AP-Newswatch

It’s not just Israeli bombs that have killed children in Gaza. Now some are dying of hunger too

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — It’s not just Israeli bombs that have killed children in war-ravaged Gaza. Now some are dying of hunger too. Officials have for months warned over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel’s bombardment, offensives and siege. Hunger is most acute in the north, where at least 20 people — almost all children — have died from malnutrition and dehydration. That’s according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. But also in the south, where access to aid is more regular, particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, the director told The Associated Press that 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks.

A ship with Gaza aid is preparing to inaugurate a sea route from Cyprus to the war-ravaged strip

LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) — A ship bearing humanitarian aid is making preparations to leave Cyprus and head for Gaza after international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger after five months of war. A top EU official, Ursula von der Leyen, told reporters in Cyprus on Friday that the vessel, belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group, will make a pilot voyage to test the corridor in the coming days. Opening a sea corridor to Gaza shows increasing frustration with the humanitarian crisis in the strip and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. Israel says it welcomes the maritime corridor but cautioned it would also need security checks.

RNC votes to install Donald Trump’s handpicked chair as former president tightens control of party

HOUSTON (AP) — GOP officials have voted to install Donald Trump’s handpicked chair of the Republican National Committee. Party members on Friday in Houston elected North Carolina Republican Michael Whatley as party chairman. Whatley is part of a leadership slate that will include the former president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair. The person running the party’s day-to-day operations will be Chris LaCivita, a top Trump aide who will also serve as RNC chief of staff. Trump and his lieutenants will have firm control of the party’s political and fundraising machinery with limited, if any, internal pushback. Whatley says the RNC will work tirelessly to elect Trump as president. Whatley replaces Ronna McDaniel.

Trump attorneys post $92 million bond to support jury award to E. Jean Carroll in defamation suit

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for Donald Trump says the former president has secured a bond sufficient to support an $83.3 million jury award granted to writer E. Jean Carroll during a January defamation trial. Attorney Alina Habba filed papers on Friday with the New York trial judge to show that Trump had secured a $91.6 million bond from the Federal Insurance Co. Habba simultaneously filed a notice of appeal to show the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner is appealing the verdict to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The posting of the bond was a necessary step to delay payment of the award until the 2nd Circuit can rule.

Biden calls out ‘shrinkflation’ as part of a broader strategy to reframe how voters view the economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is all-in on calling out “shrinkflation.” The term applies to a seemingly covert way for companies to raise prices by ever so slightly reducing the size of their products. There’s suddenly fewer pretzels in the bag, less toothpaste in the tube and shorter candy bars. Biden complained in his State of the Union address that people get charged the same but smaller Snickers bars. The president’s focus on shrinkflation is part of a broader strategy to reframe how voters think about the economy before the November election. Biden is trying to deflect criticism about high prices and instead pin the blame on big business.

Biden in a hot mic moment shows his growing frustration with Netanyahu over Gaza humanitarian crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expressing growing frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was captured on a hot mic saying that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.” The comments by Biden came as he spoke with Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado on the floor of the House following his Thursday night State of the Union address. In the exchange, Bennet congratulates Biden on his speech and urges the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Biden responded using Netanyahu’s nickname, saying, “I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.”

Former president of Honduras convicted in US of aiding drug traffickers

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has been convicted in New York of conspiring with drug traffickers, his military and police to enable tons of cocaine to reach the United States. The jury verdict Friday in federal court ended a two-week trial. Hernandez served two terms leading the Central American nation. He was arrested three months after leaving office in 2022. The trial featured testimony from Hernandez, who disputed the accounts of multiple drug traffickers who said they fueled his political career with millions of dollars. Sentencing was set for June 26, when Hernandez faces a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison.

The NYPD is using social media to target critics. That brings its own set of worries

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department has been taking a more active role in trying to influence public policy through slick online videos and social media posts. The nation’s largest police department has in recent months also encouraged its chiefs to be more vocal on social media. It gives them a green light to publicly criticize judges, prosecutors or proposed laws they don’t like. The strategic shift has brought criticism from some former police officials and civil liberties groups. They say the department’s leaders shouldn’t use public resources to promote their own policy agenda or attack other civil servants.

Much of America asks: Where did winter go? Spring starts early as US winter was warmest on record

Across much of America and especially in the normally chilly north, the country went through the winter months without, well, winter. In parka strongholds Burlington, Vermont, and Portland, Maine, the thermometer never plunged below zero. The state of Minnesota called the last three months “the lost winter,” warmer than the infamous “year without a winter” in 1877-1878. Michigan, where mosquitos were biting in February, offered disaster loans to businesses hit by a lack of snow. The Great Lakes set records for low winter ice, with Erie and Ontario “essentially ice-free.” Federal meteorologists on Friday have made it official: It’s the warmest U.S. winter on record by far.

After Hurricanes land Kuznetsov, Guentzel, East rivals follow with trade deadline deals of their own

The Carolina Hurricanes made another big move on NHL trade deadline day by acquiring center Evgeny Kuznetsov from the Washington Capitals. The Hurricanes previously got scoring winger Jake Guentzel from Pittsburgh in a blockbuster deal late Thursday night. It didn’t take long for other contenders to jump in. Florida acquired Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo. Boston landed Pat Maroon. The Winnipeg Jets added forward Tyler Toffoli in a trade with New Jersey. The Rangers added blue-line depth by acquiring Chad Ruhwedel from Pittsburgh. The Flyers acquired Erik Johnson in a deal with Buffalo.