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Twenty-three sets of twins have graduated from a Massachusetts middle school, making up about 10% of the eighth-grade class. The identical and fraternal twins graduated from Pollard Middle School in Needham, Massachusetts, on Wednesday. Another student, who is also a twin, graduated but her brother attends a different school, said principal Tamatha Bibbo. It's "quite unusual,” said Bibbo. “We typically have anywhere from five to 10 sets at most. Given our numbers, we have approximately 450 to 500 children in each grade so this was extraordinarily high.” The school gave a special shout-out to the 23 sets of twins during the so-called "moving up" ceremony on Wednesday, she said. Twins account for around 3% of live births in the U.S., according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The Pollard Middle School graduates must all have completed up to 10 hours of service learning in their communities and every year the Needham Exchange Club offers five community service awards. For the first time this year a set of twins — Lukas and Sameer Patel — won an award and a donation to their charity, Bibbo said.

The head of the U.N. refugee agency says he understands that the Biden administration enacted new restrictions on asylum-seekers entering the United States, but cautioned that some aspects of the executive order may violate refugee protection required in international law. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, spoke to The Associated Press as his agency issued its annual “Global Trends” report for 2023 on Thursday. It found that the cumulative number of people who have been subjected to forced displacement rose to 120 million people in 2023 — 6 million more than in the year before. The refugee agency noted that the total count was roughly equivalent to the entire population of Japan. UNHCR, IOM mobilize aid for Rohingyas following boat tragedy in Indonesia The UNHCR report found that three-fourths of those people forcibly displaced – including both refugees driven abroad and people displaced inside their own countries – lived in poor or middle-income countries. Grandi insisted that was a sign of how migrant and refugee flows were not just an issue for the rich world. He lamented how crises in Africa had been largely overlooked, in particular in Sudan, where some 10.8 million were displaced at the end of last year, after conflict erupted between forces loyal to rival generals in April last year. Urgent action needed to address dramatic rise in Rohingya deaths at sea: UNHCR Grandi said the world’s focus on crises faced by refugees and internally displaced people has largely centered on Gaza -- where a devastating and deadly conflict erupted in October last year -- and Ukraine, which has been saddled by Russia’s invasion since February 2022. He lamented how the world has largely overlooked the refugee crisis spawned by the conflict in Sudan. The United States, meanwhile, has faced the “most complex challenge” when it comes to refugees of any country in the developed world, Grandi said — alluding to an influx across the U.S.-Mexican border. The U.N. refugee agency chief criticized Biden administration plans to enact new restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border — seen by some as a political maneuver ahead of national elections in November — as a possible violation of international humanitarian law. But he acknowledged that Biden administration ambitions to resettle some 125,000 refugees in the United States amounted to “a very shining example of U.S. generosity.” UNHCR also highlighted difficulties faced by refugees and internally displaced people amid conflict in countries like Congo and Myanmar, and noted that Syria remains the world's largest displacement crisis with nearly 14 million people forcibly displaced both inside the country and abroad.    

