MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said.

Ships and a spotter plane were monitoring the rescued whales in case they returned to shore, the Parks and Wildlife Service of Western Australia state regional wildlife officer Pia Courtis said.

“So far so good, they haven’t made it back to shore, but we will keep monitoring them,” Courtis told reporters.

Local whale researcher Ian Wiese joined hundreds of volunteers who helped rescue the whales at Toby’s Inlet near the tourist town of Dunsborough.

“When I first arrived, there was, I think, 160 in the water — almost out of the water — and there were a couple of hundred people who were with the whales, they were trying to comfort them and make sure that their heads were out of the water so they could breathe. And then after an hour or so, all of a sudden the ones that were in the water that were still alive left and went out to sea,” Wiese said.

“They may well decide to come back to shore somewhere on another beach nearby or something — that often happens, but we’re hopeful that they won’t,” Wiese added.

A team of wildlife officers, marine scientists and veterinarians had earlier reached the scene and reported 26 dead among up to 160 stranded.

Wiese said he earlier thought 31 whales had died, but the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions later said the final death toll was 29.

In July, almost 100 long-finned pilot whales died or were euthanized after a two-day rescue attempt in a mass stranding on Cheynes Beach near the former whaling station of Albany, 355 kilometers (220 miles) southeast of Dunsborough.

Dunsborough is 285 kilometers (177 miles) by road south of Perth, Western Australia state’s capital and largest city.

Based on previous strandings, including the 2023 Cheynes Beach event, euthanizing the beached whales is usually the most humane outcome, the department said in a statement.

“We always hope for the best outcome,” the statement said.

Wiese said Thursday was the third mass stranding he had responded to and the result was by far the best.

“It’s been a very good story today because normally with these sorts of strandings, you wind up with a 100 whales beaching and five or six being saved,” Wiese said.

Courtis said the whales were believed to have become stranded early Thursday.

The dead whales were dragged from the water so that their carcasses didn’t attract sharks.

Marine scientist Holly Raudino said tissue samples had been taken from the dead whales to exclude potential causes of the stranding, in particular infectious disease.

Dunsborough was the scene of a mass stranding of 320 long-finned pilot whales in 1996. Only 20 died on that occasion, with rescuers returning the rest to sea.

Scientists don’t know what causes whales to strand, although it appears their location systems can be confused by gently sloping, sandy beaches.

Theories include that they are avoiding predators such as killer whales, or following a sick leader ashore. Human-made undersea noise could also interfere with their navigation.

(AP) – Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.

CEO David Calhoun said the company is in “a tough moment,” and its focus is on fixing its manufacturing issues, not the financial results.

Company executives have been forced to talk more about safety and less about finances since a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the plane.

The accident halted progress that Boeing seemed to be making while recovering from two deadly crashes of Max jets in 2018 and 2019. Those crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed 346 people, are now back in the spotlight, too.

About a dozen relatives of passengers who died in the second crash met with government officials for several hours Wednesday in Washington. They asked the officials to revive a criminal fraud charge against the company by determining that Boeing violated terms of a 2021 settlement, but left disappointed.

Boeing officials made no mention of the meeting, but talked repeatedly while discussing the quarterly earnings of a renewed focus on safety.

“Although we report first-quarter financial results today, our focus remains on the sweeping actions we are taking following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident,” Calhoun told employees in a memo Wednesday.

Calhoun ticked off a series of actions the company is taking and reported “significant progress” in improving manufacturing quality, much of it by slowing down production, which means fewer planes for its airline customers. Calhoun told CNBC that closer inspections were resulting in 80% fewer flaws in the fuselages coming from key supplier Spirit AeroSystems.

“Near term, yes, we are in a tough moment,” he wrote to employees. “Lower deliveries can be difficult for our customers and for our financials. But safety and quality must and will come above all else.”

Calhoun, who will step down at the end of the year, said again he is fully confident the company will recover.

