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How drones froze Ukraine’s frontlines

How drones froze Ukraine’s frontlines

The Guardian reports: For four months, Russian troops have been trying to seize the eastern Ukrainian village of Synkivka. On a map, this looks easy. Their forward position is on the edge of a forest. It is a mere 500 metres away from the Ukrainian frontline and a shattered collection of cottages. Every few days the Russians attack. Their forays across open ground end in the same way: complete disaster. Armoured vehicles with men perched on top, speed across a…

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Israel tries to rebut genocide charge by declassifying cherry-picked cabinet decisions

Israel tries to rebut genocide charge by declassifying cherry-picked cabinet decisions

The New York Times reports: Israel has declassified more than 30 secret orders made by government and military leaders, which it says rebut the charge that it committed genocide in Gaza, and instead show Israeli efforts to diminish deaths among Palestinian civilians. The release of the documents, copies of which were reviewed by The New York Times, follows a petition to the International Court of Justice by South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide. Much of South Africa’s case…

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World Bank report finds 45% of residential buildings in Gaza ruined beyond repair

World Bank report finds 45% of residential buildings in Gaza ruined beyond repair

The Times of Israel reports: Some 45 percent of residential buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed since war erupted between Israel and Hamas on October 7, leaving over 1 million people homeless, according to a World Bank study based on satellite images and media accounts. According to data collected by the international body, over 60% of residential buildings in the Gaza Strip, or 132,590 structures, have been damaged amid the war, which has seen Israel bombard the enclave…

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Biden to deploy CIA director to help broker major Gaza deal

Biden to deploy CIA director to help broker major Gaza deal

The Washington Post reports: President Biden plans to dispatch CIA Director William J. Burns in the coming days to help broker an ambitious deal between Hamas and Israel that would involve the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza and the longest cessation of hostilities since the war began last year, according to officials familiar with the matter. Burns is expected to travel to Europe for the talks and meet with the Israeli and Egyptian intelligence chiefs, David Barnea…

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Trump’s exponential power surge

Trump’s exponential power surge

Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write: Something shocking — and telling — has unfolded beyond Donald Trump‘s onstage, online and courtroom theatrics: He’s running a professional, well-managed, disciplined presidential campaign. His 2024 operation is more sophisticated — dare we say traditional — than the slapdash improvisation of his White House and two previous runs. Why it matters: Trump likely will wrap up the nomination in record time, with almost universal GOP establishment backing. If he were to win — and run the White House like…

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How Big Pharma is fueling a radical MAGA agenda

How Big Pharma is fueling a radical MAGA agenda

Rolling Stone reports: Big Pharma has invested big money in the organizations planning what a MAGA policy agenda will look like in a new Trump administration. Not surprisingly, that policy playbook contains a major gift for the drug industry: a swift end to the Biden administration’s landmark program to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. For two decades, Congress barred Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices, which is a major reason why Americans pay higher prices for drugs than…

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Overwhelming majority of aid to Ukraine goes to American companies and workers

Overwhelming majority of aid to Ukraine goes to American companies and workers

Of the $68 billion in military and related assistance Congress has approved since Russia invaded Ukraine, almost 90% is going to Americans. Including to Lima, Ohio, where workers produce Abrams tanks and Stryker combat vehicles. The state Sen. Vance represents. https://t.co/adF1PWnztH pic.twitter.com/zRVhCCMfMk — Kareem Rifai 🌐 (@KareemRifai) January 25, 2024 We simply have no idea where a lot of our money to Ukraine has gone. The corruption is out of control. One more reason to reject further aid. https://t.co/O4unov6opg —…

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U.S. Senate panel backs ‘big hammer’ plan to seize Russian assets to help Ukraine

U.S. Senate panel backs ‘big hammer’ plan to seize Russian assets to help Ukraine

Reuters reports: A U.S. Senate committee approved legislation on Wednesday that would help set the stage for the United States to confiscate Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine for rebuilding after the destruction of the nearly two-year-long war. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 20 to 1 in favor of the unprecedented “Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act.” If it were to pass the full Senate and House of Representatives and be signed into law…

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Israeli demonstrators block humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza

Israeli demonstrators block humanitarian aid crossing into Gaza

i24News reports: As part of a day of action, Israeli demonstrators demanded an immediate deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza for over 100 days since the Hamas-led October 7 attack. Several streets and junctions across the country were blocked. At the same time, a demonstration was held at Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza. Families of hostages, fallen soldiers, reservists, victims of October 7 and the evacuated citizens themselves in protest prevented aid trucks from entering…

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Israeli war cabinet minister says Netanyahu is lying about defeating Hamas

Israeli war cabinet minister says Netanyahu is lying about defeating Hamas

The Daily Beast reports: Israeli war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot took direct aim at Benjamin Netanyahu in a televised interview late Thursday in which he accused the prime minister of not being honest about Israel’s wartime objectives in Gaza. Speaking with Israel’s Channel 12, Eisenkot addressed Netanyahu’s recent press conference, in which the prime minister publicly dismissed the U.S. push for a Palestinian state after the war is over—and reiterated his intentions to keep the war going until Israel achieves…

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Turkey’s parliament votes to let Sweden join NATO

Turkey’s parliament votes to let Sweden join NATO

The Associated Press reports: Turkish legislators on Tuesday endorsed Sweden’s membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country’s entry into the military alliance. The legislators ratified Sweden’s accession protocol by 287 votes to 55, with four abstentions. The ratification will come into effect after its publication in the Official Gazette, which is expected to be swift. Hungary then becomes the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden’s accession. NATO-member Turkey had been delaying Sweden’s membership…

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A plurality of Americans are not affiliated with any religion

A plurality of Americans are not affiliated with any religion

NPR reports: When Americans are asked to check a box indicating their religious affiliation, 28% now check ‘none.’ A new study from Pew Research finds that the religiously unaffiliated – a group comprised of atheists, agnostic and those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” – is now the largest cohort in the U.S. They’re more prevalent among American adults than Catholics (23%) or evangelical Protestants (24%). Back in 2007, Nones made up just 16% of Americans, but Pew’s…

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U.S. states had an estimated 65,000 rape-related pregnancies after banning abortion

U.S. states had an estimated 65,000 rape-related pregnancies after banning abortion

NPR reports: As an abortion provider in Montana, Dr. Samuel Dickman has seen patients routinely who tell him they became pregnant after a rape. His sense was the patients who were telling him were only a fraction of the true number. “There are certainly far more survivors of rape who become pregnant as a result, who — for totally understandable reasons — don’t want to disclose that fact to a medical provider that they just met.” Dickman used to live…

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‘Showing the world what’s possible’: St Paul makes history with first all-female city council

‘Showing the world what’s possible’: St Paul makes history with first all-female city council

The Guardian reports: When Rebecca Noecker first decided to enter politics in 2016, she was a young mom with two kids and many questions. She had a background in education but no knowledge of how to run for office. “There were so many systems that I saw around me that just felt broken and people were in pain and I wanted to do something about that,” Noecker, 39, said. “And it felt like politics was a way to do it.”…

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