Secretary of State Blinken arrived back in the Middle East as violence roars at a fever-pitch.

Friday, January 5, 2024
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Trump lawyer Alina Habba ([link removed]) going full Mob Boss ahead of Trump’s ballot eligibility heading to the Supreme Court

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived back in the Middle East for the fourth time since October 7 for a grueling week of tense negotiations as the region simmers with violence.

* Blinken is on a mission to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, curtail Israeli attacks that have killed thousands of Palestinians, quell ever-increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank ([link removed]) , and stop the entire region from erupting in a wider conflict. But a new report about his diplomatic dustup with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an earlier visit shows just how fraught this job will be. In November, Blinken told Netanyahu that Israel would have to agree to a series of humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow for the flow of more aid into the enclave and give civilians the opportunity to leave areas under attack. But Netanyahu refused ([link removed]) , according to a detailed account in The New York Times. Blinken retorted that he would then announce the Biden administration’s demand in a news conference
in order to accelerate public pressure, which led to Netanyahu preempting him by releasing a defiant video statement ([link removed]) declaring “nothing will stop us” until Israel defeats Hamas.

* Several days later, the Israel Defense Forces started taking four-hour pauses in the fighting in a few areas, despite Netanyahu’s objection. Armed with weapons from the United States, the IDF has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians since the war began, most of whom are civilians, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. American State Department officials are increasingly struggling to come to an agreement with their Israeli counterparts over a wide range of critical issues, including the need to reduce civilian casualties as soon as possible.

* Secretary Blinken has both maintained steadfast support for Israel, while also repeatedly expressing the need to minimize Palestinian suffering in recent months. On Tuesday, the State Department issued a sharp rebuke of two Israeli government officials ([link removed]) —one of whom was Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—who advocated for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza. The statement read that the United States has been “clear, consistent, and unequivocal that Gaza is Palestinian land and will remain Palestinian land.” To underscore the tension rising between the allies, Ben-Gvir responded on social media: “with all due respect, we are not another star in the American flag.”

Secretary Blinken’s marathon trip will include stops in Israel, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Greece, and Turkey. (And you thought YOU were busy at work!)

* Israel has reportedly blocked water purifiers, medical supplies, and other necessary items from entering Gaza, according to an internal document from the Egyptian Red Crescent viewed by Reuters ([link removed]) . Israel has long maintained the practice of inspecting trucks entering Gaza to stop the flow of any items with potential “dual use” for both civilian or military purposes. However, the unprecedented conditions of starvation and urgent medical needs resulting from Israel’s assault on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack make any disruption in the delivery of supplies to the enclave a dire prospect. Israel denies blocking the supplies detailed in a list on the Red Crescent documents.

* Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on Friday that his country will begin the process of removing the U.S.-led international military coalition ([link removed]) . The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq on a mission it describes as an effort to advise and assist local forces in preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State. The statement came just one day after an American strike killed a militia leader in Baghdad that the Pentagon claimed was responsible for recent attacks on U.S. personnel. Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria (where the U.S. has 900 troops) oppose Israel’s campaign in Gaza, and hold the United States responsible as well. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran that killed more than 100 people on Wednesday.

Even as Blinken is expected to have tense talks with Netanyahu, the Biden administration has continued to approve huge weapons shipments to Israel without any conditions ([link removed]) .

With less than two weeks to go until this year’s Iowa Caucuses, Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer & Tommy Vietor are covering Trump’s removal from ballots in Maine & Colorado and breaking down Joe Biden’s reelection strategy. Then, MSNBC National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki stops by to geek out over the latest voter data and what it might mean for the 2024 Presidential election. Head over to the Pod Save America ([link removed]-) feed now to listen!
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Florida, the third-most populous state in the U.S., is seeking to follow in Ohio’s footsteps to undo strict abortion bans put in place by the Sunshine State’s right-wing government. Activist groups secured enough certified signatures on Friday to put a referendum on the ballot to enshrine abortion protections into the state Constitution ([link removed]) in 2024, well ahead of the February 1 deadline. The measure would undo Florida’s ban and open access to thousands of patients facing restrictions throughout neighboring states in the South, if it succeeds. The ballot initiative would protect abortion until about 24 weeks of pregnancy, and would need 60 percent voter approval to pass. Abortion will be on the ballot both literally and figuratively this November. Go to votesaveamerica.com/fuckbans to learn more about how you can get involved in these efforts and more across the country.

The Supreme Court has taken up the case of disgraced former president Donald Trump’s 2024 eligibility ([link removed]) , given the whole January 6 insurrection thing. Here we go!


Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) signed an executive order on Friday banning gender transition-related surgeries for minors in the state ([link removed]) , although such surgeries are very rare on minors and not recommended by most medical associations. Last week Gov. DeWine vetoed a bill that would have banned all gender-affirming care for minors, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers.


Longtime NRA chief executive and professional ghoul Wayne LaPierre announced he will resign from the organization on Friday ([link removed]) . LaPierre faces a lawsuit that sought to remove him from the position, brought by state Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) for decades of fraud and self-dealing.


Insurgents are suspected to have killed 14 people in a rampage in the northeastern Nigerian state of Yobe on Friday ([link removed]) . Two months ago, another such attack in the state killed 40 people.


Former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn is running for Congress in Maryland ([link removed]) on a platform of protecting democracy after he rose to prominence following the January 6 insurrection.


House Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight committees are rubbing their grubby little hands together preparing to move forward with a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress ([link removed]) for refusing to appear for a closed-door deposition. The younger Biden requested that the hearing be public.


Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) will retire at the end of this year ([link removed]) , meaning all three GOP-held congressional seats will be up for grabs in November.

House Conservatives are once again vowing to either “shut down the border or shut down the government," in the words of slap-happy anti-migrant right-wing Rep. Chip Roy ([link removed]) (R-TX). A partial government shutdown could begin in just 16 days if Roy and his band of legislative hostage-takers don’t get their way and force Congress to enact sweeping changes to immigration law. Cool! Great! What a productive group! This time, they’re imperiling military aid to Ukraine, too. Funding for about 20 percent of the government—including important stuff like assistance for veterans, and food and drug safety programs—could dry up as soon as January 19, and money for the rest of the government could run out by Feb. 2, according to The Washington Post ([link removed]) . So…do they mean it this time?
Conventional wisdom holds that this is a dangerous game for Republicans. Polls typically show that voters ([link removed]) (rightly) tend to put the blame for budget showdown shenanigans principally on the GOP. House Republicans know this, despite their bluster. That helps explain why, in the past, they have enjoyed talking big and then wimped out right before the deadline. Of course, we’ll all find out soon enough whether this time, that bitter dose of border justice, which Rep. Roy and his Freedom Caucus buddies keep talking about forcing Democrats to swallow, turns out to be all foam, and no beer.

U.S employers added 216,000 jobs in December and unemployment held at 3.7 percent ([link removed]) , meaning job creation continued even as inflation continued to fall.


Average hourly wages also rose 0.4 percent for an overall 4.1 percent year-on-year increase ([link removed]) .

State Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) has called for a $370 million fine to be leveled against disgraced former president Donald Trump and his companies ([link removed]) , as well as a lifetime ban from the real estate industry in the Empire State for Trump and two of his former executives as part of the the state’s sweeping civil fraud case.
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