North America

16 October 2023; MEMO: US President Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel on Wednesday, according to Israel’s Channel 12, Anadolu Agency reports.

There has been no official confirmation from the White House or the Israeli government regarding Biden’s visit.

On Sunday, the Israeli broadcaster reported that Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, extended an invitation to the US President to visit Israel in a show of solidarity amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is appealing the length of prison sentences for four Proud Boys leaders convicted of seditious conspiracy in the U.S. Capitol attack, challenging punishments that were significantly shorter than what prosecutors had recommended, according to court filings on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are heading to the House Tuesday for the second time this Congress to try and elect a speaker, marking what they hope will be a unifying moment for a party that has been in turmoil for weeks.

GOP lawmakers are expected to rally their votes behind Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be the next speaker despite reluctance from some who are wary of his hardline approach. Conservatives have been mounting an intense pressure campaign to persuade the final holdouts to support him.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Three members of a California family pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy for their role in a ring that shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, federal prosecutors said.

Brothers Tou Sue Vang, 32, and Andrew Vang, 28, along with their mother, Monica Moua, 58, were part of “a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors” who provided the stolen auto anti-smog devices to a metal refinery for more than $600 million, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s highest court on Monday upheld the search of Google users’ keyword history to identify suspects in a 2020 fatal arson fire, an approach that critics have called a digital dragnet that threatens to undermine people’s privacy and their constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

However the Colorado Supreme Court cautioned it was not making a “broad proclamation” on the constitutionality of such warrants and emphasized it was ruling on the facts of just this one case.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday ordered two internet sellers of gun parts to comply with a Biden administration regulation aimed at ghost guns, firearms that are difficult to trace because they lack serial numbers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s political fundraising machine is raking in donations at a prodigious pace, but he’s spending tens of millions of dollars he’s bringing in to pay attorneys to deal with the escalating costs of the various criminal cases he is contending with as he moves further into the 2024 presidential campaign.

UNITED NATIONS, October 16. /TASS/: Russia has proposed two amendments to Brazil’s draft UN Security Council resolution on the Middle East, namely condemning indiscriminate strikes on the Gaza Strip and a call for a humanitarian ceasefire, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said.

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.