NEWS

Latest News Headlines for Tuesday December 19, 2023: A group of House Democrats, including members with national security backgrounds, wrote to President Biden, expressing their strong opposition to the current military strategy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Gaza. The letter emphasizes deep concerns about the mounting civilian death toll, the humanitarian crisis, and the strategy’s divergence from American interests and the security of Israel. The lawmakers believe the current approach jeopardizes efforts to dismantle the terrorist organization Hamas and secure the release of hostages. The letter is signed by six lawmakers. As the war in Ukraine nears its two-year mark, U.S. officials and NATO allies are increasingly focused on Russia’s military buildup in the Arctic Circle. This expansion includes the recent unveiling of two nuclear submarines by Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling a significant strategic shift in the region. Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago, deep inside the Arctic Circle, holds the distinction of being the world’s northernmost permanent human settlement. Hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid and supplies for desperate Palestinian civilians have entered the Gaza Strip since Sunday. Israeli authorities reopened the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings, facilitating the flow of almost 200 truckloads of aid. An additional 191 trucks passed into Gaza on Monday, according to the Israeli civilian authority overseeing the occupied Palestinian territories. In 2024, millions of workers across the U.S. could see a pay hike as half of the states plan to increase their minimum wages. The baseline pay will rise to at least $16 an hour in three states: California, New York, and Washington. In 22 states, the new minimum wages will take effect on January 1, while Nevada and Oregon’s rates will increase on July 1, and Florida’s will rise on September 30. Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear in a California courtroom next month on nine tax counts, stemming from a special counsel investigation into his business affairs. The charges include three felony and six misdemeanor counts, such as filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file, and failure to pay. Prosecutors allege that he spent millions on an extravagant lifestyle rather than fulfilling his tax obligations. Police have positively identified the body of Roger Dale Parham, a fugitive from the FBI, more than two decades after it was found in a Kentucky lake. Despite the identification, authorities are still searching for clues about Parham’s murder and how his body ended up at Lake Barkley. Advanced genealogy DNA testing was employed to identify Parham after previous attempts were unsuccessful. Pope Francis has formally approved allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples, marking a radical change in Vatican policy. A declaration from the Vatican’s doctrine office emphasizes that an exhaustive moral analysis should not be a precondition for conferring a blessing, and those seeking a blessing should not be required to have prior moral perfection. A Confederate memorial is set to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in the coming days. This decision follows a push to eliminate symbols commemorating the Confederacy from military-related facilities. Despite a demand from over 40 Republican congressmen to suspend removal efforts, safety fencing has been installed around the memorial, with officials anticipating completion by Dec. 22, according to Arlington National Cemetery.

Latest News Headlines for Monday December 18, 2023 – Israel’s military reported on Sunday the discovery of a substantial tunnel shaft in Gaza, near a once-bustling crossing into Israel. This development raises questions about how Israeli surveillance overlooked the conspicuous preparations by Hamas for the militants’ deadly Oct. 7 assault. The tunnel’s entry point is just a few hundred meters from the heavily fortified Erez crossing and a nearby Israeli military base. It stands as the largest and longest tunnel found by Israeli forces to date. Israel’s government faces calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies after a series of shootings, including the mistaken killing of three Israeli hostages, sparked global concerns about the conduct of the 10-week-old war in Gaza. Israeli protesters urge the government to renew negotiations with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whom Israel has vowed to destroy. Pressure is expected to increase during U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit, as Washington expresses growing unease with civilian casualties while providing vital military and diplomatic support. Chilean voters rejected a proposed conservative constitution to replace the country’s dictatorship-era charter. With 96% of votes counted, about 55.8% voted “no” to the new charter, with approximately 44.2% in favor. This comes more than a year after Chileans resoundingly rejected a proposed constitution written by a left-leaning convention, characterized as one of the world’s most progressive charters. The Republican Party of Florida suspended Chairman Christian Ziegler and demanded his resignation during an emergency meeting Sunday, adding to calls by Governor Ron DeSantis and other top officials for him to step down as police investigate a rape accusation against him. Ziegler is accused of raping a woman with whom he and his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, had a prior consensual sexual relationship, according to police records. “Christian Ziegler has engaged in conduct that renders him unfit for the office,” the party’s motion to censure Ziegler said. Five people, including three young children, have died in a house fire in northwestern Arizona, authorities said Sunday, adding it appeared no adults were home at the time. Bullhead City police said the fire broke out around 5 p.m. Saturday, and the victims did not make it out of the two-story duplex in that community near the Colorado River. A city fire department spokeswoman said the five victims were ages 2, 4, 5, 11 and 13. Their names weren’t immediately released Sunday. Authorities said the cause of the fire isn’t known yet. A car plowed into a parked SUV guarding President Joe Biden’s motorcade Sunday night while the president was leaving a visit to his campaign headquarters. The president and first lady Jill Biden were unharmed. While Biden was walking from the campaign office to his waiting armored SUV, a sedan hit a U.S. Secret Service vehicle that was being used to close off intersections near the headquarters for the president’s departure. The sedan then tried to continue into a closed-off intersection before Secret Service personnel surrounded the vehicle with weapons drawn and instructed the driver to put his hands up. Gunmen attacked a Christmas season party early Sunday, killing a dozen people in the town of Salvatierra in Mexico’s north-central state of Guanajuato, prosecutors said. State prosecutors also reported that four other people died in a shooting in the city of Salamanca, but did not describe the circumstances of that attack. Local media said the victims in Salvatierra were leaving an event hall following a Christmas party known as a “posada” when they were gunned down. At least 61 migrants drowned in a “shipwreck” off the coast of Libya, a migration organization said Saturday night. Women and children were among the dead, according to the International Organization for Migration, an intergovernmental group that’s part of the United Nations network. “The Central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” IOM Libya said on social media. The vessel left Zwara, Libya, with about 86 people onboard, survivors of the wreck told IOM Libya, according to the organization.

