Crooked Media - What A Day: Red (Sea) herring

Tensions in the Middle East remain at a rolling boil.
 

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard attacked what it described as the Israeli spy headquarters in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Monday. Iranian forces also said they struck targets in Syria in an attack aimed at the Islamic State. The strikes threaten to undermine relations between the neighboring countries, and on Tuesday, Iraq recalled its ambassador in protest. Tehran insisted that the attack in Iraq was intended to ward off threats from Israeli spies. This round of strikes is just the latest incident intensifying fears that the Israel-Hamas conflict is destabilizing the Middle East more broadly. 
   

• The United States carried out a new strike in Yemen on Tuesday, in another retaliation against the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have been firing ballistic missiles at international shipping vessels. The militia group recently struck a Greek-owned ship in the Red Sea. Continued Houthi attacks could inflate prices of consumer goods, particularly in Europe. The Houthi militia has threatened to expand attacks to include U.S. ships in retaliation for American and British airstrikes on its sites in Yemen. 
   

• At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said the kingdom could recognize Israel if a comprehensive agreement were reached that included Palestinian statehood. A two-state solution has long been favored by many U.S. State Department officials, but most members of the current ultra right-wing Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remain staunchly opposed. Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the WEF panel, that the creation of a Palestinian state was “something we have been indeed working on with the U.S. administration, and it is more relevant in the context of Gaza.” Washington had been working to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia before the war broke out in October.

Conditions in Gaza are still dire. 
 

• Humanitarian aid organizations said they believe “pockets of famine” already exist in Gaza, where parents regularly sacrifice any remaining food for children, apples cost $8, and fuel for cooking is almost impossible to source. United Nations agencies asserted that Gaza urgently needs more humanitarian resources and assistance as the death toll in the enclave has now eclipsed 24,000 according to Palestinian authorities. In a joint statement, the World Food Programme, Unicef, and the World Health Organization said that new entry routes into the territory must be opened and more trucks must be allowed in each day. They also stressed that aid workers must be allowed to move around safely. The agencies did not directly blame Israel, but said aid delivery was hindered by too few border crossings from Israel, a slow inspection process for trucks and goods going into the enclave, and continuing violence. 
   

• Qatar announced it had brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday to allow medications to be delivered to Israeli hostages in exchange for additional medicine and aid for Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. It’s the most significant breakthrough in the indirect talks since a temporary ceasefire and hostage swap in November. Over 120 hostages have been held in Gaza since October 7, and many have medical conditions that require treatment. 

In Washington, the Senate heard arguments on Tuesday for a resolution that would freeze all American security aid to Israel unless the State Department produces a report investigating possible human rights violations within 30 days. The measure was taken to the floor by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and has little chance of passing given opposition by Republicans and most Democrats in the upper chamber, who remain divided on the prospect of conditioning aid to Israel.

Do you have a burning question for Hysteria host Erin Ryan? Join her tomorrow at 5pm PST on the Friends of the Pod Discord for a round of Ask Me Anything. If you’re not already a member, head to crooked.com/friends to sign up.

As predicted by many recent polls, disgraced former president Donald Trump won Monday night’s Iowa caucuses by a staggering 30 points, eviscerating the previous record for the margin of victory from a GOP presidential hopeful. After Trump, who captured 51 percent of the vote, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) came in second with 21 percent, and Trump’s former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley was right behind DeSantis with 19 percent. One positive that emerged from the night was that annoying rich guy Vivek Ramaswamy got so few votes in the Hawkeye State that he decided to end his campaign. We have to assume that Vivek’s entire run for president was just a pretense to launch the worst podcast the world has ever heard. Trump, DeSantis, and Haley on Tuesday turned their attention to New Hampshire, site of the next nominating contest. Trump has refused to attend any of the GOP debates, and Haley said on Tuesday she would skip any future party debates unless he attends, which prompted ABC News to cancel the one that was set to feature Haley and DeSantis. DeSantis said he would take the debate stage alone in New Hampshire if necessary. Not a huge surprise that DeSantis is very accustomed to hanging out alone.

Disgraced former president Donald Trump attended the opening of yet another trial in a civil case against him from New York columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault. Caroll was already awarded $5 million at a previous trial in Manhattan federal court related to comments Trump made in 2022. The current proceeding has to do with defamatory comments he made in 2019 while still in office. 

Trump has inserted himself into the disbarment proceedings against former acting assistant attorney general Jeff Clark. The former president signaled that he will attempt to assert executive privilege to block crucial testimony from senior administration officials. Clark is one of Trump’s co-defendants in the Fulton County racketeering and election interference case. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday that Ukraine’s statehood could be subject to an “irreparable blow” if the war continues. He simultaneously dismissed “so-called peace formulas” being discussed by Ukraine’s Western allies. 

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) broke with her party to support six weeks of postpartum proxy voting for legislators who have given birth. Republicans have been staunchly opposed to the practice of proxy voting since the pandemic began.  

The Senate Special Committee on Aging is launching a review of safety “lapses” in assisted-living facilities after a Washington Post investigation uncovered deaths of dementia care residents who had wandered from facility grounds. 

An appellate court in Washington on Tuesday rejected a legal effort by Twitter to appeal a ruling that allowed DOJ special counsel Jack Smith to access records from Trump’s account as part of his federal election interference investigation.

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A federal judge blocked JetBlue from acquiring Spirit Airlines on Tuesday after agreeing with a Justice Department ruling that it would reduce the availability of low-priced airline tickets. 

Quinta Brunson became the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Best Actress in A Comedy Series in 42 years for her role in “Abbot Elementary” which Brunson also wrote and created. 

Sir Elton John won an Emmy on Monday night for the televised version of his farewell concert, officially elevating him to EGOT status. John will add the Emmy to his five Grammys, two Oscars, and one Tony. Not to be outdone, an elementary school teacher once described me as “creative in her own unique way.”