Today’s News Briefs include death of America’s oldest man; Women’s sports win in court; Hamas admission; Ukraine support and trans swimmer Lia Thomas loses Olympic lawsuit to be on women’s team.
Oldest man in U.S. dies at 110
Morrie Markoff, believed to be the oldest man in the United States, has died in Los Angeles. He was 110 years old. He attributed his long life to regular walks—he and his wife would stroll three miles a day into their 90s—simple eating and generally avoiding alcohol, as well as water from plastic bottles, which he believed were “poison,” according to his daughter Judith Markoff Hansen. He became the oldest living man in America after the death of Francis Zouein in January at the age of 113. Markoff’s daughter said that when he learned he was on the top of the list, “He just smiled and said, ‘Well, someone’s got to be there.’” He was born to Jewish immigrants in New York but moved to Los Angeles in the late 1930s to work for a vacuum cleaner company. He wed Betty Goldmintz on Nov. 4, 1938, and their marriage lasted 81 years until her death in 2019.
Judge strikes down Biden Title IX rule on women’s sports
A judge has blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule that opponents say will destroy women’s sports by reinterpreting Title IX, a 1972 law protecting equal access for women in sports and other accommodations. The court says Biden overstepped the Education Department’s authority, CBS News reports. In a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty called the new rule an “abuse of power” and a “threat to democracy.” His order blocks the rule in Louisiana, which filed a challenge to the rule in April, and in Mississippi, Montana and Idaho, which joined the suit. More than 20 Republican-led states are fighting the administration to stop the law which requires schools from K-12 to college to allow biological males to compete on, and against, women’s teams.
Hamas doesn’t know how many hostages live
A senior Hamas official has told CNN that “no one has an idea” how many of them are alive. The comment comes as some experts say at least a third may be dead. The interview appeared to be a response to a leaked video earlier this week of its chief in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who admitted Hamas was using civilian deaths to incur worldwide public sympathy. Two weeks ago Hamas and the U.N revised their death toll by 50% but Western media outlets, like CNN, continue to use the inflated numbers. Israeli officials have claimed the war in Gaza could wrap-up by the end of June without U.S. interference and calls for a ceasefire which, they say, only allows Hamas to regroup and move hostages.
Ukraine gets security and money
At the G-7 meeting in Italy, the U.S. and Ukraine have signed 10-year bilateral security deal hailed by both countries as “historic”. The agreement lays out US military and training aid to Ukraine – but it does not commit Washington to send troops to fight for its now official ally. The G7 also agreed to a $50 billion loan to Ukraine that will not cost taxpayers in the US or Europe any money. The loan will be paid back by interest on frozen Russian assets that now total over $325 billion. Speaking at a joint news conference at the summit’s venue in Puglia, southern Italy, President Joe Biden said the $50 billion loan would “put that money to work for Ukraine and send another reminder to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we’re not backing down”. The G7 group of rich nations includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US.
Biological male Lia Thomas loses suit to be on Olympics Women’s Swim team
A three-judge panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport has thrown out a challenge to a rule that prohibits biological men from competing as women in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The challenge was brought by Lia Thomas, a trans-identified male athlete who has broken women’s swimming records and was an NCAA All-American in the women’s division after previously competing on the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swimming team for three years. Thomas’ name is not included on the preliminary entry list for the U.S. Olympic swimming trials that will kick off this weekend in Indianapolis in the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics next month, according to the Christian Post.
–Dwight Widaman and wire services