Headline News Weekend Edition for Dec 16, 2023 – Russia and Ukraine both reported numerous attempted drone attacks within the last day, following Hungary’s veto of 50 billion euros ($54.5 billion) in European Union funding to Ukraine. Ukraine’s air force confirmed that it had successfully shot down 30 out of 31 drones launched overnight across 11 regions. Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have thwarted Ukrainian drone attacks, with its anti-aircraft units destroying 32 drones over the Crimean Peninsula, as announced by the Russian Defense Ministry on Telegram. — The Israeli military acknowledged that three hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were mistakenly killed by friendly fire during combat operations in Shejaiya, a dense neighborhood in the Gaza City area. The hostages, waving a white flag and not wearing shirts, were tragically identified as a threat by Israeli troops. The incident occurred “tens of meters from one of our forces’ positions,” leading to the mistaken firing upon the three hostages. The Israeli Defense Forces stated that two of them were killed immediately. — In a landmark financial trial that exposed the Vatican’s internal affairs, a tribunal convicted Cardinal Angelo Becciu of embezzlement and sentenced him to 5 ½ years in prison. The trial resulted in several verdicts, reflecting nearly 50 charges brought against various defendants over a 2 ½ year period. Cardinal Becciu, the first cardinal prosecuted by the Vatican criminal court, was found guilty of embezzlement while absolved of other charges. Nine other defendants received a mix of guilty verdicts and acquittals in this complex financial trial. — Responding to a surge in illegal migrant crossings, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has ordered National Guard troops to a remote area along the state’s border with Mexico. The executive order aims to address the situation around the closed Lukeville Port of Entry in the Sonoran Desert, filling the void left by federal government inaction. The move has drawn criticism from Hobbs and Arizona’s U.S. senators, Mark Kelly (Democrat) and Kyrsten Sinema (independent). — The Ohio Supreme Court has dismissed the state’s challenge to a judge’s order that blocked enforcement of Ohio’s near-ban on abortions for the past 14 months. The ruling shifts the case back to Hamilton County Common Pleas, where abortion clinics requested the dismissal of the law after voters approved enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. The high court stated the appeal was “dismissed due to a change in the law.” — A Georgia teacher, Benjamin Reese, 51, faces charges of terroristic threats and cruelty to children for allegedly threatening a student offended by the Israeli flag in his classroom. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office report indicates that Reese, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, was reported for yelling at students in a hallway on Dec. 7. The incident report details the teacher’s actions following a student’s expression of offense. — With COVID-19 and flu hospitalizations rising across the U.S., federal data reveals that 17 states are experiencing “high” or “very high” levels of respiratory illness activity. Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations reached 23,432 for the week ending Dec. 9, marking the fifth consecutive week of increase. The numbers are now at levels not seen since the end of February, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — A significant recall of approximately 319,000 Power XL Dual Basket Air Fryers has been initiated due to a potential burn hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Empower Brands issued the recall on Dec. 14, citing a faulty component in two models of the air fryer’s basket apparatus. The recall comes amid concerns of a burn risk associated with the affected air fryers, as reported by the CPSC and PowerXL’s website.

