The Full Belmonte, 11/13/2023
“Dozens of Gaza’s hospitals have effectively stopped functioning, due to fuel shortages and ground battles between Israel and Hamas. Israel asserts that Hamas fighters are sheltering beneath hospitals, and has ordered facilities in the north to evacuate. Patients and doctors have been caught in the crossfire of heavy street fighting, and humanitarian groups are pleading for combat near hospitals to end.
At Al-Shifa, dozens of babies are in danger — and two died — after being removed from defunct incubators. Paul Caney, emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, told NPR that electricity is out, people are hiding in corridors because of sniper fire near the windows and there are no ambulances moving patients.
There are growing international calls for a cease-fire, including from hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who marched in London over the weekend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated there will be no cease-fire until all hostages are released.
The Geneva Conventions give hospitals special protection during war, but the shield is not absolute. Experts tell NPR’s Greg Myre that a Hamas attack carried out from a hospital could make it a military target — but Israel would have to give hospitals ‘due warning’ and a ‘reasonable time limit’ before any potential retaliation. Plus, the military advantage must be proportionate to the loss of civilian lives. Here’s how that calculus works.” [NPR]
“Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is suspending his presidential campaign, he announced on Fox News’ “Sunday Night in America.” Scott — the only sitting Black Republican in the Senate — had centered his candidacy on his Christian faith and experience growing up with a single mom in the South. But he failed to gain traction in national polls, and was unlikely to qualify for the fourth primary debate in December.” [NPR]
Donald Trump’s defense at his civil fraud trial in New York is set to begin today.
“What to expect: The former president’s lawyers will start calling their own witnesses. His eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is scheduled to return to the stand today and tomorrow.
The case: Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization are accused of exaggerating the values of their properties to get better deals from bankers and insurers.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Government shutdown
“House lawmakers are working against the clock to avoid a government shutdown before Friday's funding deadline. New House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his two-tiered funding plan on a GOP conference call with members Saturday which does not include the deep spending cuts his right flank pushed for, but instead extends funding at its current levels. The first bill would extend funding until January 19 and would include funding for military construction, Veterans Affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The second part of the bill, which would extend funding until February 2, would include funding for the rest of the government. Neither bill includes additional aid for Israel or Ukraine. Analysts say the bills have no chance of getting past a Democratic-run Senate and the White House.” [CNN]
Dems divided on abortion as Issue 1
President Biden at a 2022 Democratic National Committee event in D.C. Photo: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“Top Democrats are divided on whether to make abortion the central issue of the 2024 elections, with centrists warning it could undercut efforts to focus on more broadly appealing economic topics.
Why it matters: The fear is that abortion rights — while highly motivating for the Democratic base — could deter swing voters who are more concerned about inflation, crime and immigration, Axios' Hans Nichols reports.
Zoom in: Tuesday's results in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia gave Democrats ample evidence that a solid majority of Americans — including many independents and suburban Republicans — want to preserve access to abortion.
Abortion ‘should certainly be one of the issues that Democrats run on,’ said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), but ‘obviously there are really important issues regarding the economy and other pocketbook issues.’
The other side: ‘We are not going to let anyone tell us that we talk about it too much on the campaign trail. Because every time we talk about it, we win,’ Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) told Axios.” [Axios]
Freeway fire
“Los Angeles drivers have been warned of significant travel headaches after a major fire forced the indefinite closure of a part of Interstate 10, one of the city's busiest traffic arteries. The fire started at a storage yard on Saturday and spread under the freeway to ignite a second storage facility, ultimately consuming about 80,000 square feet and destroying several vehicles, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. City officials are now scrambling to assess and repair the damage but warned parts of the interstate will be shut down in both directions for several days. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Los Angeles County due to the closure.” [CNN]
Capitol rioter plans 2024 run as a Libertarian candidate in Arizona’s 8th congressional district
“PHOENIX (AP) — Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, apparently aspires to be a member of Congress.
Online paperwork shows the 35-year-old Chansley filed a candidate statement of interest Thursday, indicating he wants to run as a Libertarian in next year’s election for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District seat.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, a 64-year-old Republican representing the district since 2018, announced last month that she won’t seek re-election. Her term officially ends in January 2025….” Read more at AP News
Universities get tougher on antisemitism
On NYU's campus in Manhattan, Milton Cohen, a student from Israel, offers to speak about his home country. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Elite universities, under pressure for being silent or soft on antisemitism, are being forced to take tougher lines on verbal and physical violence against Jews.
