WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, November 16, 2023

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1/ The Senate approved a temporary funding measure to avert a government shutdown, sending the measure to Biden for his signature before the Friday night deadline. The bill sets up two funding deadlines in early 2024, with roughly 20% percent of the federal government running out of money on Jan. 19 and the remaining 80% on Feb. 2. The legislation finances the government at current spending levels and contains no policy conditions – aspects that have enraged far-right Republicans. The “laddered” deadlines are designed to allow the House and Senate to negotiate and pass the 12 full-year spending measures. (Bloomberg / Axios / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)

2/ George Santos will not seek reelection after the House Ethics Committee found “substantial evidence” that he violated federal criminal laws. The bipartisan report found that Santos engaged in a “complex web” of illegal activity, “blatantly stole” from his campaign, and sought to “fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy” for personal financial gain. The report concluded that Santos “cannot be trusted.” The Ethics Committee unanimously voted to refer the evidence to the Justice Department. Santos, meanwhile, has rejected calls for his resignation. (CNN / New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / Bloomberg / ABC News / NBC News / Washington Post / CNBC / CBS News)

3/ Israel Defense Forces raided Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital for the second time in 24 hours, searching for evidence that the hospital was used by Hamas as a command center. Israel is facing growing international pressure to provide concrete evidence of extensive Hamas infrastructure at the facility to justify sending troops into a hospital, which has special protections under international humanitarian law. So far, the IDF has released photos and videos of AK-47s, hand grenades, military uniforms, and laptops identified as Hamas material found inside the hospital. The body of an Israeli hostage who was kidnapped on Oct. 7, was also found near the complex. The IDF, however, has not yet provided evidence of tunnels or a Hamas command center it claims exists under the hospital – a claim that Hamas and hospital staff have denied. News outlets and other third-party an...

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