Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

December 13, 2023

Good morning and happy Wednesday! It has been her year, and this is her day. Taylor Swift turns 34 today. She will celebrate by making her extended Eras Tour concert film available for streaming while her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, is reportedly planning a star-studded party in Manhattan with an unlimited budget. And Swifties will be on high alert for any other surprises. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Harvard: President will keep job
UK: Rwanda migrant bill proceeds
Andre Braugher: Actor dies at 61
Federal Reserve: Meeting today

... and more

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Top Tips

Biden pushes back on Israel

President Joe Biden said Israel is testing international support with its approach to its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The comments: Biden told the crowd at a campaign fundraiser event in Washington that while the U.S. firmly backs Israel, it is "starting to lose [the world's] support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place." The U.S. has criticized Israel since the war began, but this was the most blunt rebuke. Biden's comments came after he disagreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the post-war fate of Gaza. The Biden Administration is advocating for a two-state solution; Netanyahu does not want the Palestinian Authority to regain control of the enclave after losing it to Hamas.
On the ground: Hamas' health ministry claims almost 19K deaths in Gaza since Israel began military operations. Fighting has intensified since a seven-day temporary truce expired and Israel moved into the southern part of the enclave. Israel has said its goal is to wipe out Hamas and it said earlier this week it believes it is moving closer to that objective. The United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire yesterday by a 153-10 with 23 abstentions; the U.S. and Israel voted no days after the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council ceasefire call.
Elsewhere: Israel has begun limited flooding of subterranean tunnels in Gaza; Biden said he does not believe Hamas has hostages underground but cannot say so with certainty. Israel is considering allowing aid to flow through its border with Gaza. Israel and Hamas have reportedly restarted hostage/prisoner exchange talks in secret. There are growing concerns Israel's skirmishes with Hezbollah could create a second front in Lebanon.

Biden to GOP: Don't give Putin gift in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Capitol Hill as Biden and Democrats continue to joust with Republicans over a supplemental spending bill.

The impasse: Biden is trying to get Congress to pass a $110B spending package that would send over $60B more to Ukraine for its war with Russia. The GOP has said it will not agree to a deal without substantial changes to border security policy. Biden is pushing for the bill and negotiations are underway. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader, said it would be virtually impossible to get a deal done before Christmas. McConnell has called on Biden to get directly involved in talks. The Senate is scheduled to leave for the holidays at the end of the week, but Democrats have said they are willing to stay in town.
Biden's budges: The White House has signaled it would be open to expanding immigration deportation and detention policies, as well as expelling migrants without asylum screenings. But that may not be enough to sway Republicans, especially in the House. Congressional Democrats may also push back on Biden. Republicans have also pressed the White House to outline how the aid could help Ukraine defeat Russia amid its current stalemate.
Zelensky speaks: The Ukrainian leader met with Biden, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and senators. He also held a joint press conference with Biden and made several media appearances. Zelensky declined to discuss U.S. domestic issues but said his country desperately needs the aid and can defeat Russia. Biden warned Republicans that failing to pass the package would be tantamount to handing Russian President Vladimir Putin a Christmas present. Biden did sign a $200M Pentagon drawdown order for Ukraine.

House impeachment inquiry vote today

The House will vote to formalize an impeachment inquiry into the Biden family's foreign business dealings.

Expected to pass: Johnson is believed to have enough Republican votes to pass the measure after moderate members of his caucus have warmed to it. Johnson can only lose three votes, assuming full House attendance and unanimous dissent from Democrats. But Democrats reportedly believe he is likely to lose just a single GOP vote. Some Republicans who initially opposed a vote have been swayed by the White House saying subpoenas were invalid absent a formal inquiry.
White House response: The Biden Adminstration and Democrats have consistently said GOP investigations are politicized. Democrats have also criticized the GOP for a lack of transparency in how its has conducted its informal investigation to date. Biden's campaign accused House Republicans of taking "marching orders" from former President Donald Trump and pushing impeachment as an election year gambit to energize voters.
Next steps: Johnson said yesterday a vote does nothing but advance the investigation; it is not a vote to draw articles of impeachment or approve them. Some House Republicans have expressed doubts there will be enough evidence found to advance a case against Biden beyond a formal inquiry. Any impeachment decision would likely die in a Senate trial. Democrats control the upper chamber and Senate Republicans have expressed skepticism about their House colleagues' efforts so far.