Columbia suspended two pro-Palestinian groups as official student groups through the end of the fall term yesterday.
The university said Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) ‘repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event Thursday afternoon that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation.’
Why it matters: Frightened students complain that universities have done too little to support them since the Israel-Hamas war began five weeks ago. Irate megadonors contend Ivy League universities are being too timid in confronting antisemitism.
What's happening: Long-simmering tensions are erupting in violence — and shattering the sense of safety that makes colleges hubs of free discourse, AP reports.
Jewish and Muslim students are witnessing acts of hate, leaving many fearing for their safety even as they walk to class.
Zoom in: In addition to Columbia's action, two other Ivies, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, this week took ‘more direct action’ against antisemitism after their initial responses were condemned as weak, as The New York Times put it.
In Massachusetts, Brandeis University banned a pro-Palestinian student group over social media posts that defended Hamas.
At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, president Sally Kornbluth sent a letter to students reminding them of ‘the boundaries for protest on our campus’ after a pro-Palestinian demonstration ‘became disruptive, loud and sustained through the morning hours.’
Zoom out: Since the war began, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have been documented globally and coast to coast.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center on Extremism on Oct. 25 reported a nearly 400% year-over-year increase in reports of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, this week reported an ‘unprecedented surge’ in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias.
The Islamic Society of Boston, which calls itself New England's largest mosque, told The Boston Globe that incidents of hate and harassment have primarily targeted students and women wearing hijabs or other head coverings.
The big picture: FBI Director Chris Wray warned in Senate testimony on Oct. 31 of a rising threat of domestic terrorism — ‘not just homegrown violent extremists inspired by a foreign terrorist organization, but also domestic violent extremists targeting Jewish or Muslim communities.’
‘Here in the United States,’ he said, ‘our most immediate concern is that violent extremists — individuals or small groups — will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives.’” [Axios]
A Ukrainian military officer coordinated last year’s Nord Stream pipelines attack.
“Who? Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s special operations forces. He was central to the bombing of the natural gas pipelines in September 2022, a Post investigation found.
The pipelines: Nord Stream 1 and 2 run from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea and provide energy to millions in Europe. The blasts caused massive leaks.
What it means: It’s the most direct evidence tying Ukraine to the bombings, which the country has denied.”
Read this story at Washington Post
A possible looming volcanic eruption in Iceland has led to evacuations.
“What to know: Hundreds of earthquakes have rattled Iceland in recent days, suggesting a volcano 25 miles from Reykjavik could be about to erupt.
The precautions: People nearby have evacuated over fears that volcanic fissures could open in the ground. The famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa has closed.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Military training efforts for Ukraine hit major milestones
“As the Russian invasion grinds into a second winter and casualties — already estimated in the hundreds of thousands — continue to mount on both sides, combat training programs provided by Ukraine’s allies are helping it hold out and its odds of eventual victory. Read more.
Recent developments
France is on course to have trained 7,000 Ukrainians this year as part of a European Union military assistance mission. The EU mission’s initial goal was to train 15,000 soldiers, but it has far exceeded that target. The U.S. has trained about 18,000, with an additional 1,000 in the pipeline, the Pentagon says. In Britain, 30,000 have learned soldiering in the past 17 months.
Instructors are imparting specialized military know-how, ranging from clearing mines and launching waterborne attacks aboard small boats to equipment repair, officer training and even help for Ukrainian military chaplains. This is in addition to basic training with weapons and battlefield first aid.” [AP News]
“Rishi Sunak’s shock appointment as foreign secretary of David Cameron, the prime minister who oversaw the Brexit vote, was part of his effort to draw a line under his cabinet troubles.
It may only serve to remind voters of the disarray at the heart of his Conservative government.
The British premier began the day by firing Home Secretary Suella Braverman, setting up one of the most consequential weeks of his premiership so far — one with implications lasting until the general election likely next year.
Braverman had openly clashed with Sunak’s office by taking a hard line against pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London and accusing the police of bias in the protesters’ favor. Those incendiary remarks presented Sunak with a direct challenge to his authority, and left him with a call to make about her future in his government.
The departure of the most senior right-winger in his cabinet shows the electorate that the turmoil of this Conservative government is never far from the surface, belying Sunak’s efforts to distance himself from his predecessors after years of turbulent Tory rule.
