Fin whale gives friendly ‘mug’ to nearby boat off Dana Point 

• May 14, 2026

They are one of the largest and fastest marine mammals on Earth — but one fin whale on a recent day decided to stop and check out passengers aboard a boat off Dana Point.

The up-close encounter reported by Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari was one of several hundred sightings in recent months of the sleek sea creature that can reach 85 feet in length.

The charter company also reported more than 400 fin whale encounters so far this year — more than usual, and a hopeful sign for the remainder of their typical season, which has just started.

It’s “unprecedented” to have this many fin whale sightings by early May, said Gisele Anderson, co-president of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari, in a press release.

Fin whales are the fastest baleen whale in the world, an endangered species that can weigh between 40 and 80 tons.

“So having so many here is such a treat,” she said. “Not sure how long they’ll stay, but for now, they’re here.”

Fin whales have been dubbed “greyhounds of the sea” because of their speed. They are the second-largest species in the world, just smaller than the blue whale, which can also be seen in summer months off the Southern California coast.

Their most defining feature is asymmetrical head pigmentation: the right lower jaw is white or light gray, while the left is dark gray.

“Fin whales are so beautiful and majestic,” said Captain Matt Stumpf, noting that they are the size of multiple school buses.

Fin whales, like other large marine life drawn to the area, feast on krill and schooling fish.

And like many other large endangered whales, fin whale populations have been heavily impacted by commercial whaling in the mid-1900s.

“While international safeguards have aided their recovery, the species continues to face ongoing threats, including vessel strikes, ocean noise, pollution and entanglement in fishing gear,” said Daves.

During the close encounter last week, on May 5, the fin whale gave a “friendly mugging,” the term used by naturalists to describe moments when whales voluntarily approach vessels.

“We have been so blessed by more than a hundred fin whale sightings in the last month, and they have been so friendly,” Anderson said. “If folks want a close encounter with the second-largest animal to ever live on planet earth, now is their opportunity.”

​ Orange County Register 

Cuban government says CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with officials in Havana

• May 14, 2026

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ

HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban government said Thursday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with counterparts from the Ministry of the Interior during a high-level visit to the island. According to official reports, the meeting served as a platform for Cuba to present evidence asserting that the nation poses no threat to U.S. national security.

An official statement noted the meeting “took place Thursday, May 14, against a backdrop of complex bilateral relations.” The meeting was reportedly held to foster political dialogue between the two long-strained adversaries.

The evidence and discussions presented by the Cuban delegation “categorically demonstrate that the island poses no threat to U.S. national security, the statement said. Consequently, Havana maintains there are no legitimate grounds for its continued inclusion on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Thursday’s meeting come weeks after the Cuban government confirmed that it had recently met with U.S. officials on the island as tensions between the two sides remain high over the U.S. energy blockade of the Caribbean country.

In late January, U.S. Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. Trump also has threatened to intervene in the country, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said recently that his country was prepared to fight if that should happen.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

​ Orange County Register 

Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out

• May 14, 2026

By MARK SHERMAN, GEOFF MULVIHILL and MATTHEW PERRONE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.

The court’s order allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the drug, mifepristone, at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Access is likely to remain uninterrupted at least until into next year as the case plays out, including a potential appeal to the high court.

The justices granted emergency requests from makers of mifepristone, who are appealing a federal appeals court ruling that would require women to see a doctor in person and halt delivery of mifepristone through the mail. The federal Food and Drug Administration, which first approved mifepristone for use in abortion in 2000, stopped requiring in-person visits five years ago.

Anti-abortion groups, frustrated with President Donald Trump’s administration, are pushing the FDA to move faster with a review that they hope will result in restrictions on mifepristone, including blocking its prescribing via telehealth platforms. The Republican administration says the work takes time.

Earlier this week, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned after months of criticism from Trump’s political allies, including abortion opponents.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and similarly aligned groups had called on Trump to fire Makary over the slow pace of the mifepristone review.