The U.N. human rights office is citing possible war crimes by Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in connection with a deadly raid by Israeli forces that freed four hostages over the weekend and killed hundreds of Palestinians. Office spokesman Jeremy Laurence expressed concerns about possible violations of rules of proportionality, distinction and precaution by the Israeli forces in Saturday’s raid at the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. Palestinian health officials say at least 274 Palestinians, including dozens of women and children, were killed in the operation. Laurence said Palestinian armed groups who are holding hostages in densely populated areas are putting the lives of nearby civilians and the hostages at “added risks” from the hostilities. “All these actions by both parties may amount to war crimes,” he told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva. “It was catastrophic, the way that this was carried out in that civilians — again — were caught smack bang in the middle of this,” Laurence added. What does Israel's rescue of 4 captives, and the killing of 274 Palestinians, mean for truce talks? Alluding to the “ordeal” faced by hostages and their families, he said: “The fact that four hostages are now free is clearly very good news. These hostages should never have been taken in the first place. That’s a breach of international humanitarian law. They must be freed. All of them. Promptly.” The Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva criticized the U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, saying the “high commissioner has finally realized that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields.” “Yet, instead of taking a clear and consistent stance against this abhorrent strategy, he falls into the habit of slandering Israel,” the statement said. “This time, for rescuing our hostages.”” The Associated Press could not immediately reach the rights office for a comment. UN Security Council adopts a cease-fire resolution aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war in Gaza Israel launched its war against Hamas after the group's stunning Oct. 7 attack, in which the militants stormed into southern Israel, killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and took about 250 hostage. Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 36,730 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies. U.N. agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July. UN food agency pauses its aid work at US pier in Gaza over security concerns, in latest setback

Hunter Biden was convicted Tuesday of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018 when, prosecutors argued, the president’s son lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Hunter Biden stared straight ahead and showed little emotion as the verdict was read after jurors deliberated for three hours over two days. He hugged his attorneys, smiled wanly and kissed his wife, Melissa, before leaving the courtroom with her. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum, and it’s unclear whether she would give him time behind bars. The judge did not set a sentencing date. “No one in this country is above the law," special counsel David Weiss, the prosecutor who has led the long-running federal investigation into Hunter Biden, told reporters after the verdict. First lady Jill Biden, who sat through most of the trial, arrived at the courthouse minutes after the jury delivered its verdict and was not in the courtroom when it was read. Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife. They did not speak to reporters, got into waiting SUVs and drove off. After the jury’s decision was announced, President Joe Biden said he would accept the outcome of the case and “will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.” The president said he and the first lady are proud of Hunter, who has been sober since 2019. “Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that,” the president said in a statement. In a written statement following the verdict, Hunter Biden said he was disappointed by the outcome but grateful for the support of family and friends. His attorney said they will “continue to vigorously pursue all the legal challenges available.” Guilty: Trump becomes first former US president convicted of felony crimes Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the gun for 11 days. Now Hunter Biden and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the president's chief political rival, have both been convicted by American jurors in an election year that has been as much about the courtroom as about campaign events and rallies. Joe Biden steered clear of the federal courtroom in Delaware where his son was tried and said little about the case, wary of creating an impression of interfering in a criminal matter brought by his own Justice Department. But allies of the Democrat have worried about the toll that the trial — and now the conviction — will take on the 81-year-old, who has long been concerned with his only living son’s health and sustained sobriety. Hunter Biden and Trump have both argued they were victimized by the politics of the moment. But while Trump has continued to falsely claim the verdict was “rigged,” Joe Biden has said he would accept the verdict and would not seek to pardon his son. The verdict came shortly before the president was scheduled to give a speech on his administration’s efforts to limit gun violence at a conference hosted by the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund in Washington. Prosecutors seek to bar Trump in classified files case from statements endangering law enforcement Hunter Biden’s legal troubles aren’t over. He faces a trial in September in California on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes, and congressional Republicans have signaled they will keep going after him in their stalled impeachment effort into the president. The president has not been accused or charged with any wrongdoing by prosecutors investigating his son. The prosecution devoted much of the trial to highlighting the seriousness of Hunter Biden’s drug problem, through highly personal testimony and embarrassing evidence. Jurors heard Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and a former girlfriend testify about his habitual crack use and their failed efforts to help him get clean. Jurors saw images of the president’s son bare-chested and disheveled in a filthy room, and half-naked holding crack pipes. Jurors also watched video of his crack cocaine weighed on a scale. Hunter Biden did not testify, but jurors heard