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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

12/6 WAKE-UP CALL: Israel Mounts Fierce Attacks


Israeli forces closed in on southern Gaza’s largest city in what is becoming one of the decisive battles of the two-month-old war with Hamas. The U.S.-designated terrorist group is defending Khan Younis, its last major bastion in Gaza, in close-quarters combat. Israel believes the group’s leaders are hiding and holding hostages there, after driving the militants and much of the population out of Gaza City. Fighting there would deepen a humanitarian crisis by pushing tens of thousands of people into Rafah near the Egyptian border. An Israeli victory in Khan Younis would likely corner remaining Hamas fighters and could heighten international pressure on Israel to end the war and seek a settlement that frees more than 100 Israeli hostages and ends Hamas’s rule in Gaza. 


Relations between Israel and the United Nations have hit a new low point after almost two months of war. The international organization, vital for providing aid to Palestinians for decades, said last week that Israel had refused to grant a visa to a top humanitarian official. Israeli officials have repeated their calls for U.N. Secretary General António Guterres to resign, while an allegation that a U.N. staff member helped hold Israeli hostages has led to further furor. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees denied the claim.

➤CEO SPEAKS OUT ON HAMAS: Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global and chair, CEO and president of National Amusements, made a stirring appearance at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit on Tuesday, expressing her anger over the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and fear for the future while stressing the importance of speaking up. “The topic I am discussing is so very personal to me and so critical to all of us,” Redstone said in a prepared video statement, noting the “terrifying rise” in “antisemitism, racism, voter suppression and other expressions of hate against embattled communities.”

“Who could have possibly imagined the horrific massacre of innocent Israelis less than two months ago? Children and babies killed, women gang raped and murdered in plain sight, Holocaust survivors kidnapped and entire families gone. And yet, while this atrocity seems beyond human comprehension, I think all of us in this room can comprehend as we mourn the loss of innocent people on both sides of the border, as a result of this horrific attack. Yet, where is the outrage? Why are so many people with power and platforms silent?” Redstone asked.

➤Z's CHIEF OF STAFF SAYS AID DELAY POSES 'BIG RISKS': Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said on Tuesday that the postponement of U.S. assistance for Kyiv being debated in Congress would create a "big risk" of Ukraine losing the war with Russia. The remarks by Andriy Yermak were some of the frankest yet from a senior Kyiv official as uncertainty swirls over the future of vital U.S and European Union assistance packages as Ukraine's war with Russia rages on. If the aid is postponed, "it gives the big risk that we can be in the same position to which we're located now," he said, addressing the audience in English. "And of course, it makes this very high possibility impossible to continually liberate and give the big risk to lose this war." On Monday, White House officials said the U.S. was running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war against Russia.

➤TUBERVILLE CAVES ON MILITARY APPOINTMENTS:  Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville's monthslong blockade on military promotions has come to an end. The Alabama lawmaker, who has been protesting a Pentagon policy on abortion since February, said Tuesday he will be lifting holds on military promotions for nominees three stars and below. The blockade has prevented more than 400 military jobs from being filled. Depending on the case, the Pentagon can give service members time off and pay for travel to have an abortion. The policy was put into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. 

➤REPUBLICANS TAKING HARD-LINE ON BORDER SECUITY: Republicans are taking a hard line on U.S. border and immigration policy as the Ukraine aid vote looms in the Senate.  They want broad changes to border security as a condition for joining Democrats to approve tens of billions of dollars for Kyiv in its war against Russia, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) called the GOP’s position “hostage taking.” The U.S. cannot provide more weapons to Ukraine unless Congress approves more funding by the end of the year, according to the White House. A Senate test vote on President Biden’s foreign-aid package is expected tomorrow.


➤LAWMAKERS CHASTISE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS:  Republican lawmakers chastised the presidents of three elite U.S. universities during a congressional hearing about efforts to curb rising antisemitism on their campuses. Claudine Gay of Harvard University, Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology acknowledged Tuesday to lawmakers on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that antisemitism was a growing problem at their schools.

The leaders said they are taking steps to combat hate, including beefing up security on campuses and taking action against anyone who harasses or discriminates against students, faculty or staff. They also said their schools want to ensure the safety of their students while still protecting free speech. “The right to free speech does not extend to harassment, discrimination or incitement to violence in our community,” Kornbluth said. Republicans on the committee criticized the university presidents and said their actions led to verbal and physical attacks and intimidation that made Jewish students feel unsafe and unwelcome on their campuses.

