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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24
Washington — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, two sources told CBS News.
The top four leaders of the House and Senate formally invited Netanyahu last week “to share the Israeli government’s vision for defending democracy, combatting terror, and establishing a just and lasting peace in the region. But the invitation did not specify a date.
There was brief confusion about the date on Monday, when Punchbowl News reported that the address would happen June 13. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, later said the proposed date conflicted with a Jewish holiday. The Jewish holiday Shavuot ends on June 13.
“I would have known better than to extend an invitation on a Jewish holiday to the prime minister of the state of Israel,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said Tuesday.
Jeffries and Johnson signed onto the invite along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.
Netanyahu said Saturday he was looking forward to presenting “the truth about our just war” against Hamas in Gaza since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, in which hundreds of Israelis were killed and taken hostage.
Since then, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, and many are facing famine, according to the U.N.
The decision to invite Netanyahu comes amid deep political divides over the war across the U.S.
Republicans have been unequivocal in their backing of Netanyahu, while Democrats have splintered over providing more support to the longtime U.S. ally.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, called Netanyahu a “war criminal,” and said he would boycott the speech. Sanders has argued that Israel had the right to defend itself, but said it has gone too far in going “to war against the entire Palestinian people.”
“I believe it is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited by leaders from both political parties to address a joint session of the United States Congress,” Sanders said on the Senate floor on Monday.
Sanders showed photographs taken by news agencies in Gaza of severely malnourished children as he accused Israel of violating international law.
“I would say to Speaker Johnson that when you attend your fundraising dinners with your billionaire friends, and you eat your fine steaks and your lobsters and your other wonderful food, please remember these pictures from Gaza,” he said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, said Monday it is “unproductive” for Netanyahu to address Congress.
“He shouldn’t be here,” she said, adding that she was debating whether or not to attend.
Other Democrats have also indicated they plan to skip the address.
Johnson said Tuesday “no Republicans will skip it — I guarantee that — at least not intentionally.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans moved ahead with legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court, which is seeking an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, other Israeli officials and Hamas leaders, further exposing Democratic divisions. The White House opposed the proposed sanctions, though it has been critical of the ICC’s decision.
Netanyahu last addressed a joint meeting of Congress in 2015 as he sought to convince lawmakers to sink negotiations between the Obama administration and Iran over the regime’s nuclear program.
Margaret Brennan, Nikole Killion, Jaala Brown and Ellis Kim contributed reporting.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.