Columbia to hold classes virtually as Jewish leaders warn of safety amid pro-Palestinian protests

Table Of Content

• US developing contingency plans to evacuate Americans from Mideast in case Israel-Hamas war spreads
• Republicans split on strategy to make Biden pay a political price for Afghanistan
• Biden Team Sees Narrow Window for Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages in Gaza
• At least 13 US service members killed in Kabul airport attack
• Turkey might stay on to provide technical support at Kabul airport, Turkish state media reports
• PHOTOS: Police respond to neighborhood after gunfire reported near greenway
• Media Services

Spain has ended its evacuation mission from Afghanistan, with the last remaining people expected to land at the Torrejon military airbase near Madrid later on Friday, the country’s Presidency said in a statement. Imagine if we had begun evacuations in June or July, bringing in thousands of American troops and evacuating more than 120,000 people in the middle of a civil war. There still would have been a rush to the airport, a breakdown in confidence and control of the government, and it still would have been a very difficult and dangerous mission. A source told CNN there was another 36 hours until the end of the operation to evacuate.

Cocaine found at White House after mysterious substance prompts evacuation - FOX 5 DC

Cocaine found at White House after mysterious substance prompts evacuation.

Posted: Tue, 04 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

US developing contingency plans to evacuate Americans from Mideast in case Israel-Hamas war spreads

President Biden spoke earlier today with Prime Minister Netanyahu. The President reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security following the successful defense against Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack earlier this month. They also reviewed ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The President referred to his statement with 17 other world leaders demanding that Hamas release their citizens without delay to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza. The President and the Prime Minister also discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza including through preparations to open new northern crossings starting this week. The President stressed the need for this progress to be sustained and enhanced in full coordination with humanitarian organizations.

Republicans split on strategy to make Biden pay a political price for Afghanistan

But Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum, is hundreds of miles from an accessible waterway, and the intense fighting has made traveling through the country treacherous. "We have not parsed our words or been ignorant or naïve about the delicate and fragile security situation in Sudan," Patel claimed. Ryder also said that additional forces have moved into the Middle East. He said the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 119 Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, with its F-16 fighter jets, arrived Tuesday, but officials would not say where exactly it went.

Biden Team Sees Narrow Window for Deal on Cease-Fire and Hostages in Gaza

They added that since midnight local time, 200 had been evacuated to the base and flown out. This brings the total number of US citizens evacuated since August 14 to 4,700, the source added. The statement released Friday said two military planes carrying the last 81 Spaniards remaining in Afghanistan -- "including military personnel and embassy personnel" -- arrived in Dubai from Kabul early on Friday morning local time.

At least 13 US service members killed in Kabul airport attack

That assumption — that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time beyond military drawdown — turned out not to be accurate. As part of that decision, we set the date of August 31st for American troops to withdraw. The assumption was that more than 300,000 Afghan National Security Forces that we had trained over the past two decades and equipped would be a strong adversary in their civil wars with the Taliban. We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

Turkey might stay on to provide technical support at Kabul airport, Turkish state media reports

Secret Service investigating suspected cocaine found in White House - The Washington Post

Secret Service investigating suspected cocaine found in White House.

Posted: Mon, 03 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

However, Patel noted that the State Department has listed Sudan under its highest-level travel advisory for months, which warns Americans not to journey to the country and advises that if they do, the U.S. government may not be able to provide help in a crisis. A private jet thought to be carrying another US congressional delegation has been denied permission to land at Kabul airport, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday. The source estimated there were about 1,800 local US Embassy Afghan staff still to get to the airport and “36 hours to do it.” They had already recovered 1,300 local staff and evacuated them, they said. Blinken said on Wednesday afternoon that there were 500 Americans identified who needed help to get to the airport.

This afternoon, the President and Speaker Pelosi spoke by phone about the ongoing evacuation operations in Afghanistan as well as the President’s Build Back Better agenda and the upcoming House action this week on key domestic issues. The administration is testing its proposition with a renewed push in the region. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, where he promoted a new “extraordinarily generous” offer by Israel, which signaled that it is now willing to accept the release of fewer hostages in the first stage of an agreement, 33 instead of 40. "I don't think it would be wise for me to walk through all the sort of the contingency thinking that the Department of Defense and the State Department are working through right now," he said. "The military continues to pre-position capabilities nearby. In case they're needed, but there has not been a decision made that they will be making sure that we're ready for it."

The president made his comments to reporters about the speed of aid flowing into Gaza after presenting science and technology awards to several Americans for exemplary achievements that have had a positive impact on the United States. He added that the U.S. won’t hesitate to take action if needed to protect its forces and interests in the region. “The two leaders agreed on pursuing broader diplomatic efforts to maintain stability across the region and prevent the conflict from expanding,” the White House added. “The Israelis are making their own decisions,” Biden said Tuesday night when asked whether he has asked Israel to hold off on its expected ground offensive. On Tuesday two congressmen, Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan, made a clandestine trip to Kabul "to conduct oversight on the mission to evacuate Americans and our allies."

Media Services

The terror threat has metastasized across the world, well beyond Afghanistan. We face threats from al-Shabaab in Somalia; al Qaeda affiliates in Syria and the Arabian Peninsula; and ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, and establishing affiliates across Africa and Asia. The fundamental obligation of a President, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America — not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow. That is the guiding principle behind my decisions about Afghanistan. I simply do not believe that the safety and security of America is enhanced by continuing to deploy thousands of American troops and spending billions of dollars a year in Afghanistan. But I also know that the threat from terrorism continues in its pernicious and evil nature.

The specter of such an operation comes as Israeli forces, aided by U.S. weapons and military advisers, prepare for what is widely expected to be a perilous ground offensive against Hamas militants responsible for the stunning cross-border attack that has reignited hostilities. While the administration says it is working towards evacuating American embassy staff still stranded in the country, it makes no promises about other Americans who could get let behind. Biden and the crown prince spoke about “efforts to deter state and non-state actors from widening the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” according to the White House. Biden administration officials have repeatedly warned Iran not to become involved in the conflict. U.S. forces in the region over the last few days have come under repeated attacks that the Pentagon has said were likely endorsed by Iran, which is the chief sponsor of Hamas, the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, as well as militant groups in Iraq and Yemen.

We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history, with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety. That number is more than double what most experts thought were possible. No nation — no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history. Only the United States had the capacity and the will and the ability to do it, and we did it today. The U.S. Capitol police sent a message to people in the Capitol building to evacuate, asking staff to report to their Office Emergency Coordinator. The Administration’s COVID-19 strategy during the PHE relied on effectively and equitably implementing the largest adult vaccination program in U.S. history.

Former President Barack Obama was in office at the time but he was not at the White House compound during the incident. In June, President Joe Biden and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, were briefly evacuated from their residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware after a small plane entered restricted airspace by mistake. It's not unusual for the Secret Service to take precautions such as lockdowns or evacuations during incidents like the one on Wednesday morning. "Thanks to everyone for the information and support as agents and officers work to assess the situation," he said. Two military planes carried out the last 81 Spaniards remaining in Afghanistan, along with four Portuguese soldiers and 85 Afghans and their families who had worked with NATO countries. At least 276 New Zealand nationals and residents had been evacuated, the government added.

We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay. Whenever anyone seeks to harm the United States or attack our troops, we will respond. I thanked General McKenzie for his leadership of that mission, and for his commitment to the safety of our troops in Afghanistan.