>> online at c-span.org or download as a podcast on c-span now, our free mobile app or whatever you get your podcasts. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. congress returns t for legislative business and. the house is back at noon eastern. later in the week lawmakers will vote on legislation to reauthorize the faa programs. current ogms are set to expire friday at midnight. they will also consir bills requiring methane to casillas to disclose houthis and measures to support law enforcement. senators will vote on executive and judicial nomatns for u.s. district and circuit courts . watch live coverage of the h on c-span. the senate on c-span two. ana reminder, you can watch all our life congressional coverage with our free video apps, c-span now, or online at

c-span.org. ♪ c-span is your unfiltered view of government, funded by these television companies and more, including buckeye broadband. a♪ ♪ buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service, along with the other television providers, giving you a front-row seat to democracy. ♪ >> good morning. it is saturday, may 11. this week, president pause some arms shipments to israel and said he could halt offensive weapons transfers if israel follows through on the full-scale invasion of rafah.

speaker mike johnson survived an extrovert, and adult film star stormy daniels took the stand for two days this week in the trump hush-money trial. week in the trump hush money trial. those are a few items making news this week. we would like to know what your top news story of the week is. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans call (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. include your first name and city, state. you can post on our social media account, facebook.com/c-span and on x @cspanwj. we are glad you are with us. let's start with the comments that president biden made on cnn about the weapons transfers to israel. [video clip] >> i know that you have paused,

mr. president, shipments of 2000 pound u.s. bonds to -- bombs to israel in concerned that it could be used on any offensive in rafah. how have those bombs been used to kill civilians in gaza? pres. biden: civilians have been killed in gaza as a consequence of those bombs and the way that they go after population centers . if they go into rafah, they haven't yet, i am not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem. we will make sure that israel is secure in terms of the iron dome and the ability to respond to attacks, but it's not wrong. we won't supply the weapons that have been used. >> artillery shells as well?

pres. biden: yeah, artillery shells. >> right now, is that not going into rafah? has ovide and they haven't gone into population centers. they have gone next to the border. we have worked really hard to make sure that we have a relationship, but i've made it clear to bibi and of the war cabinet that they won't get our support if they keep going into these population centers. we won't walk away from israel's security or the ability to wage war in those areas. >> it is not over your red line yet? pres. biden: not yet. host: that was the president on cnn a few days ago. u.s. weapons may have been used in ways "inconsistent with international law in gaza" according to a u.s. assessment. the article says that secretary blinken delivered to congress on

friday, yesterday, a highly anticipated report on israel's military operations in gaza that accused israeli forces of potentially violating international humanitarian law, but didn't formally find that they had already done so, according to the documents. the report states that though there are allegations that israel violated international humanitarian law during the time covered by the report, from the beginning of this year through late april, the u.s. doesn't have "complete information on whether u.s. weapons were used in those actions." the authors cite the difficulty of determining facts on the ground in an active war zone and the use of hamas using civilian infrastructure. we have other stories that we are following from this week adding your top news stories of the week.

speaker johnson surviving a call to vacate his cir and the subsequent vote. here is the associated press. failure to outs speaker maga mike johnson's shows strength and weakness of his alliance with trump, and we will look at a portion of what he said after wednesday's vote. [video clip] >> members have just voted. we have important work to do for the country. there are a lot of things. last week we announced the house-wide effort to crack down on anti-semitism on campus. this morning we introduce legislation to fortify american elections and ensure that only american citizens can vote. i am glad that this distraction will not inhibit that important work and all of the important things on the table and engender -- and agenda for us. hopefully this is the end of

personality politics and frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th congress. it is regrettable, not who we are as americans, and we are better than this and need to get yonder it. the speaker of the house serves the whole house, everybody, but i am a lifelong movement conservative republican and i intend to continue to govern in accordance with those core principles. we believe in the seven core principles of american conservatism that also the core principles of america itself. i believe in individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity. those are the guiding principles that inform our work and that we work for every day to pursue, to ensure that all americans have more liberty and opportunity and security. those foundations are in jeopardy now. we need steady hands at the wheel, people who understand what made america the strongest,