his voice when prosecutors played audio excerpts of his 2021 memoir, “Beautiful Things,” in which he talks about hitting bottom after the death of his brother, Beau, in 2015, and his descent into drugs before his eventually achieving sobriety. Prosecutors felt the evidence was necessary to prove that Hunter, 54, was in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun and therefore lied when he checked “no” on the form that asked whether he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to” drugs. Can Trump flip Black and Latino voters for Republicans? Hunter Biden’s lawyers had argued that he did not consider himself an “addict” when he bought the gun. They sought to show he was trying to turn his life around at the time, having completed a rehabilitation program at the end of August 2018. The defense called three witnesses, including Hunter’s daughter Naomi, who told jurors that he seemed be improving in the weeks before he bought the gun. The trial played out in the president’s home state, where Hunter Biden grew up and where the family is deeply established. Joe Biden spent 36 years as a senator in Delaware, commuting daily to Washington, and Beau Biden was the state attorney general. Hunter Biden had hoped last year to resolve a long-running federal investigation under a deal with prosecutors that would avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Under the deal, he would have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and avoided prosecution in the gun case if he stayed out of trouble for two years. But the deal fell apart after Noreika, who was nominated by Trump, questioned unusual aspects of the proposed agreement, and the lawyers could not resolve the matter. Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed top investigator, Weiss, Delaware's U.S. attorney, as a special counsel last August, and a month later Hunter Biden was indicted. Hunter Biden has said he was charged because the Justice Department bowed to pressure from Republicans who argued the Democratic president’s son was getting special treatment. The reason law enforcement raised any questions about the revolver is because Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow, found it unloaded in Hunter’s truck on Oct. 23, 2018, panicked and tossed it into a garbage can at a grocery store, where a man inadvertently fished it out of the trash. She testified about the episode in court. Hallie Biden, who had a romantic relationship with Hunter after Beau died, eventually called the police. Officers retrieved the gun from the man who took the gun along with other recyclables from the trash. The case was eventually closed because of lack of cooperation from Hunter Biden, who was considered the victim.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the U.N. Security Council’s vote in favor of a U.S.-backed proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza made it “as clear as it possibly could be” that the world supports the plan, as he again called on Hamas to accept it. “Everyone’s vote is in, except for one vote, and that’s Hamas,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv after meeting with Israeli officials. Blinken said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal” when they met late Monday. Blinken's latest visit to the region — his eighth since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack ignited the war — is focused on rallying support for the cease-fire proposal, boosting the entry of humanitarian aid and advancing postwar plans for Gaza's governance. He is traveling on to Jordan as well as Qatar, which along with Egypt has served as a key mediator with Hamas. The proposal, announced by President Joe Biden last month, calls for a three-phased plan in which Hamas would release the rest of the hostages in exchange for a lasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The group is still holding around 120 hostages, a third of whom are believed to be dead. Biden presented it as an Israeli proposal, but Netanyahu has publicly disputed key aspects of it, saying Israel won’t end the war without destroying Hamas and returning all the hostages. Hamas has not yet formally responded to the proposal. The militant group welcomed the U.N. resolution and supports the broad outline of the agreement but has demanded assurances it will be implemented. The militant group embraced a similar proposal last month that was rejected by Israel. “Efforts are continuing to study and clarify some matters to ensure implementation by the Israeli side,” Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said Tuesday. Israel “has not given clear approval or commitments to implementation that would lead to ending the aggression,” he said. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposal, with 14 of the 15 members voting in favor and Russia abstaining. The resolution calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.” The proposal has raised hopes of ending an 8-month war that has killed over 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and driven some 80% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Israeli restrictions and ongoing fighting have hindered efforts to bring humanitarian aid to the isolated coastal enclave, fueling widespread hunger. The war began when Hamas and other militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Over 100 hostages were released during a weeklong cease-fire last year in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Biden’s May 31 announcement of the new proposal said it would begin with an initial six-week cease-fire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would withdraw from populated areas and Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes. Phase one also requires the safe distribution of humanitarian assistance “at scale throughout the Gaza Strip,” which Biden said would lead to 600 trucks with aid entering Gaza every day. In phase two, the resolution says that with the agreement of Israel and Hamas, “a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” will take place. Phase three would launch “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.” The conflicting signals from Netanayahu appear to reflect his political dilemma. His far-right coalition allies have rejected the proposal and have threatened to bring down his government if he ends the war without destroying Hamas. A lasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza would likely allow Hamas to retain control of the territory and rebuild its military capabilities. But Netanyahu is also under mounting pressure to accept a deal to bring the hostages back. Thousands of Israelis, including families of the hostages, have demonstrated in favor of the U.S.