December 13, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Palestinian health officials say at least 25 people were killed, and another 40 were wounded, yesterday in an Israeli strike that hit a multi-story residential building in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1023 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian officials say Russian forces launched one of their heaviest air attacks of the war early today, with 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones having been used to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, transportation networks, and other key facilities. [more]

U.S. DEFENSE BUDGET | The House of Representatives passed an $895 billion 2025 Defense Department funding measure this week. Reports note that the bill, which is scheduled for upcoming consideration by the Senate, includes a 14.5% pay raise for junior military servicemembers and increased funding for military housing, as well as controversial provisions that restrict gender-affirming care for children of servicemembers and prohibit the teaching of "critical race theory" at military academies. [more]

U.S. TAX ENFORCEMENT | The Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday that it has recovered some $4.7 billion in back taxes and proceeds from various crimes since receiving a boost in enforcement funds in 2022. [press release] [more]

U.S. TEEN INTERNET USAGE | According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, nearly half of U.S. teenagers surveyed say they are online “constantly.” The survey found that YouTube was the most popular platform for teenagers, with 90% saying they watched videos on the site, and notes that several online platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and X saw decreased teen usage over the past year. [press release] [full report] [more]

U.S. BRIBERY CLAIMS | According to court papers filed yesterday, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov will admit as part of a plea deal that he fabricated a story alleging that Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, accepted bribes from a Ukrainian energy company in 2015 or 2016 – a story that was central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress against President Biden. [more]

TRUMP INAUGURATION | Following a similar announcement by Facebook parent company Meta, e-commerce giant Amazon said yesterday that it will donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund and that it will stream Trump’s inauguration on its Prime Video service – an in-kind donation estimated to be worth another $1 million. [more]

U.S. CRASH DATA | Reuters cites an unpublished document from the transition team of incoming President Donald Trump as recommending that a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reporting requirement for crashes involving vehicles with advanced driver-assistance or autonomous-driving technologies be scrapped. The Reuters report notes that the change would affect reporting requirements for Elon Musk-owned EV maker Tesla and that Musk contributed nearly $250 million to Trump’s presidential campaign. [more]

U.S. AND NORTH KOREA | The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation announced yesterday that 14 North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme to use false, and sometimes stolen, identities to contract with U.S. companies and funnel wages to North Korean weapons development programs. FBI officials say thousands of North Korean workers generated some $88 million for their government under the scheme. [more]

SYRIA | The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the presence and status of toxic chemicals in Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government. The global chemical weapons watchdog group says it informed Syria this week that it is obligated to comply with rules to safeguard and destroy dangerous substances, such as chlorine gas. [more]

JAPAN | In the latest in a series of similar decisions, southern Japan’s Fukuoka High Court ruled yesterday that Japan’s ban on recognizing same-sex unions is unconstitutional, saying that the ban violates same-sex couples’ right to the pursuit of happiness guaranteed under Article 13 of the Japanese Constitution. [more]

MOLDOVA | The Moldovan parliament voted early today to declare a 60-day national emergency beginning next Monday due to an expected cut-off of Russian-supplied natural gas via Ukraine. Ukraine previously announced that it would not extend its transit contract with Russian gas giant Gazprom when the agreement expires on December 31. [more]

FRANCE | French President Emmanuel Macron named centrist Francois Bayrou as his fourth prime minister of 2024 today. Bayrou takes over the role previously held by Michel Barnier, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote over parliamentary opposition to his 2025 budget bill. [more]

CHESS | Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, defeated China’s Ding Liren yesterday in Singapore to become the youngest-ever world chess champion. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army seized Nanjing, China, during the second Sino-Japanese War, leading to the Nanjing Massacre, in which up to 300,000 Chinese citizens are believed to have been killed. [more history]