Calhoun became CEO in early 2020 as Boeing struggled to recover from the Max crashes, which led regulators to ground the planes worldwide for nearly two years. The company thought it had sidestepped any risk of criminal prosecution when the Justice Department agreed not to try the company for fraud if it complied with U.S. anti-fraud laws for three years — a period that ended in January.

Boeing has been reaching confidential settlements with the families of passengers who died, but the relatives of those killed in the Ethiopia crash are continuing to press the Justice Department to prosecute the company in federal district court in Texas, where the settlement was filed. On Wednesday, department officials told relatives that the agency is still considering the matter.

Leaving the meeting, Paul Cassell, a lawyer for the families, called it “all for show.” He said the Justice Department appears determined to defend the agreement it brokered in secret with Boeing.

“We simply want that case to move forward and let the jury decide if Boeing is a criminal or not,” he said.

It was an emotional meeting, according to Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya Stumo died in the 2019 crash.

“People are angry. People are shouting. People are starting to talk over other people,” said Milleron, who watched online from her home in Massachusetts while her husband attended in person. Relatives believe the Justice Department is “overlooking a mountain of evidence against Boeing. It’s mystifying,” she said.

According to Milleron, the head of the fraud section of the Justice Department’s criminal division, Glenn Leon, said his agency could extend its review beyond this summer, seek a trial against Boeing on the charge of defrauding regulators who approved the Max, or ask a judge to dismiss the charge. She said Leon made no commitments.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

A federal judge and an appeals court ruled last year that they had no power to overturn the Boeing settlement. Families of the crash victims hoped the government would reconsider prosecuting Boeing after the Jan. 5 door-plug blowout on the Alaska Airlines jetliner as the plane flew above Oregon.

Investigators looking into the Alaska flight say bolts that help keep the door plug in place were missing after repair work at a Boeing factory. The FBI told passengers that they might be crime victims.

Boeing stock has plunged by about one-third since the blowout. The Federal Aviation Administration has stepped up its oversight and given Boeing until late May to produce a plan to fix problems in manufacturing 737 Max jets. Airline customers are unhappy about not getting all the new planes that they had ordered because of delivery disruptions.

The company said it paid $443 million in compensation to airlines for the grounding of Max 9 jets after the Alaska accident.

Several former and one current manager have reported various problems in manufacturing of Boeing 737 and 787 jetliners. The most recent, a quality engineer, told Congress last week that Boeing is taking manufacturing shortcuts that could eventually cause 787 Dreamliners to break apart. Boeing pushed back aggressively against his claims.

Boeing, however, has a couple things in its favor.

Along with Airbus, Boeing forms one-half of a duopoly that dominates the manufacturing of large passenger planes. Both companies have yearslong backlogs of orders from airlines eager for new, more fuel-efficient planes. And Boeing is a major defense contractor for the Pentagon and governments around the world.

Richard Aboulafia, a longtime industry analyst and consultant at AeroDynamic Advisory, said despite all the setbacks Boeing still has a powerful mix of products in high demand, technology and people.

“Even if they are No. 2 and have major issues, they are still in a very strong market and an industry that has very high barriers to entry,” he said.

And despite massive losses — about $24 billion in the last five years — the company is not at risk of failing, Aboulafia said.

“This isn’t General Motors in 2008 or Lockheed in 1971,” Aboulafia said, referring to two iconic corporations that needed massive government bailouts or loan guarantees to survive.

All of those factors help explain why 20 analysts in a FactSet survey rate Boeing shares as “Buy” or “Overweight” and only two have “Sell” ratings. (Five have “Hold” ratings.)

Boeing said the first-quarter loss, excluding special items came to $1.13 per share, which was better than the loss of $1.63 per share that analysts had forecast, according to a FactSet survey.

Revenue fell 7.5%, to $16.57 billion.

Moody’s downgraded Boeing’s unsecured debt one notch to Baa3, the lowest investment-grade rating, citing the weak performance of the commercial-airplanes business.

Boeing Co. shares closed down 3%. They have dropped 34% since the Alaska blowout.

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Peruvian judge has ordered 18 months of preventative detention for an Iranian and two Peruvian men while they are investigated for allegedly attempting to kill two Israelis living in the South American country.

The ruling by Magistrate Miguel Quevedo was handed down Tuesday but released Wednesday. The defendants are also accused of conspiracy to commit terrorism.

The judge said the motive for the unsuccessful alleged killing plot was unclear, but police and prosecutors in Peru have said the Iranian, Majid Azizi, could be a member of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, which is responsible for intelligence work outside Iran.

The Associated Press could not independently confirm whether Azizi is a member of the Quds Force. Iranian authorities have not commented.

On March 15, after Azizi’s arrest, the Israeli embassy in Lima thanked the Peruvian police and prosecutor’s office in a press release “for having dismantled an Iranian attack that was directed against an Israeli citizen.”

Prosecutors in Peru have subsequently said that images, messages and testimonies were found indicating that Azizi contacted Peruvians Walter Loja and Ángelo Trucios in March to plan the killing of Israeli Shachar Malka.

Malka, who is alive, has said on social media that he has been working as a tour guide and healer with traditional plants in Cusco, the ancient capital of the Incas, for more than five years.

The other Israeli citizen who they allegedly planned to kill was Gilad Duchovny, who opened a cafe in Cusco in 2006 with his twin brother.

According to the judge, “it has been established with a high degree of plausibility” that Azizi conspired with the Peruvians to kill the Israelis. Police found information about Malka and Duchovny in Azizi’s Lima house. One of the Peruvians arrested, Trucios, has a conviction for murder and aggravated robbery.

Azizi’s defense has denied all the charges against him and says he suffers from a serious heart condition.

Peruvian authorities say Azizi entered Lima on March 3, and they were alerted about him by foreign intelligence offices.

Iran has run intelligence operations in South America in the past, particularly through the expeditionary Quds, or Jerusalem, Force of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Iran maintains close ties to Venezuela. The Quds Force was linked to an impounded Boeing 747 in Argentina and later seized by the United States. And most notoriously, Argentina believes Iran was behind the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center that killed 85 people.

This is the first time Peruvian authorities have announced the arrest of an alleged member of that group.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police bulldozed into student protesters at a Texas university Wednesday, arresting over a dozen people including a local news photographer, while new student encampments sprouted at Harvard and other colleges in part of a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.

As universities struggle to defuse unrest on campuses from coast to coast, some have quickly turned to law enforcement, including the University of Texas at Austin. Hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — shoved into protesters to get them off the main campus lawn, at one point sending some tumbling into the street. Officers pushed their way into the crowd to make arrests with zip ties.

A photographer covering the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin was in the push-and-pull when an officer yanked him backward to the ground, video shows. The station confirmed that the photographer was arrested. A longtime Texas journalist was knocked down in the mayhem and could be seen bleeding before police helped him to emergency medical staff.

At least 20 demonstrators were taken into custody at the request of university officials and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Dane Urquhart, a third-year Texas student, called the police presence and arrests an “overreaction,” adding that the protest “would have stayed peaceful” if the officers had not turned out in force.

“Because of all the arrests, I think a lot more (demonstrations) are going to happen,” Urquhart said.

Police left after hours of efforts to control the crowd, and about 300 demonstrators moved back in to sit on the grass and chant under the school’s iconic clock tower.

On the West Coast, police responding to a demonstration at the University of Southern California got into a back-and-forth tugging match with protesters over tents. At California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, students were barricaded inside a building for a third day, and the school shut down campus through the weekend and made classes virtual.

Harvard University in Massachusetts had sought to stay ahead of protests this week by limiting access to Harvard Yard and requiring permission for tents and tables. That didn’t stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday following a rally against the university’s suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.

Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.

At New York University this week, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody, while over 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.

