December 6, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 61 of the conflict:

• Israeli military officials described yesterday’s fighting in Gaza as the “most intense day” yet since the start of its ground operations in the Palestinian enclave five weeks ago. [more]
• Aid workers say the resumption of Israeli military operations in Gaza has severely limited the delivery of food, fuel, and medical supplies, which had seen a significant increase during the now-expired seven-day cease-fire. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 650 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unexpectedly cancelled a scheduled video appearance before  U.S. senators yesterday amidst ongoing congressional consideration of proposals for renewed U.S. military aid to Ukraine. [more]
• Reports cite Ukrainian military officials as saying that their forces struck important military facilities in Russia-annexed Crimea overnight, including radar systems and an anti-aircraft missile control system. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Police in Texas say multiple homicides and shootings in the cities of Austin and San Antonia yesterday in which six people were killed and three others were injured appear to be linked and that a yet-unnamed suspect in the incidents has arrested and charged with capital murder. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Labor Department reports that U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October – down from 9.4 million in September and the lowest level since March 2021. [more]

PACIFIC NORTHWEST | Flooding and continued heavy rains from an ongoing atmospheric river have closed some roads, schools, and train services in Oregon and Washington, with officials urging increased caution while traveling in affected areas. [more]

NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS | U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order today aimed at making it easier for Native American tribes to find and access federal funding and to improve tribal autonomy over how to use and invest such funding. [more]

VIRGINIA | Police in Arlington, Virginia, say a man who is thought to have died yesterday when his house exploded as police attempted to execute a search warrant fired multiple gunshots from within the house prior to the explosion. The incident remains under investigation. [more]

U.S. MILITARY | Under pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville ended most of his months-long block of military promotions yesterday, following which the Senate immediately voted to approve about 425 promotion nominations that had been held up. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The fourth Republican presidential debate of the year is scheduled to be held tonight, with participants including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. [more]

U.S. AND SWEDEN | Defense officials from the U.S. and Sweden signed a defense cooperation agreement yesterday that allows U.S. access to all military bases in the Nordic country. The agreement ““will create better conditions for Sweden to be able to receive support from the United States in the event of a war or crisis,” according to Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson. [more]

U.K. | Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is scheduled to appear before a judge-led inquiry today in London to defend his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. [more]

RUSSIA | Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia today, where discussions are expected to center on OPEC, oil production, the Israeli-Hamas conflict, and the war in Ukraine. Reports note that Putin’s trip to the Middle East is a rare trip abroad for him due to an active International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for him over the forced deportation of children from Ukraine. [more]

HATE CRIMES | Amidst a spike in antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents across Europe, the European Commission yesterday pledged to strengthen its fight against hate crimes. The Commission said it would increase funding for the protection of places of worship and push for stronger regulations to counter illegal hate speech and other threats online. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Authorities in the central Philippines province of Antique say 17 people died yesterday when a bus traveling to the city of Culasi fell some 30 meters into a ravine after its brakes failed. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union voted yesterday to ratify their new labor agreement with Hollywood studios, officially ending their nearly four-month strike. [more]

SWIFT | Singer Taylor Swift has received a number of end-of-year accolades, including being named Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year, People magazine’s 2023 Most Intriguing Person of the Year, and No. 1 on Forbes list of the world’s most powerful women in media and entertainment. [more]

COLLEGE SPORTS | NCAA President Charlie Baker proposed a new framework for college athletics yesterday under which colleges and universities would be allowed to pay their athletes directly, offer unlimited educational benefits to athletes, and enter into name, image and likeness licensing deals with athletes. Reports say there is not yet a proposed timeline for approving or implementing Baker’s framework. [more]

SOCCER | Time magazine today named Argentine soccer legend Lionel Messi its Athlete of the Year for 2023. [more]

R.I.P. | Denny Laine, co-founder of the 1960s band The Moody Blues and of Paul McCartney’s band Wings died Tuesday at the age of 79. Laine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues in 2018. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1921, the British government and Irish leaders Arthur Griffith, Michael Collins, and others signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, establishing the Irish Free State as an independent member of the British Commonwealth. [more history]