• Protests by Palestinians in Gaza were met with deadly force by Israel this week. More than 60 people were killed on Monday alone, when some protesters threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers. The spike coincided with the relocated U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the protests in the past six weeks. Human rights groups have accused Israel of using excessive force. [BBC]
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Palestinians burn Israeli flags on April 13, 2018. Source: Thomas Coex, AFP
  • On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Gina Haspel as the first female director of the CIA. Haspel was a controversial pick due to her role in the agency’s torture interrogation program. Haspel has vowed that she will not reinstitute torture as a method of interrogation at the CIA. [Politico]
  • North Korea threatened to abandon its planned summit with President Trump this week, seemingly validating skeptics who claimed that the despotic leader would continue his pattern of unpredictable behavior. The future of the summit remains uncertain. [Slate]
  • A Picasso painting owned by alleged sexual predator Steve Wynn was damaged by Christie’s auction house prior to an upcoming auction at which Wynn planned to sell the work for $100,000. The former casino mogul is no stranger to damaged art: Wynn previously put his own elbow through another Picasso while showing it to Nora Ephron and Barbara Walter. [The Cut]
  • President Trump stated on Wednesday that some people deported from the United States are “not people” but “animals.” While Trump has used the term “animal” to describe members of the gang MS-13 in the past, the conversation during which Trump made his most recent comment was about deported individuals more generally, leading many to interpret his comment as a diatribe against undocumented immigrants in general. [Vox]

FACT OF THE WEEK: Pablo Picasso was exceptionally prolific during his lifetime: The total number of artworks he produced has been estimated at 1,885 paintings; 1,228 sculptures; 2,880 ceramics; roughly 12,000 drawings; thousands of prints; and numerous tapestries and rugs, totaling approximately 50,000 separate pieces. [Online Picasso Project]