Trump envoy Kushner arrives in Israel after rare Hamas talks on Gaza peace plan

President Trump's senior envoy Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem this afternoon, hours after what the administration is calling unprecedented direct negotiations with Hamas leadership on a proposed Gaza ceasefire framework.

The White House has not disclosed where those Hamas talks occurred or who participated. Kushner is expected to remain in Tel Aviv through Wednesday as part of what officials describe as shuttle diplomacy.

Netanyahu has been navigating pressure from coalition hardliners who oppose any ceasefire terms that leave Hamas leadership intact.

And from international allies pressing for humanitarian corridors and hostage releases.

In Greece, firefighters on the island of Salamina report progress on two separate wildfires that have killed two people and forced the evacuation of approximately three hundred residents from coastal villages. Greek authorities say the northern fire is now fully contained.

That northern blaze burned through approximately four hundred hectares before crews established a containment line Monday morning. The southern fire remains active, with winds shifting toward residential areas overnight.

Salamina is very close to Athens, which gives emergency crews rapid access from the mainland bases.

In the United Kingdom, the BBC has published findings from a week-long investigation into social media claims that parts of Glasgow city centre have become quote no-go zones for white residents. The investigation found no evidence supporting those claims.

BBC reporters spent seven days in neighborhoods frequently cited in viral posts as unsafe or controlled by immigrant groups. They documented normal commercial activity, mixed-ethnicity foot traffic, and no restrictions on movement.

Glasgow police provided crime statistics showing violent incidents in the cited neighborhoods are below the city average. The report notes online claims about no-go zones increased significantly following viral posts in late January, many originating from accounts outside the United Kingdom.

This follows a King's College London study we reported last week finding public perception of crime in England and Wales significantly overestimates how many killers are from minority ethnic backgrounds, with Reform voters showing perceptions furthest from documented fact.

In Washington, thirty US states have filed coordinated lawsuits against Meta, seeking court-ordered changes to Instagram and Facebook features the states argue are designed to addict young users and harvest data from minors without adequate parental consent.

The lawsuits cite internal Meta documents obtained through discovery in previous cases, including communications in which company executives allegedly discussed suppressing research showing Instagram use correlates with increased depression and anxiety in teenage girls.

Meta released a statement Monday afternoon denying the allegations and stating the company has quote invested billions in tools to keep young people safe online. The lawsuits were filed in federal courts in California, New York, and Texas.

And in London, the UK's Child Maintenance Service is facing criticism from both mothers seeking payments and fathers claiming the agency has overcharged them, according to a joint investigation by the BBC and Times of London.

The investigation reviewed more than four hundred cases in which the service allegedly miscalculated payment obligations, leading to years of arrears accumulating against fathers who say they were already paying correctly, and to mothers receiving reduced support or no enforcement action when payments stopped.

The Department for Work and Pensions, which oversees the service, acknowledged quote processing delays and committed to a review of disputed cases filed before twenty twenty-three.

President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea. The president cited South Korea's refusal to assist with Iranian denuclearization efforts.

The president also referenced his relationship with North Korea's leader as a factor in the decision. This is classic geopolitical leverage, Deb. We're watching a master class in negotiation.

Now to actual crime. England's cricket captain is under investigation following an incident at a Wellington nightclub. Harry Brook, who plays for England's Test team, addressed the situation in an exclusive interview.

Brook is not the captain. Joe Root is the Test captain. Brook supports Root taking the captaincy, according to the interview.

The investigation is ongoing. Brook described the fallout from the Wellington incident but did not provide details about what occurred inside the nightclub. Authorities have not filed charges.

A Wexler County man was arrested Thursday after allegedly attempting to return a lawnmower he had stolen three years earlier. Deputies say the man brought the mower to the original owner's home and demanded a receipt.

The owner called the sheriff's office. The suspect is charged with theft and trespassing.

That is the problem I have been thinking about. A dog sanctuary in Michigan has found permanent homes for forty-seven of its oldest residents in the last six weeks.

The sanctuary waived all adoption fees for dogs over the age of eight. The oldest dog adopted was sixteen.

A petting zoo in North Carolina added three alpacas this month, all rescued from a farm that closed without notice.

The alpacas had been living in a barn with no power for three weeks before animal control was notified.

The zoo says all three are healthy now and available to visit starting next weekend.

In Arizona, a wildlife center has successfully returned nine desert tortoises to protected land after treating them for respiratory infections.

The tortoises were fitted with radio transmitters and will be monitored for the next two years.

And a cat in Vermont walked fourteen miles home after being lost during a family camping trip two months ago.

The family had posted flyers across three counties. The cat showed up on their porch last Tuesday.

Golf. The St Jude Championship concluded in Memphis this weekend with the largest margin of victory on the PGA Tour in thirty years.

Scottie Scheffler finished twenty-five strokes clear of the field. That is not a golf tournament, Deb. That is a clinic being held outdoors with spectators.

Rory McIlroy finished sixty-sixth and told reporters afterward that he felt lost on the course. McIlroy has not won a major championship in ten years.

Ten years is addressable. McIlroy has the swing, he has the resume, what he needs is someone in his corner telling him the work is good and the majors will follow.

European Championships in Rome. Great Britain finished the week with history made in the four-by-one-hundred meter relay as Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith became the first British women to win gold in that event.

Georgia Hunter Bell also claimed gold in the fifteen hundred meters, commanding performance wire-to-wire, and Great Britain is now positioned to top the final medal table when tallies are confirmed tomorrow.

That would be Britain's first time atop the European track and field medal table since two thousand and two.

Scottish football. The Premier Sports Cup quarter-final draw was announced this afternoon, and Rangers will host Celtic at Ibrox in what will be the standout tie of the round.

Old Firm derby in a cup quarter-final. That is appointment viewing, Deb. The other all-top-flight matchup is Kilmarnock hosting Aberdeen, but the eyes will be on Ibrox.

The last time Rangers and Celtic met in a cup competition was March. Celtic won two-one at Ibrox.

Anyway. Baseball lost one of its most significant figures this week. Tommy John, the left-hander who gave his name to the surgery that saved his career and changed the sport, died Monday at age eighty-three.

John was thirty-one when he tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow in nineteen seventy-four. The injury had ended careers before that. Doctor Frank Jobe pioneered the reconstruction that allowed John to return and pitch another fourteen seasons.

John won a hundred and sixty-four games after the surgery. More than two thousand pitchers have had the procedure since, and the success rate is eighty-five percent. That is a legacy, Deb.