June 10 top stories
Hello, it is June 10. Hope your weekend was good. Here are today’s top stories.
Israel rescues four hostages in operation Gazan officials say killed more than 200
Multiple sources reported that Israel announced the rescue of four Israeli hostages on Saturday, while Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 274 Palestinians were killed.
Cheers filled Tel Aviv on after Israel announced the rescue of the hostages, all of whom were kidnapped at a music festival during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas-led militants.
They were rescued from two separate locations in Nuseirat in central Gaza – in what is the largest recovery of living hostages since the war erupted eight months ago, bringing the total number of rescued hostages to seven.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the operation entailed Israeli airstrikes, which left around 700 Palestinians wounded in addition to the nearly 300 killed.
Hamas-led militants kidnapped some 250 people on Oct. 7. With the rescue of these four hostages, 120 remain in captivity – about a third of whom are believed dead.
Boeing, SpaceX successfully test key rockets
Boeing Starliner and SpaceX Starship missions both hit spacelight milestones last week.
SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built launched Thursday and achieved key objectives that demonstrated the vehicle’s reusability.
Launch occurred from the private Starbase facility in Texas, at 7:50am CT, and the company streamed live coverage on X, drawing millions of viewers.
The first two attempts to get Starship to orbital speeds in 2023 ended in explosions.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s competitor, Boeing, made historic strides during the crewed maiden voyage of its Starliner spacecraft.
After lifting off Wednesday, Starliner was not without issues, including helium leaks and thruster failures. After working through the potential setbacks with mission control, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams received jubilant welcomes aboard the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday afternoon.
This was Starship’s fourth test flight and Boeing’s third attempt.
Takeaways from Hunter Biden’s first week gun trial
Hunter Biden’s trial on gun charges brought by his father’s Justice Department has put on full display tawdry and embarrassing details about the president’s son, all while first lady Jill Biden watched from the courtroom almost every day in Wilmington, Delaware.
The key takeaways from the first week gun trial included pictures of Hunter Biden with drug paraphernalia and bare-chested in a bubble bath, text messages between Hunter Biden and drug dealers, testimony from Hunter’s three exes about relationships destroyed by his drug use and Naomi Biden taking the stand in defense of her father.
Prosecutors on Friday rested their case accusing Hunter Biden of lying when he swore that he was not a drug user on a federal form to buy a gun in October 2018. The defense could call at least one more witness when the trial resumes on Monday before lawyers make their closing arguments.
He has said he has been sober since 2019.
President Biden said Thursday that he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden, if he is convicted at his federal gun trial.
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Far-right surges in EU elections
A four-day election, June 6 to 9, has shaken the foundations of the European Union, with the far right rocking ruling parties in France and Germany, the bloc’s traditional driving forces. For the next five years, it will be harder for the European Parliament to make decisions.
French President Macron called snap national elections after his pro-European centrists were humbled in the polls. German Chancellor Scholz’s Social Democrats also suffered as the extreme-right Alternative for Germany made massive gains.
In Italy, the party of Prime Minister Meloni, which has neo-fascist roots, won more than 28% of the national vote for the EU assembly.
Belgian PM De Croo resigned after a crushing defeat by the far right in general elections.
Green and liberal groups across Europe suffered heavy defeats. However, the center-right European People’s Party remains the biggest bloc in the 27-nation EU’s assembly.
See Alex’s story about a well-known former astronaut, William Anders, killed in a plane crash.
Former astronaut William Anders killed in Washington plane crash
Thanks, Callie.
William Anders, who was a former astronaut during an Apollo moon mission in 1968, was killed on Friday when he crashed a plane that he was piloting alone in Washington state. He was 90.
Anders is best known for taking the iconic “Earthrise” photo that showed Earth from the perspective of the moon. Anders previously said the photo was one of his most significant contributions to the space program.
The “Earthrise” photo was not taken from the surface of the moon, but was taken while Anders and his crew were orbiting the moon. The mission, Apollo 8, was the first human spaceflight to leave low-Earth orbit and travel to the moon and back. It helped to pave the way for the Apollo moon landing seven months later.
Anders’ family said they are devastated by his death. He was flying a small Beech A45 airplane. The NTSB and FAA are investigating the crash.
Thanks for the story. That’s all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Israel rescues four hostages in operation Gazan officials say killed more than 200
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/08/israel-hostages-gaza-hamas/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp334z7rxxmo
Boeing, SpaceX successfully test key rockets
Takeaways from Hunter Biden’s first week gun trial
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/07/hunter-biden-trial-prosecution-rests.html
Far-right surges in EU elections
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/9/germany-and-frances-far-right-make-gains-in-eu-elections
Former astronaut William Anders killed in Washington plane crash
https://apnews.com/article/plane-crash-san-juan-islands-washington-6d3800130ef4e67d761f96b328f7c263