most powerful, most free, most successful, most netherland nation in the world. we have to fight for that every day. host: this morning's question is your top new story of the week. the phone lines are on your screen. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we have a line that you can use to text us, (202) 748-8003. we are watching our social media feeds. we have facebook.com/c-span. and we are on x, formerly twitter, @cspanwj. the phone lines, andrew in sterling, virginia. caller: before i make my comment as to the top story of the week, i want to say that you are, without a doubt, my favorite host on c-span. you are a class act. you asked really good follow-up questions, you are very respectful of all of the

callers. you are a pleasure to watch and i wish that you were on every day. having said that, my top story is i saw where former president trump had a couple of large dinners at mar-a-lago hosting the big oil companies, the ceos of the big oil companies, and multibillionaire's. he promised off the bat that if they donated to his campaign he would make sure that he would extend the massive tax cuts for the rich that are due to expire soon. he promised the oil companies that he would get rid of regulation on the drilling of more oil, even though this country has produced more oil this past year under the biden administration than ever before in history. i want american voters to realize that in order to make these promises to these multibillionaire's and huge

corporations, in order to do that trump will have to make massive cuts to social security, medicare, and the entitlements. to all of those maga voters out there, what are you going to do if he is able to succeed and make those cuts? you guys are going to be in a world of hurt. you think the price of gas will save you if he drops it a dollar or so? you won't have a pension. you won't have anything in the way of social security. you will be doomed. thank god for president trump. host: all right, andrew. this is what andrew was talking about, an article from "politico." trump pressed oil executives to give $1 million for his campaign. this is a scandal and an indictment of the system, but probably legal, according to a legal watchdog.

it says that the former president asks oil executives last month to donate $1 billion to aid his campaign to retake the white house. campaign finance experts said the request appears troubling but is probably legal. the request first reported by the washington post occurred during a meeting of oil industry executives at the former president's home in palm beach, florida. the oil industry has a long list of policy actions it would want trump to take, including dismantling parts of president biden's green agenda and rolling back pollution regulations that threaten to crimp their profits. politico reported on wednesday that oil executives are preparing highly specific requests for trump, including executive orders that they hope he would sign if reelected. at the least, the one billion points to problems governing law in politics according to a finance director

at a watchdog group. "at a high level it perfectly captures so much of what is wrong with our big-money campaign-finance system." lucas is next, republican in delray beach, florida. caller: good morning. once again, the so-called hush money trial president donald trump in manhattan is my top story of the week. the whole deal is so wrong. i know it's not a profound statement, but for goodness sake. putting him on trial -- i am not a lawyer, but from what i can gather from watching cable news -- but me be clear, i am not a right wing lunatic. i watch everything from newsmax to msnbc and everything in between regularly. from one end of the political media spectrum to the other, none of them are describing what he is being charged with. you have for example, not picking on msnbc, but he was talking about stormy daniels

walked up to the stage. it was a poetic description of her appearance, but what is the actual crime? right-wing, left-wing, somebody needs to explain it. i feel like they have yet to do so on cable news. host: you are in luck. later on our podcast segment we will have a law professor talking to us. we will definitely ask about that. what he is being charged with and why and things like that. caller: fantastic. thank you. host: william in ohio, independent, good morning. caller: good morning. host: what is going on in ohio? caller: my major thing is -- my major thing right now is also the trial. trump has been held in contempt nine or 10 times. why hasn't he done any jail time yet? it seems like he should have to.

he goes after people all the time and threatens people with bloodshed and everything else, which is ridiculous. he's a loser. period. host: there are people who say that the gag order is completely unfair. what do you think about that? do you think that it's fair that he not be allowed to talk about witnesses and the families of the judge and things like that? caller: absolutely. his followers, it gives them reasons to go after them. look after the election. they went after people. it is like he has his own gestapo out there. host: let's hear from the former president speaking to reporters after stormy daniels wrapped up her testimony. [video clip] mr. trump: thank you, everyone saw what happened today. i don't think we have to do any extra explaining.