Columbia University averted another confrontation between students and police earlier Wednesday. University President Minouche Shafik had set on Tuesday a midnight deadline to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment, but the school extended negotiations, saying it would continue talks with protesters for another 48 hours.

On a visit to campus Wednesday, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called on Shafik to resign “if she cannot bring order to this chaos.”

“If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” he said.

On Wednesday evening, a Columbia spokesperson said rumors that the university had threatened to bring in the National Guard were unfounded. “Our focus is to restore order, and if we can get there through dialogue, we will,” said Ben Chang, Columbia’s vice president for communications.

Columbia graduate student Omer Lubaton Granot, who put up pictures of Israeli hostages near the encampment, said he wanted to remind people that there were more than 100 hostages still being held by Hamas.

“I see all the people behind me advocating for human rights,” he said. “I don’t think they have one word to say about the fact that people their age, that were kidnapped from their homes or from a music festival in Israel, are held by a terror organization.”

Harvard law student Tala Alfoqaha, who is Palestinian, said she and other protesters want more transparency from the university.

“My hope is that the Harvard administration listens to what its students have been asking for all year, which is divestment, disclosure and dropping any sort of charges against students,” she said.

Police first tried to clear the encampment at Columbia last week, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. The move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country to set up similar encampments and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup.

On Wednesday about 60 tents remained at the Columbia encampment, which appeared calm. Security remained tight around campus, with identification required and police setting up metal barricades.

Columbia said it had agreed with protest representatives that only students would remain at the encampment and they would make it welcoming, banning discriminatory or harassing language.

On the University of Minnesota campus, a few dozen students rallied a day after nine protesters were arrested when police took down an encampment in front of the library. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose daughter was among the demonstrators arrested at Columbia last week, attended a protest later in the day.

A group of more than 80 professors and assistant professors signed a letter Wednesday calling on the university’s president and other administrators to drop any charges and to allow future encampments without what they described as police retaliation.

They wrote that they were “horrified that the administration would permit such a clear violation of our students’ rights to freely speak out against genocide and ongoing occupation of Palestine.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses in a video statement released Wednesday, saying the response of several university presidents has been “shameful” and calling on state, local and federal officials to intervene.

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said Wednesday its first-quarter profit more than doubled, boosted by higher advertising revenue and a 6% increase on the average price of ads on its platforms. But its shares dropped sharply in after-hours trading following lukewarm revenue guidance.

Meta Platforms Inc. earned $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the January-March period. That’s up from $5.71 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 27% to $36.46 billion from $28.65 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $36.14 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

For the current quarter, the Menlo Park, California-based company said it expects revenue between $36.5 billion and $39 billion. Analysts are expecting revenue of $38.25 billion for the second quarter, which is higher than the midpoint of Meta’s guidance range.

Meta also said it expects its 2024 capital expenses to be higher than anticipated due to its investments in artificial intelligence. It is forecasting expenses in the range of $35 billion to $40 billion, up from its earlier guidance of $30 billion to $37 billion.

The company has been investing heavily in AI and earlier this month unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.”

Meta, along with leading AI developers Google and OpenAI, and startups such as Anthropic, Cohere and France’s Mistral, have been churning out new AI language models and hoping to persuade customers they’ve got the smartest, handiest or most efficient chatbots.

“Meta’s earnings should serve as a stark warning for companies reporting this earnings season,” said Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com “Even though the company did beat estimates in all top- and bottom-line metrics, it didn’t matter as much as the reported lowering revenue expectations for Q2. This is the exact opposite of what Tesla did yesterday and goes to show that investors are currently looking at the near future with heavy mistrust.”

On Tuesday, electric vehicle maker Tesla reported that its first-quarter net income plummeted 55%. But it said it would accelerate production of new, more affordable vehicles, and on Wednesday its stock rose 12%.

