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“...it was a clean shot to the kidneys—and I look back, and it was Kevin.”
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- Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) accusing former speaker of the house Kevin McCarthy of a schoolyard sucker punch
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As humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza, and over 200 hostages remain in Hamas captivity, a sliver of hope for a possible hostage deal between the warring factions has appeared.
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President Biden said he believes an agreement to free hostages held by Hamas is “going to happen.” Biden remains in daily discussions with involved parties to secure the release of the estimated 235 hostages taken by Hamas, he said, adding he did not want to “get into detail.” A senior U.S. official familiar with the discussions told CNN on Tuesday that Israel and Hamas are moving closer to such a deal for the hostages in exchange for a sustained, days-long pause in fighting from the Israel Defense Forces.
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Israeli forces announced Tuesday evening that they entered the Al-Shifa hospital—the beleaguered healthcare facility in Gaza—to carry out “a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area” of the hospital. Earlier in the day, the White House said that its intelligence supported Israel’s claim that Hamas is using Gaza’s hospitals to hide command posts and hostages. More than 11,100 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since October 7, but the Gaza Health Ministry has paused its official death toll count since Friday. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told The Washington Post on Tuesday that damage to communications infrastructure and intense ground fighting and bombardments (limiting access to Gaza’s hospitals) have made getting an accurate casualty count now almost impossible. President Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have both called for Gaza’s hospitals to be protected. United Nations officials reported that at least 102 U.N. workers have been killed in the past five weeks of Israeli bombing in Gaza.
- Ten days after a massive march in support of the Palestinian people and calling for a ceasefire took place on the National Mall, supporters of Israel gathered there under heavy security on Tuesday. The rally was organized by Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. According to the organizers, the march was advertised as an opportunity to “come together in solidarity with the people of Israel, to demonstrate our commitment to America’s most important ally in the Middle East,” and to condemn antisemitism and demand the release of the hostages. CNN political analyst Van Jones spoke at the rally, and received mixed boos and cheers when he said, “I’m a peace guy, I pray for peace. No more rockets from Gaza, and no more bombs falling down on the people of Gaza. God protect the children,” after which attendees responded by chanting “no ceasefire.” House Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke, and said, “Calls for a ceasefire are outrageous,” flanked by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
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The devastation of the war has led to a growing internal dissent in the United States government about the role it plays.
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Meanwhile, over 500 political appointees and staff members from about 40 government agencies sent a letter to President Biden on Tuesday, protesting his support of Israel in its war in Gaza. The letter demonstrates growing internal dissent over the administration’s support of its ally as the Palestinian civilian death toll continues to climb. In part, the letter calls on the president to seek an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to pressure Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the enclave. Three internal memos to Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed serious disagreement with the Biden administration’s approach to the conflict, and an open letter signed by more than 1,000 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Signatories of Tuesday’s letter and the USAID letter are both anonymous out of, according to the USAID letter “a concern for our personal safety and risk of potentially losing our jobs.” Names on the State Department dissent cables are disclosed as is required, but will not be released to the public.
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The open letter to President Biden begins with a denouncement of the October 7 Hamas attacks, then asks the president to “urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity,” and other basic necessities. Signatories are political appointees of various faiths who work in departments across the government from the National Security Council, to the Justice Department, to the FBI, and beyond. The letter continues, “The overwhelming majority of Americans support a cease-fire,” linking to a poll from October to support the claim, and asserts that “Americans do not want the U.S. military to be drawn into another costly and senseless war in the Middle East.”
White House support for a ceasefire remains elusive.
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The holidays are coming up! It’s time to get festive, whether you like it or not. To help you get the holiday vibes going, the Crooked Store has brand new goodies to deck out your tree and wrap up under it. What better way to say “thank god 2023 is almost over” than with an ornament to remember this year by? The new ornament is inspired by all the Trump indictments this year, and we’re also bringing back a couple favorite ornaments from years past.
Get as jolly as you were when you first saw Trump’s mugshot with new and best-selling holiday sweaters and tees perfect for the family holiday party where you know your conservative cousin is going to corner you and talk about the plight of millionaires. Head to crooked.com/store to shop.
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Republicans in disarray! GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to rely on Democratic votes on Tuesday in order to pass legislation to maintain the flow of federal funding into early 2024. Almost all Democrats and the majority of Republicans overcame opposition from the far-right Freedom Caucus (they were so mad!) to approve the bill under an expedited procedure requiring a supermajority. That tactical gamble shows that Mike Johnson is facing the same internal dynamics that plagued his predecessor Kevin McCarthy. The House GOP has a razor-thin majority, lacks the political will to keep the government from shutting down, and is so fractured that it must rely on Democratic votes to avert such a crisis. Huge day for Kevin McCarthy: jabbing fellow Republican congressman in the kidneys, and watching another guy realize what an absolute shitshow being Speaker of this GOP caucus is. The Senate is expected to pass the spending bill and send it to president Biden’s desk. Approval of the bill would stave off another Republican-imposed catastrophe.
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Disgraced former president Donald Trump’s former national security advisor Michael Flynn and his family apparently pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars from a legal defense fund that was set up for him when he faced federal investigation in 2016, according to a court testimony from Flynn’s sister. The testimony arose from a lawsuit Flynn’s wife and sister-in-law brought against CNN for allegedly defaming them by associating them with the QAnon conspiracy theory.
The former campaign fundraiser of Rep. George Santos (R-NY), Samuel Miele, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a federal criminal case for pretending to be the aide of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) while soliciting donations for Santos. I want everyone involved in this campaign to go to jail but also to get their own talk show.
Trump’s lackeys in the House of Representatives are now calling for a criminal investigation of Trump’s former fixer-turned-critic Michael Cohen because he was mean to their favorite guy.
A wildfire in remote Hawaii is burning a native rainforest and mountain ridges on Oahu.
Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, has brought in just $3.7 million in sales since it launched, while losing between $31.5 million and $60.5 million, depending on the exact accounting metric. Iconic! The Business Genius strikes again! The Art of the Deal!
The limited section of the southern border wall that Trump did manage to build is already racking up a brutal legacy—beyond its draconian symbolism. Hundreds of migrants fall every year while trying to scale the 30-foot steel bollard barrier, requiring extensive and costly stays in U.S. hospitals for their injuries, which include cracked skulls and shattered spines. The U.C. San Diego Trauma Center expects over 350 wall fall victims this year alone.
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You might think that after the U.S. slapped a ban on Russian oil in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon would, you know, stop buying Russian oil. You’d be wrong. Forbidden oil from Vladimir Putin’s back yard is still flowing into the Pentagon’s supply chain, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. In fairness, not on purpose. Products from Russia are being channeled surreptitiously to an oil refinery in Greece via a new, circuitous route that goes through a storage facility in Turkey and changes hands multiple times. It’s not clear exactly how much Russian oil the Pentagon actually buys. But the point remains: If even the U.S. military is buying oil from Russia, those sanctions can’t be as airtight as some folks in Washington would like to think. The fiasco helps illustrate how Russian President Vladimir Putin has kept the Russian economy afloat despite some of the most punishing sanctions in modern history. The sanctions are supposed to keep Putin from funding the war. Instead, fighting grinds on, with no end in sight.
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