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A couple killed when their luxury car slammed into a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls and exploded in a fireball triggering a security scare have been identified.

Police have named the victims as husband and wife Kurt and Monica Villani, both 53, of Grand Island, New York, whose family owns a lumber business and several hardware stores in the Buffalo area.

An investigation is under way into what caused the Bentley Flying Spur to crash at the Rainbow Bridge, linking New York state and Ontario, on Wednesday.

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‘This vehicle was incinerated’

Security footage showed the vehicle travelling from the US side of the border at high speed before hitting an object, flying into the air and then hurtling into a row of security booths where it burst into flames.

A US customs officer suffered minor injuries at the scene and was treated at a nearby hospital before being released later.

The incident immediately raised concerns both sides of the border of a terrorist attack, prompting the closure of four US-Canadian border crossings in the area and a halt to international flights at Buffalo International Airport.

An initial investigation by the authorities, including the FBI, found it was not terror-related and turned the case over to local police.

Traffic investigators are looking at whether medical or mechanical issues may have contributed to the tragedy, Niagara Falls police chief John Faso said.

A vehicle burns at the Rainbow Bridge U.S. border crossing with Canada, in Niagara Falls
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The bridge smash initially raised concerns of a terror attack

A statement issued by the victims’ family said: “We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all that extended prayers, condolences and well wishes.

“At this point, we are requesting privacy so we may begin the process of healing.”

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The president of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce said the couple’s support for their community was well known.

“They gave from their heart, so they didn’t make a big deal about it,” Eric Fiebelkorn said.

New York governor Kathy Hochul described the crash scene as “surreal” with the vehicle “basically incinerated”, leaving little behind but the engine and a scattering of charred debris.

She said: “You actually had to look at it and say, was this generated by AI?

“Because it was so surreal to see. How high in the air this vehicle went, and then the crash, and the explosion, and the fire.”

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Hailey Bieber pregnant: Pop star Justin and wife announce they are expecting first child

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Hailey Bieber pregnant: Pop star Justin and wife announce they are expecting first child

Justin and Hailey Bieber have announced they are expecting their first child.

Hailey, the 27-year-old model, posted a video and a series of photos on Instagram showing off her baby bump.

Justin, 30, is also in the social media footage and has shared his wife’s post. It racked up over 1.8 million likes in less than an hour.

The announcement did not include a caption, with Hailey simply tagging her husband in the post.

The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in New York in 2018. The Instagram footage shows Hailey in a white lace dress during an apparent vow renewal held in a field.

Kylie Jenner was among the celebrities congratulating the couple in the comments of Hailey’s social media post.

Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber are seen in Los Angeles, California.on June 2 2023 Credit: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX
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The couple married in secret in 2018. Pic: BauerGriffin / MediaPunch /IPX

US reality star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, model Gigi Hadid and TV personality Chrissy Teigen also commented with their warm wishes.

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Hailey is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin and niece of actors Alec, William and Daniel Baldwin, while Justin was discovered as a singer online aged 13 and went on to become a pop sensation with his hits including Baby, Love Me and Yummy.

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The Canadian superstar was forced to cancel the remaining dates of his Justice world tour last year amid his ongoing recovery from Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a condition that can cause facial paralysis.

He unexpectedly stepped on stage at Coachella last month to perform the 2020 hit single Essence, alongside Wizkid, during a set by Nigerian star Tems.

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Joe Biden says US will stop some weapons shipments to Israel if it invades Gaza city of Rafah

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Joe Biden says US will stop some weapons shipments to Israel if it invades Gaza city of Rafah

President Joe Biden has warned Israel in his toughest public comments so far that the US would stop supplying it with some weapons if Israel invades the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

If Israeli forces launch an all-out assault on the city, the last major Hamas stronghold in the besieged enclave, the US president said “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used”.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Biden acknowledged US weapons have been used by Israel which have killed civilians in Gaza during its seven-month offensive aimed at destroying Hamas.

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IDF launches another Rafah operation

It comes after his decision last week to pause a shipment of heavy 2,000lb bombs to Israel over concerns about a looming attack on Rafah, following public and private warnings from his administration.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres,” Mr Biden told CNN.

“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the weapons delay earlier on Wednesday, saying the US paused “one shipment of high payload munitions”.

“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Mr Austin said.

“But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”

Israel carried out military operations in Rafah earlier this week in what it described as “targeted strikes”.

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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah. Pic: Reuters
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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Rafah. Pic: Reuters

Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Pic Reuters
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Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Rafah. Pic: Reuters


Mounting death toll

Nearly 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed so far in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 others, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity, according to Israeli tallies.

