President Trump is claiming ignorance to defend his recent resistance to confront Russia.

In a video interview aired Wednesday, Axios' Jonathan Swan asked Trump if he'd mentioned reports indicating Russia offered Taliban fighters bounties to kill U.S. troops in a recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "That was a phone call to discuss other things," Trump said, blowing off the whole issue as "fake news."

Trump then claimed he didn't even know about the Russian bounties despite reports saying it was included in his intelligence briefings. "It never reached my desk," Trump said, prompting Swan to ask the president if he reads his written intelligence briefings. That turned into a defense of Trump's comprehensive abilities and his attendance at intelligence meetings.

Regardless, Swan continued, Trump's former head of forces in Afghanistan John Nicholson has publicly said "Russia is supplying weapons to the Taliban." "Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia," Trump countered, spinning the question before saying that issue also "never reached my desk." Watch the whole clip below. Kathryn Krawczyk

In a televised address Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, flanked by his political rival Benny Gantz, said Israel's military would continue its attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza at "full force" for the time being, suggesting the conflict is not nearing an end. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 42 people and flattened three buildings Sunday.

Netanyahu also appeared on CBS News' Face the Nation, arguing that Israel is acting in self-dense. "[Hamas is] sending thousands of rockets on our cities with the specific purpose of murdering our civilians," Netanyahu told host John Dickerson. "What would you do if it happened to Washington and New York? You know damn well what you'd do."

The prime minister accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians in Gaza as "human shields," and said the Israeli military is striking "legitimate" targets while remaining "second to none" when it comes to minimizing civilian casualties. He also dismissed the idea that he's using the hostilities as a way to save his political career from a bribery investigation as "hogwash." Tim O'Donnell

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Sunday told Fox News' Chris Wallace that she considers both House Minority Leader (R-Calif.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who replaced her as the chair of the House Republican Confereence last week, "complicit" in spreading former President Donald Trump's lies.

Cheney then reiterated what she's been saying the last few few months as she's come under fire from her GOP colleagues and was ultimately removed her from her leadership role — that she isn't willing to back Trump's falsehoods for the sake of the party.

In another interview that aired during Sunday's edition of This Week on ABC News, Cheney said she doesn't actually think many Republican lawmakers, save for maybe a handful, actually believe Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen. But she suggested it's "really dangerous" to cross Trump, so many have fallen in line anyway. "We now live in a country where [members of Congress'] votes are affected because they're worried about their security, they're worried about threats on their lives," she told Jon Karl. Tim O'Donnell

Kate McKinnon reprised her role as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious disease expert, in the latest Saturday Night Live cold open. McKinnon's Fauci attempted to answer people's questions about the specifics underlying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated guidelines, which now say that people vaccinated against COVID-19 can mostly toss aside their masks, outdoors and indoors. "A lot of people had questions," McKinnon's Fauci said. "Such as: What does that mean? What the hell are you talking about? Is this a trap?"

So, the fictional Fauci asked a group of doctors from the CDC "who minored in theater" to demonstrate a few different scenarios in which mask-wearing protocols may be unclear, such as picking up kids from school, large outdoor gatherings, or air travel. Things didn't go to according to plan, however, and McKinnon's Fauci grew increasingly confused by the message the so-called "CDC Players" were trying to convey in their often-inappropriate, off-the-rails skits. Watch the full sketch below. Tim O'Donnell

The long-awaited 2020 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame may be one of the best in the sport's history, featuring NBA legends like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, a WNBA great in Tamika Catchings, and a stellar list of coaches, including Rudy Tomjanovich, Eddie Sutton, and Barbara Stevens. But the night will likely be remembered, most clearly, for Vanessa Bryant's speech, which she gave on behalf of her late husband, Kobe Bryant, the longtime Los Angeles Lakers star and five-time NBA champion who was killed last year in a helicopter crash alongside his teenage daughter, Gianna, and seven others.

"All of your hard work and sacrifices paid off," Vanessa Bryant, who was accompanied on stage by her husband's hero and mentor, Michael Jordan, said at the close of her speech, speaking to her husband. "You once told me, 'If you're going to bet on someone, bet on yourself.' I'm glad you bet on yourself, you overachiever. You did it. You're in the Hall of Fame now. You're a true champ. You're not just an MVP, you're an all-time great." Watch the full speech below. Tim O'Donnell

Rombauer came from behind to upset Kentucky Derby-winner Medina Spirit to win the Preakness on Saturday, spoiling the latter's chances of capturing horse racing's Triple Crown. Rombauer's odds were 11-1.

Medina Spirit, aside from winning the first leg of the Triple Crown and entering the Preakness as the favorite, was the center of attention Saturday because he failed a post-Derby drug test. While the horse was cleared to run at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course after passing multiple pre-race drug tests, skepticism surrounded his trainer, Bob Baffert. Ultimately, Medina Spirit finished in third behind Rombauer and Midnight Bourbon, who had 3-1 odds. Read more at ESPN. Tim O'Donnell

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is considered one of the strongest supporters of the United States' relationship with Israel among congressional Democrats. On Saturday, though, he said he is "deeply troubled" by reports of Israeli airstrikes killing Palestinian civilians and targeting a building that houses international media offices (Israel said Hamas was also using the building for military purposes).

Israel, he said, "has every right to defend itself" against rocket attacks from Hamas, but "given the complexity of Gaza's densely populated civilian areas, and Hamas' shameful record of exploiting that reality by hiding military assets behind the innocent, Israeli authorities must continue taking the conscientious practice of giving advance warning of its attacks to reduce the risk of harm to the innocent." He added that "there must be a full accounting of actions that have led to civilian deaths and destruction of media outlets."

Menendez's comments certainly don't reflect a full reversal from his traditional stance, but observers noted that, so far at least, it appears to be one of the most unexpected responses to the Israel-Palestine conflict from an American politician.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly told him that Israel was doing whatever it could to make sure civilians were not hit in airstrikes. The White House has mostly kept quiet about details of the phone call. Tim O'Donnell