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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Israel and Hamas are finalizing the terms of a ceasefire deal in Gaza that could be announced as soon as today, according to Arab and Israeli officials. President Biden yesterday said negotiators were “on the brink” of an agreement, an assessment echoed by senior U.S. and Hamas officials. Summer Said and Anant Peled report for the Wall Street Journal; Niha Masih, Abbie Cheeseman, Adam Taylor, and Hazem Balousha report for the Washington Post.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will today present a plan for rebuilding and governing post-war Gaza, according to three U.S. officials. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement being finalized in Doha while Israel would free “dozens” of Palestinian prisoners and partially withdraw some of its forces from Gaza, according to a copy of the proposed deal seen by AP News.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir yesterday called on the country’s finance minister to have their far-right parties join forces to prevent a Gaza ceasefire deal, a move that could effectively bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenuous governing coalition. Abbie Cheeseman reports for the Washington Post.
Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 18 people overnight, including six women and four children, Palestinian health officials said today. Wafaa Shurafa and Natalie Melzer report for AP News.
Some Israeli soldiers are refusing to keep fighting in Gaza, saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines. Sam Mednick and Julia Frankel report for AP News.
TRUMP LEGAL MATTERS
The violence on Jan. 6, 2021 “was foreseeable to Mr. Trump, … he caused it, … and … when it occurred, he made a conscious choice not to stop it and instead to leverage it,” Special Counsel Jack Smith said in his final report released early today. According to the report, evidence held by the Justice Department would have been sufficient to convict Trump on election subversion charges had his 2024 victory not made it impossible for the prosecution to continue. Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage report for the New York Times.
Judge Aileen Cannon yesterday scheduled a court hearing on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s plan to share part of Smith’s report dealing with the classified documents investigation with the leaders of the the House and Senate Judiciary Committees later this week. Cannon also rejected Trump’s last-minute attempt to delay the DOJ’s release of the election subversion volume of the report. Tierney Sneed reports for CNN.
SYRIA
Syria’s new central bank governor yesterday said she wants to boost the institution’s independence over monetary policy decisions, a departure from the heavy control exerted under the Assad regime. Timour Azhari reports for Reuters.
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, and Denmark called for the EU to “immediately begin adjusting [its] sanctions regime” on Syria, according to a document seen by Reuters. Jan Strupczewski reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
The Biden administration is facing skepticism from European partners toward its last-ditch effort to seize hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian assets as negotiating leverage for Ukraine, two senior officials said. Kayla Tausche, Alex Marquardt, Jennifer Hansler, and Oren Liebermann report for CNN.
About 300 North Korean troops have been killed and 2,700 injured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, according to an assessment from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. Stella Kim, Janis Mackey Frayer, and Jennifer Jett report for NBC News.
Ukraine struck Russia with a major drone and missile attack overnight, damaging at least three industrial sites and forcing school closures, according to Russian officials and media. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE
Hezbollah is trying “to regain strength” with the assistance of Iran and remains a “serious threat” to Israel and regional stability, Israel’s U.N. ambassador told the Security Council yesterday. A senior Lebanese source close to Hezbollah denied the allegations. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
Houthi rebels fired a missile into central Israel from Yemen early today, the militant group said. The IDF said no casualties were reported. Leo Sands and Lior Soroka report for the Washington Post.
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION AND NEW CONGRESS
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) yesterday said that the FBI background check on Trump’s Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth contains “significant gaps and inadequacies,” including the failure to interview some critical witnesses. Karoun Demirjian and Sharon LaFraniere report for the New York Times.
Trump’s transition team is demanding that FBI background checks on Hegseth and the President-elect’s other nominees are not distributed to rank-and-file senators, citing the procedures followed for Biden’s nominees, two sources said. Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam report for Axios.
Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning White House National Security Council civil servants about who they voted for in the 2024 election and their political contributions, a U.S. official said. Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller report for AP News.
OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Biden’s accusations that the prosecution of Hunter Biden was “vindictive” or “selective” were “baseless” and “threaten[ed] the integrity of the justice system,” Special Counsel David Weiss said in his final report on the six-year tax and gun crimes investigation into the President’s son. Marshall Cohen reports for CNN.
A federal judge yesterday expressed skepticism about the DOJ’s proposed Louisville police accountability plan, suggesting a less time-consuming and costly agreement could be reached. David Nakamura reports for the Washington Post.
The Biden administration is considering sanctions on a Chinese cybersecurity company intelligence officials concluded was behind the Salt Typhoon U.S. telecoms hack, officials say. Ellen Nakashima reports for the Washington Post.
The Biden administration yesterday issued sweeping rules and export caps governing how AI chips and models can be shared with foreign countries. Ana Swanson reports for the New York Times.
U.S FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Biden aides warned Russian President Vladimir Putin they would hold Russia responsible for “enabling terrorism” after U.S. intelligence agencies said a Russian military unit was preparing to send explosive packages to the United States on cargo planes earlier this year, according to senior officials. David E. Sanger reports for the New York Times.
Trump’s Republican House allies are trying to rally support for a bill on authorizing talks for the purchase of Greenland, a copy of the bill circulated yesterday shows. Kanishka Singh reports for Reuters.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Lebanon’s parliament yesterday named Nawaf Salam, who currently leads the International Court of Justice, as prime minister, delivering a stunning defeat to the Hezbollah-backed candidate. Christina Goldbaum reports for New York Times.
The impeachment trial of South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol was adjourned within minutes today after he failed to attend court. The trial will go ahead without Yoon if he misses the next hearing, the Constitutional Court’s acting chief justice warned. Yoon’s lawyer said that a bid by authorities to detain him prevented Yoon from expressing his position at the trial. Joyce Lee reports for Reuters.
Russia and Iran will sign a strategic partnership pact on Jan. 17, the Kremlin said yesterday. Reuters reports.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani yesterday said he would sign bilateral security and strategic partnership deals with the United Kingdom during a trip to London. Timour Azhari reports for Reuters.
German police are investigating suspected Russian espionage efforts after spotting drones over several military installations in Bavaria, the region’s office of criminal investigations said yesterday. Sabine Siebold reports for Reuters.