Palestinians flee Rafah. Pic: Reuters
Palestinians flee Rafah on a donkey-drawn cart. Pic: Reuters
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Palestinians flee Rafah. Pics: Reuters

US will still supply defensive systems

Mr Biden told CNN the US would continue to provide defensive systems to Israel, including for its Iron Dome defence system.

“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” he said.

“But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”

It comes as Mr Biden’s administration is due to deliver a formal verdict this week, the first of its kind, on whether Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid have violated international and US laws.

A decision against Israel would heap further pressure on Mr Biden to limit the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.

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Rafah is Biden’s red line for Netanyahu – but there’s not much he can do to stop it being crossed

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Rafah red line: The push-me-pull-you geopolitical balance is intensely difficult for Biden right now

Setting red lines is all very well, as long as you follow through when they are crossed. President Joe Biden knows that all too well.

But he also knows that if he follows through on this big new red line of withholding offensive weapons for Israel it could cost him dearly domestically.

The push-me-pull-you balance of geopolitics and domestic politics is intensely difficult right now for the American president.

Gaza latest: Follow live updates

I’ll break this down into two parts. The politics in a moment. First the challenges of red lines.

Western leaders throw them down in interviews, like Mr Biden’s pronouncement on CNN last night, as unequivocal threats. “Cross the line, if you dare!” is the rhetoric.

But too often they turn out to be flawed tools of geo-political diplomacy.

Barack Obama set a chemical weapons red line with Syria’s Bashar al Assad in 2012. He walked right through it.

Vladimir Putin remembered that when he walked through a red line Mr Biden had set on Ukraine in 2021. Mr Putin invaded. The rest is history.

Every red line is distinct, of course, and they vary in terms of the gravity of the event they are seeking to prevent.

But the principle behind laying them is the same, as is the message set when they are crossed.

Read more:
Israeli hostages’ families urge Netanyahu to accept deal
Israel claims control of key Rafah crossing

Joe Biden met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in 2011 when he was vice president and Mr Putin was Russian prime minister. Pic: AP
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Joe Biden with Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow in 2011. Pic: AP

Biden’s frustration with Netanyahu

Over the past six months, as Israel has sought to defeat Hamas in Gaza, President Biden didn’t think he’d need to lay out red lines. After all, Israel is one of America’s closest allies.

Instead, the Biden administration thought gentle diplomacy and frank back-channels with a “close friend of America” would do the trick.

But gradually, as Mr Biden and the Netanyahu government increasingly diverged on protecting civilians and a plan for “the day after” in Gaza, a red line began to appear – Rafah.

This has become Mr Biden’s red line for Israel.

The American president has repeatedly made clear his opposition to Mr Netanyahu’s insistence on a ground invasion of the southern Gazan city (Mr Netanyahu’s own red line) where about 1.4 million people are living, half of them under 18.

Smoke rises from Rafah after an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza city
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Smoke rises from Rafah after an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza city this week. Pic: AP

The Israeli military has not (yet) moved into Rafah city but is instead concentrating its operations to the east of the city and around the crossing to Egypt.

That fact has allowed the Biden administration to claim its red line hasn’t yet been crossed. “They didn’t describe it as a major ground operation,” spokesman John Kirby said this week.

Sometimes, red lines are smashed through. Sometimes, they are gradually chipped away at.

To counter the chipping Mr Netanyahu has been doing for weeks, Mr Biden hardened his red line.

“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” he told CNN.

A significant admission

That he has personally admitted what was already a fact – that American weapons have killed thousands of civilians – is significant.

But there is important nuance in his red line.

He’s talking about stopping the delivery of offensive weapons for the type of operations that have flattened much of Gaza and could do the same to Rafah.

He is not threatening to cut Israel off from all US weapons, of course not.

Defensive weapons to counter Iranian proxy rockets will keep coming. As will long-range weapons and jets to counter Iran. None of that will stop being delivered.

Still, it’s a big shift for Biden. It’s not been done before and symbolically for Israel, in the middle of its longest and most critical war, it looks terrible.

The domestic political risks

And that brings us to the domestic politics of all this.

For every lever of influence Mr Biden pulls (and he’s seen they have their limited use) there is a domestic political calculus.

Pretty much all Republicans are against every lever; they want nothing less than unequivocal support for Israel.

More than that though – a significant number of his own Democrats will also be uneasy about America limiting weapons for Israel.

But critical voters in key states are very pro-Palestine. President Biden isn’t oblivious to their cry “Genocide Joe!”

It is a perilous political push-me-pull-you and the election is six months away.

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