Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

DaybreakInsider.com

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Intense, Record-Breaking Storm Surges Through the East Coast

Washington Post: A historically intense December coastal storm is blasting the Northeast on Monday after unleashing heavy rainfall, coastal flooding and high winds from Florida to the Mid-Atlantic. More than 700,000 customers had no power midday Monday as gusts surpassed 60 mph in many locations in eastern New England. Boston’s Logan International Airport — where inbound fights were being delayed an average of 2 hours, 14 minutes because of high winds — clocked a gust at 68 mph (Washington Post). CNBC: The same storm system battered Florida and the Carolinas with strong winds and torrential rain over the weekend — with Charleston breaking a daily record Sunday with 3.86 inches of rainfall and Gainesville, Florida, recording more than 7 inches. South Carolina also set a record for greatest storm surge from a non-tropical system with a high tide at nearly 10 feet. In New York City, a travel advisory is in effect due to flooding conditions on roads, power outages and high winds on bridges. The city’s emergency management office also warned of “imminent” flash flooding in Manhattan and the Bronx, warning locals to avoid basements and low-lying areas (CNBC).

British Petroleum Halts Exports Through the Red Sea Causing Global Oil Prices to Increase

Politico: The oil and gas heavyweight British Petroleum (BP) has paused shipping through the Red Sea, the company said Monday, as attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the area have intensified in the last few weeks. “In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” the company said in a statement. Houthis — a pro-Palestinian rebel Yemeni group which is backed by Iran — have increasingly targeted international ships going through the Red Sea since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, raising fears that the conflict could escalate into a regional war (Politico). Daily Caller: The news sent oil prices up across the world on Monday, with Brent crude jumping by 2.7% to nearly $79 per barrel and American oil rising by 2.7% up to $73.44 per barrel. In European markets, natural gas contract futures spiked by about 8% (Daily Caller).

U.S. Announces Task Force to Defend Ships in Red Sea from Terror Attacks

Hill: The U.S. on Monday announced a new maritime task force that will defend commercial ships from aggression in the Red Sea in an effort to thwart the Houthi rebel group, which has attacked merchant vessels and forced companies to suspend routes through the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Operation Prosperity Guardian will be a new security initiative involving several countries: the U.K., Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, the Iranian-backed Houthis have joined in with other militia groups across the Middle East in assaulting U.S. positions and assets. The Houthis have launched aggressive attacks on commercial ships as part of the fighting, including seizing a boat last month in a daring raid (Hill). Financial Times: The US had not ruled out military action against Houthi targets if the attacks on ships continue, officials said. It would “take appropriate action . . . at a time and place of our choosing”, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this month (Financial Times).

Author, Scholar Carol Swain Takes Harvard, President Gay to Task in Op-Ed

Daily Wire: Carol Swain, the author and legal scholar whose work was allegedly plagiarized by Harvard President Claudine Gay, blasted Harvard University in an op-ed published Sunday. Harvard has stood by its president amid the scandal, saying it conducted an independent review of Gay’s work, which “revealed a few instances of inadequate citation.” The Ivy League school added that her failure to cite the works she pulled from didn’t violate the university’s standards. Swain, who previously taught at Vanderbilt University and Princeton University, said the backlash to Gay’s alleged plagiarism should be much more severe but lamented that many of the others Gay is accused of plagiarizing “aren’t as incensed” as she is because “they are elites who have benefited from a system that protects its own.” Swain then slammed Harvard for standing by Gay as its president since Gay’s work provides no “ground-breaking originality” (Daily Wire). Carol Swain: Harvard can’t condemn Ms. Gay because she is the product of an elite system that holds minorities of high pedigree to a lower standard. This harms academia as a whole, and it demeans Americans, of all races, who had to work for everything they earned (Wall Street Journal).

Pope Francis Takes Large Step Forward in Getting the Catholic Church to Change Doctrine on Gay Marriage

New York Times: The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis had allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, his most definitive step yet to make the Roman Catholic Church more welcoming to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics and more reflective of his vision of a more pastoral, and less rigid, church. The new rule was issued in a declaration by the church’s office on doctrine and introduced by its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who said that the declaration did not amend “the traditional doctrine of the church about marriage,” because it allowed no liturgical rite that could be confused with the sacrament of marriage. “It is precisely in this context,” Cardinal Fernández wrote, “that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status or changing in any way the Church’s perennial teaching on marriage” (New York Times). Newsmax: Pope Francis approves blessing for same-sex couples (X). National Review: The Catechism of the Catholic Church holds homosexual activity to be sinful and calls homosexuals to chastity (National Review).

