Joe Lieberman, the former Connecticut senator and Democratic vice presidential nominee, died Wednesday at the age of 82 due to “complications from a fall.” “His beloved wife, Hadassah, and members of his family were with him as he passed,” his family said in a statement. “Senator Lieberman’s love of God, his family, and America endured throughout his life of service in the public interest.” Mr. Lieberman, a former state legislator and attorney general, was first elected to the Senate in 1988 after defeating Republican incumbent Lowell Weicker, kicking off his 24-year career in the upper chamber. Al Gore selected him as his running mate in 2000, making him the first Jewish candidate to appear on a major party presidential ticket. Four years later, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination on his own. Known as a centrist in Congress and a hawk on foreign affairs, the senator often found himself closely aligned with Republican Sens. John McCain (AZ) and Lindsey Graham (SC), the former of whom considered selecting him as his running mate in 2008. In 2006, he lost his state’s Senate Democratic primary, in large part due to his support for the Iraq War, but he was able to win another six-year term as an independent candidate before retiring in 2012. #joelieberman #lieberman #senate #congress #rip #cspan

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Wednesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to reschedule a planned meeting between U.S. and Israeli officials on a potential military operation in Rafah. “We’re now working with them to find a convenient date that’s obviously going to work for both sides, but his office has agreed to reschedule that meeting that would be dedicated to Rafah, which is a good thing,” she told reporters. It’s a reversal for the prime minister, who on Monday abruptly canceled the trip by senior Israeli officials Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi that was set to take place this week after the U.S. declined to veto a United Nations resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. The White House has been warning Israel against launching a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge from the fighting. Ms. Jean-Pierre said Rafah was also discussed during Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s visit to Washington earlier this week, which included meetings with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austn, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William Burns. The U.S. allowing the U.N. resolution to pass and Prime Minister Netanyahu canceling the meeting illustrated the growing tensions between the two allies on the course of the war in Gaza. #rafah #gaza #gazawar #whitehouse #netanyahu #cspan

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday said it was “too soon” to provide an estimate for how long it will take to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge and reopen the Port of Baltimore. “Reopening the port is a different matter from rebuilding the bridge,” he told reporters. “The port, that’s just a matter of clearing the channel. Still no simple thing, but I would expect that can happen on a much quicker timeline than the full reconstruction of the bridge.” President Biden called on officials to work as quickly as possible to reopen the port and said he wants the federal government to pay for the entire reconstruction of the bridge, which collapsed early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship rammed into one of its support beams. “Certainly, we have a clear direction from the president to tear down any barriers — bureaucratic as well as financial — that could affect the timeline of this project,” Secretary Buttigieg said. While there are some federal funds immediately available, rebuilding the bridge will likely require additional appropriations from Congress, and Secretary Buttigieg called on lawmakers to work in a bipartisan manner to get it done. “Infrastructure is — or at least ought to be — a bipartisan priority,” he said. “I would also remind any member who might find themselves on the fence when any request that might come through materialized that today this is happening in Baltimore, tomorrow it could be your district. And we really need to stand together — red, blue and purple — to get these things done.” #dot #transportation #petebuttigieg #keybridge #portofbaltimore #baltimore #cspan

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tapped wealthy California attorney Nicole Shanahan on Tuesday as his running mate for his independent presidential campaign. Ms. Shanahan said she initially “didn’t think much of” Mr. Kennedy, but then became drawn to him after watching some of his interviews. “I saw a person of intelligence, of compassion and of reason,” she told the crowd in Oakland. “I discovered a person who speaks out on issues that, even though they are critically important to human health and welfare, are consistently ignored by our government, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hope for our democracy.” Ms. Shanahan, who was once married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has been a key financial backer of Mr. Kennedy’s super PAC. The 38-year-old’s addition to the ticket should help Mr. Kennedy get on more ballots in November given that about half the states require a candidate to have a running mate to apply for ballot access. #rfkjr #kennedy #oakland #election2024 #cspan

President Biden was interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters on Tuesday as he spoke about the Affordable Care Act in Raleigh, North Carolina. “What about the health care in Gaza?” an audience member shouted out, prompting the president to say, “Everybody deserves health care.” “Hospitals in Gaza are being bombed!” shouted another. “They have a point,” the president responded. “We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.” #potus #biden #gaza #affordablecareact #aca #healthcare #cspan