The court is dealing with its latest abortion controversy four years after its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

The case before the court stems from a lawsuit Louisiana filed to roll back the Food and Drug Administration’s rules on how mifepristone can be prescribed. The state claims that the policy undermines the ban there, and it questions the safety of the drug, which has repeatedly been deemed safe and effective by FDA scientists.

Lower courts concluded that Louisiana is likely to prevail, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mail access and telehealth visits should be suspended while the case plays out.

The drug is most often used for abortion in combination with another drug, misoprostol. Medication abortions accounted for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. in 2023, the last year for which statistics are available.

The current dispute is similar to one that reached the court three years ago.

Lower courts then also sought to restrict access to mifepristone, in a case brought by physicians who oppose abortion. They filed suit in the months after the court overturned Roe.

The Supreme Court blocked the 5th Circuit ruling from taking effect over the dissenting votes of Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Then, in 2024, the high court unanimously dismissed the doctors’ suit, reasoning they did not have the legal right, or standing, to sue.

In the current dispute, mainstream medical groups, the pharmaceutical industry and Democratic members of Congress have weighed in cautioning the court against limiting access to the drug. Pharmaceutical companies said a ruling for abortion opponents would upend the drug approval process.

Debate over the safety of mifepristone has churned for more than 25 years. The FDA has eased a number of restrictions initially placed on the drug, including who can prescribe it, how it is dispensed and what kinds of safety complications must be reported.

Despite those determinations, anti-abortion groups have filed a series of petitions and lawsuits against the agency, generally alleging that it violated federal law by overlooking safety issues with the pill.

Trump’s administration has been unusually quiet at the Supreme Court. It declined to file a written brief recommending what the court should do, even though federal regulations are at issue.

The case puts the administration in a difficult place. Trump has relied on the political support of anti-abortion groups but has also seen ballot question and poll results that show Americans generally support abortion rights.

Both sides took the administration’s silence as an implicit endorsement of the appellate ruling.

Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, N.J.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

​ Orange County Register 

Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial

• May 14, 2026

By JIM MUSTIAN, ERIC TUCKER and MICHAEL BIESECKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Kash Patel visited Hawaii last summer, the FBI took pains to note the director was not on vacation, highlighting his walking tour of the bureau’s Honolulu field office and meetings with local law enforcement.

Left out of the FBI’s news releases was an exclusive excursion that Patel took days later when he participated in what government officials described as a “VIP snorkel” around the USS Arizona in an outing coordinated by the military. The sunken battleship entombs more than 900 sailors and Marines at Pearl Harbor.

The swim, revealed in government emails obtained by The Associated Press, comes to light amid criticism of Patel’s use of the FBI plane and his global travel, which have blurred professional responsibilities with leisure activities. The FBI did not disclose the snorkeling session or that Patel had returned to Hawaii for two days after his initial stopover on the island.

“It fits a pattern of Director Patel getting tangled up in unseemly distractions — this time at a site commemorating the second deadliest attack in U.S. history — instead of staying laser-focused on keeping Americans safe,” said Stacey Young, who founded Justice Connection, a network of former federal prosecutors and agents who advocate for the Department of Justice’s independence.

With few exceptions, snorkeling and diving are off-limits around the USS Arizona. The battleship, now a military cemetery reachable only by boat, has stood as one of the nation’s most hallowed sites since Japan bombed and sank it in 1941. Marine archaeologists and crews from the National Park Service make occasional dives at the memorial to survey the condition of the wreck. Other dives have been conducted to inter the remains of Arizona survivors who wanted to rest eternally with their former shipmates.

Still, since at least the Obama administration, the Navy and the park service have quietly allowed a handful of dignitaries, including military and government officials responsible for management of the memorial, to swim at the site. The Navy and park service declined to provide details of those permitted to take such excursions.

Former FBI directors have visited Pearl Harbor on official business, but none going back to at least 1993 has gone snorkeling at the memorial, according to those familiar with their activities and a former government diver who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The diver said it was unusual for a director or anyone not connected to the memorial to be granted such access because the swims come with physical risks and present security, safety and logistical challenges.

