Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's attempt to oust Johnson blocked and Miss Teen USA gives up her crown: Morning Rundown

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President Joe Biden threatens to cut off Israel’s supply of offensive weapons if it invades Rafah. Stormy Daniels will be cross-examined in Donald Trump’s trial. And another pageant queen gives up her crown days after Miss USA stepped down. 

Here’s what to know today.

Biden says U.S. won’t transfer offensive weapons if Israel invades Rafah

President Joe Biden said the United States would not supply Israel with weapons that could be used in population centers if its military invades Rafah. The move would mark a shift in American policy toward Israel, though Biden said Israel would remain “secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks.”

If the Israeli military launches a ground offensive in Rafah, his administration will not supply “weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with cities,” Biden said in an interview yesterday on CNN, adding that U.S.-supplied bombs have killed Palestinian civilians. More than 1 million people are sheltering in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

Biden’s comments come a day after a senior administration official confirmed that the White House halted a shipment of offensive weapons last week. That decision left Benjamin Netanyahu's government deeply frustrated, an Israeli official said.

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Israel has demanded that Rafah not be included in a cease-fire deal, according to one former and four current U.S. officials familiar with the discussions. An Israeli official denied that characterization.

Read the full story here.

A dramatic effort to oust Johnson is immediately blocked

Image: politics-impeachment (Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images)
Image: politics-impeachment (Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images)

House Speaker Mike Johnson and his allies easily defeated an effort by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to knock him from power, ending — for now — the threats against his speakership. The vote to kill Greene’s motion to vacate the speaker’s chair was swift, with 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voting to kill it, versus the 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats who voted to move forward. Both Republicans and Democrats said they didn’t want a repeat of the three-week paralysis that came after then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster last fall.

Johnson caught Greene’s ire after he worked with Democrats to help stave off a government shutdown, pushed through the renewal of a critical surveillance tool and passed billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine after months of delays.

When Greene announced her motion to oust Johnson, her colleagues promptly booed her — and as it became clear she didn’t have the support to back her motion, she started dragging her feet. Here’s how the dramatic afternoon unfolded.

Daniels returns to the witness stand in Trump’s trial

Stormy Daniels is set to face more cross-examination today by Donald Trump’s defense attorneys in his hush money trial, two days after the adult film star detailed her 2006 tryst with him, which the former president has denied.

Trump attorney Susan Necheles began her cross-examination Tuesday by asking Daniels whether she hated Trump, to which Daniels answered, “Yes.” Necheles also suggested Daniels made up the encounter and a later incident involving a mysterious man who allegedly told her to “leave Trump alone.” Here’s what else to know about today’s trial.

It is not known who will be called to the witness stand after Daniels, though ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is expected to testify at some point. Meanwhile, Trump has said he would “absolutely” testify in the case, but he has since softened his position. While he may be an “uncontrollable client,” as one criminal defense lawyer put it, he could offer some useful information.

Read more Trump coverage: 

  • The Trump family’s impact on Florida’s Republican National Convention is growing with the selection of Barron Trump as an at-large delegate, marking the 18-year-old’s first step into the political arena.

  • Georgia’s state Court of Appeals said it will consider an appeal from Trump challenging the decision not to disqualify Fani Willis as the district attorney overseeing the 2020 election interference charges against him.

Federal officials find civil rights violations in Southlake schools, students’ lawyers say

Southlake, Texas and Angela Jones. (Nitashia Johnson for NBC News)
Southlake, Texas and Angela Jones. (Nitashia Johnson for NBC News)

The U.S. Education Department is seeking to negotiate a resolution with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake to resolve four students’ civil rights complaints against the Texas body — a move experts say signals that federal officials have backed up the students’ allegations of racist and anti-LGBTQ discrimination. A letter from the Education Department sent this week to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which represents the students, said that Carroll district officials were contacted about negotiations.

Now, Carroll officials have 90 days to reach an agreement with federal officials, experts said. The resolution could result in the implementation of some of the same types of diversity and inclusion programs that local voters have rejected in landslide elections in recent years. Read the exclusive story here.

NBC News senior reporter Mike Hixenbaugh and correspondent Antonia Hylton spent years reporting on the debate over how to address racism in Carroll schools, which became a national symbol for similar battles across the country. The NBC News podcast series “Southlake” also documents the suburb’s clashes. Hixenbaugh’s upcoming book, “They Came for the Schools: One Town’s Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America’s Classrooms,” reveals what happened after a fourth grade teacher blew the whistle on new classroom library restrictions in Southlake in 2021. Read an excerpt from the book here.

Colon cancer spikes in young people

A new study shows that cases of colon cancer have dramatically risen among people too young for screening. Researchers looked at CDC data between 1999 and 2020 and found that diagnoses in kids ages 10 to 14 jumped by 500% between 1999 and 2020; more than 300% for teens 15 to 19; and 185% in people ages 20 to 24. Health experts said that such dramatic numbers could be the result of how rare colon cancer in young people continues to be — but agreed the jumps are still cause for concern.

At the same time, diagnoses and deaths from the cancer once thought to only affect older people is decreasing in people in their 60s and beyond. “This reflects the changing face of colorectal cancer,” one expert said.

Experts said the increase in colon cancer cases may be tied to food processing methods or exposure to plastics. Doctors recommend that people start getting routine colonoscopies at age 45, and those who are younger should know the symptoms and understand their family history. Read the full story here.

Miss Teen USA gives up her crown days after Miss USA does the same

UmaSofia Srivastava (Chance Yeh / Getty Images for Supermodels Unlimited)
UmaSofia Srivastava (Chance Yeh / Getty Images for Supermodels Unlimited)

Miss Teen USA is relinquishing her title, the second time this week pageant royalty gave up their crown. UmaSofia Srivastava, 17, said in a post on Instagram that her “personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.” She also thanked “those who support me for who I am ... not for who I’ve momentarily become.” Srivastava’s resignation comes days after Miss USA Noelia Voigt announced she was giving up her title to prioritize her mental health.

Politics in Brief

RNC shakeup: The abrupt resignation of Charlie Spies as the Republican National Committee’s chief counsel came after weeks of sustained lobbying from MAGA influencers who have sway over Trump’s thinking, sources said.

Biden on the ballot: A usually straightforward move to add Biden to Ohio’s general election ballot took another twist yesterday when an effort to ensure that his name shows up in November stalled in the state Legislature.

VP pick: Two of Trump’s prospective running mates come with politically fraught complications: the Republican governors who would choose their successors have fractious relationships with the former president.

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Staff Pick: Indian Americans are awakening to their political power

Indian Americans, now the largest Asian-alone group in the U.S., are undoubtedly making a mark on the political arena. They’ve had an explosive presence in local, state and national elections, such as former GOP presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. But experts say the real power comes from voters, 68% of whom lean Democrat. In swing states like Arizona, bringing in Indian American voters could make the margin of victory for a campaign.

We talked to Indian Americans from across the country about the issues that are most dear to them (think Gaza, gun laws and reproductive care) and whom they’re voting for in the fall (many still don’t know). Here’s what they told us. — Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC Asian America reporter

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com