Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah‚ whatever the response by Hamas to the latest proposals for a halt to the fighting and a return of Israeli hostages. Expectations that a ceasefire agreement could be in sight have grown in recent days following a renewed push led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas‚ Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group.......

Columbia University will not divest from Israel‚ a top official at the Ivy League school said on Monday‚ rejecting a key demand of pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up camp at the New York City campus over the past couple of weeks. In a statement posted on the university’s website‚ Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said that talks between a small group of academic leaders and student organizers that began last week had broken down. “Regretfully‚ we were not able to come...

Student protesters who have brought Columbia University to a halt want the institution to sell its investments in companies linked to Israel. Their demands appear to be about finance‚ but to the extent the money makes a difference—not much—it would leave them worse off and Israel’s friends better off. The divestment campaign‚ along with the student demand to break academic ties to Israeli universities‚ can only succeed by isolating Israel culturally. It can’t work financially‚ so its only...

The turmoil at Columbia University ratcheted up early Tuesday when protesters barricaded themselves inside the campus’s Hamilton Hall‚ with students planning to stay inside until the school divests financially from Israel. The rising tensions have put particular focus on Columbia’s campus in New York City. But at pro-Palestinian protests and demonstrations nationwide‚ campus activism is focusing intensely on university endowments — the vast financial holdings that fund anything from...

Former President Donald Trump said Judge Juan Merchan is “rigging” the 2024 presidential election after the judge slapped Trump with a $9‚000 fine and threatened to jail him for social media posts that violated his gag order in the New York hush-money trial. Merchan wrote in an order on Tuesday that Trump had violated his gag order nine times‚ fining him $1‚000 for each offense. The former president is prohibited from commenting on potential witnesses‚ jurors‚ court staff‚ attorneys‚ and...

The judge overseeing former President Trump’s hush money case held him in contempt for violating a gag order nine times. Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9‚000 over his recent posts on Truth Social and campaign website attacking prospective jurors and prosecutors’ expected star witnesses‚ also warning the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.   Read Merchan’s ruling below:

The third week of Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York got off to an aggressive start on Tuesday morning‚ when the former president was swiftly fined $9‚000 by the judge for repeatedly making public comments about jurors and witnesses—ignoring the court’s gag order that sought to stymie an ongoing MAGA intimidation campaign. But when the judge’s order was filed minutes later‚ it became clear the that Trump is also receiving a final warning: stop the threatening rhetoric or get a one-way...