AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT

The push marks yet another escalation in a conflict that has roiled the Middle East as any potential ceasefire feels even further out of reach despite months of diplomacy. While the military wouldn't offer a timeline for the offensive, Israeli media outlets suggested it could take months.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that “Gaza is burning” while independent experts commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council announced that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, joining a rising international chorus of such accusations.

Israel fiercely rejected the claim, calling the experts' report “distorted and false."

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio left Israel and arrived in the energy-rich nation of Qatar for talks with its ruling emir whose country is still incensed over Israel’s strike last week that killed five Hamas members and a local security official.

The Latest: Israeli strikes pummel Gaza City as a new ground offensive gets underway

Palestinian residents reported heavy strikes Tuesday across Gaza City as Israel’s defense minister said that “Gaza is burning,” in remarks that came as a new Israeli ground offensive targeted the city.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military guidelines, said that the “main phase” of the Gaza City operation had begun, with troops moving in from the city’s outskirts toward its center.

Airstrikes have pounded Gaza City for some time in the leadup to the operation, knocking down towers in the city.

Israeli strikes in Gaza City overnight and into Tuesday killed at least 34 Palestinians, according to the Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies.

“It was a heavy night,” said Radwan Hayder, a Gaza City resident sheltering near the hospital.

Trump says the US military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Monday again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel, and hinted that the military targeting of cartels could be further expanded.

“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.”

The strike was carried out nearly two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration said was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Monday, Trump said he had been shown footage of the latest strike by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Asked what proof the U.S. has that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump replied, “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean — big bags of cocaine and and fentanyl all over the place.”

Suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting likely to face charges Tuesday before first court hearing

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors are preparing to file a capital murder charge Tuesday against the Utah man who authorities say held a “leftist ideology” and may have been “radicalized” online before he was arrested in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Charges against 22-year-old Tyler Robinson are expected to come ahead of the first court hearing since he was accused last week of shooting Kirk, a conservative activist credited with energizing the Republican youth movement and helping President Donald Trump win back the White House in 2024.

Investigators have been piecing together evidence, including a rifle and ammunition engraved with anti-fascist and meme culture messaging, found after the shooting Wednesday at Utah Valley University in Orem. Kirk was speaking there on one of his many campus visits where he relished debating just about everyone.

Prosecutors in Utah County are considering several charges against Robinson, the most serious being aggravated murder because it could bring the death penalty if there is a conviction.

Once charges are filed, Robinson is scheduled to appear on camera for a virtual court hearing. He has been held without bail since his arrest, and it remained unclear whether he has an attorney.

Utah campus where Charlie Kirk was shot provided less security than other venues as he toured nation

OREM, Utah (AP) — Less than two weeks before Charlie Kirk's assassination in Utah, a sheriff's department in central California conducted three days of reconnaissance to prepare for a speech by the conservative firebrand at a local church in politically friendly territory.

Officials researched potential escape routes and identified local activists opposed to Kirk. On the day of the indoor event in Visalia, which drew 2,000 people, some 60 law enforcement officials monitored Kirk's movements to and from the church, even deploying a drone to secure surrounding rooftops, said Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.

“The very nature of Charlie Kirk coming in requires you take special attention to the nuances of what could possibly happen,” Boudreaux said. “He’s a high profile name and personality. Not only do we have to provide for the safety of people attending, we have to provide for the safety of him."

By contrast, Kirk's outdoor event at Utah Valley University last week was out in the open, but with far less security. Six campus police officers — about a quarter of the force — worked the event, which drew 3,000 people, Jeff Long, the campus police chief, said last week. The department hasn’t said whether they inspected nearby rooftops; the suspect shot and killed Kirk from atop a building hundreds of feet away.

As he crisscrossed the country to spread his conservative ideals at college campuses, Kirk preferred to be as close to students as possible, allowing him to strike up conversations with passersby. His level of protection varied greatly — campus police often took the lead on overall security, while Kirk's private detail focused on up-close protection.

JD Vance says national unity is impossible with those celebrating Charlie Kirk's killing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said Monday while hosting Charlie Kirk’s radio show that he is “desperate” for national unity after the conservative political activist’s killing but that finding common ground with people who celebrated the assassination of his friend is impossible.