-backed plan. The transition from the first to the second phase appears to be a sticking point. Hamas wants assurances that Israel will not resume the war, and Israel wants to ensure that protracted negotiations over the second phase do not prolong the cease-fire indefinitely while leaving hostages in captivity. Blinken said the proposal would bring an immediate cease-fire and commit the parties to negotiate an enduring one. “The cease-fire that would take place immediately would remain in place, which is manifestly good for for everyone. And then we’ll have to see,” Blinken said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East this week as a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal hangs in the balance after the dramatic rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a major military raid and turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. With no firm response yet from Hamas to the proposal received 10 days ago, Blinken on Monday will start his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the conflict began in October. He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before traveling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar. While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other U.S. officials have praised the hostage rescue, the operation resulted in the deaths of a large number of Palestinian civilians that may complicate the cease-fire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas' resolve to carry on fighting in the war it initiated with its Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. “It’s hard to say how Hamas will process this particular operation and what it will do to its determination about whether it will say yes or not,” Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Sunday. “We have not gotten a formal answer from Hamas at this time.” In his talks with el-Sissi and Qatari leaders, whose countries are the main mediators with Hamas in the cease-fire negotiations, Blinken will stress the importance of persuading the militants to accept the three-phase proposal on the table. The plan calls for the release of more hostages and a temporary pause in hostilities that could lead to the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. UN food agency pauses its aid work at US pier in Gaza over security concerns, in latest setback “We are hopeful that with enough of a chorus, the international community all speaking with one voice, Hamas will get to the right answer,” Sullivan told ABC's “This Week.” But Hamas may not be the only obstacle. Although the deal has been described as an Israeli initiative and thousands of Israelis have demonstrated in support of the deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed skepticism, saying what has been presented publicly is not accurate and rejecting calls for Israel to cease all fighting until Hamas is eradicated. Netanyahu's far-right allies have threatened to collapse his government if he implements the plan, and Benny Gantz, a popular centrist, resigned on Sunday from the three-member War Cabinet after saying he would do if the prime minister did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza. In the aftermath of the hostage rescue, Netanyahu had urged him not to step down. Blinken has met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on nearly all of his previous trips to Israel. Officials said Gantz's resignation would not necessarily affect Blinken's schedule. Gaza's Health Ministry says 274 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raid that rescued 4 hostages U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Friday that Blinken would use the trip to “discuss how the cease-fire proposal would benefit both Israelis and Palestinians.” Miller said the deal would not only alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but also set the stage for a reduction in tension along the Israel-Lebanon border and create conditions for broader Israeli integration with its Arab neighbors, strengthening Israel’s long-term security. Despite Blinken’s roughly once-a-month visits to the region since the war began, the conflict has ground on with more than 36,700 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. Meanwhile, the war has severely hindered the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians, who are facing widespread hunger. U.N. agencies say more than 1 million people in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July. In Jordan, Blinken will participate in an emergency international conference on improving the flow of aid to Gaza.

The first aid from an American-built pier arrived in Gaza on Saturday since storm damage required repairs to the project, the U.S. military said, relaunching an effort to bring supplies to Palestinians by sea that had been plagued with problems. The pier constructed by the U.S. military was operational for only about a week before it was blown apart in high winds and heavy seas on May 25. A damaged section was reconnected to the beach in Gaza on Friday after being repaired at an Israeli port. About 1.1 million pounds (492 metric tons) of humanitarian aid was delivered to Gaza through the pier on Saturday, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. It reiterated that no U.S. military personnel went ashore in Gaza. The U.S. Agency for International Development works with the U.N. World Food Program and their humanitarian partners in Gaza to distribute food and other aid coming from the U.S.-operated pier. The deliveries came the same day that Israel mounted a heavy air and ground assault that rescued four hostages, who had been taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack that launched the war in Gaza. At least 210 Palestinians, including children, were killed, a Gaza health official said. Pushing back against social media claims, U.S. Central Command said in a tweet that neither the pier nor any of its equipment, personnel or other assets were used in the Israeli operation. It noted that Israel used an area south of the pier “to safely return hostages.” US urges UN Security Council to support cease-fire plan in Gaza announced by President Biden “The temporary pier on the coast of Gaza was put in place for one purpose only, to help move additional, urgently needed lifesaving assistance into Gaza,” the U.S. military said. USAID said in a separate statement that no humanitarian workers were involved in the Israeli operation. “Humanitarian aid workers in Gaza are operating in extremely difficult and insecure conditions