➤RUSSIA REJECTS OFFER TO BRING HOME JAILED AMERICANS PAUL WHELAN AND EVAN GERSHKOVICH: The Biden administration has made a new and significant offer aimed at securing the release of American detainees Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, but Russia has rejected the offer, the State Department said Tuesday. Spokesman Matthew Miller did not reveal the details of the offer nor why Russia had turned it down, but the revelation of the proposal was a fresh indication that Washington is continuing to try to negotiate with Moscow to get both men home.

➤BOY KILLED AFTER BEING MAULED BY 2 DOGS IN PORTLAND: A six-year-old boy was killed and a woman was injured after a mauling attack in a Portland home, authorities said on Tuesday. Upon arriving at the home, officers discovered that a pair of dogs, believed to be Great Dane-Mastiff mixes, mauled the young boy and the woman as she tried to stop the attack.

➤MICHIGAN GOV. WHITMER ORDERS STATE GOVERNMENT FLEET TO BE 100% ELECTRIC: Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Tuesday forcing the state government's entire fleet of vehicles, both light-duty and heavy-duty, to transition to zero-emission. Under Whitmer's actions, Michigan's state agencies must convert all state-owned light-duty vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) by 2033 and all medium and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040. The governor said the move — which earned endorsements from clean energy groups, the United Auto Workers union and Detroit Regional Chamber — would reduce pollution and lead to lower costs in the state.

➤STUDY: WESTERN U.S. WILDFIRES UNDO 2 DECADES OF AIR QUALITY PROGRESS: The frequency and ferocity of wildfires across the U.S. West have negated the improvements in air quality achieved over the past two decades, a new study has found. From 2000 through 2020, air pollution has deteriorated in this part of the country due to these blazes, causing a surge of 670 premature deaths annually during that period, according to the study, published on Monday in The Lancet Planetary Health.

 ➤HOUSE EXPLOSION YIELDS ONE DEAD BODY: A man who shot at police officers trying to enter his Virginia home before the house exploded is believed to be dead, authorities said Tuesday, as details emerged about numerous grievances he expressed against neighbors and others on social media and in lawsuits. 

James Yoo, 56, was identified by Arlington County Police Chief Andy Penn as the owner of the duplex and the person who fired a “flare-type gun” from inside the house more than 30 times around 4:45 p.m. Monday in the Bluemont neighborhood in Arlington. Investigators have not yet identified human remains found inside the home but "all factors point to that it’s this individual (Yoo)," Penn added.

➤CVS PROMISES OVERHAUL ON DRUG PRICES:  CVS Pharmacy-benefit managers and other payers will reimburse the nation’s largest drugstore chain based on the amount CVS paid for the drugs, plus a small markup and fee. Today, pharmacies are generally paid using complex measures not directly based on what they spent to buy specific drugs. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s eponymous pharmacy company and others have promoted a similar payment model, said to bring greater clarity and accountability to drug pricing. For consumers, employers and health insurers paying for prescriptions, more drugs should decline in price than increase, CVS executives said.

➤WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS HUNTER BIDEN GOT MONEY FROM HOLLYOOD LAWYER: Hunter Biden received a whopping $4.9 million from Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris in a three-year period, according to an IRS agent who investigated the president’s son for alleged tax evasion. The NY Post reports the revelation signifies a substantial increase in the known amount Hunter, 53, got from his so-called “sugar brother” after the men reportedly met for the first time at a December 2019 campaign fundraiser. IRS agent Joseph Ziegler shared the jaw-dropping figure and additional documentation Tuesday with the House Ways & Means Committee in a follow-up appearance as House Republicans near an expected vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden for his alleged role in his family’s foreign dealings. Prior reporting indicated Morris paid about $2 million in tax debts for Hunter and purchased some of his novice artworks.

🏈JAGUARS SAY QB TREVOR LAWRENCE HAS HIGH ANKLE SPRAIN: Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence suffered a right high ankle sprain against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night but escaped further damage, coach Doug Pederson said Tuesday. Pederson said the Jaguars would evaluate Lawrence later in the week, and he wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of Lawrence playing Sunday.

⚾DODGERS MET WITH SHOHEI OHTANI FOR 2-3 HOURS: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged Tuesday that his team met with two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani at Dodger Stadium "a couple days ago," becoming the first person to divulge even the most basic information about a highly touted free agency that has played out in secrecy. "Clearly," Roberts said, "Shohei's our top priority." The Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays are believed to be the finalists for Ohtani, who could choose his destination within the week.

⚾ANGELS GM: 100% THAT MIKE TROUT NOT GETTING TRADED: Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian put to rest any speculation, however faint it might have been, of a potential offseason trade of superstar center fielder Mike Trout, saying Tuesday: "Mike Trout's not getting traded." "100?" he was asked from his winter meetings suite at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. "100 percent," Minasian responded.



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