The Republican vice president filled in as host of “The Charlie Kirk Show” from his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House. The livestream of the two-hour program was broadcast in the White House press briefing room and featured a series of appearances by White House and administration officials who knew the 31-year-old Kirk.

Vance, who transported Kirk’s body home from Utah to Arizona aboard Air Force Two last week, opened by saying he was “filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for, but I’ll do my best.” He recounted his conversations with Kirk’s widow, Erika, and her remembrances of him as a kind, loving husband.

In his closing remarks, Vance criticized what he said were lies about Kirk that he blamed for the killing. He also promised that the Trump administration will act to stop anyone who would kill another person because of their words. Kirk made comments over the years that some Democrats and others said were anti-immigrant, racist, misogynistic or offensive in other ways.

“I’m desperate for our country to be united in condemnation of the actions and the ideas that killed my friend,” Vance said on the program. “I want it so badly that I will tell you a difficult truth. We can only have it with people who acknowledge that political violence is unacceptable.”

Trump flies in for a UK state visit where trade and tech talks mix with royal pomp

LONDON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in the United Kingdom on Tuesday for a state visit during which the British government hopes a multibillion-dollar technology deal will show the transatlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East and the future of the Western alliance.

State visits in Britain blend 21st-century diplomacy with royal pageantry. Trump’s two-day trip comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honor guards and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle — all tailored to a president with a fondness for gilded splendor.

King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday before talks the next day with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British leader’s rural retreat.

Starmer’s office said the visit will demonstrate that “the U.K.-U.S. relationship is the strongest in the world, built on 250 years of history” — after that awkward rupture in 1776 — and bound by shared values of “belief in the rule of law and open markets.” There was no mention of Trump’s market-crimping fondness for sweeping tariffs.

The White House expects the two countries will strengthen their relationship during the trip as well as celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not clear how the U.K. was planning to mark that chapter in their shared history.

Trump files $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and four of its journalists on Monday, according to court documents.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Florida names several articles and one book written by two of the publication's journalists and published in the lead up to the 2024 election, saying they are “part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump.”

“Defendants published such statements negligently, with knowledge of the falsity of the statements, and/or with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity," the lawsuit says.

The New York Times did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment early Tuesday.

In a Truth Social post announcing the lawsuit, Trump accused The New York Times of lying about him and defaming him, saying it has become “a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party.”

US judge won't intervene in Trump administration's deportations of West Africans to Ghana

A U.S. judge said that she was powerless to stop the return of four men in Ghana’s custody to countries where U.S. immigration judges determined they faced torture or persecution, declining to intervene in a victory for the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said that the administration appeared to be circumventing the U.N. Convention Against Torture by sending the West Africans to Ghana, but that her “hands are tied.”

Chutkan wrote that she was “alarmed and dismayed by the circumstances under which these removals are being carried out, especially in light of the government’s cavalier acceptance of Plaintiffs’ ultimate transfer to countries where they face torture and persecution.”

The ruling Monday night in federal court in Washington clears the way for 14 West Africans to be sent to their home countries from Ghana, including the four covered by the ruling. They appear to be destined for Nigeria and Gambia, despite U.S. immigration judges finding they have reason to fear persecution or torture.

Chutkan said it was the latest example of the Trump administration evading prohibitions on deportations by sending people outside the country anyway and claiming that U.S. judges had no power to order them back.

US designates Colombia as failing to cooperate in the drug war for first time in nearly 30 years

MIAMI (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday added Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years, a stinging rebuke to a traditional U.S. ally that reflects a recent surge in cocaine production and fraying ties between the White House and the country’s leftist president.

Even as it determined that Colombia had failed to comply with its international counternarcotics obligations, the Trump administration issued a waiver of sanctions that would have triggered major aid cuts, citing vital U.S. national interests.

Nonetheless, it is a major step against one of the United States’ staunchest allies in Latin America, which analysts said could hurt the economy and further hamper efforts to restore security in the countryside.

President Gustavo Petro, who has said on several occasions that whisky kills more people than cocaine, lamented Trump's decision during a televised cabinet meeting Monday, saying Colombia was penalized after sacrificing the lives of “dozens of policemen, soldiers and regular citizens, trying to stop cocaine” from reaching the United States.

“What we have been doing is not really relevant to the Colombian people,” he said of the nation’s antidrug efforts. “It’s to stop North American society from smearing its noses” in cocaine.