Latest news headlines for Thursday December 14, 2023 – Destruction in Khan Yunis has surpassed other areas of Gaza for the first time as Israel’s military operation against Hamas extends to the south, satellite data analysis by university researchers shows. By Dec. 11, about 20% of buildings in Khan Yunis have been either damaged or destroyed, according to data analyzed by Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center in New York and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University. Israeli military began operations in central Khan Yunis, Gaza’s second-largest city. — Norway has announced additional support for Ukraine coinciding with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Oslo to seek further backing from allies. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere announced the aid as part of a five-year, $6.8 billion commitment to Ukraine, agreed upon by Norway in February. “We are actively consulting with Ukraine to understand its most urgent needs and, along with our allies, are committed to providing the necessary support,” Stoere stated. — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, at a Washington, D.C. press conference, indicated that the Fed anticipates reducing interest rates next year. Powell added that policymakers at the central bank view current interest rates as possibly at their highest point, expressing cautious optimism about the Fed significantly easing its anti-inflation measures by the end of 2024. This announcement followed the Fed’s decision to maintain current interest rates, continuing a halt in its series of substantial rate hikes aimed at combating inflation. — The Senate has passed a defense policy bill that includes the largest troop pay raise in over two decades but omits many social conservatives’ policy goals, leading to an unusually contentious debate over what is typically a bipartisan measure. After months of negotiation following distinctly different versions passed by each chamber in July, the final bill emerged, omitting several social conservatives’ priorities to gain Democratic support. The bill passed the Senate with an 87-13 vote and now proceeds to the House, where it faces more outspoken opposition. — The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is investigating six more schools for alleged discrimination incidents reported on their campuses. The Office for Civil Rights clarified to the schools that initiating an investigation does not imply guilt. New Jersey’s Rutgers University, Washington’s Whitman College, Stanford University in California, the University of California-San Diego, University of Washington-Seattle, and the University of California-Los Angeles have recently joined the list of institutions under investigation. — Two men wrongfully imprisoned for decades have been declared innocent and released, as announced by the Los Angeles County district attorney on Wednesday. Giovanni Hernandez and Miguel Solorio had their convictions overturned earlier this year, and on Wednesday, a judge declared them factually innocent, according to the District Attorney’s Office. At a press conference, District Attorney George Gascón extended an apology to both men, noting the profound impact of wrongful convictions, particularly given their young age at the time of arrest. — A 44-year-old man faces charges for a violent assault on a Jewish couple near a Beverly Hills synagogue, as reported by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, amidst a national rise in anti-Semitic incidents. Jarris Jay Silagi is accused of attacking a 75-year-old man and his wife on Saturday night in Beverly Hills as they headed to a synagogue for Shabbat. Silagi allegedly used a belt in the assault, causing a head laceration to the man. — In the U.S., major retailers Amazon, Target, and Walmart have decided to discontinue selling water beads, following increased pressure and reports of child injuries and fatalities from ingesting or inserting these items. Water beads, often sold as sensory toys or for children with developmental disorders, may seem innocuous but pose significant risks. These small polymer balls can swell up to 150 to 1,500 times their original size, resembling a tennis ball, when in contact with liquids, warns the National Capital Poison Center.

News headlines for Wednesday December 13, 2023 – At a recent campaign event, President Biden voiced concerns about the dwindling global support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. He emphasized Netanyahu’s need for policy changes, particularly regarding the conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The President affirmed Israel’s right to counter Hamas but expressed reservations about the ongoing military actions’ impact in Gaza, as per details from a White House transcript and a pool reporter’s account. Liam White reporting. — Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip intensified on Tuesday, with a steadfast commitment to dismantling the Palestinian militant group Hamas. This objective persists despite growing international appeals for a ceasefire and the United States, a key ally, advising Israel to prioritize human life. Israel maintains its focus on targeting terrorists and terror infrastructure. However, the pressure to stop the ongoing bombings is rapidly increasing, especially with reports from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry stating over 18,000 deaths in the conflict. Benjamin Wright reporting. — New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu officially endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, marking a significant moment six weeks before the state’s crucial early primary. At a Manchester campaign event, Sununu praised Haley for her understanding and commitment to New Hampshire’s core principles, such as low taxation, limited government, and local governance. He stressed the opportunity for New Hampshire to set a forward-looking agenda for the nation. Jessica Oakley reporting. — Argentina declared a significant devaluation of its currency and reductions in energy and transportation subsidies, as part of drastic actions proposed by newly inaugurated President Javier Milei to address the nation’s economic crisis. Economy