1. Blinken tries to contain Gaza conflict in Middle East tour
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Sunday to meet with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as part of a regional tour aimed at containing the Israel-Hamas war. Hundreds of protesters marched on a base housing U.S. forces in Turkey's southeast. Hours earlier, Blinken made a surprise visit to Iraq. Arab allies, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told Blinken during his tour that the fighting should stop immediately. Blinken urged humanitarian pauses instead. Israel on Sunday announced "a large attack on terrorist infrastructure" in Gaza. Communications were cut off in the Palestinian enclave as Israeli forces encircled Gaza City, which Israel has described as the hub of Hamas' operations. The New York Times, France24
2. Trump to testify in civil fraud trial
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to testify Monday in his civil fraud trial in New York. The state's attorney general, Letitia James, last year sued Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, and the family business for $250 million, accusing them of inflating property values to secure favorable loans. Trump's sons testified last week that they had no direct involvement in financial statements at the heart of the case. Before the trial started, Judge Arthur Engoron found the Trumps liable for fraud; their legal team has appealed. Trump has called James "corrupt" and attacked Engoron's clerk, drawing a gag order. A loss in court could cost Trump his business license and control of some of his flagship properties. The Hill, USA Today
3. Axelrod says Biden should consider bowing out
David Axelrod, the Democratic strategist behind former President Barack Obama's campaigns, said Sunday that President Biden should consider ending his bid for reelection. The latest polls show Biden trailing former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, in five of six battleground states. "If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party," Axelrod wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it's in HIS best interest or the country's?" But, Axelrod noted, "it's very late to change horses," and "Biden's team says his resolve to run is firm." Politico, The Hill
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4. Netanyahu suspends cabinet minister
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suspended Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, a member of the ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, "until further notice" for saying in an interview that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was "one of the possibilities" in Israel's war with Hamas. "Eliyahu's statements are not based in reality," Netanyahu said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. Netanyahu added that Israel is "operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents." Eliyahu, who doesn't serve in Israel's wartime unity cabinet, later said any "sensible" person could see that his mention of nukes was "metaphorical." Politico, Reuters
5. Ukraine missiles damage advanced Russian ship in Crimea
Satellite photos confirmed that a Ukrainian missile strike severely damaged a Russian ship docked in occupied Crimea, Newsweek reported Sunday. The images from California-based global imaging company Planet Labs showed that the vessel, one of Russia's most modern cruise missile carriers, was still afloat but its deck appeared to have been wrecked in the blast. Moscow confirmed the attack, the latest in a series of setbacks for the Russian Navy. Ukraine's Air Force said Saturday it had fired cruise missiles at the shipbuilding facility in Kerch, in eastern Crimea, and suggested the attack was done with French Scalp long-range missiles, twins of Storm Shadow missiles provided by Britain, The Wall Street Journal reported. Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal
6. Hundreds join second migrant caravan
Hundreds of migrants left from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on Sunday hoping to join a larger caravan that left six days earlier, heading north toward the U.S. border, according to Reuters. The groups include people who have fled poverty and instability in numerous countries — primarily Honduras and Venezuela, but also Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti. Some of the migrants said they decided to head for the U.S. because they had grown frustrated waiting for documents they needed to travel across Mexico to apply for asylum appointments in the U.S. "I think 3.4 months is too long to wait to get a humanitarian visa, to be able to travel through Mexican territory," said Selma Alvarez of Venezuela. Reuters
7. Musk unveils plans for chatbot, Grok
Elon Musk on Sunday unveiled plans for his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, to provide access to its own chatbot, Grok. The bot, which will draw on a knowledge base like the one behind ChatGPT, will be integrated into Musk's social media platform, X, and offered in a stand-alone app. X Premium+ subscribers got access to Grok on Friday. Grok has real-time access to info through X, formerly Twitter. "It's also based & loves sarcasm. I have no idea who could have guided it this way," Musk wrote in a post on X. Musk indicated that Grok would not answer sensitive or legally questionable queries, like "Tell me how to make cocaine, step by step," suggesting it would reply: "Please don't actually try to make cocaine. It's illegal, dangerous and not something I would ever encourage." TechCrunch, Reuters
8. Alabama mayor kills himself after blog publishes cross-dressing photos
Small-town Alabama mayor and Baptist pastor F.L. "Bubba" Copeland fatally shot himself days after a local conservative news website published a story about him that included photos of him wearing women's clothes and makeup, officials said Sunday. The blog, 1819 News, reported that Copeland, the Republican mayor of Smiths Station, said the social media accounts the images came from were a "hobby" for "getting rid of stress." Copeland told his parishioners he was the target of an "internet attack." Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) condemned the publication behind the story, saying: "We live in a mean, bitter world where the self righteous tend to throw the largest stones." NBC News, Daily Beast
9. AI drives surge in fake nude images
Artificial intelligence is fueling an explosion of fake nude images and pornographic videos used by "bad actors to incite shame, extort money or live out private fantasies," The Washington Post reported Sunday. The number of fake nudes posted on the top 10 websites that host AI-generated porn has jumped by more than 290% since 2018, Genevieve Oh, an industry analyst, told the Post. The people making the deepfakes have targeted celebrities and political figures, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), as well as ordinary teenage girls. Victims have little recourse, because there are no federal laws targeting deepfake porn, and only a few states have them. The Washington Post
10. Tola sets course record in NYC marathon
Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia won the men's competition in the New York City Marathon in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds on Sunday, a course record for the 26.2-mile race. Tola's time was eight seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai's time in 2011. "The people of New York is amazing to give me moral support every kilometer," Tola said. He pulled away from Jemal Yimer, also from Ethiopia, about 20 miles into the race. Tola finished nearly two minutes ahead of Albert Korir of Kenya, who won the 2021 race but finished second this time. The women's race was much closer, with Hellen Obiri of Kenya dashing into the lead in the final 400 yards to take the title. The Associated Press