and must be protected,” the agency said by email. “Aid workers operate under the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.” The movement of aid through the pier brings back online one way to get desperately needed food and other emergency supplies to Palestinians trapped by the eight-month-old Israel-Hamas war. Israeli restrictions on land crossings, and fighting, have greatly limited the flow of food and other vital supplies into the territory. The damage to the pier had been the latest stumbling block for the project and the persistent struggle to get food to starving Palestinians. Three U.S. service members were injured, one critically, and four vessels were beached due to heavy seas. Early efforts to get aid from the pier into the Gaza Strip also were disrupted as crowds overran a convoy of trucks that aid agencies were using to transport the food, stripping the cargo from many of them before they could reach a U.N. warehouse. Officials responded by altering the travel routes, and aid began reaching those in need. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, told reporters on Friday that the lessons learned from that initial week of operations made him confident greater amounts of aid could be delivered now. He said the goal was to get to 1 million pounds of food and other supplies moving through the pier into Gaza every two days. To date, about 3.5 million pounds of humanitarian aid has been delivered through the maritime route, Central Command said Saturday. Biden sets out new Israeli proposal for ceasefire in Gaza Relief agencies have pressed Israel to reopen land routes that could bring in all the needed aid. Israel says it has allowed hundreds of trucks to enter through a southern checkpoint and pointed the finger at the U.N. for not distributing aid. The U.N. says it is often unable to retrieve the aid because of the security situation. U.N. agencies have warned that over 1 million Palestinians in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by the middle of next month if hostilities continue. President Joe Biden’s administration has said from the start that the pier wasn’t meant to be a total solution and that any amount of aid helps. Biden, a Democrat, announced his plan for the U.S. military to build a pier during his State of the Union address in early March, and the military said it would take about 60 days to get it installed and operational. It took a bit longer than planned, with the first trucks carrying aid for the Gaza Strip rolling down the pier on May 17. The initial cost was estimated at $320 million, but the Pentagon said this past week that the price had dropped to $230 million, due to contributions from Britain and because the cost of contracting trucks and other equipment was less than expected.

Kabongo Kambila Ringo stood outside the tent where he has been staying with his pregnant wife and ate from a clear plastic tray of Girl Scout cookies melting in the midday sun. He was one of around 240 asylum-seekers camping in a grassy lot along a highway south of Seattle, wondering if police would follow through on threats to arrest them for trespassing, and hoping officials instead might let them move into the vacant motel next door. “It's very difficult,” the 29-year-old from Congo told The Associated Press in French. “There's not enough to eat. There's not even a way to wash ourselves.” The cluster of tarp-covered tents that have covered the field in Kent, a Seattle suburb, since last weekend highlights the strain facing many communities — even some far from the U.S.-Mexico border — as President Joe Biden attempts to restrict asylum and neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of this fall's election. Some Democratic-led northern cities have seen huge influxes of migrants. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent more than 40,000 asylum-seekers to Chicago, mostly by bus or plane. The Seattle area has seen fewer, but with homelessness already an immense challenge — nearly 10,000 people sleep outside in King County every night, officials say — even that has stressed the region's capacity. More than 2,000 asylum-seekers have come through a suburban church, Riverton Park United Methodist in nearby Tukwila, since 2022 after word got out that it was willing to help. The church has made room for hundreds of migrants to stay every night and has raised money to place families in motels. Hundreds were moved from tents at the church to hotels or other short-term rentals as extreme cold hit over the winter. But as money ran out, they have faced rolling evictions. Ringo said war forced him and his wife to flee Congo in 2022. They took a ship to Brazil then spent two years walking to the U.S. border in Arizona, where they arrived March 23. He was detained, while his wife was taken to a hospital. A man he met in detention gave him the church’s address, and when he was released, he said, his brother bought him a plane ticket to Seattle, where he reunited with his wife, now eight months pregnant. Many of those who have been camping in Kent — primarily migrants from Congo, Angola and Venezuela — previously stayed at the church or were evicted from motels. Lacking other options and awaiting permission to work in the U.S., they set up camp outside a disused Econo Lodge. The county purchased the 85-room motel during the COVID-19 pandemic as emergency quarantine housing. “We want to pressure the county and the city to open the hotel for this group of migrants,” said Ian Greer, a volunteer for a coalition of migrant services organizations that has been assisting the asylum-seekers. Under a legal agreement between the county and the city, the motel can only be used for quarantine housing and other city-approved uses. Officials say they have no immediate plans to open it for the migrants. “We understand the rationale for the request by asylee seekers to use the hotel in the short term, but the reality of doing so is much more complicated than simply unlocking the doors and turning on the lights,” Kristin Elia, a spokesperson for the King County Executive's Office, said in an emailed statement. “Full operations and capital for an emergency shelter, even in the short term, are beyond the County’s available resources.” Kent police last weekend posted a 48-hour eviction notice at the encampment, saying the migrants did not have permission to be at the county-controlled property. But as the deadline came and went Tuesday, authorities backtracked, giving the migrants breathing room as they hope for long-term shelter. Late last year, King County provided $3 million in grant funding to respond to the migrant influx, helping