What A Day - Biden Reiterates “Clear Position” Against Rafah Invasion In Latest Call With Netanyahu

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Monday, April 29th. I'm Traevel Anderson. And I'm Josie Duffy Rice. And this is What A Day, where we like to go to the movies on the weekend. Yes, I saw Zendaya's new movie, Challengers, and now I want to play tennis, Josie. I want to play tennis. I want to be part of a revenge plot. I mean, it brings out everything I could ever want. Listen, go to the movies, y'all. Okay? It's real good. It's real good. It's real good. On today's show, police arrest hundreds of people on college campuses protesting the war in Gaza. Plus, an excerpt from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's forthcoming book has her making enemies. But first, the International Criminal Court is expected to issue arrest warrants

Starting point is 00:00:46 against top Israeli and Hamas officials for their actions in the ongoing war in Gaza. That's according to a handful of Israeli and foreign officials who spoke to the New York Times anonymously. The ICC itself has not commented on the matter, but on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media that any intervention by the court, quote, would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression. On Sunday, President Biden spoke with Netanyahu, and according to the White House, he, quote, reiterated his

Starting point is 00:01:22 clear position on Israel's impending invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge. President Biden said last month that such an invasion would be a, quote, unquote, red line for his administration. And what is the latest in ceasefire talks? So Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently on another trip to the Middle East to help broker a deal. A U.S. drafted plan, if agreed to, would include a six-week ceasefire and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of 40 of the hostages still being held by Hamas. Later stages of the plan would extend the ceasefire in exchange for more hostages being freed. Yes, and related to the hostages, on Saturday, Hamas released two more videos

Starting point is 00:02:11 of hostages held in Gaza. The undated videos show Omri Miran, who is Israeli, and Keith Siegel, an American citizen, for the first time since they were abducted in Israel on October 7th, more than 200 days ago. Siegel's wife, who was also taken hostage, was released in November. The videos come on the heels of another hostage video from last week of Hirsch Goldberg-Poland, who is also a U.S. citizen. Now, you mentioned that the videos are undated. Do we have any idea of when they were taken? In all three videos, the hostages make reference to the 200-day mark, signaling that they could have been taken within the last week. And they also mentioned Passover, which began last week.

Starting point is 00:02:51 But that's not really a guarantee of anything. Media outlets have reported that they actually can't be confident about when the videos were actually filmed. We won't be sharing details on the videos since this kind of footage is taken under duress, which makes the content entirely unreliable. But it does feel worth noting that all three hostages were visibly struggling. Siegel broke down in tears during the video. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Goldberg-Poland spoke to his family saying, I love you so much and I think about you every day. All three have also clearly suffered physically as well. The Wall Street Journal notes that Siegel, who is 64 years old, and Miran, who is 47, look pale and thin. And the video of Goldberg Poland shows an amputated arm from injuries he incurred on October 7th. And these videos are being released

Starting point is 00:03:35 at a pretty crucial moment given the ceasefire negotiation. So back to those talks. Can you talk to us a little bit about what Hamas is saying right now? Yeah, so most of the pressure is being put on Hamas to agree to the deal. But Hamas has said that they'll only agree to a deal containing a permanent ceasefire. On last Friday, Israel issued a counterproposal that, according to The New York Times, raised the prospect of a more sustained end to hostilities. But as of this weekend, Hamas was still considering it. You mentioned earlier that Blinken is back in the Middle East. He'll be in Saudi Arabia for the World Economic Forum. He's also meeting with Egyptian and Qatari officials who have been

Starting point is 00:04:14 serving as the intermediaries between the parties and the negotiations. Yeah, and I want to highlight a speech that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas actually gave at the forum on Sunday in which he called out the United States. Here he is as translated by Al Jazeera. What is happening in Gaza, what will happen in the coming days and what Israel will do by invading the city of Rafah. All the Palestinians from Gaza are gathered in the city of Rafah and only a small blow remains to get them all out. Then it would be the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people. We appeal to the United States of America to ask Israel to stop the Rafah operation because America is the only country capable of preventing Israel from committing this

Starting point is 00:05:01 crime. Now, this is the first time that a senior leader in the Palestinian Authority has made such a statement, but it helps illustrate just how catastrophic many believe an attack on Rafah would be for the Palestinian population already in crisis. Also on the call, Biden and Netanyahu discussed the status of humanitarian aid deliveries for civilians. While deliveries into the besieged territory have increased, more is still needed. This week, new crossings are set to open to help aid get to more folks in need,

Starting point is 00:05:33 particularly in the northern part of Gaza. And we also have some updates from the World Central Kitchen. Is that right, Josie? Yeah, so about a month after an Israeli strike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, the organization is going to once again start providing assistance in Gaza. The April 1st strike had led World Central Kitchen leadership to halt operations in the region. But on Sunday, CEO Aaron Gore said, quote,

Starting point is 00:05:57 We have been forced to make a decision, stop feeding altogether during one of the worst hunger crises ever, ending our operation that accounted for 62% of all international NGO aid. Or keep feeding, knowing that aid, aid workers and civilians are being intimidated and killed. The organization had provided 43 million meals in Gaza since October. On Sunday, they said they had 276 trucks holding an equivalent of 8 million meals ready to enter through Rafah and would be sending more trucks from Jordan. So we will continue to follow this story. And that is the latest for now. We'll be back after some ads.