The number of people using Meta’s apps, meanwhile, continued to increase, with 3.24 billion users on average for March in its “family of apps” that includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That’s up 7% year-over-year. Beginning this quarter, the company will no longer disclose user figures for Facebook.

Meta had 69,329 workers as of March 31, a decrease of 10% year-over-year. Zuckerberg called 2023 the “year of efficiency” and the company laid off thousands to reduce expenses.

Meta’s shares fell 16% in after-hours trading. Meta’s stock price has more than doubled over the past year thanks to a rebound in online advertising.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Iran lashed out at Argentina on Wednesday after the South American country sought the arrest of Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi over his alleged involvement in the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center.

Without mentioning Vahidi by name, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned Argentina against “making baseless accusations against citizens of other countries.” The warning Wednesday came a day after Argentina demanded that Pakistan act on an Interpol red notice to arrest Vahidi during an official visit to Islamabad.

Vahidi, who is wanted by Interpol, cut his government trip to Southeast Asia short, making an unexpected return to Tehran Wednesday.

There was no immediate response from Pakistani authorities.

Argentina’s renewed push to hold Iran accountable for the worst such attack in its history comes as right-wing President Javier Milei reshapes foreign policy to align more closely with Iran’s bitter enemy, Israel, and as tensions surge between the Mideast foes.

In an apparent reference to Israel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani urged Argentina “not to be influenced by those who are enemies of our bilateral relations.”

No one has been convicted for planning or carrying out the 1994 bombing that killed 85 people and wounded over 300 others. But in recent weeks — as Iran faces increasing global isolation and sanctions — Argentina has escalated efforts to condemn Iran and its overseas militant network for its alleged involvement. Iran has repeatedly denied any connection to the attack.

In a move cheered by Israel, Argentina’s highest criminal court this month ruled the Iranian government had plotted the 1994 attack — as well as a 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people. Judges singled out three former Iranian officials for their involvement in the Jewish community center attack — including Minister Vahidi who at the time led the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force. The court also accused the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group of executing the attack.

Earlier this week Vahidi accompanied Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Islamabad, where he met with his Pakistani counterpart to discuss intelligence-sharing. Although expected to continue on with Raisi’s delegation to Sri Lanka, Vahidi abruptly turned back, raising speculation that Argentina’s request had complicated his international travel.

He made a surprise appearance Wednesday at a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, where he praised his trip to Pakistan in interviews with state-linked Iranian news outlets. Meanwhile, President Raisi landed in Sri Lanka.

Argentine authorities said Tuesday they had coordinated with diplomats in Pakistan and India to request Vahidi’s detention and extradition to Buenos Aires. “They continue to hold positions of power with total impunity,” a government statement said. Kanani, the foreign minister spokesperson, accused Argentina of making “illegal and false requests” to defame Iran.

For years, Argentina has tried in vain to leverage Interpol red notices to press for the arrests of accused Iranian officials. The country’s elusive quest for justice in the 1992 and 1994 bombings has been mired in controversy and alleged government coverups.

(JNS) – Iran could make a dash for the bomb in a matter of weeks, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday, adding that Tehran’s activity “raises eyebrows.”

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told Deutsche Welle that Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having sufficient enriched uranium to manufacture a bomb.

In late December, the agency said Iran had tripled its uranium enrichment level to 60%, which is just a short technical step away from 90% weapons-grade.

“I have been telling my Iranian counterparts time and again …, this activity raises eyebrows and compounded with the fact that we are not getting the necessary degree of access and visibility that I believe should be necessary,” he said.

“When you put all of that together, then, of course, you end up with lots of question marks,” added Grossi.

In February, Grossi accused Tehran is being less than forthright regarding its nuclear program, saying the Islamic Republic was “presenting a face which is not entirely transparent when it comes to its nuclear activities. Of course this increases dangers.”

There had recently been a rise in “loose talk” about nuclear weapons, including from Iran, he noted. “A very high official said, in fact, ‘We have everything, it’s disassembled.’ Well, please let me know what you have?” Grossi said.

