Summary of Domestic News in the United States by Reuters

Pro-Israel website ramps up attacks on pro-Palestinian student protesters

In the wake of a pro-Palestinian demonstration, Egyptian-American student Layla Sayed found herself targeted by a website dedicated to exposing individuals accused of promoting hatred towards Jews and Israel. Sayed received a text message from a friend linking her to the site, suggesting they had identified her from the protest she attended weeks prior.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to halt shipments of bombs to Israel in response to the country’s attacks on Rafah has garnered mixed reactions. While some Democrats have praised the move, organizers of Gaza protests believe it will not deter ongoing demonstrations that have become a focal point of Biden’s reelection campaign.

In a lighter moment, President Biden took a jab at his predecessor, Donald Trump, jokingly suggesting that Trump should have injected himself with bleach, referencing a controversial statement made by Trump during the early days of the pandemic. The banter came during a fundraising event for Biden’s reelection campaign in California.

In other news, former President Trump’s son Barron will not represent Florida at the upcoming Republican National Convention due to prior commitments. Additionally, a school board in Virginia voted to restore Confederate names to two schools, making it the first district in the U.S. to take such action.

As tensions continue to simmer, police have been cracking down on protests at U.S. universities, with mass arrests being made at campuses in New York and Los Angeles. The latest crackdowns occurred at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, where dozens of pro-Palestinian activists were arrested and protest camps dismantled.