Starting point is 00:06:49 Now let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. In a statement, school officials lamented the, quote, violence that broke out after protesters broke a barrier separating the dueling groups, though school officials didn't say which group initiated the, quote, physical altercations. This comes after we've seen pro-Israel demonstrations emerge in response to growing pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses nationwide. Meanwhile, hundreds more campus protesters were arrested over the weekend. Hold the line now, hold the line! Hold the line now, hold the line! Hold the line now, hold the line! Hold the line now, hold the line! That was the sound of authorities confronting pro-Palestine protesters at Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday. Local police arrested 100 people who were attempting to start an encampment.

Starting point is 00:07:42 University security locked down the campus shortly after. That same day, 100 protesters were arrested at Northeastern University in Boston, while dozens of others were arrested at Arizona State University and Indiana University Bloomington. Authorities have arrested nearly 900 college protesters since April 18th, the day that New York police cleared the pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia University. Most of those arrested have been released. Protests also erupted outside the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday. Hundreds gathered near the Washington Hill Inn to demonstrate against Biden's support for Israel and the American media's coverage of the war. Some protesters shouted, shame on you, as guests walked in.

Starting point is 00:08:24 Shame on you! shame on you as guests walked in. Others laid motionless on the ground, dressed in mock press jackets and helmets, a nod to the nearly 100 journalists who died covering the war. Inside the event, though, there was little mention of the protests outside or the war. Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost hosted to mixed reviews, and President Biden focused his speech on his rival in the upcoming election, former President Donald Trump. Biden started with jokes. The 2024 election is in full swing. And yes, age is an issue. I'm a grown man running against a six-year-old.

Starting point is 00:09:07 And he ended with a serious warning to the audience of journalists about what would happen if Trump wins in November. He tells supporters he is their revenge and retribution. When in God's name have you ever heard of another president say something like that? And he promised a bloodbath when he loses again. We have to take this seriously. Eight years ago, he could have written off as just Trump talk, but no longer. Not after January 6th. Well, he's not wrong about that. That's true. Candace Parker, one of the greatest players the WNBA has ever seen, announced Sunday that she is retiring from the league after 16 seasons.

Starting point is 00:09:48 She made her announcement in an Instagram post where she wrote, quote, The competitor in me always wants one more, but it's time. My heart and body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it. The two-time WNBA champ's 2023 season with the Las Vegas Aces was cut short because of a foot injury. She cited the need for another surgery as part of her decision to retire. Parker was the number one draft pick in 2008 after an incredible college career at the University of Tennessee. She started out with the Los Angeles Sparks and won Rookie of the Year and MVP honors that same year. South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem may have done some serious damage to her bid to be Trump's running mate after she, and I can't believe I'm saying this, wrote about killing a puppy in her upcoming memoir. The Guardian got an advanced copy of Noem's book, No Going Back.

Starting point is 00:10:38 And on Friday, the paper highlighted a part of Noem's book where she writes about shooting and killing her 14-month-old puppy named Cricket after the dog ruined a hunting trip, killed her neighbor's chickens, and then, she says, tried to bite her. The story continues with her meting out the same violent end to a, quote, mean and disgusting, uncastrated male goat on her farm. The excerpt drew bipartisan condemnation. On Friday, Noem defended her actions as one of the, quote, tough decisions that have to be made on farms. She doubled down on Sunday. In posts on Truth Social and X, Noem said what she did was legal and tried to spin her actions as those of a, quote, dog owner and neighbor apparently noam also writes in the book quote i guess if i were a better politician i wouldn't tell the story here

Starting point is 00:11:31 you think maybe she should have followed her own instincts josie why would you share this information publicly i have no idea first of all she should not follow her instincts ever, clearly. But also, don't you feel like her ghost writer must hate her? Nobody would put this in a book. Because she obviously didn't write this herself, is what you're saying. She didn't write this herself. And nobody who respects you

Starting point is 00:11:57 would include this in your book. It's so crazy to do this and then tell the world. But you know what? Shout out to the ghostwriter then. Shout out to you. Thank you. Saving our democracy. Thank you.

Starting point is 00:12:09 One ghostwriter at a time. Literally. And also, it seems you knew Christina Owen wouldn't even read the final draft. So I also, way to test the waters. And those are the headlines. One more thing before we go. Exciting news. Cricket's weekly legal pod, Strict Scrutiny, has finally launched its own Strict Scrutiny YouTube channel. So now host

Starting point is 00:12:33 Leah Littman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray aren't just for your ear holes, your eyeballs can get in on the action too. To subscribe, just type Strict Scrutiny into your YouTube search bar and tune in for new episodes every Monday. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, save an animal, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just Kristi Noem hate tweets like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter, so check it out and subscribe at Cricut.com slash subscribe. I'm Josie Duffy Rice. I'm Traevel Anderson. And I'm glad I'm not

Starting point is 00:13:09 Kristi Noem's ghostwriter. Yeah, thanks for taking one for the team. Although, the check has probably cleared, I'm certain. And beggars can't be choosers in this industry, but... That part, okay? I haven't gotten there yet. Listen, people got bills to pay, Josie. Look.

Starting point is 00:13:38 What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our associate producers are Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf. We had production help today from Leo Duran, Greg Walters, and Julia Clare. Our showrunner is Erica Morrison, and our executive producer is Adrienne Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.

What A Day - Biden Reiterates “Clear Position” Against Rafah Invasion In Latest Call With Netanyahu

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