The comment came after Ali Akbar Salehi, a former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that Tehran has all the pieces for a nuclear weapon “in our hands.”

When asked about reports of the possible revival of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, Grossi told Deutsche Welle that the IAEA was committed to promoting dialogue.

On Sunday, the dpa German news agency reported that Iran is in contact with the Biden administration about restarting moribund talks, with the Islamic Republic’s U.N. mission coordinating with the Americans.

Earlier this month, Tehran threatened to reconsider its official nuclear doctrine amid a direct conflict with Israel.

Tehran engaged in a direct attack on the Jewish state for the first time on April 14, launching a massive drone and missile assault. Israel allegedly responded with a strike on an Iranian air base on April 19.

The IAEA is expected to issue its next report on Iran’s nuclear progress in June.

(JNS) – There can be no negotiations with Israel as the Jewish people are “slayers of prophets,” a top Qatari official told representatives at a recent Arab League summit, according to a translation of the speech the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published on Wednesday.

Essa bin Ahmad al-Nassr, who serves on Doha’s Shura Council legislature and holds the rank of brigadier-general in the Qatari Armed Forces’ elite Emiri Guard protection unit, threatened the annihilation of the Jewish state.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has provided the terrorist organization with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role last year in mediating the release of 105 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinian terrorists.

It has previously deflected accusations of playing a double game, saying the United States requested that it open that mediation channel.

The undated footage of al-Nassr’s speech was first shared to X by Al Jazeera correspondent in Yemen Ahmed Alshalfi on April 22.

In his remarks to the Arab League, al-Nassr said that “there can be no peace or negotiations with the Zionist entity [Israel] for one reason and one reason only: Their faith does not allow for negotiations.

“Rather, it [condones] deception, the violation of agreements and lies,” the Qatari official continued, claiming that the Jewish faith “only accept[s] one thing—killing. They are the slayers of prophets.”

Quoting the Quran, he said, “The Al-Aqsa Flood operation is only the introduction of the annihilation of the corruption that the Zionist entity has spread … Inshallah [“God willing”], this will spell the beginning of the end for their state.”

Al-Aqsa Flood is the name given by Hamas to its Oct. 7 massacre of more than 1,200 people, primarily Jewish civilians, in the northwestern Negev. Terrorists also took 253 hostages, 133 of whom remain in Gaza.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani claimed last week that talks for their release had hit a delicate stage. “We are going through a sensitive stage with some stalling, and we are trying as much as possible to address this,” said Sheikh Mohammed, who also serves as foreign minister.

One day later, the Qatari leader announced that Doha would be reviewing its position as mediator between Israel and Hemas, citing “misuse of this mediation for narrow political interests.”

The announcement came after U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that Washington should “reevaluate” its relationship with Doha over the stalled hostage negotiations with the Gaza terrorist group.

Qatar should threaten Hamas with “repercussions” if the terrorist group “continues to block progress towards releasing the hostages and establishing a temporary ceasefire,” said Hoyer.

While Israel has shown flexibility, Hamas has impeded an agreement, U.S. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said on April 15.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden met Wednesday with Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American girl who was held hostage in Gaza for several weeks at the start of the war.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the White House meeting with Abigail and her family was “a reminder of the work still to do” to win the release of dozens of people who were taken captive by Hamas in an Oct. 7 attack on Israel and are still believed to be in captivity in Gaza.

Abigail, who has dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship, was taken hostage after her parents were killed in the attack and was released nearly seven weeks later. She was the first U.S. hostage freed by Hamas as part of a deal with Israel to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners early in the war. Abigail turned four during her time in captivity.

“It was also a reminder in getting to see her that there are still Americans and others being held hostage by Hamas,” said Sullivan, who attended Biden’s meeting with the girl and her family. “And we’re working day in, day out to ensure all of them also are able to get safely home to their loved ones. ”

Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Biden spoke to the girl soon after her release in November. Thursday’s meeting was one of mixed emotions for the president.

