Welcome to Friday, May 21, crickets and cicadas...

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, ending a bloody 11-day conflict that devastated the Gaza Strip, which had been launching rockets at Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that 232 people have been killed in Gaza, including 65 children. Israeli's military said 130 of those killed were combatants. At least 12 people, including two children, have been killed by Palestinian militant fire from Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his security cabinet had voted unanimously in favor of the "mutual and unconditional" Gaza truce proposed by Cairo, but added that the timing was still being negotiated.

Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed the ceasefire in statements to various media outlets, telling Reuters:

“The Palestinian resistance will abide by this agreement as long as the Occupation (Israel) does the same."

Are you optimistic about the ceasefire?

Biden Faces Blowback for Lifting Sanctions on Pipeline

The Biden administration informed Congress on Thursday that it intends to waive sanctions on the company behind the controversial expansion of an undersea Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline and its CEO, who is reportedly a crony of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The decision makes it a near certainty that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be completed in the near future over the objections of NATO members in Eastern Europe along with Ukraine despite longstanding U.S. opposition.

The Biden administration reportedly concluded that its only option to stop the pipeline was to sanction German companies and opted to avoid doing so to maintain that relationship.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-NJ) released a statement saying that he agrees “that the pipeline is a bad idea and that it is a Russian malign influence project” but fails to see how the sanctions waiver will bolster U.S. efforts to counter Russia in Europe.

Do you support or oppose lifting sanctions?

Trump Fumes As New York Inquiry Turns Criminal

Former President Donald Trump has lashed out after the New York attorney general said her investigation into the Trump Organisation has been expanding from a civil to a criminal probe.

“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the company is no longer purely civil in nature,” Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for Attorney General Letitia James, said in a statement Tuesday.

“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA."

Trump responded on Wednesday that James was "in desperate search of a crime" and accused the AG and District Attorney Cyrus Vance of being "possessed" by their Democratic political vendettas.

Do you support or oppose NY's criminal probe into the Trump Org?

All The Memes Fit To Post
 

And, In The End...

On this date in 1819, "swift walkers" first appeared on the streets of New York City.

Whether you prefer "bike," "swift walker," or "people-trying-to-walk-bumper," I hope you find some time to meander outside today,

—Josh Herman

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