TEL AVIV, Israel — The White House on Sunday said U.S. President Joe Biden had again spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza. The White House said that Biden reiterated his “clear position” as Israel plans to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there. The U.S. opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. U ..read more

HOLDENVILLE, Okla. — At least two people, including a child, died in tornadoes that swept through Oklahoma, authorities said Sunday as emergency crews assessed the extensive damage to homes and businesses from the high winds, hail and flooding. Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killin ..read more

Prince Harry will return to the U.K. to celebrate 10 years of the Invictus Games, the sports competition he started for wounded military personnel. The royal will attend a “service of thanksgiving” at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on May 8, according to the Invictus Games Foundation. The organization said the Prince along with British actor Damian Lewis and representatives from the Invictus Games participating nations, including veterans, will come together to mark the occasion. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Prince Harry will be giving a reading at the service. Lewis will recite the “Invi ..read more

President Joe Biden called out Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday in Washington D.C., making fun of the former President’s legal troubles and both of the 2024 election candidates’ ages.  Biden is 81 and Trump 77, making them the oldest major party presidential nominees in history. Both men are battling public perceptions about their age and competency—and seizing upon one another’s weaknesses in the race for the White House. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Biden began by mocking Trump after journalists reported that the former President appea ..read more

When David Risher took over as CEO of Lyft about a year ago, the company was losing market share and struggling with morale. Its stock price was approaching an all-time low, down nearly 90% from its IPO high of 2019. One of Risher’s first moves was to cut staff by 26%, affecting hundreds of employees. Risher, a one time Lyft board member and former Amazon executive, is the first non-founder to lead Lyft. Still, he’s put his own stamp on the company, cutting prices for riders, introducing Women+ Connect, a feature that lets women and nonbinary riders choose drivers who are also women or nonbi ..read more

NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction. Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Aidala sa ..read more

BAGHDAD — Iraqi authorities on Saturday were investigating the killing of a well-known social media influencer, who was shot by an armed motorcyclist in front of her home in central Baghdad. Ghufran Mahdi Sawadi, known as Um Fahad or “mother of Fahad,” was popular on the social media sites TikTok and Instagram, where she posted videos of herself dancing to music and was followed by tens of thousands of users. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] An Iraqi security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media, said that the assailant opened f ..read more

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a Republican and reported contender for Donald Trump’s Vice President pick in the 2024 election, has received pushback after admitting to killing her dog in her new memoir. After obtaining a copy of No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward ahead of its publication next month, the Guardian reported that Noem wrote she shot dead Cricket, a 14-month-old dog she had intended to train for hunting pheasant, after the canine ruined a hunt, killed another family’s chickens, and moved to bite her. [time-brightcove not-tg ..read more

OMAHA, Neb. — Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Nebraska. As of Friday night, there were several reports of injuries but no immediate deaths reported. Tornado warnings continued to be issued into the night in Iowa. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Three people were hurt in Nebraska’s Lancaster County when a tornado hit an industrial building, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated and the injuries we ..read more

As we mark Passover, when Jews celebrate their founding liberation from a tyrannical Pharaoh who enslaved them, the sages remind us Pharaohs come in all guises and liberation is not a one-time event. It must be re-enacted in each generation and in each heart. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Today,16 million Jews in a world of eight billion face rising external threats. The indigenous home of the Jewish people and the lone Jewish state among 195 countries is encircled by Iranian-armed proxies committed to its annihilation and by increasing global delegitimization. Yet it’s hard to find a gra ..read more