Author: CNN

Ahed Bseso lay on the kitchen table in her home in Gaza, watching as her uncle amputated her wounded right leg. Standing by, her mother cried, “Ahed is dead!”

But 18-year-old Bseso was very much alive, and she survived to tell her story from a hospital in Greenville, South Carolina.

Bseso said that on December 19, she went to the top floor of her house in Gaza to get a phone signal when an Israeli tank outside fired at her building. It destroyed part of her home’s wall, which came crashing down on her leg, along with heavy debris. With her neighborhood under siege and no possibility of medical attention, her uncle, who used to work as an orthopedic surgeon, used kitchen supplies to amputate her leg below the knee and dress it with unsterilized gauze.

A video of her amputation went viral and caught the attention of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), a US organization that provides free health care to thousands of injured and ill Palestinian children in the Middle East. The organization worked for weeks to bring her to the US for medical care, according to Tareq Hailat, head of the Treatment Abroad program at PCRF.

She is one of three Palestinians who received PCRF’s help to come to the US for leg injury treatment.

At least 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or both legs amputated, UNICEF reported in December. Though he couldn’t give an exact figure, UNICEF spokesperson Joe English told CNN that the number has since grown.

Read the full story here.

Michael Cohen finished the day’s testimony by explaining how he, former Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg and Donald Trump agreed to reimburse him for the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

After Trump won the election, Cohen pitched Trump on a set up in which he would serve as Trump’s personal attorney for free but would be paid by companies hoping for insights on Trump.

In early January, Cohen went to Weisselberg about being reimbursed for the $130,000 payment, and Weisselberg agreed, Cohen testified. He showed Weisselberg the wire transfer document, and Weisselberg took handwritten notes calculating what Trump owed Cohen based on their conversations.

According to Cohen, they agreed that Trump would pay him $420,000 in all: $130,000 to reimburse him for the payment to Daniels, $50,000 to reimburse him for unrelated tech services, $180,000 to account for estimated taxes and a $60,000 bonus. The payments would be made over 12 months “as like a legal service rendered since I was then going to be given the title of personal attorney to the president,” Cohen testified.

They presented the plan to Trump, and he approved it, Cohen said. The payments were designed to look like future legal services, but they were actually reimbursement for the Daniels’ deal, he testified.

Cohen never actually put together a retainer agreement for any future work he’d do for Trump, “because I knew there was going to be no compensation,” he testified.

Prosecutors say it’s entirely possible they could rest their case by the end of next week. Here are the takeaways from day 15 of the Trump hush money trial:

Cohen is on deck: Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen is expected to take the stand Monday and testify to his role in negotiating the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf, as well as how he was reimbursed through retainer payments in 2017 that are at the heart of the charges against Trump. However, his testimony comes with baggage. Cohen himself was federally charged with campaign finance violations, tax crimes and lying to Congress in previous testimony. He’s changed his story as he turned from loyal Trump defender to a chief antagonist after pleading guilty to the federal charges in 2018. Cohen’s credibility with the jury may make or break Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case, so it will be high stakes for the prosecution when Cohen is sworn in.

Judge to Cohen: Please stop talking: Trump attorney Todd Blanche urged Judge Juan Merchan to order Cohen to stop talking about the trial and Trump. Trump is not allowed to talk about Cohen because of the gag order in place. But, Blanche said, Cohen is nevertheless allowed to attack him. Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass responded that prosecutors have repeatedly instructed Cohen and all of the other witnesses in the case not to speak publicly about it. “The fact of the matter is, we have no control over what they do,” he conceded. Merchan has already said he cannot gag witnesses in the case. But he sympathized with Blanche’s position and said that he would “direct the people to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements” about this case or Trump.

Trump is all smiles at testimony of former White House aide: Trump exchanged smiles with his former White House assistant Madeleine Westerhout, who wrapped up her testimony Friday that began one day prior. She raised her eyebrows and smiled at Trump who smiled back at her and mouthed something as she left the courtroom. Westerhout testified that she remembered Trump was upset after the Daniels story came out in 2018. She testified that Trump signed scores of documents a day while multitasking on the phone or in meetings, and she said she’d seen him signing checks without reviewing them.

Prosecutors introduce key text and call records into evidence: After Westerhout left the stand, prosecutors spent the rest of the day calling custodial witnesses to introduce cell phone records into evidence. It made for a dry day of testimony, but it also provided key evidence that prosecutors plan to use to convince the jury that Trump is guilty of falsifying business records.

Prosecution may rest next week: Steinglass said that prosecutors expect to call two more witnesses, and then rest. “And I think it’s entirely possible we will rest by the end of next week,” he added. When the prosecution rests, it will be Trump’s turn. It’s not clear how long he will put on a case in defense – a question that is likely to rest largely on whether or not Trump himself takes the stand.

Read all the takeaways here.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister has hailed ties with Serbia, traditionally seen as one of Europe’s more Russian-leaning states, on a visit to Belgrade. He was accompanied on the trip by Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In March 2022, Kyiv’s Serbian embassy closed with the United States and the United Kingdom accusing Serbian businesses of assisting Russia in circumventing sanctions. 

Following Monday’s meeting between Foreign Minister Kuleba and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic the embassy is set to be reopened. 

“We are grateful to the Serbian president for agreeing to hold a Ukrainian-Serbian business forum in the near future, as well as to resume the work of the Serbian embassy in Ukraine for the first time since March 2022,” Kuleba said in a post on X.

Kuleba also said he and Vucic discussed a variety of bilateral issues building on “productive dialogue” Vucic has previously had with Zelensky. 