NYC Mayor Adams (D): “we underestimated the impact of the migrant and asylum-seeker issue”

Townhall: In an interview on Sunday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said that he thinks Democrats have “underestimated” the impact of the illegal immigration crisis. Adams told CBS “we (Democrats) underestimated the impact of the migrant and asylum-seeker issue that’s impacting major cities in this country.” Adams added that there is a “visual impact” that can be seen in the city, as thousands of illegal immigrants use scooters to illegally work delivery jobs. “It’s created this underground market that is really dangerous to the infrastructure of our city, and the scooters you see is a reflection of that,” he said. In another interview Sunday, Adams noted that going forward, the Big Apple will experience “extremely painful” cuts to the city’s budget in order to handle the influx of illegal immigrants (Townhall). Post Millennial: NYC Mayor Eric Adams on budget cuts as the city grapples with a migrant crisis: “What we’re going to have to do is extremely painful” (X).

Japanese Steel Company Buys Out U.S. Steel for $14.9 Billion

USA Today: Nippon Steel Corporation, the largest steelmaker in Japan, is acquiring the United States Steel Corporation for almost $15 billion. Nippon Steel Corporation, or NSC, is acquiring U.S. Steel in an all-cash transaction at $55 per share for a total enterprise value of $14.9 billion. The transaction was unanimously approved by the board of directors at both U.S. Steel and NSC, and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of the 2024 calendar year. The companies say the acquisition will further diversify NSC’s global footprint by significantly expanding its current production in the U.S., and the company’s total annual crude steel capacity is expected to reach 86 million tons (USA Today). Reuters: All of U.S. Steel’s commitments with its employees, including all collective bargaining agreements in place with its union, will be honored, Nippon said. Despite these assurances, the United Steelworkers union, which had endorsed heavily unionized Cliffs as the acquirer, said it is opposed to the sale to Nippon because it did not have faith in labor agreements being upheld. “Our union intends to exercise the full measure of our agreements to ensure that whatever happens next with U.S. Steel, we protect the good, family-sustaining jobs we bargained,” United Steelworkers said (Reuters).

Pro-Democracy Media Mogul Jimmy Lai Goes on Trial in Hong Kong Court

CBS: Jimmy Lai, a media tycoon and champion of free speech and democracy, went on trial in Hong Kong Monday. He’s been charged with several crimes, including colluding with foreign forces, but supporters around the world say his real offense has been criticizing China’s ruling Communist Party and its crackdown on freedom in Hong Kong. If convicted on the charges, Lai could face life in prison (CBS). HotAir: Back in August 2020, shortly after China had pushed through a new security law in Hong Kong, 200 police officers were sent to the offices of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper run by Jimmy Lai. Lai himself was arrested at home but was brought into the office and paraded around in handcuffs. The police also arrested other high ranking staff at the newspaper and seized papers and laptops. That same day, China froze Lai’s accounts in an attempt to shutter Apple Daily. Because readers pushed to keep the paper going it survived for a while until China finally froze its corporate bank accounts, shutting down the only outspoken pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. The excuse for all of this was that Lai and others had colluded with foreign agents to attempt to undermine China’s control. Ever since then China has been prosecuting people involved, trying to write its version of what happened into the history books (HotAir).

Man Arrested for Perpetuating Hate Crime Attack Against Jews Outside Synagogue in D.C.

NBC Washington: A man was arrested in an antisemitic attack outside a D.C. synagogue on Sunday. Officers arrested Brent Wood for allegedly shouting an antisemitic phrase and spraying a foul-smelling substance on two people outside the Kesher Israel Congregation. The victims were not physically hurt. Police are investigating the incident as a hate or bias-motivated crime. The Anti-Defamation League condemned the incident, issuing a statement that reads in part, “There is simply no excuse for these antisemitic acts. None of this is normal and no one should think this is okay (NBC Washington). Reporter AG Hamilton: A man has been arrested in Washington D.C. today after blocking the entrance to a Synagogue then spraying those who exited with some kind of substance while screaming “Gas the Jews” (X).

10.

BlackRock Sued by Tennessee’s AG for Misleading Customers Regarding ESG Practices

Townhall: Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti slapped BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, with a first-of-its-kind lawsuit on Monday, alleging the company misled customers about the financial consequences caused by its embrace of woke ESG — environmental, social, and governance — policies (Townhall). Greg Price: The state of Tennessee is suing BlackRock in a first of its kind lawsuit alleging that they violated consumer protection laws by misleading investors about their money being used to fund ESG (X). National Review: BlackRock is a member of ESG coalitions Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and Climate Action 100+. Participation in these groups compels BlackRock to make various pledges to combat climate change that affect its clients’ assets and achieve specific emissions reduction targets, the complaint said. These promises include lobbying, engagement, voting on shareholder proposals, and managing assets with the goal of achieving “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050, according to the complaint. The complaint claimed BlackRock has made “climate and natural capital” a top shareholder engagement factor while maintaining in other messaging that return on investment, not environmental concerns, is its main priority (National Review).