Saturday News

 HEADLINES

• Trump co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro strikes plea deal with Georgia prosecutors (NBC)

• Trump threatened with jail time over gag order violation in New York fraud trial (CNBC)

• Donald Trump Is Going to Get Someone Killed (NYT)

• Gaza Receives First Aid Trucks Since Hamas Attack as Egypt Border Opens Briefly (WSJ)

• Hamas releases two US hostages 'for humanitarian reasons' after Qatari efforts (Reuters)

• ‘Mutiny Brewing’ Inside State Department Over Israel-Palestine Policy (HP)

• Gaza’s collapsing health system shows struggles of medical care in war (WP)

• Journalists in Gaza wrestle with survival and reporting on the war (AP)

• Fear grows of Israel-Hamas war spreading as Gaza strikes continue, Iran's allies appear to test the water (CBS)

• Deal Lays Groundwork for Aid to Reach Desperate Gazans, Officials Say (NYT)

• Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza; aid remains stalled (USA Today)

• The kibbutz that fought back when Hamas came (Economist)

• Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to fill Feinstein’s seat, will not seek full term in Senate (WP)

• Republican Tempers Flare as Speaker Fight Continues, Paralyzing the House (NYT)

• Rep. Jim Jordan is out as House speaker nominee after a closed-door GOP vote (WP)

• The latest on the House speaker race (CNN)

• Republicans have created a void that’s becoming harder to escape (WP)

• For Republicans, All Roads Lead to the U.S.-Mexico Border (NYT)

• Biden declares Israel and Ukraine support is vital for US security, will ask Congress for billions (AP)

• China’s Military Is Making Risky Moves and Adding Nuclear Warheads, U.S. Says (NYT)

• China is set to dominate the deep sea and its wealth of rare metals (WP)

• Scientists propose sweeping new law of nature, expanding on evolution (Reuters)

• Silicon Valley Ditches News, Shaking an Unstable Industry (NYT)

• We Don’t Actually Know If AI Is Taking Over Everything (Atlantic)

• 3 Things I Learned About What’s Next in AI (WSJ)

• Minds of machines: The great AI consciousness conundrum (TR)

• Woman Claiming She From Chicago Technically From Magical Fantasy Land Inside Wardrobe (The Onion)

Bottom of the Barrel

 There is nothing normal or acceptable about the ongoing inability of the Republican Party to select a Speaker of the House. For days, the leading candidate has been the bomb thrower from Ohio, Jim Jordan, who over many years in Congress has not even been able to craft one piece of legislation or make any other positive contribution to public policy.

That’s largely because as a founder of the so-called Freedom Caucus, the right-wing extremist faction of the GOP, his goal is disruption and chaos, not legislation and governance.

As part of his bully campaign to win the Speaker position, he has marshaled his conservative allies to generate pressure on his ~20 colleagues who (so far) have not been willing to vote for him.

That campaign includes death threats, reminiscent of course of the tactics used by his mentor, Donald Trump.

When some warn that Trump represents an authoritarian ideology that would undermine our democracy, it is this sort of thing we are talking about. Death threats against political opponents have no place in a democracy, where free and fair elections determine who holds power.

Jim Jordan is not fit to be Speaker of the House any more than Trump is fit to be President. It is a measure of the degree of the crisis we face that they continue to pollute our public spaces when they belong, at best, in the dustbin of history. And in Trump’s case, in jail.