this judge is corrupt, a corrupt judge. this judge, but he did, what this ruling was, was a disgrace. what happened today, he is a corrupt judge and is totally conflicted. i've got to get back on the campaign trail. on not supposed to be here. we are so innocent. there has never been anything like it. every single legal analyst, i'm innocent, and i'm being held in this court with a corrupt judge who is so conflicted. take a look at his conflict. it is a disgrace to the city of new york, the city of new york and the country. thank you. host: he mentioned getting back on the campaign trail. will be getting back today and we will cover that livfo you starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern. the former president will have a campai rly in wildwood, new jersey. that will be covered at 5:00 p.m. easterneron-span and

on our app, c-span now, and online at c-span.org. marcus is in columbus, ohio. what is your top new story? caller: i think my top new story is probably the united states more so on the international stage with the u.n. vote to treat palestine as a member and the security council to revisit the issue. the report that the state department released, there is actually a state department employee that has resigned over the support for israel's genocidal campaign. josh paul. he started or is working with a group called just security. he essentially did the report as if you were still working for

the state department and utilized all of the same information that the united states has access to and has gone over -- it is about 40 pages -- identifying details, factual, data over multiple war crimes that the israel government is committing. even where they are dropping some of these 200-pound bombs on apartment complexes. where they are not even giving any targeting data for it, so in the report it spells out how israel is indiscriminately -- or has been dropping bombs on palestinians. in the recent few days between dropping weapons shipments, they have closed down gaetz allowing in humanitarian aid, which the nine administration says israel

isn't breaking. i think that the shift in the geopolitical relevance of the united states because of joe biden's support of israel i think will create changes in the future that most americans are expecting because we don't see information and how the rest of the world sees our actions and blind support for a genocide. it is kind of a big deal, shifting our power in the country. host: this is what he was mentioning about the u.n. the associated press with the headline, the u.n. assembly approved resolution granting palestine you rights and revising its u.n. membership bid. this is the general assembly voted by a wide margin on saturday to grant new rights and privileges to palestine and called on the security council to reconsider palestine's request to become the 194th

member of the united nations. dan is in oregon, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. i am a little horse this morning. it is about israel. i didn't ever think that our nation would come up against -- that is why the nazis went after them, because they were god's children. it might've been one of the seals opened in the bible about covid. it tears my heart, because a lot of jews got killed in the holocaust, and something about there is a valley where the blood is getting to the horses' bridles. it is all about hate, not enough love, didn't care.

the christians and the jews and the muslims and all of us got to quit shedding blood. forgive me, i shouldn't say that because last time i called i said something about anarchy. host: what do you think is the solution for the war in gaza? caller: what about the 1947 accords? where was the palestinian's land and where was the jewish homeland? jerusalem is set up for the jews. host: a two state solution going back to the 1947 agreement? caller: i have heard that they were from lebanon, syria, and

the bordering areas. i'm not sure. i know -- what would you call a -- how about a space coup? host: the president was speaking about the holocaust on holocaust remembrance day and antisemitism. here is a portion of his remarks. [video clip] pres. biden: we must give hate no safe harbor against anyone, anyone. our jewish americans represent only 2% of the u.s. population and helped the cause of freedom for everyone in our nation. that experience, we know that scapegoating and demonizing any minority is a threat to every minority and the foundation of our democracy. in moments like this i like to

put these principles we talk about into action. i understand that people have strong beliefs and deep convictions about the world. in america, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech. two debate and disagree. to protest peacefully and make our voices heard. i understand that's america, but there is no place on any campus in america, any place in america, for antisemitism, hate speech, or threats of violence of any kind. [applause] whether against jews or anyone. attacks, destroying property, is not peaceful protest. it is against the law and we are not a lawless country. we are a civil society.

no one should have to hide just to be themselves. [applause] the jewish community, i want you to know, i see your fear, hurt, and pain. let me reassure you that as your president you are not alone. you belong. you always have and you always will. my commitment to the safety of the jewish people, the security of israel, and its right to exist as an independent jewish state is ironclad even when we disagree. [applause] host: that was the president's remarks from tuesday. we are getting your top new story of the weekend going to our line for independents. john, hello. caller: good morning.

