USA

WASHINGTON, Oct 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Any move by Israel to occupy the Gaza Strip again would be a “big mistake”, US President Joe Biden said in an interview released on Sunday, as Israeli troops prepared for a ground invasion.

Israel, seeking vengeance for an attack by Hamas on Oct 7, has declared war on the militant group, launching a relentless bombing campaign and warning more than a million people in northern Gaza to move south ahead of the operation.

WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV, Oct 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's White House is wrestling with a host of thorny security and political challenges as officials plot a potential trip to Israel that may hold longer-term diplomatic advantages for Biden.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Biden, who has been outspoken in his support for Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally, still reeling after a devastating cross-border assault by Palestinian Hamas militants on Oct. 7.

New York Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Palestinian Authority's official news agency published comments on Sunday by President Mahmoud Abbas that criticized Hamas over its actions but later removed reference to the militant group without providing an explanation.

The comments, published by WAFA on its website, came during a phone call between Abbas and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The two discussed Israel's bombardment of Gaza following Hamas' deadly rampage through Israeli cities.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Pentagon has deployed two aircraft carriers -- and their supporting ships -- to the eastern Mediterranean since the attacks on Israel.

The ships are meant as a deterrent to ensure the conflict does not expand, but bring a significant amount of power to a region that already hosts a number of U.S. military ships, planes and troops.

FORD CARRIER

The Gerald R. Ford carrier, along with supporting ships, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean early last week.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — By the time Donald Trump returns to Iowa on Monday, the Republican former president will have drawn more than 10,000 people to his events in the state in less than a month.

There’s no guarantee his crowds will translate to support in the state’s Jan. 15 caucuses, which will launch the 2024 nominating cycle. But unlike his seat-of-the-pants campaign in 2016, he has a more sophisticated organization to capitalize on his high-wattage events and often emphasizes in his remarks how to participate in the caucuses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden postponed a trip to Colorado on Monday to stay in Washington and focus on the growing conflict in the Middle East, setting aside an opportunity to pitch his economic accomplishments as he runs for reelection.

Biden had been heading to the district of Rep. Lauren Boebert, where he was to visit CS Wind, the world’s largest facility for wind tower manufacturing. But the White House said just a few hours before Biden was set to take off for the trip that it would be rescheduled.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man was left reeling after receiving a $1.4 million speeding ticket, but city officials say the figure was just a placeholder, not the actual fine.

Connor Cato tells WSAV-TV in Savannah that he received the citation after getting pulled over in September for driving 90 mph (145 kph) in a 55 mph (89 kph) zone.

He called the court thinking the figure was a typo but says he was told he either had to pay it or appear in court in December.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year, a teenager in a small Michigan town killed himself after an online chat turned to demands that he pay money to keep intimate photos secret. He was one of dozens of people targeted online by two men extradited from Nigeria to face charges, FBI director Christopher Wray said Saturday.

The arrests came after the FBI joined with police in Michigan to investigate the death of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay, one thousands of American teenagers targeted in a sharp rise in online “sextortion” cases in recent years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal prosecutor on Monday pressed the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election interference case in Washington to impose a gag order aimed at reining in the former president’s diatribes against likely witnesses and others, saying the restrictions would not impact his abilities to campaign.

In asking U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to impose the narrow gag order, special counsel Jack Smith’s team has accused the Republican of using increasingly incendiary rhetoric to try to undermine the public’s confidence in the justice system and taint the jury pool.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days but no travel has been finalized, a senior administration official said Sunday. It would be a powerful symbol of sympathy and support following the brutal attack by Hamas.

A trip would be a chance for Biden to personally affirm to the Israeli people the U.S. is standing firm behind them. But it would come amid growing fears that a looming Israeli move into Gaza could spark a wider war with devastating humanitarian consequences.