Patel has faced scrutiny over his leadership for the past year, with his use of government resources emerging as a recurring storyline of his tenure. The issue flared in February when video surfaced of Patel partying in the locker room with members of the U.S. men’s hockey team after their gold medal win at the Winter Olympics in Milan. Patel defended the trip as recently as this week as “purposely planned” in connection with a cybercrime investigation involving the Italian authorities.

Unanswered questions about exclusive outing

Patel’s excursion was in August as he spent two days in Hawaii on his return to the United States from official visits to Australia and New Zealand. On his way to those countries, he stopped in Hawaii to visit the Honolulu field office. An FBI spokesman did not answer questions about the snorkeling session.

The FBI said in a statement that top regional commanders hosted Patel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam “as they commonly do with US government officials on official travel.” The Pearl Harbor visit, the spokesman said, “was part of the Director’s public national security engagements last August with counterparts in New Zealand, Australia, our Honolulu Field Office, and the Department of War.”

It was not clear how Patel’s snorkeling session was arranged. A Navy spokesperson, Capt. Jodie Cornell, confirmed the outing but said the service was not able to track down who initiated it.

Participants in Patel’s swim were told “not to touch/come into contact with” the sunken ship in any way, Cornell said. She added that the snorkelers were also briefed about “the historic significance of the Memorial as the final resting place/tomb for hundreds of service members.”

A ‘VIP Snorkel’

Government emails obtained by the AP through a public records request show military officials coordinated logistics and personnel for the “VIP Snorkel.”

The National Park Service, which administers the site in coordination with the Navy, told AP it was not involved in Patel’s swim and declined to comment on the excursion. It also declined to answer questions about any other such outings.

Among those afforded invitations to snorkel have been Navy admirals, secretaries of defense and interior, according to the former government diver. The diver added that the swims were intended to provide officials with insights into the memorial and its operations.

The Navy declined to provide examples or numbers showing how frequently it organizes such excursions. It described Patel’s outing as “not an anomaly.”

Hack Albertson, a Marine veteran, is part of a select group from the Paralyzed Veterans of America trained to dive on the Arizona annually to check on the condition of the wreck. He said it was inappropriate for Patel and other political figures to snorkel or dive at the memorial.

“It’s like having a bachelor party at a church. It’s hallowed ground,” he said. “It needs to be treated with the solemnity it deserves.”

Some family members don’t object to snorkeling

Some family members of Pearl Harbor survivors said they were not bothered by such official excursions, though some expressed a desire to also be permitted to snorkel at the site. They said they have not been permitted to do so.

“I have not heard of anyone who would object to these visits as they are very rare and there aren’t any survivors of the Arizona left alive,” Deidre Kelley, national president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, wrote in an email. “Their children might have some objections but I haven’t heard any.”

Patel visited Pearl Harbor several years ago during a trip he made to Hawaii while serving as chief of staff to Christopher Miller, then the acting secretary of defense, according to the former government diver.

Miller said he snorkeled over the Arizona during an official visit to the base, but Patel was not present for that excursion. Miller said he was invited to snorkel by regional military officials and was told such a tour was for “special occasions and for special visitors, of which you’re one.” He called it a “meaningful” experience.

“It was a very somber and meaningful event,” Miller said in an interview. “It was a historical tour. It wasn’t a recreational thing.”

FBI will not discuss Patel’s return to Hawaii

Beyond the snorkeling excursion, it is not clear what else Patel did during his second stop in Hawaii.

Flight tracking data for the Gulfstream G550 typically used by the FBI director show the jet remained on the island two nights during that stay before flying on to Las Vegas, Patel’s adopted hometown. The jet has a published range of about 7,700 miles (12,391 kilometers), meaning the plane would have needed to refuel somewhere between New Zealand and Washington.

The snorkeling session happened one day after Patel stopped in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand. The visit sparked controversy after the AP revealed that Patel had gifted that country’s police and spy bosses inoperable 3D-printed replica pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws.