Minister Luis Caputo, in a broadcast announcement, stated that the Argentine peso will undergo a 50% devaluation, shifting from 400 to 800 pesos against the U.S. dollar. Acknowledging the immediate impacts, Caputo remarked, “For a few months, we’re going to be worse than before.” This statement came two days after Milei, a libertarian, took office as the president of South America’s second-largest economy. — Virginia officials have concluded that a Tesla, using its Autopilot feature and traveling at high speed, was involved in a fatal accident with a tractor-trailer last July. The crash, which resulted in the death of 57-year-old Tesla driver Pablo Teodoro, is the third since 2016 involving a Tesla on Autopilot colliding with a tractor-trailer. These incidents have sparked discussions about the safety and appropriate usage areas of Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still investigating the crash. Lawrence Keller reporting. — Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava, a Russian national, was charged following his unauthorized entry onto a Denmark-to-Los Angeles flight. Ochigava boarded the flight to Los Angeles International Airport on November 4 without appearing on the flight manifest. Upon his arrival, he was unable to present a passport or visa for entry into the U.S. and provided misleading information about his travel intentions to authorities. Chris Anderson reporting. — Mystic Aquarium has announced the death of Kharabali, a 9-year-old beluga whale, marking the third loss among five whales transferred from Canada in 2021. Kharabali began exhibiting abnormal swimming behavior in November. Despite being moved to the aquarium’s intensive care facility, the beluga passed away on Monday. An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death. Kyle Norris reporting. — Global Veg Corp has initiated a recall of all quantities and codes of its 5-pound Aviator brand Sundried Tomato Halves (Lot number 060923 dash 1), citing potential undeclared sulfites. This announcement, made by the New York-based company on December 4 and posted on the FDA website, clarified that the impacted products were sold in New York and New Jersey, contradicting the national scope suggested on the FDA’s statement. The tomatoes were distributed in cartons containing four 5-pound packages. Ana Keller reporting.

Latest news headlines for Tuesday Dec 12, 2023 – Israel’s Defense Forces report the seizure of what used to be Hamas’ main base in Gaza City, yet intense conflict persists further south in Gaza, exacerbating the plight of civilians. The United Nations’ humanitarian bodies indicate that nearly 90% of Gaza’s population, close to 2 million people, have been displaced. The U.N. World Food Program notes that almost the entire population is facing prolonged periods without food, with half suffering from starvation. — Bypassing Congress, the Biden administration has sanctioned an urgent sale to Israel of roughly 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition, valued over $106 million, as Israel escalates its military actions in Gaza’s south. This development occurs while President Biden’s proposed aid package of nearly $106 billion for Ukraine, Israel, and other national security concerns is stalled in Congress, entangled in debates over U.S. immigration policy and border security. — Russian dissident Alexey Navalny has vanished from the penal colony where he was detained since the previous year, leaving his allies unable to determine his whereabouts. “On Friday, lawyers attempted to reach IK-6 and IK-7, two Vladimir region colonies where Alexey [Navalny] could be,” his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, reported on social media Monday. “They were simultaneously informed at both locations that he is not present. Alexey’s current location remains unknown to us.” — Ex-Congressman George Santos is in discussions with federal prosecutors in Long Island for a plea bargain, as revealed by a recent court filing. “The involved parties are currently in negotiations for a plea deal with the objective of resolving the case without a trial,” the document states. Santos, a Republican, has a scheduled appearance in the federal court in Central Islip on Tuesday for a status conference. A trial was initially set for September 9, 2024. — Authorities have charged ten teenagers on Monday for a series of carjackings in Washington, D.C., highlighting a significant increase in this crime in the capital. The ten accused are linked to two carjacking syndicates in D.C., according to authorities. Charged as adults, they are allegedly behind at least 15 vehicle thefts, often involving armed robbery, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, announced at a press briefing. These charges mark the largest federal carjacking arrests in D.C. this year, stated Graves. — An American Air Force pilot is in “stable condition” after ejecting from a crashed F-16 fighter jet off South Korea’s coast, say officials. The pilot was rescued by South Korean maritime forces following an inflight emergency over the Yellow Sea at 8:43 a.m. local time, as reported by Air Force officials. The crash occurred shortly after takeoff from Kunsan Air Base, located approximately 110 miles south of Seoul. — Toy manufacturer Hasbro announced on Monday its decision to cut around 1,100 jobs, equating to 20% of its workforce, amid continued downturn in the toy industry. This announcement, disclosed in a staff memo and a regulatory filing, follows reports by The Wall Street Journal. The Rhode Island-based maker of Monopoly, Play-Doh, and My Little Pony stated these layoffs add to 800 job cuts already made in 2023 as part of a plan to save up to $300 million annually by 2025. — SmileDirectClub is ceasing operations, mere months after the troubled dental-aligner company sought bankruptcy protection. Announced on Friday, SmileDirectClub said it has made the “extremely tough decision to halt its global operations effective immediately.” This leaves existing customers uncertain about their ongoing treatments. The Nashville-based company confirmed the discontinuation of its aligner treatments through its telehealth platform and advised customers to seek further dental care locally.