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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

2/13 WAKE-UP CALL: Biden Looking For Israel-Hamas Pause Deal

The U.S. is working on a deal between Israel and Hamas for a pause in fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks to allow the release of additional hostages still held captive by Hamas, President Joe Biden said Monday. After a "sustained period of calm" in Gaza, "we could then take the time to build something more enduring," Biden said after a meeting at the White House with Jordanian King Abdullah II. Biden said he has spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as leaders of Qatar and Egypt, "to push this forward."

"The key elements of the deal are on the table," Biden said. "There are gaps that remain but I've encouraged Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal. The United States will do everything possible to make it happen."

➤SCORES KILLED DURING HOSTAGE RESCUE:  In an operation that Gaza officials say claimed the lives of scores of Palestinians, Israeli security forces stormed an apartment in the heart of Rafah on Monday, freeing two hostages and killing their three guards. Officials said Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har, who had been seized during the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas-backed militants, were in good condition. 

Airstrikes that provided cover for the operation killed at least 67 Palestinians, officials said. Israel has pressed its invasion of Gaza into Rafah over the objections of neighboring Egypt, the U.S., U.N. and most global leaders who fear for more than 1 million Palestinians who fled to the southern city from the fighting farther north. 

➤ISRAELI CONSIDERS TENT CITIES: Israel wants to create sprawling tent cities as part of an evacuation plan before it invades Rafah. Some 1.2 million Palestinians are sheltering in the southern Gaza city, which Israel says is the last bastion of Hamas. The proposal came as the Biden administration warned against going in without a detailed plan to protect civilians, but Israel said that a ground offensive is necessary to eradicate the U.S.-designated terror group. Egypt hasn’t commented publicly on the plan, but Cairo has threatened to suspend a 1979 peace treaty with Israel if Palestinians flee across its border. Early today local time, an Israeli rescue operation freed two hostages in Rafah. Israel says many of the remaining hostages captured during an Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack are being held there.

➤BIDEN TEAM ADMITS TO MISTAKES: Senior advisers to President Joe Biden admitted “mistakes” and apologized privately to Arab Americans in Michigan for the way the administration has handled the war in Gaza and for how it has talked publicly about Palestinians during the deadly conflict with Israel. Biden on Thursday dispatched several of his top aides to Dearborn, the U.S. city with the highest percentage of Arab Americans, for a series of private meetings with politicians, community advocates and faith leaders for discussions about the war in Gaza. Abbas Alawieh, a Dearborn activist who attended one of the meetings, said the officials admitted “mistakes and missteps” in the administration’s response to the conflict.

➤U-S SENATE CLOSER TO PASSING AID PACKAGE: The Democratic-led U.S. Senate moved towards the final passage of a $95.34 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Monday, amid growing doubts about the legislation's fate in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The lawmakers voted 66-33 to exceed a 60-vote margin and sweep aside the last procedural hurdle before final consideration of the bill. Senate leaders had expected a vote on passage sometime on Wednesday. But on Monday night, hardline Republicans opposed to further U.S. aid for Ukraine took to the Senate floor for a marathon of speeches that aides said would likely exhaust their debate time early Tuesday morning and allow Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to move to passage later in the day. Both houses of Congress must approve the legislation before Democratic President Joe Biden can sign it into law.

➤TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO DELAY CRIMINAL TRIAL: Former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the Supreme Court to continue to delay a criminal trial into whether he tried to overturn the 2020 election while he appeals a lower court's ruling that he's not immune from prosecution. "Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the presidency as we know it will cease to exist," Trump's lawyers told the court. But Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith contends Trump’s actions were outside the bounds of official actions because they were for his personal political gain as he sought to illegally overturn the legitimate election results through fraud. Trump's move comes as the GOP presidential frontrunner faces four separate criminal indictments stretching from New York to Florida and a crowded calendar of court dates amid the rising heat of the 2024 campaign.

➤GA JUDGE CONSIDERS FANI CASE: A Georgia judge ruled Monday that he will hold at least two days of potentially explosive televised hearings later this week on whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump because of her romantic affair with the special prosecutor she hired to oversee it.


But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee also cautioned lawyers seeking to have Willis and Nathan Wade dismissed − and the case thrown out entirely − that he will not tolerate attempts to smear their reputations through unproven allegations. "If there's anything that is referring to ... harassment or undue embarrassment, I'm not going to feel inhibited from stepping in, even without an objection from counsel, to move this along and keep it focused on the issues at hand," McAfee said during a nearly two-hour emergency hearing Monday.

➤RFK JR. APOLOGIZES TO FAMILY: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has issued an apology to relatives after a Super Bowl ad for his presidential campaign closely resembled one used by his uncle John F. Kennedy in 1960. The ad, created by the American Values 2024 political action committee, featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr. inserted into the original footage and a catchy jingle repeating the Kennedy surname. Costing $7 million, the ad drew criticism from one of Kennedy's cousins, who disapproved of both the ad and the candidate's anti-vaccine activism.

➤1 DEAD, 5 INJURED IN NYC SUBWAY STATION SHOOTING: One person was fatally shot, and five others sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting at the Mount Eden Avenue subway station in the Bronx. The incident occurred on the platform as people were waiting for the southbound 4 train. The deceased victim was pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, while the injuries to the other five victims are reported to be non-life-threatening.

🏈COWBOYS ADD MIKE ZIMMER AS DC AFTER UNCERTAINTY ABOUT HIRING: The Dallas Cowboys have reached an agreement with Mike Zimmer to become their new defensive coordinator. Zimmer, the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, expressed excitement and honor in joining the Cowboys.

🏈STEELERS RELEASE THREE PLAYERS, INCLUDING QB MITCH TRUBISKY: The Pittsburgh Steelers have released quarterback Mitch Trubisky as part of a series of moves that also included releasing offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor and punter Pressley Harvin. These moves are expected to save the Steelers nearly $13 million in salary cap space for the 2024 season. The team currently has only 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett as the quarterback on the roster for 2024.

⚾PIRATES REACH ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH YASMANI GRANDAL: The Pittsburgh Pirates are set to acquire two-time All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal, finalizing a one-year contract worth $2.5 million, according to multiple reports. This move is aimed at addressing the team's need for depth at catcher, particularly with Endy Rodriguez, who started 57 games in 2023, ruled out for the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery undergone in December. Rodriguez sustained the injury while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

⚾SHOHEI OHTANI OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RECOVERY AFTER MASHING HOMERUNS: Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani took on-field batting practice for the first time with his new team Monday at Glendale, Arizona, and put on another of his patented shows. According to multiple reports, Ohtani swung at 21 pitches and hit 10 of them over the fence in his first outside hitting work of spring training. The batting practice session was the 29-year-old Ohtani's first on a field since he underwent surgery Sept. 19 to repair a UCL tear in his right elbow.


➤TUESDAY'S WEATHER MAP:





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