Mustian reported from New York. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

UCLA, California Baptist, Cal State Fullerton softball set for NCAA regional

• May 14, 2026

Three Southern California softball teams have earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament, including nationally eighth-seeded UCLA, which is led by big-time hitters Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery.

In the Los Angeles Regional at Easton Stadium, the host Bruins (47-8), along with California Baptist (43-17), Cal State Fullerton (40-13) and South Carolina (30-26), will begin play Friday afternoon. The winner from this weekend’s double-elimination regional will move on to the Super Regional to play the winner from the Tallahassee Regional, which includes ninth-seeded Florida State, UCF, Stetson and Jackson State.

UCLA

Grant and Woolery, who bat second and third, respectively, are at the core of the Bruins’ offense and the first teammates in NCAA history to each eclipse 30 home runs in the same season.

Grant has hit an NCAA-record 38 home runs this season, surpassing a standard that had been intact since 1995. She’s five homers away from breaking Stacey Nuveman’s all-time UCLA record of 90.

Woolery, the Big Ten Player of the Year, is third in the nation with 33 home runs and fourth with a .515 batting average. Grant is hitting .475, which is sixth in the NCAA.

“To have consistency is not an easy thing, especially in our sport,” Bruins head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said of the two seniors. “It’s so out of your control. You could square up 80 balls and you’re still out. Home runs can get robbed. This is a sick sport. So to find the consistency with their numbers is something that is very unique.”

UCLA’s offensive output has compensated for a lack of pitching experience and depth.

The bullpen has posted a team ERA of 4.36 this season, and four-year Bruin Taylor Tinsley (28-6) is leading the group with a 2.87 ERA and 1.37 WHIP while pitching 56.4% of the Bruins’ total innings. Freshman Natalie Cable (9-1) has worked her way into the rotation as well.

“Knowing that the pitching hasn’t been as strong, when the offense and defense have your back, then you can go out there and just do what you do,” Inouye-Perez said. “Even if we give up some runs, they come back and they throw punches back. Watching them play for each other and with each other has been very, very enjoyable.”

UCLA, which has won an NCAA-best 12 national titles, will begin the regional against California Baptist. The Bruins are making their 27th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 41st appearance overall.

California Baptist

The Lancers will make their first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament after beating Tarleton State in the Western Athletic Conference championship game to secure the automatic bid.

UCLA and California Baptist have met once this season, with the Bruins winning the midweek game 13-6 on April 14.

Third baseman Malachy Russel-Millen went 2 for 3 with five RBIs and a run in the game, and she currently leads all Lancers in on-base percentage at .547 in addition to hitting .355.

Yorba Linda High alum and Long Beach State transfer Makayla Medellin ranks second on the with a .366 batting average and has driven in a team-best 62 runs. She’s also 14 for 17 on stolen-base attempts.

California Baptist relies on a duo of pitchers – Riverside Poly product Miranda De Nava (19-7) and Emily Darwin (12-5). De Nava, the WAC Pitcher of the Year, owns a 2.24 ERA and has thrown 16 complete games this season, most recently in the conference championship game.

First-year coach Brandon Telesco is guiding the Lancers, and Thessa Malau’ulu, who played for UCLA from 2021-24, is serving as an assistant coach.

Cal State Fullerton

The Titans went 3-0 at the Big West Tournament and beat UC Santa Barbara 1-0 to win the conference title. They’ll play South Carolina to open the regional after missing out on last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Gina Oaks Garcia was named the Big West Co-Coach of the Year. Sarah Perez, who prepped at La Serna High, was chosen as the conference’s Field Player of the Year and Rio Mesa High’s Sarah Coccillos was the Defensive Player of the Year.

Perez was at the top of the Big West with a .463 batting average, a .503 on-base percentage and 74 hits. Coccillos recorded 38 putouts and 70 assists while starting all 50 games at third base.

Trisha McClesky (17-9), Leanna Garcia (25-9) and Eva Hurtado (15-4) have shared time in the circle this season. McClesky has pitched the most innings (171) and owns a team-best 2.62 ERA.

