Monday morning news: April 8, 2024

Solar eclipse » The moon will blot out the sun today for people along a particular swath of North America.

JEDIDAH ISLER: What we’re looking at is the moon passing between us and the sun, and we’re standing in the moon’s shadow.

Astrophysicist Jedidah Isler on ABC’s This Week compared this to the last solar eclipse to cross parts of the United States in 2017.

ISLER: The moon is closer to us in 2024 than it was in 2017, and so we’ll see a bigger shadow on the Earth, which means it’s longer. The path of totality and the moment of darkness will be longer.

Aside from cloud cover, this will be the first time in hundreds of years that the sun will not shine on cities like San Antonio and Indianapolis and many small towns along the way.

Gaza cease-fire talks » Negotiators are back at the table in Cairo, Egypt resuming Gaza cease-fire talks on Sunday.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons serves on the Sen. Foreign Relations Committee. He said he’s directly urged the Israeli government to continue negotiations.

COONS: And I’ve also directly communicated with Egyptian and Qatari leaders on the urgency of a hostage release as a condition of any cease-fire.

A recent U.N. Security Council resolution insisted on an immediate cease-fire, but did not make the release of hostages a condition of that demand.

The Biden administration chose not to veto that resolution, leading to a deeper rift between the White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

IDF report reaction » Meantime, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says U.S. officials have read the Israeli report on an airstrike that killed seven international aid workers in Gaza, but …

KIRBY: We haven’t come to any conclusions one way or another. This was an investigation that was done, sort of akin to an inspector general. So it was outside of the chain of command. But again, we’re working our way through that.

The Israeli government says it was a tragic error and a case of mistaken identity.

Kirby conceded that deadly mistakes can occur in a conflict zone.

KIRBY: We know from our own experience that the intelligence you get and you process and you analyze may not always be accurate. 

But he said the important thing to the White House is that Israel makes the—quote—“deconfliction and communications changes” needed to make sure it does not happen again.

Yellen China » Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, speaking to reporters in Beijing says recent talks have put the relationship between the U.S. and China on “more stable footing.”

She said there are still plenty of sharp disagreements, but …

JANET YELLEN: We can only make progress if we directly and openly communicate with one another.

Yellen focused on trade and economic issues for the first two days of her visit, but turned attention on Sunday to the broader relationship between Washington and Beijing.

Yellen’s visit marks the highest-level meetings between the two governments since President Biden and leader Xi Jinping in November.

Texas border law » Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that he’s confident his administration will ultimately win a court battle over a controversial state immigration law. His legal fight with the Biden administration could wind up at the Supreme Court.

ABBOTT: I feel good about us winning for this very simple reason; What Texas is doing is not in conflict with the laws of the United States of America. They are consistent and uphold the laws of the United States of America.

The law gives state authorities the power to arrest anyone who crosses the southern border illegally.

Federal courts have blocked the state from enforcing the law until its fate is decided.

Trump Palm Beach fundraiser » Donald Trump’s campaign and the RNC hauled in big bucks over the weekend. Trump held his first major fundraising event since he became the presumptive nominee. The event raised more than $50 million dollars.

TRUMP: This has been some incredible evening because people, they wanted to contribute to a cause of making America great again, and that's what's happening. We're going to make America great again.

Trump’s Saturday event hauled in more than double what President Biden raised at an event with former presidents Obama and Clinton.

But Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Saturday that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year's first quarter with $192 million-plus in cash on hand, further stretching their cash advantage over Trump and the Republicans.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: When does state “advice” become coercion? That’s a question the Supreme Court is considering, and that’s ahead on Legal Docket.

Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

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