i had a couple of things. i saw a story on fox, i think, and i was wondering if you could look it up because i didn't see it on msnbc or any other stations about the illegal immigration. denver had a list of demands for free stuff that they were demanding and it was unbelievable is true. but i don't know if is just a couple of people or if it's a big movement. i was wondering if you could look it up to see if it's true. the other thing that i was wondering is, how could burnett when she is interviewing the president, joe biden, and he said that he inherited 9% inflation, how could she not correct him? in order not to embarrass the president? everyone knows that that's not true. thank you. host: on fox news, the thing that you mentioned, it says --

foxnews.com -- denver migrants refused to lee's encampments. the list includes demands for better food, access to immigration lawyers, and unlimited shower time. you can find that at foxnews.com. harold in livingston, tennessee, democrat, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i really wish she would do more on shows of what legislation is being proposed up there that cuts the social security and what the candidates say they will do about social security. the legislation that is local or whatever that they are talking about up there, if you cut social security off you are really going to hurt this country big time. or if you cut any margins at all. i really wish we would do more about women's rights. we are all the time talking

about the foreign country, and that has to be talked about, but not 24 hours a day by every channel. it is either that or trump's lawsuits. he and that woman have done what they done and that doesn't need to be talked about all the time. there are important things. this past week they voted down the veterans' pay increase. we can do health care. this country is in good enough shape. there are more people working now than i can remember in my lifetime, because there are all kinds of jobs. how many open jobs, 60 7 million open jobs in the united states? the problem is we need to get to work but we need to spend money helping these older people and do something about this thing with women. women are not going to have rights.

i guess that is all i have to say about that. thank you for taking my call. host: harold, you started with social security. are there any changes that you would be ok with two social security? caller: no! not if it requires taking the blame. we could roll back the trump tax breaks and take care of our social security problem now. he is promising to give them more tax breaks if they will give him $1 billion, the oil companies. no, it is time to working person -- the working person cannot afford to keep this country going and paying taxes while you give all of these wealthy people all of this money back. people don't make that kind of money. you have people like trump and all of these millionaires paying basically nothing in taxes. compared to what the working person pays.

people out here, it takes what they make to live. if we cut social security back, what is going to happen with our old people? senior citizens, a lot of them have to go back to work. host: all right, harold. we will check in with social media on facebook. his top new story of the week is, marjorie taylor greene being booed by her colleaguess e top story. john on facebook, they continued disaster of the israeli-hamas warnd the protests and evything. it is heartbreaking. all of it. on facebook, withholding arms om an ally after congress approves the sale of the arms is an impeachable offense. tell me where i am wrong. before anyone makes a full of themselves, you can't -- fool of

themselves, you can't. gary in sterling, virginia, republican, good morning. caller: good morning, mimi. i am an old-time repuic. that is a lot different than thes newbies. my main subject, we had a talk about plastic waste in congress this week. i thank it should be talked about more. i have a real mundane issue. a famous man once said waste not, want not. that is the way that i feel about the plastic type on the milk carton or juice jug. that is a waste of good, high-quality plastic and is an impediment to get to the product. if your fingers are what you have to get a pair of pliers to open it. host: what other things are you looking to do to reduce your carbon footprint? caller: grow my grass longer.

that gives you more shape. gives you a cooler lawn. that is one of the things i do. i try not to waste water. it's totally worthless. we don't need it. it is an impediment to get to the product. if i was a dairyman or orchard owner i would be madder than a wet hen. host: a wet hen? caller: a wet hen. if you get a hen covered with playing, she gets mad, man. host: baltimore, maryland, good morning. caller: our top new story of the week is we the charges for trump

is he tried not to have stormy daniels' story come to light so the voters wouldn't know in 2016. he is being charged because he falsely put in his records that he was paying michael: was already his lawyer. he was paying the money back that michael cohen paid stormy daniels. that is why he is in court now. host: would you say that the trial is your top story? caller: top story of the week, absolutely. host: there is other news on trump's trials. this is from nbc. it says that the federal judge indefinitely postpones trump's