Cal State Fullerton hasn’t played South Carolina since 1983 and last saw California Baptist in 2003, leaving UCLA as its most familiar potential opponent. The Titans at one point led the Bruins by two runs in early April but ultimately lost 13-11.

NCAA Los Angeles Regional

Game 1: South Carolina vs. Cal State Fullerton

When: 4:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Easton Stadium

TV: ESPN+

Game 2: No. 8 seed UCLA vs. California Baptist

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Easton Stadium

TV: ESPN2

​ Orange County Register 

Sparks’ Kelsey Plum remains optimistic ahead of Toronto game

• May 14, 2026

LOS ANGELES — Kelsey Plum is averaging 26 points per game, but she’s not satisfied with her overall impact as the Sparks have begun the season on a two-game losing streak.

“I have all the faith in the world that when the regular season is over,” Plum said, “we will be there in the playoffs and pushing. I have all the faith, it’s just the process.”

The Sparks, who are one of two teams that remain winless in the league, suffered an 87-78 loss at home to the Indiana Fever Wednesday.

It will be a quick turnaround to Friday’s game, when they host an upstart Toronto Tempo team that just won the franchise’s first game, 86-73 at home against the Seattle Storm Wednesday.

Former Sparks guard Marina Mabrey, who was a second-round pick in 2019, led the way with 26 points on 6 of 11 shooting from 3-point range. Another former Sparks guard, Brittney Sykes, scored 18 points.

Toronto’s point guard is another former Spark, Julie Allemand, who was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in April’s expansion draft. Allemand dished out six assists in the victory.

Plum believes this year’s team, with the notable return of Nneka Ogwumike, has the potential to be a good team. Ogwumike, who is a 10-time All-Star, is averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. Dearica Hamby, a three-time All-Star, is averaging 14 points and 6.5 rebounds. However, the veteran trio are only players averaging double figures in the scoring column.

That is a major reason the Sparks offense is averaging only 78 points while allowing a near-league-high 96 points per game.

“I think you’ve seen stretches of ‘oh wow’ this team has got pieces and is dynamic,” Plum continued. “We have scorers, different threats, different positions and when we’re locked in, especially defensively, we can be really good.”

The Sparks finished last season 21-23 and missed the playoffs for a franchise-record fifth consecutive season.

“Flush last year, right,” Plum explained. “This is a new year. Every year is different. Different personnel, people are different from the offseason. That’s the beauty of our league. (In) six months, you can get a lot better, be a lot different as a player, as a coach. I just think continue to trust the process. I know that we have the right people here and we’re going to figure it out.”

Meanwhile, Sparks guard Ariel Atkins sat out after a head injury in the second half of Wednesday’s game when she was hit in the face with an errant elbow. Her status for Friday’s game is uncertain.

Plum’s dual role

Prime Video has announced that Plum will be joining “WNBA on Prime” as a player contributor for the 2026 season.

“I’m excited to join Prime Video this WNBA season, as the league has never been more valuable in terms of media deals and viewership,” Plum said in a news release. “There’s so much talent and momentum around the league, and I look forward to bringing fans a current player’s perspective while highlighting the personalities and storylines that make the game so special.”

The two-time WNBA champion and four-time All-Star will make select appearances and will share current-player insight and analysis to studio programming.

“Kelsey’s had a standout career in the WNBA and is a dynamic presence in women’s basketball,” said Amina Hussein, Prime Video Sports’ head of on-air talent and development. “We’re building something special with WNBA on Prime, and her contributions to our broadcast as a current league veteran will add to our goal of delivering fans an authentic, player-driven experience.”

Lisa Leslie’s statue

The Sparks announced on Wednesday that they will honor franchise legend Lisa Leslie with a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena before the Portland Fire vs. Sparks game on Sunday, Sept. 20.

The two-time WNBA champion played for the Sparks from the league’s inception in 1997 until 2009. The eight-time All-Star is the Sparks’ all-time leader in points, rebounds, and blocked shots.

