White House considers a Zelenskyy invite, and Netanyahu remains defiant over Gaza: Weekend Rundown

The White House is considering inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Alaska, where President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a senior U.S. official and three people briefed on the internal discussions.

The senior U.S. official and people briefed on the discussions said no visit has been finalized and that it’s unclear if Zelenskyy would ultimately be in Alaska for meetings.

The White House had initially made Zelenskyy’s inclusion a condition for a meeting between Trump and Putin to take place, but Trump later said that was not a precondition.

If Zelenskyy were to travel to Alaska, it is not clear if he and Putin would ever be in the same room, one of the people briefed on the discussions said.

Putin has not agreed to a ceasefire but proposed the outlines of an agreement to end the war that would allow Russia to keep large swaths of Ukrainian territory. Zelenskyy said defiantly on Saturday that Ukrainians “will not give their land to occupiers.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that Russia and Ukraine would have to swap some territory to end the war.

“I want to be honest with you, Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian, and Russia is not going to Kyiv, so there will be some land swaps at the end,” Graham, R-S.C., said during the interview.

Meanwhile, the president faces traps in sitting down with Putin, who is well-versed in the territorial issues at stake, foreign policy experts warned.

Netanyahu says starvation claims are exaggerated as he defends Gaza offensive

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came under pressure from all sides Sunday as his controversial plan to seize Gaza City drew backlash inside his government and on the streets of Israel, while malnutrition deaths in the Gaza Strip continued to climb.

A defiant Netanyahu continued to deny there is starvation in Gaza and claimed the situation is being exaggerated. Netanyahu only conceded there was “deprivation” in Gaza, but said at a news conference that “no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war” if Israel was implementing a “starvation policy.”

Netanyahu went on to defend the new military offensive, saying Israel had “no choice” but to “finish the job” and “defeat Hamas,” while claiming that “hundreds of aid trucks have gone into Gaza.”

Protests calling for an immediate ceasefire drew thousands of people Saturday night in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss Israel’s proposed offensive, which has been condemned by Britain, France, Australia and other Western governments.

James Kariuki, the U.K.’s deputy permanent representative to the U.N., called on Israel to reverse its decision, saying the plan “will only deepen the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

• Israel’s restrictions on accessing Gaza have forced countries to take to the skies, but doctors on the ground warn aid drops are “causing havoc.”
• An NBC News analysis of satellite imagery and social media videos reveals Israel’s network of buffer zones outside its borders with Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.

Meet the Press

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker slammed President Donald Trump as a “cheater” and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a “joke” days after welcoming Texas Democrats who fled their state in protest of GOP-led redistricting efforts.

“Governor Abbott is the joke,” Pritzker, a Democrat, told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday in response to Abbott calling Illinois’ congressional map a “joke.”

“He’s the one who is attempting mid-decade here — at a time when, frankly, all of us are concerned about the future of democracy. He’s literally helping whittle it away and licking the boots of his leader, Donald Trump,” Pritzker added

Pritzker also responded to reports that the FBI granted a request from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is running for re-election in 2026, to help track down the Democratic state legislators who fled Texas.

“There’s no federal law that would allow the FBI to arrest anybody that’s here visiting our state,” Pritzker said. “So it’s a lot of grandstanding. That’s what this is all about.”

Politics in brief

• Lone Star showdown: Texas’ redistricting clash has become another stage in the Republican Senate primary fight as Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton compete to show loyalty to Trump.
• Age not found: A growing number of U.S. politicians are condemning a new British law that requires some websites and apps — including some based in the United States — to check the ages of users across the pond.
• Nest eggs: Your 401(k) options could change soon, after Trump signed an executive order to clear the way for Americans to invest their retirement savings in cryptocurrency and other alternative assets.

Dale Earnhardt’s widow and son battle over a $30 billion data center on his North Carolina land

Far from the roaring speedways, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt was an outdoorsman who liked to hunt and fish. There was plenty of space to do both on his sprawling land near Mooresville, North Carolina, a quiet town 30 miles north of Charlotte.

Now that land is at the center of a battle over the future of Mooresville that has galvanized residents and pitted Earnhardt’s widow, who wants to develop the property into an enormous data center, against one of Earnhardt’s children, who has joined the fight to stop her.

The proposed $30 billion Mooresville Technology Park would stretch across 400 undeveloped acres, adding several new buildings and an electrical substation, and would requre approval from the Mooresville Board of Commissioners to rezone Earnhardt’s onetime sanctuary as industrial land.

In a town where many residents still remember Earnhardt, there is a feeling of protectiveness around the racing star, which extends to the land where he spent time.

“Dale was a hero of mine,” said H.A. Mergen, who spoke at the August board meeting. “This land is Dale’s legacy — make no mistake about it. I believe we all know what Dale would want his legacy to be.”

An Afghan interpreter evaded death during the war but met a grim fate in Texas

Abdul Niazi, who lost both legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan and faced Taliban threats to his family before coming to the United States, had become one of Houston’s most well-known advocates for new migrants.

But an Afghan national Niazi had been helping, Masiullah Sahil, 37, is now accused of first-degree murder in his death.

Sahil had grown frustrated with the slow pace of the U.S. immigration system when he attacked Niazi, stabbing him more than a dozen times on March 26, authorities alleged in court documents.

“It’s an unspeakable tragedy,” said Brandon Remington, a former U.S. Marine Corps platoon commander who worked with Niazi in Afghanistan. “Given how much he escaped death and to die in that way — it’s insane. It feels like the universe is crazy.”

Notable quote

With the cash in their tip jars or guitar cases dwindling, magicians and musicians are turning toward digital payments to make money from performing.

In case you missed it

• Around 14 million people from Kansas to Wisconsin were under flood alerts this weekend as rounds of heavy rain continue to cause severe flash flooding across the Midwest, forcing the Wisconsin State Fair to cancel many of its events.
• Jen Pawol made history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season MLB game.
• The husband of influencer Emilie Kiser allegedly placed a $25 bet on an NBA game before the fatal drowning of their 3-year-old son, according to Arizona police.
• Four astronauts returned to Earth after hustling to the International Space Station five months ago to relieve the stuck test pilots of Boeing’s Starliner.
• North Korea removed some of its loudspeakers from the inter-Korean border, days after South Korea dismantled its own front-line speakers used for cross-border propaganda broadcasts, in a bid to ease tensions.
• Mexican authorities accused sportswear company Adidas of plagiarizing artisans in southern Mexico, alleging that a new sandal design is strikingly similar to the traditional Indigenous footwear known as huaraches.
• Rwanda-backed rebels have killed at least 80 people in eastern Congo in recent weeks, Congolese authorities said, despite the ongoing Qatar-led peace process aiming to end the conflict.
• The man who opened fire on the CDC headquarters, killing a police officer, had aking him depressed and suicidal his father told police.
• A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern province of Balikesir, causing about a dozen buildings to collapse, an official said.