That can only help Labour leader Keir Starmer as he seeks to convert a double-digit poll lead into electoral victory.
But his appointment in a reshuffle of Cameron, who quit in 2016 after calling and losing the Brexit referendum, suggests that the country is so broken that the Tories have been forced to bring back the man who tipped the country into chaos in the first place.
Sunak must meanwhile brace for a backlash from the party right.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will rule on the legality of his flagship immigration policy to deport people to Rwanda who crossed the Channel by small boat. If ministers lose, expect Braverman to call for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
Data is due the same day that will show whether he has met his pledge to halve inflation this year.
It’s Sunak’s bind that even if he meets that goal, more Tory turmoil beckons. — Alex Wickham and Alan Crawford [Bloomberg]
Braverman and Sunak at a policing roundtable at 10 Downing Street on Oct. 12. Photographer: James Manning/WPA Pool/Getty Images
“UK government: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fired Home Secretary Suella Braverman in a cabinet reshuffle that also saw former UK leader David Cameron, who resigned after the Brexit referendum, appointed foreign secretary.” [BBC}
President’s War Against ‘Fake News’ Raises Alarms in South Korea
He calls fake news an enemy that threatens democracy. Critics of President Yoon Suk Yeol say he is silencing journalists in the name of fighting disinformation.
“Allies of President Yoon Suk Yeol are attacking what they see as an existential threat to South Korea, and they are mincing few words. The head of Mr. Yoon’s party has called for the death sentence for a case of ‘high treason.’ The culture ministry has vowed to root out what it called an ‘organized and dirty’ conspiracy to undermine the country’s democracy.
In this case, the accused is not a foreign spy, but a Korean news outlet that has published articles critical of Mr. Yoon and his government.
The president, a former prosecutor, is turning to lawsuits, state regulators and criminal investigations to clamp down on speech that he calls disinformation, efforts that have largely been aimed at news organizations. Since Mr. Yoon was elected last year, the police and prosecutors have repeatedly raided the homes and newsrooms of journalists whom his office has accused of spreading “fake news.”
Some South Koreans accuse Mr. Yoon of repurposing the expression as justification for defamation suits and to mobilize prosecutors and regulators to threaten penalties and criminal investigations. Many are exasperated that their leader has adopted the phrase, a rallying cry for strongmen around the world that is also further dividing an increasingly polarized electorate at home.
South Koreans are proud of the vibrant democracy and free press they won after decades of military dictatorship, and, more recently, of their country’s growing soft-power influence.
Mr. Yoon may be best known overseas for aligning his countrymore closely with the United States — and for his rendition of ‘American Pie’ at the White House. He espouses ‘freedom’ in speeches, but his 18-month-old presidency has been characterized by a near-constant clash with the opposition and fears of censorship and democratic backsliding.
Leaders of the democratic world have all grappled with how to counter the corrosive effects of disinformation online. But Mr. Yoon’s critics, including the liberal opposition and journalists’ associations, accuse him of suppressing speech in the name of fighting disinformation. In a survey this year, a majority of local journalists said they felt press freedom was regressing under Mr. Yoon.
