Israel Hamas War Trump Blocks in Colorado Prisoner Exchange in Venezuela

Israel-Hamas War, Trump Blocks in Colorado, Prisoner Exchange in Venezuela: Wednesday News – USA TODAY

The death toll in Gaza has reached a grim milestone. The Supreme Court may want to stay out of the 2024 election — but now it has to deal with Trump. And hackers stole a whole lot of Xfinity customer data.

👋 Hello everyone! Laura Davis Here. It's time for Wednesday's news!

🌊 But first: He tried to cross the ocean in a giant hamster wheel. Then came the federal charges.

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The Palestinian death toll in Gaza exceeds 20,000

The leader of Hamas's political wing was in Cairo on Wednesday to negotiate a ceasefire that could allow more exchanges of prisoners and hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated Gaza Strip. Ismail Haniyeh held “critical discussions” with Egyptian officials, Egypt Today reported, as the Palestinian death toll surpassed a staggering 20,000. Could a ceasefire be near? The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel offered a week-long lull in fighting in return for the release of 40 hostages. 👉 Here's the latest.

SCOTUS simply can't leave Trump

A surprise decision late Tuesday to bar former President Donald Trump from Colorado's 2024 primary has once again pushed the U.S. Supreme Court to the place it least wants to be: in the middle of a legal battle that will affect the election in the next could turn the year upside down.

  • What's up? The nation's highest court is already considering whether to hear Trump's claim that he is entitled to immunity from federal charges related to his interference in the 2020 election. The justices also agreed to rule on a lawsuit asking whether obstruction charges can be brought against those involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
  • So what has changed? As significant as these cases are, with Colorado ruling that Trump is ineligible to appear on the state ballot because of his role in inciting violence at the Capitol, the U.S. Supreme Court will almost certainly be more explicit than before in the 2024 election included. 🔎 Take a closer look at the problems.
  • New: Trump asks SCOTUS to stay out of election fraud cases.
  • Chris Christie criticizes Colorado's decision to keep Trump out of the election.
  • GOP senator tries to block other states from disqualifying Trump.

Real quick

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10 Americans were traded for allies of the Venezuelan president

The Biden administration on Wednesday released a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from U.S. custody in exchange for 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela and the return of a notorious fugitive. Six of the Americans freed from Venezuelan custody were deemed unlawfully detained. The U.S. also secured the extradition of Leonard Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who fled to Venezuela while facing conviction for orchestrating one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. Navy history. In return, Biden granted clemency to Alex Saab, who was long considered a bagman for Maduro and was arrested in 2020 on a US warrant for money laundering. 🤝 What you should know about the prisoner exchange.

Data for millions of people exposed in Xfinity security breach

*shakes fist* Keep an eye on your accounts, people. A data breach at Xfinity has given hackers access to the personal information of almost all of the company's customers. Comcast, Xfinity's parent company, sent a notice to customers on Monday saying it was allowing “unauthorized access to its internal systems” due to a vulnerability in cloud computing company Citrix's software used by Xfinity. have given. The company said it notified law enforcement and launched an investigation, finding that information on 35.8 million people was obtained by hackers. 👾 What you should know about the hack.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hello: [email protected]. This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Is this how you support quality journalism? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.