house more than 350 individuals and families. In April, it awarded four nonprofits $2 million to provide shelter, food, legal services and other assistance. When some migrants camped in a Seattle park last month, the city moved dozens of families into motels and is paying for them to remain at least until July. Beginning next month, a flood of new money from the state should help. The county will receive $5 million to respond to the influx — money officials are still assessing how to use. The state's Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance will begin giving out $25 million to nonprofits and local governments to develop a statewide network to support recently arrived migrants. Riverton Park United Methodist is hoping to raise $200,000 for hotel vouchers by the end of this month, saying that given how long it takes to review spending proposals, the state money might not be available until September. Children ran around in the steamy grass Wednesday as the sun dried out tents after heavy rains. The facilities consisted of five portable toilets and two hand-sanitizer stations. Larger tents served as kitchen and pantry. Volunteers dropped off food and toiletries. Migrants adjusted tarps and chatted beneath canopies. Linda Gutiérrez recalled leaving Venezuela: “There is no medicine in Venezuela. Our family is dying of hunger,” she said in Spanish. They went first to Colombia, then Chile. When they were forced to leave Chile, she said, they made their way through the perilous Darien jungle — the dense and roadless rainforest that divides South America from Central America — with her children and young grandchildren to the U.S. They eventually reached Riverton Park United Methodist, where they stayed for five months, she said. They were then placed in a nearby motel, but only for a month. In the encampment she met Jose Guerrero, from Puerto Cabello — the same area west of Caracas where she lived. Guerrero came to the U.S. with his wife after leaving their three children in the care of grandparents. “All of us here have been struggling for months," Guerrero said. "My hope is that the mayor, the county, the leaders, open that hotel. As you can see, it’s empty and abandoned. All of us, together, we can maintain it and get it ready to house us.”

The United States urged the U.N. Security Council on Monday to support the three-phase plan announced by President Joe Biden aimed at ending the nearly eight-month war in Gaza, freeing all hostages and sending massive aid into the devastated territory. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States circulated a draft resolution to the 14 other council members to back the proposal for ending the conflict that began with Hamas’ surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians. “Numerous leaders and governments, including in the region, have endorsed this plan and we call on the Security Council to join them in calling for implementation of this deal without delay and without further conditions,” she said in a statement. The brief draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would welcome the May 31 deal announced by Biden and call on Hamas “to accept it fully and implement its terms without delay and without condition.” Hamas has said it views the proposal “positively.” It makes no mention of Israeli acceptance of the deal. Jury selection is beginning in gun case against President Joe Biden's son When Biden made the announcement he called it an Israeli offer that includes an “enduring cease-fire” and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza if Hamas releases all hostages it is holding. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his hardline governing partners Monday the proposal announced by Biden would meet Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas, according to local media. The ultranationalists have threatened to bring down his government if Netanyahu agrees to a deal that doesn’t eliminate Hamas. Netanyahu told parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that Biden gave an outline of the deal but not all the details, and he said there are “gaps.” Biden said the first phase of the proposed deal would last for six weeks and include a “full and complete cease-fire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of some hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. American hostages would be released at this stage, and remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families. There would be a surge in humanitarian assistance, with 600 trucks a day entering Gaza. In the second phase, all the rest of the living hostages would be released, including soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Biden said if Hamas lives up to its commitments, the temporary cease-fire would become a “cessation of hostilities permanently.” About 250 people, mainly Israeli civilians, were abducted on Oct. 7, then more than 100 were freed in a short truce in late November and early December. Israel says about 80 hostages are believed to still be captive, alongside the remains of about 43 others. Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza, which Hamas has ruled, have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The third phase of the plan announced by Biden calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from devastation caused by the war. Biden sets out new Israeli proposal for ceasefire in Gaza The draft resolution stresses the importance of Israel and Hamas adhering to the deal once it is agreed to, “with the aim of bringing about a permanent cessation of hostilities, and calls upon all member states and the United Nations to support its implementation.” The draft would also reiterate the council’s “unwavering commitment” to a two-state solution, and stress the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador, said Security Council members “have consistently called for the steps outlined in this deal: bringing the hostages home, ensuring a complete ceasefire, enabling a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and in the refurbishment of essential services, and setting the stage for a long-term reconstruction plan for Gaza.” “Council members should not let this opportunity pass by,” she said. “We must speak with one voice in support of this deal." On Monday, the foreign ministers of five key Arab nations — Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt — urged Israel and Hamas to consider Biden’s proposal “seriously and positively.” The group of seven major industrialized nations — the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy — also backed the cease-fire plan.  

