Author: PBS NewsHour

In our news wrap Thursday, Israel's far-right finance minister announced the approval of a controversial new settlement in the occupied West Bank that's been on ice for decades, Tropical Storm Erin is gradually getting stronger and expected to become the first Atlantic hurricane of the season and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to open a second immigration detention center in the state. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Russian officials say a top priority at Friday's Trump-Putin summit is normalizing U.S. relations on topics beyond Ukraine. That concerns European officials, who consider Russia a long-term threat. With support from the University of British Columbia’s Global Reporting Program, Nick Schifrin spoke with Estonia’s defense minister about the Baltic nations’ fortified border with Russia. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

President Trump issued a new threat to punish Russia if it doesn't end the war in Ukraine. It comes two days before a high-stakes summit in Alaska with Vladimir Putin. The president also spoke with European leaders, including Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who said that Trump agreed to their principles on the best way to try and end the war. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Samuel Charap of RAND. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Gaza's health ministry says Israeli gunfire killed at least 25 people seeking aid across three separate sites, wildfires have killed at least three people across Albania, Spain and Turkey, three died in Tennessee after downpours flooded parts of the state and President Trump announced the first class of Kennedy Center honorees since he took over as chairman. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President Trump stunned many in the tech world after announcing a controversial deal with chipmakers Nvidia and AMD, allowing them to sell advanced artificial intelligence chips to China in exchange for giving the U.S. government a 15% cut of their revenue. Amna Nawaz discussed the legality of this deal and its implications with Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The State Department released its annual human rights report Tuesday, but unlike in years past, this edition has come under scrutiny for omitting issues and countries with poor human rights records. Nick Schifrin looks at the report and at this active week of renewed Trump diplomacy with Russia. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Over the last two and a half years, a brutal civil war between the Sudan Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands. Over 14 million Sudanese, more than a quarter of the population, have been displaced by the war. Stephanie Sy reports on the city of El Fasher in Darfur, which has faced famine for over a year. A warning, images in this story are disturbing. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In our news wrap Monday, President Trump said he's planning to discuss Ukraine's future borders with Putin when the two meet in Alaska, a judge in New York rejected a Justice Department request to unseal grand jury records from Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking case and officials in Pennsylvania say at least one person is confirmed dead after an explosion at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Some of the heaviest Israeli bombardment in weeks was reported overnight in Gaza. Health authorities said at least 34 people were killed, including five Al Jazeera staffers. It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to defend his plan to occupy Gaza’s largest city and an area that Israel has defined as a humanitarian zone for displaced Gazans. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In the face of mounting international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu defended his plan for a military occupation of Gaza City. At a news conference Sunday, he lashed out at what he called a “global campaign of lies,” while the U.N. Security Council gathered for an emergency meeting on Gaza. John Yang speaks with The Economist’s Israel correspondent Anshel Pfeffer for more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders