An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail for Gaza on Tuesday in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
The push to get food in by sea — along with a recent campaign of air drops into isolated northern Gaza — highlighted the international community’s frustration with the growing humanitarian crisis and its inability to get aid in by road.
The food on the aid ship was collected by World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, and is being transported by the Spanish aid group Open Arms. The ship departed from the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus and is expected to arrive in Gaza in two to three days.
Over five hours of interviews, President Joe Biden repeatedly told a special counsel that he never meant to retain classified information after he left the vice presidency, but he was at times fuzzy about dates and said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.
A transcript of the Biden interviews was made public Tuesday, just as the special counsel, Robert Hur, went before the House Judiciary Committee to face questions about his investigation of the Democratic president.
Hur, in his report, concluded that Biden should not face criminal charges over his mishandling of documents but also impugned the president’s age and competence. The special counsel stood by his assessment of the president’s memory as “accurate and fair,” in prepared testimony to be delivered to Congress.
The Minnesota Vikings stayed aggressive in free agency Tuesday by adding former Green Bay running back Aaron Jones and 2018 third overall draft pick Sam Darnold as a temporary replacement at quarterback for Kirk Cousins.
Jones, who was released Monday by the Packers after they landed 2022 All-Pro Josh Jacobs, gets a one-year, $7 million contract with their biggest rival, a person with knowledge of the terms told The Associated Press.
Darnold, who played last season for San Francisco, will get a one-year, $10 million deal, a second person with knowledge of that contract told the AP. The Vikings also agreed to sign kicker Parker Romo, according to a third person with knowledge of that deal.
Jaydin Fairbanks can be reached at fair7610@stthomas.edu.