HEADLINES:

• Ahead of Her Georgia Trial, Sidney Powell Seeks Distance From Trump (NYT)

• Trump's frustration builds at New York civil fraud trial as lawyer asks witness if he lied (CBS)

• The Fulton County question that should keep Trump up at night (MSNBC)

• Speaker saga sparks revolution among mainstream Republicans (The Hill)

• Jordan won’t seek a third vote, backs plan to empower interim speaker (WP)

• Biden makes the case for wartime aid to Israel and Ukraine in primetime address (CNN)

• Shortly after a Gaza hospital was hit, disinformation spread across social media (NPR)

• In Tel Aviv, Biden’s Embrace of Israel Came With a Gentle Warning (NYT)

• Gaza hospital tragedy escalates war risk, no matter who’s to blame (Japan Times)

• Debate over the Israel-Gaza war has raised tensions – and the stakes – on college campuses (CNN)

• With Putin by His Side, Xi Outlines His Vision of a New World Order (NYT)

• Egypt and other Arab countries are unwilling to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza (AP)

• Israel is vowing to wipe out Hamas in a relentless onslaught on the Gaza Strip but has no obvious endgame in sight, with no clear plan for how to govern the ravaged Palestinian enclave even if it triumphs on the battlefield.  (Reuters)

• Journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza war: A look at six lives lost (WP)

• A new study points to a key window of opportunity to save Greenland's ice sheet (NPR)

• Water usage on the Colorado River is way down as the West begins planning for a future with less (CNN)

• How would we know whether there is life on Earth? This bold experiment found out (Nature)

• The Hypocrisy at the Heart of the Insurance Industry (Atlantic)

• Microsoft's new AI assistant can go to meetings for you (BBC)

• As Google pushes deeper into AI, publishers see fresh challenges (Reuters)

• Researchers Say Guardrails Built Around A.I. Systems Are Not So Sturdy (NYT)

• Invisible AI watermarks won’t stop bad actors. But they are a ‘really big deal’ for good ones (Venture Beat)

• Fears of employee displacement as Amazon brings robots into warehouses (Guardian)

•  AI is learning from stolen intellectual property. It needs to stop. (WP)

• Woman Takes Short Half-Hour Break From Being Feminist To Enjoy TV Show (The Onion)

Thursday Links

 HEADLINES:

• Gaza carnage spreads anger across Mideast, alarming US allies and threatening to widen conflict (AP)

• What Is Israel Trying to Accomplish? (Atlantic)

• ‘No More Safe Places in Gaza’: Evacuees Face Airstrikes in North and South (NYT)

• As casualties mount, plight of civilians is drawing intense global scrutiny (WP)

• Biden says Egypt’s president has agreed to open Gaza border to allow in 20 trucks with aid (AP)

• Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case (ABC)

• House speakership up in air as resistance to Jim Jordan hardens (BBC)

• GOP’s Jim Jordan fails again on vote for House speaker as frustrated Republicans search for options (AP)

• Forget governance: Dysfunctional Republicans are putting on a show (The Hill)

• Trump Can’t Contain His Vile Eruptions (Politico Mag)

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers wins and surprises (AP)

• Putin filmed in China accompanied by officers with Russian nuclear briefcase (Reuters)

• Six French airports evacuated after 'threats of attack' (France24)

• Have we reached the end of nature? Our relationship with the environment is in crisis (Conversation)

• The Amazon River fell to its lowest level in over a century this week as a severe drought continues to upend life in the Brazilian rainforest. (Reuters)

• Why storytelling may be the secret to success at work (Fast Company)

• Self-Checkout Is a Failed Experiment (Atlantic)

• Maybe We Will Finally Learn More About How A.I. Works (NYT)

• Humans Are More Likely to Slack Off When Working With Robots, Study Finds (Gizmodo)

• A Chatbot Encouraged Him to Kill the Queen. It’s Just the Beginning (Wired)

• Tech Leaders Say AI Will Change What It Means to Have a Job (WSJ)

• Windex Releases New 40-Story Bottles For Streak-Free Skyscrapers (The Onion)

Volatile Time

Someone fired a missile that slammed into a hospital where thousands of people were sheltering from the war in Gaza yesterday, killing hundreds of them. Although Hamas blamed Israel for the disaster and Israel blamed Islamic Jihad, a third party to this conflict, it almost doesn’t matter who was behind the explosion because everyone had already made up their mind as to who bore the responsibility before it even happened.