Sullivan noted that Abigail and her two siblings were “still living with the tragedy and the trauma” of their parents being killed on Oct. 7.

“Abigail, of course, is living with the trauma of being held captive for many weeks,” he added. “But this was a moment of joy as well, because she was able to be returned safely to her family. ”

Biden’s meeting with Abigail came as Hamas on Wednesday released a recorded video of an Israeli American still being held by the group.

The video was the first sign of life of Hersh Goldberg-Polin since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. It was not clear when the video was taken.

Goldberg-Polin, 23, was at the Tribe of Nova music festival when Hamas launched its attack from nearby Gaza. In the video, Goldberg-Polin is missing part of his left arm.

Witnesses said he lost it when attackers tossed grenades into a shelter where people had taken refuge. He tied a tourniquet around it before being bundled into the truck.

Sullivan said U.S. law enforcement officials are assessing the video but declined further comment.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Work is set to begin Monday on a $12 billion high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area, with officials projecting millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028.

Brightline West, whose sister company already operates a fast train between Miami and Orlando in Florida, aims to lay 218 miles (351 kilometers) of new track between a terminal to be built just south of the Las Vegas Strip and another new facility in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Almost the full distance is to be built in the median of Interstate 15, with a station stop in San Bernardino County’s Victorville area.

In a statement, Brightline Holdings founder and Chairperson Wes Edens called the moment “the foundation for a new industry.”

Brightline aims to link other U.S. cities that are too near to each other for flying between them to make sense and too far for people to drive the distance, Edens said.

CEO Mike Reininger has said the goal is to have trains operating in time for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to take part in Monday’s groundbreaking. Brightline received $6.5 billion in backing from the Biden administration, including a $3 billion grant from federal infrastructure funds and approval to sell another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds. The company won federal authorization in 2020 to sell $1 billion in similar bonds.

The project is touted as the first true high-speed passenger rail line in the nation, designed to reach speeds of 186 mph (300 kph), comparable to Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains.

The route between Vegas and L.A. is largely open space, with no convenient alternate to I-15. Brightline’s Southern California terminal will be at a commuter rail connection to downtown Los Angeles.

The project outline says electric-powered trains will cut the four-hour trip across the Mojave Desert to a little more than two hours. Forecasts are for 11 million one-way passengers per year, or some 30,000 per day, with fares well below airline travel costs. The trains will offer rest rooms, Wi-Fi, food and beverage sales and the option to check luggage.

Las Vegas is a popular driving destination for Southern Californians. Officials hope the train line will relieve congestion on I-15, where motorists often sit in miles of crawling traffic while returning home from a Las Vegas weekend.

The Las Vegas area, now approaching 3 million residents, draws more than 40 million visitors per year. Passenger traffic at the city’s Harry Reid International Airport set a record of 57.6 million people in 2023. An average of more than 44,000 automobiles per day crossed the California-Nevada state line on I-15 in 2023, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data.

Florida-based Brightline Holdings already operates the Miami-to-Orlando line with trains reaching speeds up to 125 mph (200 kph). It launched service in 2018 and expanded service to Orlando International Airport last September. It offers 16 round-trips per day, with one-way tickets for the 235-mile (378-kilometer) distance costing about $80.

Other fast trains in the U.S. include Amtrak’s Acela, which can top 150 mph (241 kph) while sharing tracks with freight and commuter service between Boston and Washington, D.C.

Ideas for connecting other U.S. cities with high-speed passenger trains have been floated in recent years, including Dallas to Houston; Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina; and Chicago to St. Louis. Most have faced delays.

In California, voters in 2008 approved a proposed 500-mile (805-kilometer) rail line linking Los Angeles and San Francisco, but the plan has been beset by rising costs and routing disputes. A 2022 business plan by the California High-Speed Rail Authority projected the cost had more than tripled to $105 billion.