What to know about Biden's trip to Israel

President Biden and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid will hold a joint news conference and may be pressed on divisions between the two countries.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. But first, there's a lot happening in the world right now, and our newsroom is working hard to keep you up to date. That's why we're launching new, snack-sized stories to get to the news you need to know, fast – with the option to dive deeper. Check out our story explaining why travel to Europe is so complicated right now.

Here we go with Thursday's news.

🌅 Up first:  A Florida man who aspires to be a commercial pilot showed his skills in an emergency when he landed a single-engine aircraft on a four-lane North Carolina road, missing cars and power lines as he touched down. Read more

More news to know now:

• ⚠ Dozens of people are unaccounted for after flooding in southwest Virginia, officials say.
• 💉 A fourth COVID vaccine option for adults was cleared by the FDA yesterday.
• 🛑 A California tech CEO was charged in a 1992 cold case murder after his DNA was discovered.
• ⛳ The world's best players are at the Home of Golf this week for the 150th Open Championship (or British Open, depending which side of the pond you reside).
• 🌐 A United Nations group is to conduct an independent probe of the shooting by police of Jayland Walker.

🛒 From our product experts at Reviewed, these are the 203+ best Amazon Prime Day 2022 deals you can still shop today.

🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast,  patient safety reporter Karen Weintraub talks about how pig hearts can help people in need of organ transplants. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.

Biden in Israel paints a picture of agreement

President Joe Biden's closed-door meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday may delve into divisions over Iran and an independent Palestinian state, among other flashpoints. But to the public, the visit is likely to present an optimistic image. Here's a deep dive into what's in store for Biden's Middle East trip today.

 Biden's time in Israel: Appearances can be deceiving

• The schedule: Biden and Israel's caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, will hold a joint news conference and may be pressed on divisions between the two countries. The nations are poised to issue a joint statement outlining areas of consensus and plan to launch a partnership on emerging technologies. 
• But there's tension behind the scenes. Biden’s relationship with Israel has been strained by his attempts to restart a 2015 deal with Iran that was meant to curb its nuclear activities, but which Israel viewed as not tough enough.
• Two-state solution: Biden said he will discuss his support for the creation of an independent Palestinian nation alongside Israel, prompting both sides to  “move closer towards a vision that works for both."
• Despite their differences, analysts say Israeli people like Biden personally.

Related links:

• President Biden wants to build ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Here's why it matters to the U.S.
• Keeping away: Could COVID help Biden avoid a controversial interaction in the Mideast?
• A signal of ''impunity''? Biden's trip to Middle East pits human rights against geopolitical reality

Brittney Griner's trial in a Russian court set to continue

American basketball star Brittney Griner, 31, is due back in a Russian court Thursday to resume a trial that was jolted last week when she abruptly pleaded guilty to drug possession charges. With the U.S. government under pressure at home to do more to secure her freedom, the guilty plea could be an effort to expedite the court proceedings so any negotiations could move forward. The plea may also have been part of a strategy to get a more lenient sentence, an expert on the Russian legal system told Paste BN Sports. A senior Russian diplomat has said no action could be taken by Moscow until the trial was over. Read more

• An American-Israeli woman jailed in Russia over cannabis spoke out in support of Brittney Griner.
• What is life in Russian prison like for Brittney Griner? Writing letters, reading Dostoevsky.
• LeBron James clarified his comments on Brittney Griner's detainment in Russia.

Just for subscribers:

• 📈 June CPI inflation report: Largest price increases include gas, butter and flour.
• 📞 Are old iPhones worth anything? Trade-in values drop depending on software, C-band frequency.
• 🌳 How do you save giant sequoias from wildfires? Sprinklers, trenches and sometimes foil blankets.
• 👑 Confessions of an ex-Disney princess: What it's really like and what guests don't know.

These articles are for Paste BN subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want that premium content emailed to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for the Your Day newsletter.

Arrest made in 10-year-old girl's rape that sparked abortion flashpoint

Gerson Fuentes, 27, was arrested Tuesday after police said he confessed to raping a child on at least two occasions. The case garnered international attention after the 10-year-old girl Fuentes impregnated chose to travel to Indiana to seek an abortion, sparking national furor over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Nearly all abortions after the detection of fetal cardiac activity became illegal in Ohio last month after the high court's ruling. The story of a young girl traveling across state lines to receive an abortion – first reported by the Indianapolis Star, part of the Paste BN Network – quickly went viral. Read more

• Perspective: A 10-year-old rape victim had to travel out of state for an abortion. Why is this is our country?
• Abortion bans could increase the risk of domestic violence for pregnant people, experts say.
• Pharmacies cannot deny legally prescribed abortion medication, the Biden administration said.

More bodies of victims from migrant smuggling tragedy to return to Mexico

A flight will go to San Antonio on Thursday to bring back eight more bodies of the 53 people who were found dead in a truck in Texas last month. They are among those who died of heat and dehydration inside a locked truck trailer abandoned by smugglers on the outskirts of San Antonio on June 27. Temperatures that day approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Those who died in the truck included people from the states of Guanajuato, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Mexico, Zacatecas, Queretaro, Morelos and Mexico City. Migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador also were among those who died in the deadliest known smuggling attempt in the United States. Read more 

ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday

• 👁 Josh Hawley was called transphobic by law professor for his pregnancy views in a Senate hearing.
• 🗽 A statue of civil rights pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune replaced a Confederate general's sculpture at the U.S. Capitol.
• 😮 Khloé Kardashian will welcome a second child via surrogacy with NBA player Tristan Thompson after the couple has weathered multiple scandals.
• 💉 Monkeypox vaccines are running out at public health clinics as lines form and systems crash.

Nations discuss coordinating Ukraine war crimes probes

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court called Thursday for an international "overarching strategy" to coordinate efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice. Officials from some 40 nations in the European Union and around the world gathered at a Ukraine Accountability Conference in the Netherlands. In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Moscow to halt forced deportations in areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia, saying an estimated 900,000 to 1.6 million Ukrainians have been "interrogated, detained, and forcibly deported" to Russia. Read more 

• Wednesday recap: Russia-Ukraine meeting on grain crisis that has led to food shortages called ''a critical step forward''.
• Staggering numbers: U.N. report found 71 million people were pushed into poverty after the war in Ukraine started.

📷 Photo of the day: The buck supermoon 📷

Whether you call it a "thunder" moon or a "buck" moon, a gorgeous, bright supermoon rose Wednesday evening in the southeastern sky. It will be the biggest supermoon of the year. The moon's nickname comes from a number of places, including Native American, Colonial American and European sources, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Read more

Don't worry if you missed it: click here to see photos of the buck supermoon.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN. Send her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to Paste BN here.