Trump and Netanyahu to meet amid tensions over the Iran war. Funeral services for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham take place in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina. Plus, a major earthquake rocks southern Japan.
Here’s what to know today.
Netanyahu and Trump to meet with war heavy on their minds
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet today with President Donald Trump at the White House for a high-stakes sit-down on the Iran war. The Israeli leader has seen support for the war fall at home. Support for his government’s actions have plummeted in the U.S., and his relationship with Trump appears strained.
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The sit-down will be their first face-to-face meeting since Trump reportedly called Netanyahu “f—ing crazy” during a heated phone call. The meeting also comes amid scrutiny from lawmakers over the administration’s handling of the war and as the Defense Department requests Congress to approve an additional $67 billion in supplemental funding to expand weapons production and speed up delivery.
The president is also expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House to discuss its war with Russia.
Where Netanyahu and Trump’s relationship stands.
Washington says goodbye to Sen. Lindsey Graham
Two days of funeral services for Sen. Lindsey Graham are set to begin today, as Trump, Washington officials and world leaders — including Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — say goodbye to one of the most prominent and influential lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
This morning, Graham’s casket will be carried by an armed forces body bearer team and later replaced by a U.S. Capitol Police memorial guard in recognition of the Senator’s military service. After a private ceremony in the Capitol’s rotunda, his casket will depart for Washington National Cathedral for an invitation-only funeral service at 2 p.m. ET. Tomorrow, the services will carry over to South Carolina.
Follow updates throughout the day.
More politics news:
- Mitch McConnell’s office said in a health update that the senator is undergoing “intense physical therapy” and still not ready to return to in-person work.
- Citing “common sense,” attorneys for James Comey asked a federal judge to dismiss the “8647” seashells case against him.
- ICE plans to ramp up arrests and deportations of Haitian immigrants as their Temporary Protected Status runs out.
- For subscribers: Trump has made no secret that he thinks former special counsel Jack Smith should be prosecuted. But here’s why it’s not an easy task.
Major earthquake rocks Japan, damaging buildings and collapsing houses
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Earthquake strikes Japan, prompting tsunami warnings
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A major earthquake hit southern Japan today, trapping people in mall, derailing a train and injuring dozens. It struck Kumamoto Prefecture, on Japan’s southern Kyushu island.
Multiple people were trapped in the mall hours after the quake struck, local fire officials say. An explosion was also heard on the second floor of the AEON Mall, officials said, according to state broadcaster NHK, which carried footage of almost a dozen fire trucks in the facility’s parking lot. Images also showed the mall’s collapsed ceilings and facade, and a debris-littered road.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 and depth of 10 kilometers, or just over 6 miles, was at the highest end of the seismic intensity scale.
Japan’s Cabinet Office’s Disaster Management Division said the earthquake hit at around 4:27 p.m. local time, with a tsunami advisory issued for the Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas minutes later. The warning was later lifted, state broadcaster NHK reported.Several buildings were damaged in the quake, videos from around the region showed. There were at least 12 cases of collapsed houses, NHK said, with at least 50 people injured.
NHK broadcast aerial footage showing a derailed cargo train, collapsed towers at an industrial plant and a small building on fire.
Follow the latest on our liveblog.
Influencer sought multiple protection orders against husband before her death
The social media influencer alleged to have been killed by her estranged husband after she publicly accused him of pedophilia sought multiple protection orders against him dating back five years, according to court records reviewed by NBC News.
In 2021, Sara Gilson filed three protective order applications against her husband, Jeremiah Shawn Duffey, within weeks of each other in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Gilson wrote of finding a “hidden camera” in her room and being forced to kiss him, among other allegations, records show. But the cases were dismissed when Gilson did not appear for hearings, according to the court docket.
Gilson accused Duffey of pedophilia in a TikTok video on her TikTok account on July 11. On Thursday, Gilson and Duffey were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds.
Staff Pick: ‘Bite marks’ sent him to death row. A video helped set him free.
After three decades of reporting on wrongful convictions, I thought I understood the many ways justice can fail. That changed when a USB drive arrived in my mailbox last month. I could hardly believe what I saw.
In 1998, a Louisiana jury convicted Jimmie “Chris” Duncan of murdering 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux and sentenced him to death. The case rested on alleged bite marks an expert said Duncan had made on her body. Duncan maintained his innocence.
Yet all along, the truth had been preserved on video, in a recording Duncan’s jury never knew existed. It wasn’t until 2024 that it would be played publicly. Part of the footage shows forensic dentist Dr. Michael West examining Haley’s body in a morgue. For 20 minutes, West presses a mold of Duncan’s teeth into Haley’s cheek and body roughly 50 times. Lawyers and forensic experts would testify that West’s actions appeared to produce the very marks used to help send Duncan to death row. West denies creating them.
Today, Duncan is free and trying to rebuild his life after his conviction was vacated.
This story reaches far beyond one conviction. The work of West and others he worked with helped send at least nine innocent people to prison, some for decades, before they were exonerated.
For more than 30 years, Duncan insisted the system had condemned the wrong man. The proof, it appears, had been recorded from the beginning. — Dan Slepian, senior investigative producer
Read All About It
- A key grand jury witness in the case against former Olympic canoeist David “Davey” Hearn testified that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was damaged before his visit and would’ve required repairs regardless, according to a court filing yesterday.
- A 15-year-old arrested in a deadly shooting at a Seattle food festival allegedly fired into the crowd during a fight, police said.
- Bryan Kohberger, the man serving four life sentences in the killings of four University of Idaho students in 2022, filed a petition to challenge his guilty plea and conviction.
- A Secret Service agent in Florida and two other people were arrested in connection with a college hazing ritual that nearly ended in a victim’s death.
- For subscribers: A Los Angeles judge determined there was enough evidence for singer D4vd to go to trial in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Here’s what text messages revealed.
NBC Selected: Online Shopping, Simplified
Stanley tumblers are some of the most popular water bottles on the market, and right now, certain styles are 50% off. Plus, Amazon is having a secret sale on Lego sets. Get up to 44% off for a limited time.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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