Tuesday, May 18 top stories
It is Tuesday, May 18. Here are today’s top stories.
Today, a rocket from Gaza struck a packaging plant in southern Israel and killed two Thai workers.
An Israeli airstrike destroyed a six-story building in Gaza that had bookstores and educational centers. People inside the building were given advance warning and were able to evacuate before it was toppled.
News reports say there’s no signs from Hamas or Israeli leaders of reaching a deal to stop the violence.
AP News said Palestinian community leaders in Israel went on a general strike to protest the war and Israel’s occupation of lands that they say belong to them.
At least 213 Palestinians have been killed from airstrikes, including 61 children. In Israel, 12 people, including a 5-year-old boy, were killed from rocket attacks.
Over 41,000 Palestinians who lost their homes or cannot return to their homes are staying at U.N. schools in Gaza.
The White House said President Joe Biden “expressed his support for a ceasefire” in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
A growing number of progressive Democrats want Biden to take a stronger approach to stop the violence, but that’s not happening. The White House said it is their intention to be quiet about this crisis as they work behind the scenes.
The U.S. has blocked two U.N. Security Council statements criticizing Israel’s military and blocked a third statement calling for a ceasefire.
Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector in central Florida, pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking of a 17-year-old minor, admitting that he introduced her to other adult men who engaged in sex acts with the minor.
Greenberg said he would cooperate with prosecutors and provide them information. He will be sentenced this summer.
This could have serious consequences for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl) because news reports said he is under investigation for sex trafficking of the same 17-year-old minor.
Gaetz and Greenberg were in the same social circles in the past and there are Venmo transactions between them and young females in 2018.
Gaetz has not been charged with a crime and has denied wrongdoing.
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The Interstate 40 bridge that links Arkansas with Tennessee has a major crack in it and may be shut down for several months. Barges traveling on the Mississippi River are also impacted.
An inspector with the Arkansas Department of Transportation was fired for failing to spot the crack, which was there since 2019 according to drone footage.
Officials said crews with the Kiewit Corporation will remove and replace the damaged part of the bridge.
In 2002, on the opposite side of Arkansas, the I-40 bridge linking the state to Oklahoma collapsed after a barge struck a support pier. 14 people died when cars and semi-trucks plunged into the Arkansas River.
The Supreme Court said it would hear arguments on whether Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy is legal or not. The arguments will come before the court during its next term, which begins in October.
This is viewed by many as a potential turning point in abortion rights for the country because the Supreme Court could side with Mississippi. That means various states could impose similar bans up to 15 weeks.
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority after former President Donald Trump and the former Republican Senate majority appointed three justices during a single presidential term.
A North Carolina prosecutor said the sheriff’s deputies who fatally shot Andrew Brown Jr. last month was justified because they felt threatened.
Brown Jr. was killed by five bullets fired by deputies last month, including one in the head, when he tried to drive away or through deputies who surrounded his home to serve an arrest warrant.
The family and attorneys for Brown said it was an execution. The prosecutor said if the first shot is justified, the last shot is justified until the threat is extinguished.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
Israel-Hamas: https://apnews.com/article/hamas-gaza-middle-east-israel-israel-palestinian-conflict-ab0bfc2b25d2a03756fb0c084fca1a3d
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/17/no-us-action-after-third-unsc-meeting-on-israel-palestine
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/17/politics/biden-israel-hamas-gaza/index.html
Greenberg/Gaetz: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/friend-embattled-us-rep-matt-gaetz-plead-guilty-sex-trafficking-2021-05-17/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gaetz-paid-accused-sex-trafficker-who-then-venmod-teen
Supreme Court: https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-to-consider-abortion-restrictions-from-mississippi-11621259099
Andrew Brown Jr: https://www.axios.com/police-shooting-andrew-brown-jr-north-carolina-822b5573-27c8-445a-9134-1885576e1bd7.html