TORONTO (1-1) AT SPARKS (0-2)

When: Friday, May 15, 7 p.m. PT

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV: ION

​ Orange County Register 

Lawmakers should not politicize public pension investments

• May 14, 2026

California taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars of guaranteed pension benefits for the state’s public employees, which currently have $292 billion in unfunded liabilities.

And yet, in pursuit of their own political aims, labor unions and activists are seeking to influence how the state’s public pension systems invest the $1.2 trillion in funds they manage to pay for California’s pension obligations. Lawmakers and pension plan administrators must resist these attempts to hijack pension funds for political interests.

California is home to two of the nation’s largest public pensions, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). These systems depend on generating consistent returns over several decades from investing the contributions of employees and their government employers.

As of the latest reporting, CalPERS has only 75% of the funds needed to fulfill pension promises made to its members ($165 billion short), and CalSTRS is about 76% funded ($87 billion short). These shortfalls are driving up costs for state and local governments, and if investments fall short any more than they already have, taxpayers will be forced to cover the difference.

With assets exceeding a trillion dollars and investment decisions left to the discretion of politically appointed pension boards responsible for maximizing investment returns, progressive activists see these public funds as a potential lever of influence.

In the lead-up to the 2024 election, for example, an interest group urged the CalPERS board to divest from Tesla, citing a moral misalignment between founder Elon Musk and the plan’s members, as well as potential “brand issues” that could tank the investment. The board assessed the risks but ultimately declined to divest.

A 2023 legislative effort to force California’s pension systems to divest from the fossil fuel industry for environmental reasons, a bill that CalPERS opposed, was a bigger example of an attempt to use these funds to push a political agenda unrelated to providing retirement benefits to public workers and retirees. The bill ultimately fell short.

This year, a new bill backed by trade unions would require CalPERS and CalSTRS to examine the labor standards of construction companies in which they invest, an obvious attempt to leverage the funds’ financial influence to impose the union’s interests on the private sector.

The problem with these pressure campaigns is that they inappropriately assume a consensus or shared interest among plan members. Pension participants (both public employees and their government employers, via taxpayers) contribute these funds for the exclusive purpose of saving and growing their money for retirement, not for activism. As fiduciaries, pension system administrators make an ironclad commitment to employees to act with only this goal in mind. While other interests may at times overlap with the primary aim of these plans, to make any consideration based on political grounds is inappropriate.

Public pension plans must maintain this standard. In California, members are required to contribute to these funds, and there is naturally a great deal of diversity of opinion among the 2.4 million CalPERS and 1.1 million CalSTRS members. It would be impossible to shape a plan’s investment portfolio to match every member’s political and social preferences, so the objective from the start is to direct these funds in a way that maximizes investment returns and manages potential risks so that promised benefits are fully funded.

The funds belong to millions of California’s government employees and are backed by taxpayers under a strict agreement on how they will be used.

State policymakers need to see these influence campaigns for what they are: blatant attempts to hijack public retirement funds for political interests. With $292 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, California’s retirement funds must be managed to fund the pension and health care benefits promised to workers while minimizing risks and costs to taxpayers, not to push the political priorities of politicians, unions, or special interest groups.

Zachary Christensen is a managing director of Reason Foundation’s Pension Integrity Project.

​ Orange County Register 

New round of Lebanon-Israel talks kicks off as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues

• May 14, 2026

By ABBY SEWELL, BASSEM MROUE and KAREEM CHEHAYEB

BEIRUT (AP) — A third round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon kicked off in Washington Thursday, days before the expiration of a truce that reduced but did not stop the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Lebanese officials are hoping that the two-day negotiations will yield a new ceasefire deal and pave the way for tackling a series of thorny issues, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

The Trump administration has been pushing for a breakthrough between the two neighbors that have been officially in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948.

Hezbollah, however, is not part of those talks and has been vocally opposed to Lebanon engaging in direct negotiations with Israel.

Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group have continued to trade near-constant fire across the border despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on April 17. Initially a 10-day truce, it was then extended for another three weeks.

Talks move to a higher level

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who attended the first Israel-Lebanon meetings in Washington in April, was with President Donald Trump on a visit to China and did not attend Thursday’s session.

The current round of talks represents a step toward more serious negotiations, with higher-level envoys from Lebanon and Israel taking part after the initial preparatory sessions were headed by the ambassadors of the two countries to Washington.

Lebanon’s envoy heading up Thursday’s talks, Simon Karam, is an attorney and well-connected former Lebanese ambassador to the U.S. who recently represented Lebanon in indirect talks with Israel over implementation of the ceasefire that preceded the latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah. On the Israeli side, Deputy National Security Adviser Yossi Draznin was set to attend.

There are still large gaps in what the two sides want from the direct talks. Israeli officials have focused on disarming Hezbollah and described the negotiations as a precursor to a potential normalization of diplomatic relations. Lebanese officials have said they are seeking a security agreement or armistice that would stop short of normalization.

Trump has publicly called for a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Aoun has declined to meet or speak directly with Netanyahu at this stage — a move that would likely generate blowback in Lebanon.

Lebanon hopes for ceasefire

A senior Lebanese official familiar with the negotiations in Washington said Thursday Lebanon wants a complete ceasefire first and then would negotiate withdrawal of Israeli forces. The issue of Hezbollah’s weapons would be dealt with politically in Lebanon after that, he said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to speak frankly about the talks.

He said Lebanon is “relying heavily on the U.S. administration” to provide it with leverage in the negotiations with Israel and believes that Trump is “sincere” in his desire to help Lebanon.

The official said that when Trump and Aoun spoke recently, Trump did not pressure Aoun to meet or speak with Netanyahu and was understanding when Aoun explained his reasons for declining. According to the official, Aoun told Trump that if he went to Washington and shook hands with Netanyahu and the talks later fell apart, it could have internal repercussions in Lebanon and discredit Trump.

Aoun told Trump that if the two countries are able to reach a security deal, he would come to the White House and “inaugurate” it and Trump responded by saying “I like that,” the official said.

If Israel agrees to a ceasefire and withdraws from the territory it is occupying in southern Lebanon, the official said, he believes Hezbollah would agree to an arrangement under which it would hand over its weapons to the Lebanese army, which could keep some of them and destroy others. Under this plan, Lebanon could consider allowing individual Hezbollah fighters to join the Lebanese army if they meet eligibility requirements, he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter in an interview with Israeli news site Walla News Thursday said Israel aims “to negotiate for full peace as if Hezbollah does not exist — borders, embassies, visas, tourism, everything.” Despite Lebanese officials’ assertions that diplomatic normalization is not currently on the table, he said he believes “it is possible to reach such an agreement within a few months.” But, he added, “it would be conditioned on the success of the second track — dismantling Hezbollah.”

Hezbollah and Israel trade fire

Thursday’s talks opened hours after a Hezbollah drone exploded inside Israel, injuring three civilians, two of them severely, according to the Israeli military and hospitals. It was the first instance of civilians injured by Hezbollah projectiles since the ceasefire, according to reports from Israel’s rescue service, Magen David Adom.

Israel has struggled to halt frequent Hezbollah drone attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and over the border in northern Israel.

Israel has also continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon. On Wednesday, Israel struck seven vehicles in Lebanon — three of them on the main highway just south of Beirut — killing 12 people including a woman and her two children, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Later strikes in southern Lebanon killed another 10 people, including six children, the ministry said.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says that since the war began on March 2, 2,896 people have been killed — including around 400 since the nominal ceasefire was implemented — and 8,824 wounded. Eighteen Israeli soldiers, two Israeli civilians inside Israel and a defense contractor working in southern Lebanon have been killed on the Israeli side.

U.N. peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon have also been caught in the crossfire and six have been killed.

Associated Press writer Joseph Federman in Jerusalem contributed.

​ Orange County Register