That’s the way it goes in a war like this one, where the parties are so blinded by hate that the facts don’t really matter. People see what they want to see.

Wherever the truth lies (historians will have to be responsible for that), what is indisputable about the hospital attack is the timing couldn’t have been worse when it comes to Joe Biden’s visit in support of Israel, which began today.

Widespread protests broke out almost immediately after the blast in the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere in the Arab world, blaming Israel. The widespread anger is certain to be directed against the U.S. as well. The proposed summit between Biden and Arab and Palestinian leaders has been cancelled. The war may well now expand beyond Gaza.

As the overall situation continues to deteriorate in the Middle East, back home the Republican Party failed once again to elect a Speaker of the House. Its leading candidate, Jim Jordan, tried to bully his way to the job but that has apparently backfired. Thus, at home and abroad, the U.S. system of democracy is facing dangerous crises, with no solutions in sight.

HEADLINE

• Israel-Hamas war live: at least 500 casualties in Gaza hospital strike, health ministry says (Guardian)

• Gaza’s doctors struggle to save hospital blast survivors as Middle East rage grows (AP)

• Israel, Palestinian officials trade blame for deadly strike on Gaza hospital (WP)

• Joe Biden’s Israel trip is risky but worth it (Deccan Herald)

• Mideast teeters on the brink of wider war as Iran ponders its options (WP)

• For Hostages’ Families, an ‘Endless Loop of Hope and Despair’ (NYT)

• Gazans face growing crisis as a key border crossing remains closed (NPR)

• Gaza hospitals have entered a state of ‘collapse,’ Palestinian officials say (CNN)

• Top Hamas Commander Killed (WSJ)

• Severe water shortages in Gaza following Israel’s total blockade of the enclave have “become a matter of life and death,” according to the United Nations. (Reuters)

• U.S. and Israel Focus on Hezbollah’s Next Move After Hamas Attack (NYT)

• As Biden heads to Israel and Jordan, aid is being held up for Gaza (AP)

• Vladimir Putin feted at Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road summit (BBC)

• Historic day: As Biden heads to Israel, Putin lands in China (Axios)

• Violent crime decreases to pre-pandemic levels, according to FBI (NBC)

• Prosecutors to recharge Alec Baldwin for 'Rust' shooting (Reuters)

• Prosecutors are appealing length of prison sentences for Proud Boys leaders convicted of Jan. 6 plot (AP)

• Amy Coney Barrett calls ethics code for scandal-hit supreme court ‘a good idea’ (Guardian)

• Jim Jordan should be expelled from the House, not made speaker (MSNBC)

• Jordan loses first vote for House speaker amid GOP defections (CNN)

• Ukraine uses secretly shipped U.S. missiles to launch surprise strike (Politico)

• World has abandoned Afghanistan, says country’s last women’s minister (Al Jazeera)

• India Supreme Court declines to legalise same-sex marriage (BBC)

• Amazon rivers fall to lowest levels in 121 years amid a severe drought (CNN)

• Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day (Gallup)

• How to fix the Internet (MIT)

• Stress is shortening the life spans of Americans. Inflation, violence, politics, race relations and an unequal society cause people in the U.S. to age quicker, become sicker and die younger than peers in similar nations. (WP)

• A.I. May Not Get a Chance to Kill Us if This Kills It First (Slate)

• AI is closer than ever to passing the Turing test for ‘intelligence’. What happens when it does? (Conversation)

• Girlfriend To Stay Underneath Blanket For Next 5 Months (The Onion)
  

 

Biden Makes His Move

As the crisis in the Middle East continues to escalate, the news broke Monday that Joe Biden plans to visit Israel tomorrow. At the very least, this may indicate a pause before the massed Israeli forces invade Gaza.

And a pause may allow more civilians to escape being caught in the crossfire.

Reports from the region indicate the possibility that Hezbollah may enter the war, which would force Israel to fight on two fronts. Biden’s visit may be designed to discourage that from happening.

