The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup.\u00a0Subscribe to the newsletter here\u00a0or\u00a0text messages here.<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office on Thursday announced an\u00a0Egyptian-brokered cease-fire to halt an 11-day military operation against Hamas militants\u00a0in the Gaza Strip.\u00a0Israel\u2019s Cabinet agreed \u201cto accept the Egyptian initiative for a bilateral cease-fire without any conditions, which will take effect later,\u201d Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. It’s not clear when the truce will go into effect, though multiple reports have said\u00a0it will be at 2 a.m., just over three hours after the Cabinet\u2019s decision. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expected to speak with Israel’s foreign minister this afternoon.\u00a0The violence wreaked far more devastation in Gaza than in Israel, with an estimated 58,000 Palestinians displaced from their homes and untold damage to the territory’s infrastructure, which was already dilapidated\u00a0after a 14-year blockade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tens of Palestinian journalists and public looking at Al-Jala Tower after destroyed in the central of Gaza city. (Photo: Jotam Confino)<\/span><\/p>\n Biden called Thursday for an end to the “ugly poison” of hate as he signed a new federal law aimed at combatting violence against Asian Americans.\u00a0Signing the nation’s first new federal hate-crimes law in over a decade, the president denounced what he described as “gut-wrenching” attacks against Asian Americans that have surged since the spread of COVID-19 across the country. Hate in the U.S. hides in plain sight and too often is met with silence,\u00a0Biden said. “Every time we’re silent, every time we let hate flourish, you make a lie of who we are as a nation,” he said, his voice rising.<\/p>\n Some key provisions of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act:<\/strong><\/p>\n Violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities <\/strong>has been on the rise for more than a year with the spread of COVID-19 and as some politicians, including former President Donald Trump, blamed China for the pandemic. More than 6,600 anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported in the year since the pandemic arrived in the U.S., jumping more than 164% in the first quarter of this year in 16 major cities.<\/p>\n The legislation would combat attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which have jumped amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: Getty)<\/span><\/p>\n The United States has yielded to India as\u00a0the country with the highest single-day death toll.\u00a0While daily U.S. infections, hospitalizations and deaths slide,\u00a0India’s Health Ministry reported 4,529 deaths Wednesday as the coronavirus spreads beyond cities into the vast countryside,\u00a0where health systems are weaker. The number is considered an undercount by most health experts.\u00a0The U.S. held the previous record for daily deaths at 4,475 on Jan. 12, but struggles with near-record infections and an increasing death count have\u00a0India reeling.<\/p>\n Borders to remain closed:<\/strong>\u00a0The Department of Homeland Security says the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will remain restricted through at least June 21, with only trade and essential travel allowed until then.\u00a0In conjunction with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts, the U.S.’ northern and southern borders were originally closed to leisure travelers in March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions have been extended on a monthly basis ever since. <\/p>\n Policemen stand next to the bodies buried in shallow graves on the banks of Ganges river in Prayagraj, India, Saturday, May 15, 2021. Police are reaching out to villagers in northern India to investigate the recovery of bodies buried in shallow sand graves or washing up on the Ganges River banks, prompting speculation on social media that they were the remains of COVID-19 victims. (Photo: Rajesh Kumar Singh, AP)<\/span><\/p>\n This hurricane season could\u00a0be a doozy. Overall,13 to 20 named storms are expected to form this year,\u00a0which is considered an “active” Atlantic hurricane season,\u00a0forecasters said Thursday.\u00a0The season, which begins in less than two weeks, typically spawns seven hurricanes, peaks in August or September and runs through Nov. 30. If predictions hold true, 2021 will be a record sixth consecutive year of above-normal activity. Forecasters say that out of the predicted number of storms, six to 10 hurricanes could form. Storms become hurricanes when winds reach 74 mph. Of the predicted hurricanes, three to five could be major, packing wind speeds of 111 mph or higher. Forecasters also released their prediction for the eastern Pacific basin, where 12 to 18 named storms are expected.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 Last year, <\/strong>NOAA predicted 13 to 19 named tropical storms would spin up, of which six to 10 would be hurricanes. In all, a record 30 named storms formed, including 14 hurricanes.\u00a0An average eastern Pacific hurricane season produces 15 named storms.<\/p>\n Galveston, Texas, hours before Hurricane Laura is set to make landfall on Aug. 26, 2020. (Photo: Chris Ramirez\/Caller-Times)<\/span><\/p>\n An enormous chunk of ice just broke off from Antarctica. The 1,667-square-mile block of ice is more than three times the size of Los Angeles, making it the world’s largest iceberg.\u00a0Images of the iceberg were captured by the Copernicus Sentinel 1 mission after it calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea, The European Space Agency reported. Iceberg calving is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier and a natural process that will not lead to rises in sea levels because it was already a part of a floating ice shelf. Scientists say the rate at which icebergs are calving is likely the result of human influence. In February, another iceberg larger, this one larger\u00a0than New York City, broke off Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf.<\/p>\n The world's largest iceberg calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. (Photo: European Space Agency)<\/span><\/p>\nIsrael approves cease-fire in Gaza<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nHate hides in plain sight<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nWhat everyone’s talking about<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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A dark statistic<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nGet ready to hunker down<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nReal quick<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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It’s melting<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nA break from the news<\/strong><\/h2>\n