U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel this week to reaffirm U.S. support for the country's war against Hamas. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that America would 'always be there' for Israel at a joint press conference.House Republicans are beginning to coalesce around Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their pick to succeed Rep. Kevin McCarthy has the chamber's speaker. However, Scalise faces an uphill battle to obtain the 217 votes he'll need to be confirmed in the role.The Gaza Strip is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis after the Israeli government ordered a complete siege of the territory. Israeli authorities are cutting off access to food, power, and water.Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohamed bin-Salman discussed the "need to end war crimes in Palestine" in one of their first calls since restoring diplomatic relations between their two countries.Afghanistan was hit by a large earthquake in its western region mere days after two other quakes killed more than 1,000 people. So far, authorities have announced that 100 are injured and at least one person was killed.Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find out how to connect with us by visiting our website.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy