Donald Trump’s support from white evangelicals and other conservative Christians is as strong as ever. And he’s increasingly infusing his campaign events with Christian rhetoric and imagery. In some ways, this is a familiar story. The former president won about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christians’ votes in 2016 and 2020. He has maintained support from this group in early primary contests this year, even though Republican voters had several openly conservative Christian candidates to choose from. None of them faced the legal troubles and misconduct allegations he does. This frustrates the minority of conservative evangelicals who see Trump as a poser and would-be authoritarian.

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built U.S. floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there. Israel will respond to charges of genocide at the U.N.’s top court, where South Africa is seeking emergency measures to halt Israel’s escalating offensive in Rafah, calling the incursion “the last step in the destruction of Gaza.” Around 600,000 Palestinians have been driven out of Rafah since the beginning of last week, the U.N. said.

A statue of the late Rev. Billy Graham has been unveiled at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, where it will stand on behalf of his native North Carolina. The bronzed sculpture of the prolific Charlotte-born evangelist was made public during a Thursday ceremony in the Capitol attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Gov. Roy Cooper and former Vice President Mike Pence among others. Each state gets two statues that honor notables in their history. Graham replaces one of an early 20th century governor. Graham died in 2018 at age 99. He was also an adviser to presidents and known as “America's Pastor.”

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has evoked language adopted by the far-right Proud Boys extremist group as he appeared at court to support Donald Trump at his hush money trial. Gaetz wrote, “Standing back, and standing by, Mr. President,” as he posted a photo Thursday on social media of him with other congressional Republicans standing behind Trump in a hallway outside the courtroom. The Proud Boys have used that verbiage since Trump said, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by” during a 2020 campaign debate when asked if he would condemn white supremacist and militia groups that had shown up at some social justice protests that summer. The group's leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Violence has raged across New Caledonia for the third consecutive day, hours after France imposed a state of emergency in the French Pacific territory. Authorities boosted security forces’ powers to quell deadly unrest in the archipelago, where some residents have long sought independence from France. French authorities in New Caledonia and the interior ministry in Paris reported four people, including a police officer, have been killed in the violence. The unrest came after protests earlier this week over voting reforms pushed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government turned deadly. At least sixty members of the security forces were injured and 214 people were arrested in Thursday's clashes with police, arson and looting, according to the territory’s top French official.

Dawud Assad still has nightmares of the day Jewish militias attacked his village of Deir Yassin outside Jerusalem 76 years ago, killing more than 100 people. That massacre, along with similar attacks on Palestinian villages, and the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation spurred what is called the Nakba, the Arabic word for catastrophe. It refers to the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from what is now Israel. Nakba remembrances have taken on new significance this year, as more than twice that number have been displaced within Gaza since the start of Israel-Hamas war, which was triggered when militants from Gaza attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Palestinians are marking 76 years of dispossession, commemorating their mass expulsion from what is today Israel as a potentially even larger catastrophe unfolds in Gaza. The United Nations says more than half a million of people have been displaced in recent days by fighting there. Israel is pressing its military operations in Rafah, along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, and in northern Gaza, where Hamas has regrouped. No food has entered the two main border crossings in southern Gaza for the past week. Israel has meanwhile brushed off warnings from the United States and other allies that a major Rafah operation would be catastrophic for civilians.

Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they’ve taken to a “blockout” to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all content from the accounts of certain celebrities on social media platforms including X, TikTok and Instagram. Some have posted about the celebrities they’ve blocked. Others have shared posts from users lambasting attendees of high-glamour events like the Met Gala and contrasting it with the situation in Gaza. Blockout participants say it’s a protest because the celebrities either haven’t spoken up or haven’t said enough against Israel’s actions in Gaza during its war with Hamas.

Anti-war protesters have taken down their tents in Harvard Yard after the university agreed to meet to discuss their demands. The student protest group calling themselves Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine say their camp "outlasted its utility." Harvard University's interim President Alan Garber agreed to pursue a meeting between university officials and the students to discuss how the Harvard endowment invests in Israel. Students at many college campuses have made similar demands to cut ties with Israel and businesses that support it. The latest Israel-Hamas war began when Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 and took another 250 hostage. Israel his killed more than 35,000 people in Gaza in response.