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Serbia has aided the war-torn country by sheltering Ukrainians and donating humanitarian aid.

In a statement during her visit to the country to participate in a mental health conference, First Lady Olena Zelenska expressed gratitude to Serbia for its contribution.

“I am grateful to Serbia for understanding that people matter most,” added Zelenska, who visited the country to take part in a mental health conference. 

Traditionally one of Moscow’s closest allies in Europe, Belgrade has long tried to walk a tightrope between its historical ties to Russia and a potential future of closer European integration.

Serbia’s contribution to Ukraine aid can be seen as part of its commitment to joining the European Union, but its relationship with the bloc is strained refusing to participate in EU sanctions rounds against Russia.  

“Serbia is deeply committed to becoming a member of the European Union and has voted for the United Nations resolution condemning Russian actions in Ukraine and has upheld its territorial integrity and sovereignty, and repeatedly sent various types of aid,” Serbia’s ambassador to the United States said in a statement to CNN last year. 

Ukrainian officials suggested further gains by Russian forces on Wednesday in the Kharkiv region, as Moscow continues its push into northeastern Ukraine.

The town of Vovchansk, located about 60 kilometers (or about 37 miles) northeast of Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, is seeing some of the most intense battles in areas near the border, with one police official saying Russian forces are already in the town. 

Gen. Serhii “Marcel” Melnyk, the commander of the Kharkiv city defense forces, also suggested there have been changes in Ukrainian positions in Vovchansk and a possible tactical withdrawal. 

At least 24 people, including four children, were injured as a result of Russian shelling in various parts of the Kharkiv region on Wednesday, Melnyk said.

The Ukrainian monitoring group DeepStateMap indicated on Wednesday that Russian forces have reached northeastern parts of Vovchansk as they continue to push further south into Ukrainian territory. Russian forces have taken control of more than nine villages near the border in recent days. 

Mandatory evacuations continue from all northern border settlements, according to Roman Semenukha, deputy head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration. Nearly 8,000 people have been evacuated from these areas since May 10, when Russia launched its push. 

As graduation ceremonies began at colleges and universities across the US this weekend, amid pro-Palestinian protests on campus, some major universities like Columbia have decided to either cancel or modify their main commencement ceremonies.

The University of Southern California was the first to cancel its main commencement ceremony at the end of April, citing “new safety measures in place.” As arrests unfolded and escalated across campus encampments last week, other universities are following suit.

Demands vary for these pro-Palestinian protests that have swept university campuses in recent weeks, but most demonstrators are calling for their schools to divest from companies and other entities that they say support or benefit from Israel’s war in Gaza.

Here are the latest developments:

Harvard University: The school warned that protesters involved in the pro-Palestinian encampment face “involuntary leave” and may not be able to sit for exams and may not reside in Harvard housing.

Columbia University: Columbia University on Monday canceled its university-wide commencement ceremony planned for next week due in part to security concerns, a university official told CNN. Instead, Columbia said it will “make the centerpiece of our Commencement activities our Class Day and school-level ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers.”

Emory University: Atlanta’s Emory University on Monday announced it will scale back and relocate its commencement ceremony, also citing concerns for safety and security as the main reasoning for adjusting plans.

Princeton hunger strike: Some students at Princeton University in New Jersey have launched a hunger strike until their demands are met, according to a student protest group. At least 17 undergraduate students were taking part as of Sunday, according to the Daily Princetonian. Princeton told CNN they “care about their well-being,” and that physicians were monitoring the group. 

British universities: The campus protests have spread across the Atlantic, where pro-Palestinian encampments have been set up at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, as students there call on leadership to sever ties to Israel. In the statement, the group said they “stand in solidarity” with students across the globe “from CUNY to UCLA, Trinity College to Sciences Po.”  

University of Southern California: Police cleared a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at USC without making any arrests Sunday, the school said. It was the second time the school dismantled an encampment at the Los Angeles university. School President Carol Folt said in a statement that the protesters had chosen to “break the law” and that encampments won’t be tolerated on campus.

The massive solar storm could present “a real danger,” especially with the modern world relying so much on electricity, according to Bill Nye the Science Guy, a science educator and engineer.

Scientists are warning an increase in solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun have the potential to disrupt communication on Earth into the weekend. Solar flares can affect communications and GPS almost immediately because they disrupt Earth’s ionosphere, or part of the upper atmosphere. Energetic particles released by the sun can also disrupt electronics on spacecraft and affect astronauts without proper protection within 20 minutes to several hours.

In comparison to tonight’s event, Nye drew comparisons with another incident in 1859, known as the Carrington Event, when telegraph communications were severely affected.

He noted that there are systems in place to minimize the impact, but “stuff might go wrong,” stressing that not all transformers are equipped to withstand such a solar event.

This post has been updated with more details on solar flares’ impact on electronics.

While nearly a dozen Republicans voted against tabling the motion to vacate, the vast majority were outraged Wednesday night that Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene went through with a move that was going to fail and show party disunity ahead of the election.

Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota called Greene’s behavior “destructive” and warned it would sow discord.

But Republicans who backed the House speaker say they are divided about whether or not to punish those who voted against tabling the resolution.  

Duarte said with a narrow majority, administering consequences is difficult. “Her voters need to deliver consequences to her,” he added.

Johnson also argued that consequences may not work, adding that “people need to sit down and analyze what’s possible and make the institution stronger.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Marc Molinaro, a vulnerable New York Republican, said there should be consequences but he wasn’t ready to commit to punishing Greene now.