classified documents case in florida. the judge postponed the trial pending the resolution of multiple pending pretrial issues according to a new court records filed on tuesday. it says that the trial was scheduled to start on may 20. they said in a five-page order that it would be "imprudent" to finalize a new trial date now, casting further doubt on federal prosecutors ability to bring trump to trial before the november presidential election. as a reminder, trump faces dozens of felony accounts accusing him of illegally hoarding at his mar-a-lago estate in palm beach, florida classified documents that he took with him after he left the white house in 2020 one. and then, obstructing the fbi's efforts to get them back. he has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. joan on facebook also mentions

that as her top new story, yi that cannon has denied americans a judgment in the documents case before the election. if she cannot act on anything, she needs to withdraw. america deserves better. mike a democrat in woodstock, virginia. hello, mike. caller: good morning morning, good morning. i agree with your previous callers. you do a very fine job when you are hosting the program. your wit, intellect, quick response, and quick action to respond with your research at your fingertips. i think the pertinent subject at hand, i think that a number of your callers have touched on all important stories and important

events, not just this week but ongoing. certainly, the decimation of gaza is a horrible thing. yes, the hamas attack on october 7 was horrible, but i don't know if that justifies 35,000 casualties in gaza or not. yes, i think that the action of judge cannon, being a person who worked with carrying clearances for many years, as did my father and my brother, if i had violated my oath or even been accused of and had charges brought against any of our fellow citizens you have to carry a clearance.

the actions would have been quite a bit different. social security, you asked for a suggestion. if individuals or households have an income above a certain degree, whether they have paid and like most of us -- i am retired now -- but all of our lives, then they shouldn't get those benefits. but there are so, so many complicated issues. i will leave you with, and i hope that you and your listeners will take this to heart, i am 70 years old, i have seen stuff, a lot of people have that they don't talk about around the world and in our country. the first three words of the preamble to the u.s. constitution are "we the people." in my belief, the only thing that can take down our republic is those three words.

lincoln said "united we stand, divided we fall. a house divided cannot stand." if we as a people choose to continue to bicker and act like kids on the playground, look at the u.s. house and how that has been handled by the majority party there for this house session just as one example. how divided. the divisions in terms of the wedges that have been drawn by different factions, it's -- we the people. host: mike mentioned the house. here is representative gree ne defending her actions in an interview. [video clip] >> i considered that a victory, part of the unmasking. trust the process. it will take time.

what a great start. you went in and in front of all of america and all the world, you heard the k street money through the instruments of the democratic party and republican people who have been bought off, booed you. your thoughts, ma'am? rep. greene: that is what i expected. it was a great victory for the american people to see the truth for the curtain to be drawn back. the unity party is alive and well in the people's's house. that is where the iron he is screaming. you are right -- the irony is screaming. you are right, but the vote yesterday proved that mike johnson is completely bought and paid for by the democrats. nancy pelosi, the two democrats that led the effort to impeach president trump twice, voted to

save mike johnson, as well as hakeem jeffries and the leadership team, but so did republicans. that shows you that we have a lot of work to do in our gop conference. if we are going to be the republican majority that holds the house under president trump our republican majority needs to be whipped into shape because yesterday they completely capitulated to democrat control over the house of representatives even though we have solid control with republican votes. it was proven yesterday, all of the lies were proven. democrats cannot take control of the house. hakeem jeffries cannot become speaker because we hold the majority. democrats saved mike johnson. host: here's an article in politico saying that failing acts of political theater, greene ostracized after ouster

push. now, she is even losing conservative allies. she was never hugely popular among her more centrist colleagues. after forcing a vote on ousting speaker mike johnson even conservatives seem to have abandoned her, leaving the georgia firebrand with next to no allies in the house. "people are calling me saying, please tell her not to do this. mike is a good man doing the best he can. trump is calling her telling her not to said representative barry loudermilk. "i think that she has lost a whole lot of respect in her district." that is politico if you would like to see the rest of that article. wayne in junction, texas, a republican. caller: how is it going? host: good. caller: i think that george washington is turning over in

his grave with the political prosecution of donald trump. how do you expect the people are going to react when they try to put the leading candidate for president in prison? how do you think the people are going to react on the streets. how are these transgender democrats handling all this? host: all right. springfield, ohio, independent. caller: good morning. what really bothers me, and it should be of concern to everybody, is the way that the student protests have been handled by the police. we have young people, the future of our country, getting guns pointed at them for a protest.

