Former U.S Army Gen. Wesley Clark on Wednesday suggested Ukraine's war with Russia is a test of endurance as both countries appear against compromise in the more-than-two-year conflict. "I don't think Ukraine is willing to compromise and give up its territory. I don't think the Ukrainian military is going to collapse even though things are pretty tough right now until that American assistance gets there," Clark said on NewsNation's "The Hill." "And I don't think Russia is willing to give up, so it's an endurance contest, and it's also a contest of national will and whether the United States an ..read more

{beacon} Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon}     Defense & National Security     Defense & National Security   The Big Story  A year later, Pentagon admits 2023 airstrike killed civilian, not al Qaeda leader The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday that it mistakenly killed a civilian in a 2023 airstrike in northwest Syria after U.S. service members misidentified the man as a senior al Qaeda leader. DANIEL SLIM/AFP vi ..read more

Former President Trump went after independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after being asked if he would debate him, stating that he was “not a serious candidate” and had “low” polling numbers.  On Thursday, while in New York City for his hush money trial, the former president was asked if he would debate Kennedy.  “Would you debate RFK Jr.,” a reporter asked the presumptive GOP nominee on Thursday.  “RFK, I don’t know anything about him,” Trump said. “Look, RFK is polling very low, he is not a serious candidate. They say he hurts Biden; I don’t know who he hurt ..read more

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) ordered the state on Thursday to defy new changes to Title IX that add protections for transgender students. Sanders, the onetime press secretary to former President Trump, is the latest in a growing coalition of Republican governors to explicitly reject the Biden administration’s update to the federal civil rights law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools and education programs that receive federal funding. Sanders in an executive order signed Thursday said Title IX rules finalized last month by the Education Department that expand the m ..read more

Former President Trump’s trial in New York entered its 10th day on Thursday, with Keith Davidson on the witness stand. Davidson is a Los Angeles lawyer who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom claim they had sexual encounters with Trump roughly a decade before he was elected president.  Trump denies both women’s claims. Trump, the first ex-president to face a criminal trial, is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.  The backstory centers on a $130,000 payment to Daniels in the closing days of the 2 ..read more

Presented by BP — Biden said 'Immigrants are what makes us strong' {beacon}   Business & Economy Business & Economy   PRESENTED BY  The Big Story  Biden lumps allies Japan, India with Russia as 'xenophobic' President Biden recently called U.S. allies Japan and India “xenophobic” while making the argument that the United States is right to welcome in immigrants. © Allison Robbert In remarks at an off-camera campaign fundraiser in Washington ..read more

Both sides of Interstate 95 running through southern Connecticut will be closed for days after a collision involving a fuel truck caused a major vehicle fire and damaged an overpass, according to state officials. The crash in Norwalk, Conn., occurred around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, when a fuel truck, car and tractor trailer collided on the interstate, causing the fuel tanker to burst into flames, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said during a news conference. No serious injuries or fatalities were reported, but the heat from the burning fuel damaged the Fairfield Avenue bridge, prompting the highway to close i ..read more

College campuses have seen increased tension among students, faculty and administration in the months since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October. Protests have erupted across the country as campuses grapple with rising rates of discrimination and calls for universities — and the United States — to sever ties with Israel. Antisemitism has soared nationally since the initial attack, and U.S. colleges in particular are taking the heat for their handling of both the reports of discrimination and protests, as the Israel-Hamas war drags into its seventh month. Last month, Columbia Universit ..read more

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is poised to join Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver an address to Congress, despite tensions between the Israeli leader and many Democrats over the ongoing war in the Middle East. Johnson told The Hill this week that he sent Schumer a draft invitation around a month ago, but the Senate leader has been sitting on it since. “I sent a letter draft, because it’s a bicameral invitation letter, it’s been sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk. As far as I know he has not cosigned it yet,” Johnson said ..read more

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story  Arizona repeals Civil War-era abortion law Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed legislation Thursday repealing the state’s 1864 abortion ban, one day after it passed the GOP-controlled state Senate.   © AP “Today we are doing what 23 governors and 55 legislatures refused to do, and I am so proud to be the ones that got this job done,” Hobbs said. “While I am proud to sign this ..read more