The U.S. is moving two huge warship groups into the vicinity as a further disincentive for third parties to get involved. What the U.S. wants is for Israel to be able to focus on one thing and one thing only — the elimination of Hamas and its ability to do what it did on Oct. 7th.

A lot is at stake. The future of the Israeli and Palestinian people, stability in the region, the balance of global geopolitical power. It seems almost trivial to mention it in this context, but this also will almost certainly be the defining moment for the Biden Presidency.

HEADLINES

• Biden to Visit Israel (CBS)

• U.S. Citizens Set to Leave Gaza Via Egypt (WSJ)

• As Israeli Invasion Looms, Diplomats Seek to Meet Gaza’s Dire Human Needs (NYT)

• U.S. officials signal pressure on Israel to address crisis (WP)

• Gaza’s crowded hospitals near breaking point as Israeli ground invasion looms (AP)

• Hopes for a brief ceasefire in southern Gaza to allow foreign passport holders to leave the besieged Palestinian enclave and aid to be brought in were dashed, with Israeli bombardments intensifying ahead of an expected ground invasion. (Reuters)

• Biden said Israel should not reoccupy Gaza if it invades the territory. He added that he believed Hamas’ leadership needed to be eliminated, “but there needs to be a Palestinian authority” in Gaza and a pathway to “a Palestinian state.” Meanwhile, Biden is reportedly considering a trip to Israelin the coming days to reinforce U.S. support for the country. [HuffPost]

• Standoff at Egyptian border blocks aid, passage as conditions in Gaza worsen (WP)

• Trump ‘does not have the right to say and do exactly what he pleases,’ Judge Chutkan says, issuing gag order (CNN)

• Senators flummoxed, ‘horrified’ by House leadership vacuum (The Hill)

• Russia launched five missiles and 12 kamikaze drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, Ukraine's air force said early, with officials reporting further artillery and air strikes. (Reuters)

• Will pro-Europe Donald Tusk be Poland’s next prime minister? (Economist)

• LinkedIn lays off 668 employees in second cut this year (Reuters)

• Trump's Truth Social Continues to Collapse as Its Biz Partner Loses Virtually All of its Funding (Daily Kos)

• Scientists built the largest-ever map of the human brain. Here's what they found (NPR)

• Race isn’t real, science says. Advocates want the census to reflect that. (WP)

• Why Big Tech, Cops, and Spies Were Made for One Another (Intercept)

• Animals Are Avoiding Us (Atlantic)

• Keep Forgetting Things? Neuroscience Just Gave You a Reason to Drink a Lot More Coffee (Inc.)

• How ‘A.I. Agents’ That Roam the Internet Could One Day Replace Workers (NYT)

• Millions of Workers Are Training AI Models for Pennies (Wired)

• Mac users are embracing AI apps, study finds, with 42% using AI apps daily (TechCrunch)

• AI pioneers Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio clash in an intense online debate over AI safety and governance (VentureBeat)

• How AI could help — or hurt — internet freedom (Edit Bd/WP)

• Girlfriend Must Have Been Drinking When She Texted Picture Of Knitted Scarf At Midnight (The Onion)

 

Tragic Cycle

The problem with trying to write about the situation in Israel and Gaza dispassionately is one of framing. The latest iteration in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians started with the shockingly brutal murders of over a thousand Israeli citizens by Hamas invaders in what can only be described as an act of terrorism on October 7th.

The roots of the conflict go far further back, but if you take that slaughter as the starting point for the story, the subsequent bombing campaign waged in Gaza by Israel and the resulting humanitarian crisis is the next data point.

Now, a massive invasion of Gaza seems imminent.

The way this narrative will almost certainly unfold has an awful inevitability to it. Israel is bent not only on revenge but on wiping out the ability of Hamas to conduct similar operations in the future.

In order to get to Hamas, which is embedded in the civilian infrastructure and population, Israel will inflict massive collateral damage in the form of civilian casualties.

