During a tense 30-minute call today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Biden threatened to condition future American support for Israel on whether it improves its treatment of civilians in Gaza. Biden called the humanitarian situation in the enclave “unacceptable,” and insisted to Netanyahu that he quickly put in place specific protections.
It was the first time that the president has sought to leverage American aid to influence the conduct of Israel’s war against Hamas, a step some of his closest allies have publicly supported. Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu has grown in recent months. But in public, he has staunchly supported Israel’s right to respond to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
During the call, Biden urged Netanyahu to negotiate a deal that would result in an “immediate cease-fire” and the release of hostages taken by Hamas. A spokesman said the White House expects Israel to make announcements of specific changes within hours or days.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who dialed into the call, said afterward that Israel needed to do more to increase the flow of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, a challenge made more difficult after Israel’s deadly attack on an aid convoy this week.
“If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there’ll be changes in policy,” Blinken said.
In related news, a key member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet called for early elections.
Ford slowed its push to electric vehicles
Ford announced today that it was delaying the production of at least two new electric cars and instead pivoting to make more hybrids. The new strategy followed similar moves by G.M. and Mercedes, as automakers have struggled to sell enough E.V.s to make the shift profitable.
Sales of E.V.s are still growing, but the pace has slowed sharply as car companies have tapped out many of the early adopters who were willing to spend more than $50,000 on a new battery-powered car. Now, those who are interested appear to often choose hybrid cars, which can offer good fuel economy and less of a learning curve.
Violence at the Darién Gap has spiked
The jungle straddling Colombia and Panama, known as the Darién Gap, is the only land route for South American migrants headed for the U.S. Thousands of people are trekking through it at any given time, and it has long been considered dangerous. But over the past six months, aid groups say, sexual violence there has spiked to an extraordinary level — one rarely seen outside of war zones.
Two of my colleagues spoke with more than 70 people over four days who said they had been robbed by clusters of armed men in the jungle. Of those interviewed, 14 were women who said they had experienced sexual assault, ranging from forcible touching to rape.
Ocean temperatures signal a daunting hurricane season
An area of the Atlantic Ocean where hurricanes often form has already become abnormally hot, conditions that one scientist called “unprecedented” and “alarming.” Combined with a diminishing El Niño weather pattern, which steers hurricanes from the East Coast, experts are forecasting an exceptionally high number of storms this hurricane season.
The research team at Colorado State expects a remarkably busy season of 23 named storms, nine more than usual and the most they’ve ever predicted this early in the year.
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The eclipse will be an exciting day for science
On Monday, the moon will cross over the sun, causing a total solar eclipse that will for a few minutes completely darken the sky over parts of North America. Many people have been eagerly awaiting the moment for months, but perhaps no one is as excited as scientists.
Researchers plan to send signals and launch rockets to see how the drop in sunlight affects radio and satellite communications. Photographs will be taken of the sun’s surface to measure its activity. And many scientists will be monitoring animals to see how they react to the sudden and surprising change in daylight.
A new take on ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’
One of fiction’s most famous con artists returns today with the debut of Netflix’s “Ripley.” The new show, starring Andrew Scott as Mr. Ripley, is the latest in a series of adaptations of the cunning character created in the 1950s by the author Patricia Highsmith.
The Netflix show is written and directed by the Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian, who decided to do away with color altogether. The result is beautiful and crisp black and white, or what our critic calls “the chilly embrace of the art house.”
For more, here are the other movies and shows coming to Netflix this month.
This might be a Michelangelo. Would you buy it?
Michelangelo was raised in a picturesque villa overlooking Florence, Italy. Legend has it that when he was young, he etched an image of a muscular nude man on the wall of a kitchen. Now, that drawing is up for sale.
But some experts doubt that he actually drew it, in part because it’s a bit ham-handed for such a master. One said that the artist had been “a very strict judge of himself” who destroyed many early works, adding that “maybe he forgot this one.”
Have an intriguing evening.
Thanks for reading. Emree Weaver was our photo editor today. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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