Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

December 6, 2023

Good morning and happy Wednesday! Many of us grew up going to the shopping mall whenever we needed something, or just for fun. But those days are mostly over in the e-commerce world. That is why many malls across the country are getting creative to survive. Among the innovations nationwide are office spaces, sports facilities, and an outdoor amphitheater that seats 10K. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Virginia: Latest on house explosion
Israel: Hamas sexual assault claims
NCAA: Radical new NIL proposal
Apple: Back at $3T market cap

... and more

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Top Tips

Terror concerns rise at home, abroad

U.S. and European officials are warning about the possibility of terrorist attacks this holiday season amid the Israel-Hamas war.

On the homefront: FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate panel yesterday that terror threats have been elevated to historic levels since the war began. Wray said he sees "blinking red lights everywhere" when asked to compare the current situation to the pre-Sept. 11 climate. Wray predicted in October the war would inspire terrorism. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said reported threats against the Arab, Jewish and Muslim communities have spiked.
Across the pond: A senior European Union official said social polarization due to the war has created a "huge risk" for terrorism. Ylva Johansson, the European home affairs commissioner, said $32.3M in extra funds were directed toward security measures. Johansson did not specify if the EU has intelligence suggesting an attack could be imminent.
Paris stabbing: A 23-year-old German man was murdered near the Eiffel Tower last weekend while his girlfriend and a British tourist were injured. Police say a French man of Iranian descent stabbed them and claims allegiance to the Islamic State terror organization. Germany has also thwarted two alleged terror plots in recent weeks. The FBI arrested a 16-year-old in Las Vegas who claimed to support ISIS earlier this week.

Senate's military hold-up over

The U.S. Senate approved hundreds of military promotions after Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville ended a months-long hold on the nominees.

The backlog: Tuberville has been blocking the ascension of over 450 nominees since March. He did so to protest the Department of Defense's reproductive rights policy. The blanket hold faced bipartisan criticism and the Pentagon warned it endangered national security, but Tuberville, a Republican, refused to relent to pressure.
The breakthrough: Tuberville agreed to end the hold on all promotions for three-star candidates and below. A voice vote then followed to approve the promotions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, celebrated the promotions in a floor speech and chided Tuberville for an "unsuccessful and risky strategy" that harmed military readiness and service members and their families. Tuberville's decision ends the possibility of Republicans working with Democrats to pass a law that would have allowed Schumer to circumvent his hold.
Tuberville's take: The former college football coach said he had no choice but to end the hold. There are still a handful of four-star appointments that remain blocked, though. In an interview with CNN, Tuberville claimed his stance helped national security and that he "could care less" about what defense officials said. There are still a handful of four-star appointments that remain blocked.

Ukraine aid debate boils over

A classified Senate hearing was derailed by inter-party squabbling as Congress continues to battle over tying funding for Israel and Ukraine to border security.

Shouting match: Senate Democrats said Senate Republicans started a fight when they tried to present about the border in a briefing about the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars and the need for more U.S. aid. Republicans pushed back on the Democrats' assertion and said the briefers refused to answer questions about the border. The meeting reportedly became heated and several Republican members stormed out. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin led the meeting with other high-ranking officials.
At issue: President Joe Biden is pushing to pass a $106B supplemental spending bill, including $61B for Ukraine and $14B for Israel. The GOP is opposing the bill because it wants to curb the Biden Administration's use of a humanitarian mechanism to allow migrants into the country. Democrats have control in the Senate, but Republicans have a slim House majority. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected a Democrat proposal for the chance to add border legislation to the package if it could muster 60 votes.
Ukraine fears: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was supposed to address the briefing remotely, only to cancel at the last minute. Ukrainian officials have said they could lose the war with Russia if they do not receive more U.S. assistance. Ukraine has received $110B to date. The White House has cautioned the U.S. will run out of money for Ukraine if the bill does not pass.

