News Wrap: Trump on Putin's Ukraine Response, Gaza Aid Pause, India Stampede, and More

Ukraine Conflict and Diplomacy

• 🗣️ President Trump reported a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that Putin vowed to respond to Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields.
• 💥 Satellite images show damage to Belaya air base in Siberia following Ukraine's attack, with Ukraine claiming to have destroyed 41 Russian warplanes, though Moscow disputes these numbers.
• 🕊️ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a temporary cease-fire until a meeting with Putin, noting that Russia believes the issue is for leaders to decide.
• 🇺🇸 The Ukraine Contact Defense Group met without U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth due to scheduling conflicts, though Hegseth is set to meet NATO defense ministers soon.

International Incidents and Humanitarian Concerns

• ⚖️ A federal judge ordered a halt to the deportation of the family of Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who is charged in a firebomb attack on a Jewish group in Colorado.
• 🇵🇸 An aid group in Gaza temporarily paused food deliveries after dozens of Palestinians were killed in shootings near distribution sites; Israel's military is investigating.
• 🏥 Hospital officials reported that Israeli strikes killed over two dozen people in Gaza overnight, including an attack on a tent in Gaza City.
• 🇮🇳 A stampede outside a cricket stadium in Bengaluru, India, killed at least 11 people and injured over 30, reportedly due to individuals without passes attempting to enter.
• 🕋 Muslims are participating in the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia amid warnings of excessive heat, with authorities implementing new precautions after over 1,300 pilgrim deaths last year.

Geopolitical and Cultural News

• 🇨🇳 China's Foreign Ministry criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio for distorting historical facts in his statement marking the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
• 📈 U.S. stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones industrial average slipping, the Nasdaq rising, and the S&P 500 remaining flat.
• ✍️ The groundbreaking gay writer Edmund White, known for chronicling gay life in America and his presence at the Stonewall riots, has died at the age of 85.