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Hey there, from CNN, I'm Krista Boe with the five things you need to know for

Thursday, May 9th.

Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have paused, according to two U.S. officials.

Three sources familiar with the negotiations tell CNN Hamas's demand that Israel agree up front to a 12-week pause in fighting instead of six weeks was a major obstacle.

An Israeli source added Israel has taken issue with committing to the 12 week ceasefire

before any hostages are released.

The discussions that had been taking place in Cairo

over the past few days have largely broken up.

It comes after President Joe Biden told CNN he would stop sending bombs and artillery if Israel launched a major invasion of Rafa.

Biden's facing some political pushback in Washington for placing a condition on Israel like that.

CNN's Kevin Liptack has more.

You hear it from Republicans all the way across the spectrum,

from your Mitt Romney's to your Donald Trump's,

all of them saying that this amounts to an abandonment of Israel.

But I think for President Biden, the political bind is very evident because you're also hearing from

progressives who say that this hasn't necessarily gone far enough,

including from Bernie Sanders to the Democratic Socialist who said

this kind of step should have been taken months ago.

So the president's still very much caught in a political bind.

From salacious testimony to the mundane.

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