Geoff Bennett:
In the day's other headlines: A five-day morning period has started in Iran for late President Ebrahim Raisi and other victims of Sunday's helicopter crash.
Early today, thousands of mourners crowded around a truck carrying the caskets through Tabriz. That's the closest major city to the crash site. Later, the bodies were flown to Tehran, where they were met by an honor guard. Iranian officials have not provided any cause of the crash, which took place amid dense fog above a mountain range.
France, Belgium and Slovenia have backed the International Criminal Court's decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders. They are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions taken during the war in Gaza and Israel.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate committee today the ICC's decision was — quote — "extremely wrong-headed," but he emphasized the U.S. still has concerns about Israel's military operations.
Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State: When your close friend is going down a path that you think may be counter to its interests and potentially our own as well, then, of course, we have conversations with them. That's what we're supposed to do. That's the nature of the relationship.
Geoff Bennett:
Meantime, Israel's communications minister has ordered that camera equipment be returned to the Associated Press after officials moved to block the company's live feed of Gaza earlier today. Israel had accused the AP of violating a new media law by providing video to Al-Jazeera.
Israel has long accused the Qatari satellite channel of having an anti-Israel bias. Officials shut down the broadcaster's local offices earlier this month.
Police broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Michigan today, citing a threat to public safety. Before sunrise, protesters on the Ann Arbor campus came face-to-face with rows of officers dressed in protective riot gear. Police cleared about 50 people from the site and arrested four others. Tensions had escalated in recent days after demonstrators placed fake body bags on a school official's lawn.
The Justice Department is suing Oklahoma over a law that would make it a crime to live in the state as an undocumented immigrant. Those convicted under the law, set to take effect July 1, would face two years in prison. DOJ official Brian Boynton said in a statement — quote — "We have brought this action to ensure that Oklahoma adheres to the Constitution and the framework adopted by Congress for regulation of immigration."
Similar laws in Texas and Iowa are also facing legal challenges.
More than a dozen companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence made renewed pledges today to develop the technology safely. At a virtual summit hosted by South Korea, companies like Microsoft, X, Samsung, and OpenAI promised public transparency and accountability in their A.I. innovations. They even offered to shut down their systems if they can't control risks created by the technology.
South Korea's president welcomed their shared commitment to these universal guardrails.
Geoff Bennett:
The two-day meeting is a follow-up to last year's A.I. Safety Summit in the U.K. and comes amid a broad effort by governments and international organizations to address potential risks from the emerging technology.
Former President Trump has taken down a video posted to his social media account that included a reference to a — quote — "unified reich." The term is often associated with Nazi Germany's Third Reich. In the 32nd video, the phrase flashes during a montage of hypothetical pro-Trump headlines.
His campaign said it was not an official campaign video and blamed a staffer for reposting it. President Biden's campaign called out the incident, writing on social media that — quote — "Donald Trump posting a unified reich video is part of a pattern of his praise for dictators and echoing antisemitic tropes. He's a threat to our democracy and Americans must reject him and stand up for our democracy this November."
The Biden administration announced a new effort today to lower gas prices in time for the summer driving season. The Energy Department is releasing one million barrels of gasoline from a reserve in the Northeast. In a statement, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said — quote — "We are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tristate area and Northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most."
The average price for a gallon of gas nationwide is about $3.60. That's up six cents from last year.
On Wall Street today, stocks crept higher ahead of closely watched earnings from A.I. heavyweight Nvidia due out tomorrow. The Dow Jones industrial average added 66 points to close at 38000 — 39872. The Nasdaq gained 37 points to close at a new all-time high. The S&P 500 also notched a new record, adding 13 points.
And Elvis Presley's granddaughter is fighting an attempt to sell the singer's famous Graceland estate. A public auction had been scheduled for Thursday, but Riley Keough — that's Presley's granddaughter — sought a restraining order and filed a lawsuit to stop the sale. At issue is a company's claim that a loan using the Presley home as collateral went unpaid.
A statement from Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., said: "These claims are fraudulent. There is no foreclosure sale."