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Quick Tips

U.S. News

Harvard President Claudine Gay received a vote of confidence from the university's governing body. Gay's comments at a House hearing on antisemitism last week sparked outrage; she has also faced plagiarism charges (More)
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. The former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador is polling second to former President Trump in the state's upcoming GOP primary (More)
Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to use data from Trump's phone in his upcoming election interference trial. Smith has asked the Supreme Court to quickly rule on Trump's claim for presidential immunity to keep the trial on schedule for March (More)

World News

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scored a victory when his controversial bill to send migrants to Rwanda passed a first vote in Parliament. But he is expected to face more internal challenges from his Conservative Party after the new year (More)
A man with Israeli and Russian IDs was arrested last month after allegedly stowing away on a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Los Angeles. The man reportedly told customs agents he could not remember how he got on the flight and refused to discuss what he was doing in Denmark (More)
The Vatican has updated its guidelines for cremated remains. The Catholic Church says spreading a small amount of ashes at a place that was important to the deceased is now permissible (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Andre Braugher, who starred in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street, died at 61. His publicist said he passed away after a short illness (More)
NBC has removed Al Michaels from its NFL playoff broadcast team. The veteran play-by-play man's performances calling Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football games this season have been criticized (More)
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has launched an antitrust investigation into the College Football Playoff selection committee. Florida State was not selected for the four-team event despite being the undefeated ACC champion (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed higher yesterday, with the S&P 500 at its highest point in almost two years. The indexes have posted six straight weeks of gains (Dow +0.48%, Nasdaq +0.70%, S&P 500 +0.46%).
Analysts expect the Federal Reserve will maintain interest rates today. The consumer price index rose 3.1% YoY in November and 0.1% MoM as inflation rose in line with expectations (More)
Toy maker Hasbro will lay off 1.1K workers as weak sales continue despite the start of the holiday season. The company has laid off about 30% of its workforce this year (More)

Tips & Tricks

Go Deep: President Biden's relationship with his son will take center stage in 2024. Hunter Biden faces criminal charges and will be a key figure in impeachment efforts against his father, as well as the run-up to the 2024 election. Here is an inside look at how the situation impacts the president.
Sneak Peek: Kate Winslet stars as a Central European despot struggling to keep her grasp on control in The Regime, which will debut next year on Max. The series also features Hugh Grant as Winslet's chief political rival. You can watch a trailer here.
Mad Hat: Police are investigating the disappearance of a top hat from a bronze Abraham Lincoln statue at a park in Louisville. The sculptor believes someone stole the hat, but is unsure how anyone would remove it from the rock base the artwork sits on.
Long Wait: Being stuck in line at popular tourist attractions is part of life while vacationing. But what sites have the worst waits? A new study of online reviews reveals that the Eiffel Tower receives the most complaints worldwide; the Empire State Building is responsible for the most agitation stateside.
Lights On: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers made headlines earlier this year when he revealed he planned to participate in a total darkness retreat, where you spend several days alone in a pitch-black cabin. But mental health experts caution the experience is far more challenging than its proponents make it out to be, and we still do not know how total darkness impacts the body and mind.
Cliff Notes: North Korea's government micromanages all artistic expression through a massive bureaucracy. Novelists and writers are a key -- and heavily restricted -- aspect of the apparatus. A former scribe who has since defected to South Korea has written about his experiences.
Red Card: Turkey's soccer federation has indefinitely postponed matches at all levels after a team official punched a referee after a contest on Monday night. The shutdown comes after Greece banned fan from matches for two months due to soccer-related violebce.

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Tip-Offs

Russia has suffered 315K casualties in the Ukraine war.

Joe Manchin may be just fine with derailing President Biden.

... and George Santos wants to return to Congress someday.

A Hawaiian town devastated by wildfires has re-opened.

These shipping container homes are incredible works of art.

... while a North Carolina man turned his pool into a man cave.

SBF's defense attorney says he was the worst witness ever.

Don't get your hopes up for a white Christmas later this month.

Looking Ahead …

Ukraine’s big week on the world stage is not over. The European Union will hold a summit in Brussels starting tomorrow. The bloc’s leaders have recommended a formal start to accession talks for the Ukrainians. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who the U.S. has criticized for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has threatened to veto the accession measure as well as aid packages.

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