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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send a team of Israeli officials to Washington to discuss with Biden administration officials a prospective Rafah operation, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Sullivan says each party is "making clear to the other its perspective." The White House has been skeptical of Netanyahu’s plan to carry out an operation in the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, as Israel looks to eliminate Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 attack. Biden and Netanyahu spoke on Monday for the first time in more than a month.

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A judge has sentenced a North Dakota woman to life in prison without parole after a jury convicted her last year of murder in connection with the death of her ex-boyfriend. State District Judge Gary Lee sentenced 27-year-old Heather Hoffman, of Minot Air Force Base, on Friday. In September, a Ward County jury convicted her of murder in the April 2022 shooting death of 22-year-old Alex Eckert, who was the father of her child. In making his sentencing decision, the judge called the killing “an intentional, premeditated, planned attack" on Eckert. Hoffman said she was innocent and that others were responsible for Eckert’s death. Her lawyer said she plans to appeal her conviction.

The Pentagon is working through all channels with Niger officials on whether there is a viable way for U.S. troops to stay in the country following a March 16 directive that they leave. Last week a high level delegation of U.S. officials traveled to Niger to meet with members of the country's military junta, to address concerns over Niger's increased cooperation with Russia and Iran. On Saturday, following the meeting, the junta issues a statement directing U.S. forces to depart.

A decade ago, President Vladimir Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine, a bold land grab that set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022. The quick and bloodless seizure of the diamond-shaped peninsula, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet and a popular vacation site, touched off a wave of patriotism and sent Putin’s popularity soaring. Now that he has swept to another six-year term as president, Putin is determined to extend those gains in Ukraine amid Russia’s battlefield successes and waning Western support for Kyiv. While Putin is vague about his goals in the war, some of his top lieutenants still talk of capturing Kyiv and cutting Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.

There's a little too much Atlantic in Atlantic City this year for some casinos. Weeks of winter storms have washed away much of the sand from the gambling resort's north end beaches. That's left the Ocean, Resorts and Hard Rock casinos urgently trying to get federal officials to accelerate a sand replenishment project planned for sometime this year. Atlantic City has long said its beaches set it apart from gambling attractions elsewhere. But without the beaches, it could be a harder sell attracting tourists and gamblers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says beach repair work might not start until late summer or fall.