Apr 7, 2019

Beto O'Rourke calls Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu racist

2020 Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke defended his criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while campaigning in Iowa on Sunday, arguing that the U.S.-Israel relationship must "transcend partisanship" and "transcend a prime minister who is racist" in order to preserve the alliance.

Why it matters: O'Rourke's comments come just two days before Israel's high-stakes elections on April. Netanyahu has closely aligned himself with President Trump and has made a series of tactical gambits — like vowing to annex parts of the West Bank if re-elected — to help shore up support among right-wing voters.

  • The comments also come amid a verbal campaign by Trump to paint the Democrats as anti-Israel, following a controversy in which Rep. Ilhan Omar was accused of repeatedly using anti-Semitic tropes.

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 2 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Updates: George Floyd protests nationwide

Police officers wearing riot gear push back demonstrators outside of the White House on Monday. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Protests over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people continued for a seventh day across the U.S., with President Trump threatening on Monday to deploy the military if the unrest continues.

The latest: Seattle police declared a riot late Monday, tweeting: " Crowd has thrown rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers and is attempting to breach barricades one block from the East Precinct."

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Ina Fried
1 hour ago - Technology

Civil rights leaders blast Facebook after meeting with Zuckerberg

Screenshot of an image some Facebook employees used as part of their virtual walkout on Monday.

A trio of civil rights leaders issued a blistering statement Monday following a meeting with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other top executives to discuss the social network's decision to leave up comments from President Trump they say amount to calls for violence and voter suppression.

Why it matters: While Twitter has flagged two of the president's Tweets, one for being potentially misleading about mail-in ballot procedures and another for glorifying violence, Facebook has left those and other posts up, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying he doesn't want to be the "arbiter of truth."

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Ina Fried
3 hours ago - Technology

Cisco, Sony postpone events amid continued protests

Screenshot: Axios (via YouTube)

Cisco said Monday night that it is postponing the online version of Cisco Live, its major customer event, amid the ongoing protests that have followed the killing of George Floyd.

Why it matters: Cisco joins Sony, Electronic Arts and Google in delaying tech events planned for this week.

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