a number of figures for a position on to his ticket.
Both candidates have their strengths: while Shapiro, who Democrats hope will win the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, is widely seen as the frontrunner, Beshear’s supporters see him as the best option for win over independent voters. According to a recent Morning Consult poll, Beshear has the best approval rating of any Democratic governor in the country.
Nancy Pelosi reveals struggle with guilt after husband’s attack
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has shared how she dealt with guilt after a man nearly killed her husband with a hammer in a home invasion attack that was intended for her .
Pelosi was in Washington DC when David DePape broke into her home and attacked her husband in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections. “He was looking for me. Imagine the guilt of all that,” said the Democratic congresswoman in California in an interview broadcast on CBS News Sunday Morning. “It’s just a horrible thing. I was the target.”
In other news…
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to lead an emergency government meeting on Monday after far-right riots escalated on Sunday, with violent disorder that included a mob trying to set fire to a hotel hosting asylum seekers.
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Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro has vowed to “pulverize” challenges to his rule amid further condemnation of the crackdown that followed last week’s disputed election.
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said that a decade ago he staged a scene to make it look like a cyclist had run over a bear cub in New York’s Central Park. after finding the dead animal in the Hudson Valley.
Stat of the day: Japan’s benchmark stock index tanks by strongest margin in nearly four decades
Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA
Japan’s benchmark stock index fell 12% on Monday: the biggest one-day drop since the Black Monday crash of 1987. The FTSE 100 also sank, as did markets global reacted to weak US jobs figures that raised fears of a recession.
Don’t miss this: inside the crumbling Honduras zoo, built with drug money
Located in a remote region of Honduras, the Joya Grande zoo was once a trophy for the Cachiros cartel – and also a money laundering scheme. But since the fall of the cartel began, with properties including the zoo seized by the state, experts have tried to improve conditions for animals who live in squalid conditions: a challenging task when funds are scarce.
Climate control: EPA deals ‘major blow’ to multibillion-dollar gas drilling plan off Western Australia
Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority has deemed a multibillion-dollar offshore gas drilling development in the ocean “unacceptable” because of its impact on marine life. The EPA told Woodside Energy in February that its preliminary view on drilling at Browse – Australia’s largest untapped conventional gas field – was that “the proposal was unacceptable”, a freedom of information request from WAToday showed.
Last thing: should you ever tell someone you dreamed about them?
Do you have the urge to call someone and tell them you’ve been dreaming, sparing no small, surreal detail – even if it’s someone you haven’t spoken to in over a decade? It can be fun, silly and risky but one thing is certain: the dream has everything to do with you and little to do with them.
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