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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION
President Biden and President-elect Trump will meet in the Oval Office today to discuss transition arrangements. Matt Viser and Isaac Arnsdorf report for the Washington Post.
Trump yesterday said he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth to be Defense Secretary and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Trump also said he has chosen John Ratcliffe to be the next CIA director. Helene Cooper and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times; Patrick Svitek reports for the Washington Post; Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn report for CNN.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” Trump announced yesterday. It is not clear what the entity involves, as the President-elect said the two would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government.” Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Tami Luhby, Aaron Pellish, and Matt Egan report for CNN.
Trump will not appoint more House Republicans to his administration for the time being, Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday, following concerns over further appointments threatening a possible GOP majority. Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers report for POLITICO.
The Trump transition team is considering a draft executive order establishing a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel with the power to recommend removal of senior officers deemed unfit for leadership. Vivian Salama, Nancy A. Youssef, and Lara Seligman report for the Wall Street Journal.
Senate Democrats yesterday began a push to confirm as many new federal judges nominated by President Biden as possible before Trump takes office, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Nate Raymond reports for Reuters.
The fallout of Trump’s mass deportation promise will depend on his priorities in implementing it, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes in cautioning against the most expansive deportations policies.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to finish his work and resign before Trump takes office in January, according to sources familiar with the plan. Devlin Barrett and Glenn Thrush report for the New York Times.
A New York judge yesterday granted a request to temporarily pause Trump’s criminal hush money prosecution until Nov. 19, delaying the sentencing in respect of Trump’s only conviction to date. Ivana Saric reports for Axios.
The Texas Attorney General on Monday asked a federal judge for an emergency order forcing Special Counsel Jack Smith to preserve investigative records in the criminal cases he has brought against Trump. Alan Feuer reports for the New York Times.
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a request by Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to transfer the Georgia election interference case against him to federal court. Ann E. Marimow reports for the Washington Post.
A judge in Arizona’s 2020 election subversion prosecution against some of Donald Trump’s top allies recused himself yesterday after an email surfaced in which he urged colleagues to speak out against attacks on the Harris campaign. Jacques Billeaud reports for AP News.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
A jury yesterday found a defense contractor that supplied interrogators to the U.S Army Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq liable for abuse of three detainees held in the facility, awarding a total of $42 million to the victims. Mattathias Schwartz reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge yesterday sentenced former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly sensitive military documents related to the Ukraine war. Michael Casey reports for AP News.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 46 people in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Palestinian medical officials said. The Guardian reports.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group yesterday released a new video of an Israeli hostage who has been held in Gaza for over a year. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The United States will keep supplying military aid to Israel after assessing that the country is not in violation of U.S. law, a State Department spokesperson said yesterday, after the Biden administration’s deadline for improving the Gaza aid supply expired. Edward Wong and Farnaz Fassihi report for the New York Times.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken today said Israel failed to live up to all of the U.S. demands to ease civilian suffering in Gaza, adding that the United States wants “real and extended” humanitarian pauses in fighting. Michael Birnbaum reports for the Washington Post; the Guardian reports.
Israel largely failed to comply with the Biden administration’s three core demands on Gaza aid, a Washington Post analysis based on interviews with humanitarian workers found. Miriam Berger reports.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield yesterday stressed that “there must be no forcible displacement, nor policy of starvation in Gaza” by Israel in remarks to the Security Council. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
Conditions in Gaza are “unfit for human survival,” the acting U.N. relief chief told the U.N. Security Council yesterday.
Australia has amended or lapsed at least 16 defense-related Israel export permits in recent weeks, government officials confirmed, with a full review of the existing 66 permits expected to conclude in the coming months. Deputy secretary of defense Hugh Jeffrey explained that such a change can occur under laws that impose requirements due to civilian casualties. Sarah Basford Canales reports for the Guardian.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR
The Israeli army today issued fresh evacuation orders for south Beirut, the third such warning in 24 hours. Meanwhile, Russia asked Israel to avoid launching aerial strikes targeting Hezbollah in the vicinity of Moscow’s bases in Syria. The Guardian reports via AFP.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
“There is a shot” of securing a Lebanon ceasefire soon, Biden’s senior adviser Amos Hochstein told Axios. Barak Ravid reports.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT — U.S. RESPONSE
U.S. forces yesterday conducted a second round of strikes in Syria against Iranian-aligned militia groups in response to further attacks on U.S. personnel in Syria, Central Command said. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-SYRIA CONFLICT
U.N. peacekeepers warned yesterday that Israel has committed “severe violations” of the country’s cease-fire agreement with Syria, following an AP News report that the Israeli military is carrying out a major construction project in the demilitarized zone separating Golan Heights from Syria. Jon Gambrell reports for AP News.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday unsuccessfully targeted two U.S. Navy warships with multiple drones and missiles, the Defense Department said yesterday. Jon Gambrell and Tara Copp report for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine has received a $1.35 billion humanitarian and social program grant from the United States, the country’s prime minister said today. Olena Harmash reports for Reuters.
Blinken yesterday left for Brussels to meet with NATO and European officials to discuss Ukraine’s war against Russia, the State Department said. Michael Crowley reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The Biden administration will allow speakers subject to U.S. sanctions to participate in overseas conferences sponsored by American organizations, the Treasury Department said in a court filing yesterday. Charlie Savage reports for New York Times.
The United States yesterday imposed sanctions on a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander over accusations of human rights abuses in West Darfur. Daphne Psaledakis reports for Reuters.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Federal Aviation Administration yesterday prohibited U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days following the shooting of two U.S. planes. Separately, the U.N. announced it was temporarily suspending flights to Port-au-Prince, limiting aid deliveries to the violence-plagued country. Evens Sanon and Megan Janetsky report for AP News.
A committee of Guinean opposition groups, civil society organizations, and activists yesterday called on the junta to give way to civilian rule by Jan. 1, 2025. Saliou Samb reports for Reuters.
A man drove a vehicle into a crowd in a south China city on Monday, killing 35 people, local police said, in a rare episode of deadly violence in the intensely surveilled country. Alexandra Stevenson, Zixu Wang, and Muyi Xiao report for the New York Times.
The International Court of Justice yesterday ruled that competing anti-discrimination cases between Azerbaijan and Armenia can move forward. Stephanie van den Berg reports for Reuters.