December 20, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Human Rights Watch accused Israel yesterday of causing the deaths of countless infants, children, and adults in Gaza through its policies of deliberately cutting the flow of water and electricity to Gaza, destroying infrastructure, and preventing the distribution of critical supplies and said Israel's actions constitute "acts of genocide." [press release] [full HRW report] [more]
• Reports suggest that while negotiators are optimistic over progress made in Israel-Hamas peace talks, remaining disagreements between the two sides center on details for the exchange of hostages for prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. [more]
• Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said yesterday that the U.S. has more than doubled its number of troops in Syria in recent months to about 2,000 as part of efforts to fight the Islamic State militant group and that the strength increase was not related to the recent ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government by rebel forces. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1030 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say at least one person was killed, nine others were wounded, and power was cut off to hundreds of residential buildings, medical facilities, and schools in overnight Russian missile strikes on the capital Kyiv. Reports cite Russian military commanders as saying the attack was in response to a Ukrainian missile attack earlier this week on Russia's Rostov border region. [more]
• Reuters cites unnamed U.S. sources as saying that the Biden administration will announce in the coming days what will likely be its final military aid package to Ukraine. The package will consist largely of air defense and artillery munitions and be worth about $1.2 billion, according to the sources. [more]

U.S. BUDGET CRISIS | A House of Representatives vote on a temporary spending measure failed to pass yesterday evening, leaving open the possibility of a partial federal government shutdown tonight. The vote came a day after President-elect Donald Trump criticized a bipartisan agreement and urged House Republicans to renegotiate the measure. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | According to the agency’s newly released annual report, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 270,000 people to 192 countries during the fiscal year ended September 30 – a level nearly double that of the previous year and the highest annual level of deportations since 2014. [press release] [full report] [more]

NEW YORK | In addition to state murder charges already filed, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4 in New York City now faces federal charges, including stalking and murder through use of a firearm. Prosecutors say the state and federal cases against Luigi Mangione will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first. [more]

U.S. EMISSIONS GOALS | President Joe Biden announced yesterday that the U.S. is making a formal submission to the United Nations detailing updated greenhouse gas emissions goals that call for reducing emissions by more than 60% below 2005 levels by 2035. [more]

TRUMP GEORGIA ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE | A Georgia state appeals court removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis yesterday from the Georgia election interference case against now-President-elect Donald Trump and others. The court cited a strong “appearance of impropriety” as the reason for the move following an appeal related to a romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she hired to lead the case. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Yaoning Sun, a Chinese national, was arrested by U.S. federal authorities yesterday in California on charges of acting as an illegal agent for Beijing when serving as the campaign manager for an unnamed politician elected to a city council in Southern California two years ago. The arrest came amidst ongoing concerns that the Chinese government has cultivated a network of operatives to influence local elections in the U.S. to install politicians who are friendly to Beijing. [more]

AFRICAN HUNGER | According to a new U.N. World Food Program report, more than 40 million people in West and Central Africa struggle with getting enough food and 3.4 million are facing “emergency levels of hunger.” [press release] [more]

CANADA | Amidst plummeting popularity and calls for his resignation, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce a reshuffling of his Cabinet later today. [more]

GREECE | Greek authorities say a boat carrying migrants capsized early today while trying to evade a patrol vessel near the island of Rhodes. Reports say at least eight migrants are thought to have died in the incident and that 18 others were rescued. [more]

CROATIA | The Croatian Health Ministry says a seven-year-old child was killed and seven others, including two adults and five children, were wounded in a stabbing attack at a primary school in Zagreb this morning. The alleged attacker, a 19-year-old former student at the school, was arrested at the scene. [more]

CRYPTOCURRENCY | According to a new report from research firm Chainalysis, hackers stole an estimated $2.2 billion from cryptocurrency platforms in 2024, with incidents linked to North Korean cyberattacks accounting for more than half of the losses. [full report] [more]

STARBUCKS STRIKE | Workers at dozens of Starbucks coffee shops in the U.S. plan to go on a five-day strike beginning today due to lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. Reports say the Starbucks Workers United union, which has organized workers at more than 500 company-owned stores, could expand the strike to hundreds of stores by next week. [more]

BASKETBALL | Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James set the NBA record for most minutes played in regular season history last night, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record of 57,446 minutes. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1803, in exchange for $15 million, ownership of some 828,000 square miles (2,140,000 square kilometers) of land in what is now the central United States was transferred from France to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase. [more history]