Jury selection is to begin Monday in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden's son after a deal with prosecutors fell apart that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his father, has been charged with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen firearms applicants when he said he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days. He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he's being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct deal as special treatment. The trial comes just four days after Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City after a jury found him guilty of a scheme to cover up a hush money payment to a porn actor to fend off damage to his 2016 presidential campaign. The two criminal cases are not related, but their proximity underscores how the criminal courtroom has taken center stage during the 2024 campaign. Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. Both cases were to have been resolved through a deal with prosecutors last July, the culmination of a years-long investigation into his business dealings. Biden sets out new Israeli proposal for ceasefire in Gaza But Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned some unusual aspects of the deal that included a proposed guilty plea to misdemeanor offenses to resolve the tax crimes and a “diversion agreement” on the gun charge, which meant as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years the case would be dismissed. The lawyers squabbled over the agreement, could not come to a resolution and the deal fell apart. Attorney General Merrick Garland then appointed the top investigator as a special counsel in August, and a month later Hunter Biden was indicted. This trial isn't about Hunter Biden's foreign business affairs — which Republicans have seized on without evidence to try to paint the Biden family as corrupt. But it will excavate some of Hunter Biden's darkest moments and put them on display. The president’s allies are worried about the toll the trial may take on the elder Biden, who’s long been concerned about the well-being and sobriety of his only living son and who must now watch as those painful past mistakes are publicly scrutinized. He's also protective; Hunter Biden was with his father all weekend before the case began, biking with his dad, and attending church together. Biden, in a last minute switch in plans, shifted from his Rehoboth Beach home back to his Wilmington compound on Sunday evening. Boarding the helicopter on Sunday was the only time the president was seen publicly without his son all weekend. Allies are also worried the trial could become a distraction as the president tries to campaign under anemic poll numbers and as he is preparing for an upcoming presidential debate while the proceedings play out. Guilty: Trump becomes first former US president convicted of felony crimes Prosecutors are hoping to show he was in the throes of addiction when he bought the gun - and therefore lied on the forms. They have said they're planning to use as evidence Hunter Biden’s published memoir, and they may also introduce contents from a laptop that he left at a Delaware repair shop and never retrieved. The contents made their way to Republicans in 2020 and were publicly leaked, revealing embarrassing and personal photos where he's often nude and doing drugs and highly personal messages where he asks dealers about scores. The judge will ask a group of prospective jurors a series of questions to determine whether they can serve impartially on the jury, including whether they have donated to political campaigns or run for political office. She will ask whether their views about the 2024 presidential campaign prevent them from being impartial. She's also going to ask whether prospective jurors believe Hunter Biden is being prosecuted because his father is the president. Also, she’ll ask about firearms purchasing and addiction issues, including: “Do you believe someone who is addicted to drugs should not be charged with a crime?” The case against Hunter Biden stems from a period where, by his own public admission, he was addicted to crack. His descent into drugs and alcohol followed the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden from cancer. He bought and owned a gun for 11 days in October 2018, and indicated on the gun purchase form that he was not using drugs. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty in both cases, and his attorneys have suggested they may argue he didn’t see himself as an addict when prosecutors say he checked “no” to the question on the form. They'll also attack the credibility of the gun store owner. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are also planning to call as witnesses Hunter Biden’s ex-wife and his brother’s widow Hallie, with whom he became romantically involved. If he were to be convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison, though first-time offenders do not get anywhere near the maximum and it is unclear whether the judge would actually give him time behind bars if he were convicted.