for definitely a genocide somewhere else in the w along with the same thing, fair and balanced news says you can't have -- students and other people protesting. everybody should have the opportunity to protest, but we are keeping this protest as something that is illegal and eventually it is going to lead to some family losing a son or a daughter. it has happened before and is inevitable if they keep pointing guns at these young people. the other thing is young people, give your thumbs a break and see

what kind of country is coming your way. words you can't use, topics you aren't allowed to talk about, pictures and statues you can't look at anymore, and we almost had a candidate who is going to be deemed ineligible to run for office. this is your country, young people. host: all right, carlos. there is an article here in the new york times, below the fold, with this headline. columbia protest also brings pressure from a private owner. you can see that at the new york times. louise in lewisville, texas, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning, america. good morning, mimi.

my top story of the day is donald trump should really fight his case in the courts. he should sit there, listen to it, and if he doesn't like it get on the stand and defend himself. to come out and complain every day that it's not fair what they are doing to him is showing you how weak of a man he is. he committed this crime. he needs to face it and stop coming out trying to get the american people riled up because he thinks he is being treated differently. he is. nobody else that is out on bail could come out and complain about what's going on in the courts. donald trump, be a man. fight your case in the courts. leave the american people out of your problems. thank you, mimi. host: there is an article from

thehill.com, that says stormy daniels trolls trump after testifying in hush money trial. it says the adult film actor stormy daniels said this on x. "real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand on court. oh, wait. never mind." tyrone, a republican in illinois. caller: it is always a pleasure to talk to you. i haven't heard much about the hunter biden case lately and i thought it was supposed to come back up in april. i haven't heard anything or seen anything on c-span about it. serious about what is going on there. i also wanted to say that i'm very disappointed with our democrats and republicans when we are talking about doing stuff for the american people. i hear a lot of world news, but

right now we have our farmers. we haven't passed a farm bill in a couple of years. they are hurting out they are pretty desperate. their inputs are way up. making it very hard for them to make a living. like a lot of other people in the united states right now with the higher price of insurance, gas, food, and everything else that is going on. i just don't feel like our government right now for our tax dollars is doing much for us. host: the farm bill is coming up for renewal. tyrone, here is what is happening on hunter biden. reuters says that

we are trying to say he does help people and one can hardly see for themselves, it is awful. the fire, trying to help him. they are trying to help over there in gaza. we are trying to feed the world. not even have things to eat. i think he is the best he can fd we have to take a look at that. all of the things that has gone on since he was president, i do not know how anybody could be on the side of him. it is horrible.

rafah let us go to the republican line in aurora --host: let us go to the line in indiana. (202) 748-8000 i listen -- caller: how can biden do anything? donald trump is not running the world, he tells you what he's going to do, he will get this country straightened out. a man who has taken who has taken what he has taken still wants to run to help the people and he tells the people i am here to help you. he has a family and grandchildren and he is not trying to destroy america. in the bible in the last days, israel will be persecuted by all

countries, christ said wait persecuted for my namesake and he died for israel and died for the world and if they are going to wake up and realize that christ is god and he came and died for us. it makes me so sick to hear people put down god. they need to get god back in this country. host: all right. brian, cedar rapids, iowa, democrat. caller: how about separation of church and state? that is not what i called, in fact, i was going to give you a top news story but i think what is surprising me is you do not know what a matter than a wet hen met? >> i did not know that when you wet hands they get mad? caller: i did not know that either because i have actually