U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has expressed his disapproval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Palestinian sovereignty issue, criticizing his "extreme" and "racist" policies. Palestinian American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib responded with a video featuring pro-Palestinian protests and remarks from President Joe Biden, ending with a call to remember in 2024. Sanders concluded by expressing his hope that Israeli voters will "get rid of" Netanyahu and elect a government that understands the severity of the crisis.
News Mash
On November 5th, the one-year anniversary of the 2024 Election Day, the GOP-led House passed a bill providing $14 billion in aid to Israel, defended by Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise. However, the bill has no chance of survival in the Senate and President Joe Biden has vowed to veto it. At the same time, journalist James Fallows and Washington Post reporter Marianna Sotomayor discussed the upcoming election at the Dubliner, an Irish pub on Capitol Hill, noting that "everything is at stake" and that the election will turn on big fundamentals of economics and people's sense of the world.
The 24th New York City Marathon saw a record-breaking performance from Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia, who finished the 5-borough course in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds, beating the previous course record. Hellen Obiri of Kenya won the women's race, while Tola pulled away from countrymate Jemal Yimer in the final miles to take the title and break the record. The event was a testament to the strength and determination of all the runners who participated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected suggestions that the war with Russia has reached a stalemate, and has pleaded for the U.S. to provide more weapons. Opposition in Congress to providing more weapons appears to be rising, and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova has said that the Ukrainian government is running very short of U.S.-provided aid. The war in the Middle East is also diverting some attention from the war in Ukraine, making the situation increasingly dire.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is set to endorse Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president at a rally in Des Moines on Monday, giving DeSantis a major boost in his campaign to challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination. Reynolds, a close ally of DeSantis, has previously appeared at his campaign events and will also be appearing at a stop in Davenport on Tuesday morning.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and discuss the need for a lasting ceasefire and humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. His visit came just hours after an Israeli airstrike killed 40 people in a refugee camp, and he condemned the attack and urged both sides to de-escalate the conflict. Blinken pledged to work with the international community to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need and expressed his condolences for the civilian casualties in Gaza.
Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip have resulted in multiple civilian casualties, prompting international uproar and calls for an immediate end to the violence. In response, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called it “shocking and crazy” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended Amihai Eliyahu, a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, who had suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military has offered a three-hour window for residents to flee south.
Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian Barker have welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Rocky 13 Barker. After trying in vitro fertilization, the couple had documented Kardashian Barker's struggle to get pregnant on the Hulu television series "The Kardashians" and eventually left the family planning in God's hands. Two sources have confirmed the news, and fans of the couple are eagerly awaiting an announcement from the parents and the first glimpse of the newest Barker.