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Quick Tips

U.S. News

A house exploded in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday night as police attempted to execute a search warrant. Police presume a man inside the house died; he is believed to have fired a flare gun and a firearm before the explosion and reportedly accused his neighbors of spying on him (More)
President Biden said he is not sure he would be running for reelection if former President Donald Trump was not also seeking the office. Biden made his comments at a fundraising event in Boston yesterday (More)
A Texas woman has filed an emergency lawsuit seeking an exception to the state's abortion ban for health reasons. The woman is pregnant with a fetus that has a fatal chromosomal condition and myriad physical disabilities; she also has pre-existing conditions that could make a delivery dangerous (More)

World News

Israel said its investigators have proven Hamas militants committed widespread sexual assault and gender-based crimes during its initial Oct. 7 attack on the country. Israel has criticized the United Nations and the international community for downplaying the accusations (More)
The U.S. announced it will implement visa bans on Israeli settlers who cause violence in the West Bank. The State Department has criticized Israel for not doing enough to protect Palestinians in the occupied area (More)
The State Department said Russia recently rejected a "substantial" proposal to free detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The potential deal would have also involved American prisoner Paul Whelan (More)

Entertainment & Sports

NCAA President Charlie Baker has proposed rule changes for college sports that would allow schools to directly compensate athletes in ways that are not tied to education and offer name, image and likeness deals. Individual schools would be able to opt into a new Division-1 subdivision (More)
Actor Jamie Foxx said he almost died and was unable to walk following a still-unspecified medical emergency earlier this year. Foxx made his comments at an awards show in Los Angeles on Monday night, his first public appearance since last April (More)
Former UFC champion Connor McGregor expressed interest in running for president in his native Ireland. He is currently under investigation for social media posts related to last month's riots in Dublin (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Nasdaq bounced back closed higher while the Dow and S&P 500 saw a loss for the second straight day (Dow -0.22%, Nasdaq +0.31%, S&P 500 -0.06%).
Apple's market cap is back at $3T for the first time since August. The tech giant's stock closed up 2% yesterday and it remains the most valuable publicly-traded U.S. company over Microsoft (More)
CVS Health announced it will overhaul its drug pricing program and be more transparent about costs. The company has 9K retail pharmacies nationwide (More)

Tips & Tricks

Tie Breaker: Vice President Kamala Harris made history yesterday when she cast the 32nd and 33rd tie-breaking votes of her tenure in her role as Senate President. It is the most times a VP has broken a deadlocked chamber in almost 200 years; John C. Calhoun held the previous record with 31 tie-breaking votes from 1825 through 1832.
Sneak Peek: Gamers have been waiting a long time for the release of Grand Theft Auto VI, and the first trailer has finally arrived. The sixth edition of the popular -- and violent -- series will be released by Rockstar Games in 2025. It will be the first new GTA game in 11 years.
Dirt Dish: ABC was rocked by scandal last year when former Good Morning America hosts T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach left their spouses for each other and were accused of cheating. Now comes word their exes, Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig, are reportedly dating.
Chow Down: Torun, a city in Poland, has two claims to fame. It was the birthplace of astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. And it makes some incredible gingerbread. The recipe is traditionally only passed down by word of mouth and is fiercely protected. But one cookbook author believes he has hacked the code just in time for Christmas.
Be Safe: Food company Manischewitz has recalled its dark chocolate gold coins after accidentally shipping mislabeled milk chocolate coins. The company said some customers could risk a severe allergic reaction if they unknowingly digest the candy made with milk. The company said the recalled coins shipped from Sept. 26 through Nov. 28. The packages went nationwide, but most of the coins are believed to have gone to stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.
Study Up: Wikipedia has released its list of its top-25 visited articles in 2023. Many of them make sense -- people were interested in ChatGPT, Taylor Swift, notable deaths, Barbie and Oppenheimer. But we doubt many saw this coming: Four articles about the sport of cricket made the top-10.
Life Hack: Are you an avocado fan? Then you must see this chef demonstrate how to open one with your hands. Everything is better when you do not need to worry about cutting yourself with a sharp knife.

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Tip-Offs

Dolly Parton does not text because she does not want to.

A Panera Bread drink is blamed for another fatal heart attack.

Home buyers are motivated despite high mortgage rates.

... and they are finding plenty of strange things after moving in.

All Americans wants for Christmas this year is cold, hard cash.

... while college dorms give very little bang for quite a few bucks.

The fourth -- and maybe final -- GOP presidential debate is tonight.

Experts believe a war between Venezuela and Guyana is unlikely.

Looking Ahead …

Former President Trump's state election racketeering case in Georgia could veer into more relatively unprecedented constitutional waters. Trump's attorneys suggested last week any trial would have to be delayed several years if Trump is elected president again. At issue: The Supremacy Clause, which says federal law supersedes state law, and the argument a sitting president is immune from prosecution.

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