The entire world is justifiably horrified by this prospect, but there appears to be no way it can be prevented. In the process of achieving its goal, if it succeeds, Israel will ironically mobilize global opinion against it due to the the killing and maiming of innocent Palestinians, which will in turn render its victory pyrrhic in nature.

Israel will also inadvertently radicalize a new generation of young Arabs to turn against it, engendering new Hamas-style terrorists capable of future attacks.

Thus, what is about to unfold is both inevitable and pointless, because the cycle of attack and counterattack will only continue to get worse, and nothing will be resolved.

As I said, the problem with telling this story is one of framing. To understand all of the factors that led up to the October 7th attacks requires going back over the entire tortuous history of the region, back to the founding of Israel in 1948, the occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands and the many wars and human rights abuses on both sides since then.

It is ultimately a tragedy, and one that has no end in sight.

HEADLINES

• Iran warns Israel through UN against ground offensive in Gaza (Axios)

• Blinken Says Gaza Crossing Will Be Opened After Meeting With Egyptian Leader (WSJ)

• Water runs out at United Nations shelters in Gaza (Politico)

• Israeli Invasion Plans Target Gaza City and Hamas Leadership (NYT)

• Schumer rushed to shelter from rockets in Tel Aviv (The Hill)

• Jake Sullivan: ‘Critical’ that there be safe places for civilians in Gaza to go (Politico)

• Israel vows ‘complete victory’ over Hamas as Gaza crisis deepens (WP)

• Can White House Diplomacy Help Prevent Escalation in Gaza and Beyond? (New Yorker)

• Poland’s populist ruling party set to lose its majority, exit poll shows (CNN)

• What to know about Poland’s election and its potential ramifications for Europe, war in Ukraine (WP)

• Powerful earthquake hits west Afghanistan, a week after strong quakes in same region (NPR)

• Jim Jordan races to try to change minds of holdouts in bid for House speaker (Guardian)

• Jim Jordan’s pressure campaign the ‘dumbest thing you can do,’ one House Republican says (Politico)

• A Recession Is No Longer the Consensus (WSJ)

• Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Is One Prompt Away (Forbes)

• How a billionaire-backed network of AI advisers took over Washington (Politico)

• How AI could help — or hurt — internet freedom (Edit Bd/WP)

• Woman Always Thought She Would Have More Impressive Showerhead By This Age (The Onion)

 

Weekend Reads

HEADLINES

• Israel prepares for ‘significant’ ground operations as Gazans stream south (Financial Times)

• Israel Defense Forces says it's 'in formation' to strike Gaza City (NPR)

• John Bolton says US intelligence community should ask itself, ‘What else have we missed?’ following Hamas attack (The Hill)

• Trapped in Gaza, Palestinian Americans Say They Feel Abandoned NYT)

• More Than 700 Children Among 2,300 Killed In Gaza: Health Ministry (AFP)

• With all eyes on Gaza war, violence is quietly mounting in the West Bank (WP)

• What Was Hamas Thinking? (New Yorker)

• What should America’s Middle East strategy be now? (Economist)

• Israel-Hamas War Threatens Wider Unrest and Crushes Hopes for Calmer Mideast (NYT)

• Australians vote No in referendum that promised change for First Nations people but couldn’t deliver (CNN)

• Taliban to join China's Belt and Road forum, elevating ties (Reuters)

• China Issues Ominous War Warning to U.S. (Newsweek)

• No letup in Russian strikes on Ukrainian town of Avdiivka (Reuters)

• Artificial intelligence's $100 billion possibility (Axios)

• How roboticists are thinking about generative AI (TechCrunch)

• AI can now copy anyone’s voice. Politicians and celebs are finding out the hard way. (WP)

• Burned-out parents seek help from a new ally: ChatGPT (Axios)

• Woman Stalked Across 8 Websites By Obsessed Shoe Advertisement (The Onion)