‘It’s dangerous to leave it to the government to decide what fake news is,’ said Pae Jung Kun, a journalism professor at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul. ‘It undermines the news media’s ability to hold the government to account.’…” Read more at New York Times
“The US struck facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups yesterday, a development that could escalate tensions with Tehran. Strains have been building since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and Iranian officials have warned that new fronts would open against the US if it keeps up unequivocal support for Israel in its invasion of Gaza.” [Bloomberg]
“Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will join a meeting of his European Union counterparts in Brussels today by video link amid signs the bloc’s support is becoming harder to maintain. Kyiv’s forces launched four air strikes at concentrations of Russian troops, weapons, and military equipment yesterday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.” [Bloomberg]
Ukrainian soldiers in Bakhmut on Nov. 3. Photographer: Libkos/Getty Images Europe
“Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s woes deepened as a state minister in the Finance Ministry quit over his company’s failure to pay taxes. The scandal is the third to lead to the resignation of a junior minister in the space of less than a month, risking further damage to Kishida’s weakened government.” [Bloomberg]
“In the final debate for Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, Economy Minister Sergio Massa landed blows on libertarian candidate Javier Milei, exposing his radical, untested plans like closing the central bank while dodging any discussion of his own role in the country’s woes, not least rampant inflation. Polls taken before the debate suggested Milei has a small advantage going into the runoff, but within the margin of error.” [Bloomberg]
“The Philippines, backed by Japan and the US, defied China in a dangerous mission to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre, a decaying World War II-era vessel that Manila intentionally grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea. With Washington renewing its security guarantees for the Philippines, the remote reef has become a key flashpoint for US-China competition, potentially rivaling friction over Taiwan.” [Bloomberg]
C.J. Stroud is running the top rookie race
“What a wild Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks all winning with field goals on the final play of their respective games. It marked the most game-winning scores with no time remaining in the fourth quarter in a single week in the league’s 104-season history. And the player to watch was Texans QB C.J. Stroud. Coming off his rookie-record 470-yard passing day in Week 9, Stroud put up 356 more in Sunday’s 30-27 upset of the Bengals in Cincinnati. He joined Cam Newton and Andrew Luck for the most games (3) with 350+ pass yards among rookies – with eight more games yet to play.” Read more at USA Today
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) reacts after scoring a touchdown with wide receiver Tank Dell (3) in the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Katie Stratman, USA TODAY Sports
Soccer stars take a bow
Rapinoe (left) and Krieger. Photo: Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images
“U.S. soccer legends and World Cup champions Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger will play their final game today, but their legacies on and off the field will be felt for generations, Axios San Diego's Kate Murphy writes.
The big picture: Rapinoe and Krieger both used their platforms as openly gay female athletes to advocate for equality and inspire future players.
The U.S. women's national team secured a historic equal pay agreement last year, with players like Krieger and Rapinoe at the forefront.
The stage is set for a historic 2023 National Women's Soccer League Championship as Rapinoe and the OL Reign face Krieger and NJ/NY Gotham FC at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium.
While Rapinoe and Krieger have two World Cup medals and several other accolades, neither player (nor team) has won an NWSL Championship.” [Axios]
Texas A&M fires football coach Jimbo Fisher with an expected buyout of $76 million, likely the highest in college sports history
Fisher, who signed a 10-year contract extension worth $95 million guaranteed in 2021, leaves with a 45-25 record in six seasons with the Aggies, including 6-4 this fall.
Read more at Washington Post
Harbaugh suspended
Harbaugh takes the field with his team during an October game against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
“The Big Ten suspended Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh yesterday for the rest of the regular season.
This comes in the wake of an NCAA investigation into illegal sign-stealing by the Wolverines.
Catch up quick: According to various reports, University of Michigan recruiting analyst Connor Stalions purchased tickets to the Wolverines' future opponents' games and sent informants to record staffers sending hand signals to players, The Detroit Free Press reports.
Stalions, who resigned last week, bought tickets to some 35 games at 17 stadiums this season, per reports.
Harbaugh has not been proven to have direct knowledge of this scheme, The Free Press notes.
Michigan filed for a temporary restraining order against the decision to suspend him yesterday in an effort for Haurbaugh to be on the sidelines for today's game against No. 9 Penn State.
Reality check: There are only three games left in the regular season, and while Harbaugh won't be allowed to be present, he can still coach at practices.
‘[N]othing really changes for Michigan other than who makes fourth-down decisions and calls timeouts,’ writes USA Today columnist Dan Wolken, who calls the suspension likely the ‘least-impactful thing’ the Big Ten could've done.” [Axios]
Famous toys
Photo: National Toy Hall of Fame via AP
“The four newest inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame are NERF, Cabbage Patch Kids, the Fisher-Price Corn Popper and baseball cards, AP reports.
Not on the list is Ken, Barbie's kind-of boyfriend who didn't make the cut after a summer of making headlines.” [Axios]
A stamp from 1918 sold for more than $2 million last week.
The stamp shows an upside-down Curtiss “Jenny” biplane. (Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries)
“What you’re looking at: An ‘Inverted Jenny,’ a misprint of a stamp created to commemorate the start of regular airmail service.
Why is it so expensive? These stamps are extremely rare — only 100 were sold to the public. This one had been kept in a safe-deposit box for decades.”
Read this story at Washington Post
“Lives Lived: Karen Davis was a fierce animal-rights activist who led campaigns to recognize the dignity of chickens, turkeys and other farmyard fowl. She died at 79.” [New York Times]