Nation and world news in brief for Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Philippine officials order evacuation, urge caution after volcano eruption
MANILA (Reuters) — Philippine authorities ordered the evacuation of residents living near a volcano in central Philippines on earlier today following an eruption that sent a five km (three miles) high ash cloud into the sky. Government officials warned of the possibility of further eruptions of Kanlaon volcano, hazardous ash fall and sulphuric odour. They also warned that rivers downstream from the volcano were at risk of flash floods, mudflows and other hazards.Government agencies have yet to report missing, injured, or fatalities since the eruption on Monday.
Biden calls Trump a ‘convicted felon’ who is unfit for office
GREENWICH, Conn. (Reuters) — President Joe Biden on Monday for the first time called former President Donald Trump a “convicted felon” who poses a higher threat to the United States if he wins another term – the most biting attack on his opponent’s legal troubles to date. Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime last week when a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.
Biden until now had largely stayed away from addressing Trump’s guilty verdict to avoid creating the impression he was politicizing the process, according to Biden campaign officials. The president’s comments on Monday offer a glimpse into how he and his campaign could use Trump’s conviction to make the case that Trump is unfit for office.
Menendez files to run as an Independent
(NYT) — Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a lifelong Democrat who is in his fourth week of a federal bribery trial, filed paperwork Monday to run for reelection as an independent in November. Most of the state’s leading Democrats called on him to resign after he was indicted on corruption charges last year. He has refused to step down, but he opted out of the Democratic primary. He never, however, shut the door to running as an independent — enabling him to continue to raise and spend campaign contributions on lawyers hired to defend him and his wife, Nadine Menendez, who is also charged in the bribery conspiracy.
Netanyahu’s far-right partners reject cease-fire compromise
(NYT) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maneuvered into rougher political waters Monday, as two far-right partners threatened to bring down his government should Israel agree to a cease-fire deal that would end the war in the Gaza Strip without eliminating Hamas. Netanyahu told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting Monday that President Joe Biden had not presented the “whole picture” when he described a proposed cease-fire from the White House last week, according to a person who attended the meeting and requested anonymity. Netanyahu, however, expressed openness to a 42-day pause in the fighting, the person said, embracing at least part of the first phase of the three-part cease-fire plan.
Floods break dams and submerge highways in southern Germany
(NYT) — After a weekend of heavy rains, severe floods in regions of southern Germany led several towns to declare states of emergency and to evacuate their citizens from heavily affected areas. Water submerged streets and highways, broke dams and derailed a high-speed train. Even as rain let up Monday, emergency crews rushed to fortify dams along rivers in anticipation of further flooding. On Monday morning, a 43-year-old woman was found dead in her basement in the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in Bavaria, according to local authorities. Several hours later, responders who were pumping water out of a basement in Schorndorf in Baden-Württemberg found the bodies of a man and a woman, according to police.
