U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna said Saturday that he was detained by settlers and the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank and released only after calls to the American Embassy in Jerusalem. The Israeli Defense Forces denied detaining any visitors in the incident, the latest example of escalating political tensions involving Israel and its ally's Democratic Party.
A representative for Khanna, a California Democrat who is an outspoken progressive, said the confrontation occurred Wednesday in the middle of a three-day tour of the West Bank. As the congressman visited a Palestinian village that had been abandoned after settler attacks, masked men with guns stopped his group and refused to let them leave.
The New York Times said the incident was witnessed by one of its photographers. Khanna's office said it occurred in the town of Khirbet Zanuta.
Khanna said that when Israeli soldiers arrived he was dispirited to see them interact in a friendly manner with the settlers and block the exit for the congressman's party. Not until the U.S. Embassy and Israeli police were called was Khanna's group allowed to proceed.
“If this can happen to an American member of Congress, imagine what life is like for Palestinians who have no smartphones, no security, and no national platform,” Khanna, who is exploring a presidential bid in 2028, said in a fundraising email he sent out shortly after his post Saturday about the incident.
In a statement, the IDF said it received a report of Israeli citizens blocking foreign nationals and media in Khirbet Zanuta.
“Upon receiving the report, IDF troops were dispatched to the scene, quickly dispersed the Israeli civilians, and reopened the blocked road,” the military said in a statement. “The IDF soldiers operating in the area did not take part in blocking the road.”
Democratic politicians from the United States have stepped up their criticism of Israel amid a sharp turn against the country by the party's voters since the war in Gaza began. This past week, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose father was born in Jerusalem and fought in Israel's war of independence, gave a blistering speech last week in Tel Aviv in which he said Israel has become a “territorial pariah.” Emanuel also is a potential White House contender.
In a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about 58% of Democrats said the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israelis.
Also Saturday, the Israeli military said it detained four suspects who were attacking foreign journalists traveling to Sinjil, another West Bank community. The assailants blocked the journalists' vehicle and damaged it and were armed with clubs and knives, according to the military's statement.
CNN reported that it had a team among the journalists who were attacked. The network said the journalists were there to cover the one-year anniversary of the killing of a Palestinian-American man who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers.
The West Bank has seen a surge of settlement construction, and settler violence against Palestinians, in the past few years. Israeli officials have condemned particularly grave violence by settlers but tend to describe the incidents as exceptions, and attackers are rarely punished.
The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements illegal. Israel’s government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under heavy criticism from Palestinians and rights groups for accelerating settlement expansion, which they say is aimed at preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state there.
Israel views the West Bank as disputed territory and says its final status is subject to negotiations. Key Cabinet ministers have pushed for formal annexation of the territory.
FILE - Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration at the South Carolina Statehouse, Jan. 19, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)
A widespread and dangerous heat wave was building across the U.S. on Saturday, with triple-digit highs expected in the Southwest and Great Plains this weekend before spreading eastward under a dome of high pressure that meteorologists say could trap oppressive temperatures for a week or more.
Forecasters advised people to stay hydrated and find places to cool off, warning of temperatures 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night — especially bad for people's health because their bodies won't have a chance to recover. The heat dome was expected to affect as much as two-thirds of the continental United States.
“The heat doesn’t necessarily stop when it’s dark out,” said Josh Adam, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, where temperatures will surpass 100 F (37 C) until Tuesday, a dramatic spike for a state where summer temperatures are typically in the 80s.
Tynika Smith of Bloomington, Minnesota, handed out frozen towels and wash cloths along with battery-operated fans to people at encampments of homeless people in nearby St. Paul as the heat ramped up. The residents put the ice packs around their necks and on their heads.
“They can’t get into a car with air conditioning or go into a house,” said Smith, who also distributed water, freezer pops, food and hygiene supplies.
The encampments were so secluded that it was difficult for the residents to walk or bicycle to cooling centers, she said. There also was little outside shade, while the temperature inside their tents was even hotter than outdoors.
“I can only do so much,” Smith said, “but at least I can help them stay cool for a little bit.”
The National Weather Service predicted that more than 90 U.S. local temperature records will be tied or broken through Wednesday — with two-thirds of those being overnight heat records. Temperatures were not forecast to drop below 80 F (27 C) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The heat dome — formed when high pressure traps hot air while blocking cooling winds and rain — is one of the strongest to affect the Dakotas in 25 years, said Chad Merrill, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.
Record triple-digit highs were forecast for the weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and the Dakotas.
In Helena, Montana, where temperatures were expected to creep above 95 F (35 C), Last Chance Splash Waterpark & Pool was holding a swim meet for hundreds of swimmers.
The timing couldn’t be better, as it’s uncommon for Helena to get so hot, said Sean Swingley, assistant manager.
“It’s certainly a hot day, but the pool is nice and cool,” Swingley said. “Usually in the summer we have a couple 95 degree days, but it mostly hovers around 85 to 90 in June and July.”
Nevada, a state accustomed to hot weather, was even hotter than normal, said Andrew Gorelow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. The temperature there was expected to hit 111 F (48 C) on Saturday, Gorelow said.
Hydrating and finding cool spaces is critical, experts said.
They also warned that the heat could spike fire risk in some parts of the country that already are dry, including the Rockies, where Merrill said dry thunderstorms could develop.
Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing more intense and longer-lasting heat waves that cover larger areas, scientists say.
This year's temperatures also are expected to be affected by El Nino, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that alters weather patterns and spikes temperatures across the globe.
The current El Nino — which formed last month and is too young to have affected this heat wave much — is expected to rank as among the most intense since the weather service began tracking the phenomena in 1950, experts said.
By fall it has an 81% chance of becoming “very strong” — the top category — according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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FILE - A police officer holds ice to their neck to try and stay cool following the 2026 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anna Connors, File)
FILE - Vendors sell Gatorade and water bottles near the Washington Monument during a heat wave, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Visitors use fans as as they wait to enter the Washington Monument, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, File)
