Headline News from The Associated Press
AP Headline News - Mar 18 2024 17:00 (EDT)
18 News. I'm Ed Donahue. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send Israeli officials to Washington to discuss a prospective Rafa operation with the Biden administration. The agreement came during the first phone call in more than a month between Netanyahu and President Biden, who is urging Israel not to attack the southern Gaza town where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says the leaders had aired their views. "And now we really need to get down to brass tacks." And discussed the way forward. Sullivan says the President told Netanyahu they share the goal of beating Hamas. "But a major ground operation there would be a mistake." The call between the leaders came after top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer called for new elections in Israel, which on Fox and Friends yesterday, Netanyahu called "holy inappropriate." "We're not a banana republic. The people of Israel will choose when they'll have elections, who they will act." Sagar Magani, Washington. The EPA announced a ban on asbestos. It's a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. Asbestos is still used in some chlorine bleach. The CEO of United Airlines sent a message to customers today to reassure them the airline is safe. A piece of aluminum skin fell off of United plain recently. Another jet lost a wheel on takeoff. Airline safety expert John Cox says when United has mentioned there's overreaction. "There was a hydraulic failure that made the news. There were, I think, two or three other ones that same day around the world, all of which landed safely. United made the headlines." The Supreme Court appears receptive to National Rifle Association claims a former New York State official violated its free speech rights by pressuring banks and insurance companies to blacklist the group after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Stock's finished higher. This is AP News. March Madness is set. Now it's time to pick the winners in the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball tournaments. The AP's Ralph Russo says there are many options. "You can maybe try AI. See if artificial intelligence can pick you some winners. You should definitely pick a few upsets, but how many upsets? You want to dive into the metrics and do a ton of research or do you want to maybe just, I don't know, pick your favorite mascots. Everybody will have a bracket. Everybody will have an opinion about who makes the final four." For the men, Russo is not picking the defending champ's Yukon to make the final four. I'll take Auburn in Yukon's regional to play in the final four. Take North Carolina to the face Auburn in the semifinals. On the other side, Kentucky doesn't play a lot of defense but has two potential NBA lottery picks and I'll go with Purdue, get to get to the final four. Russo is picking Purdue to win it all. I'm Ed Donahue, AP News.