“A prominent international human rights organization is warning that the United States’ plan for postwar Gaza will impose ‘unlawful collective imprisonment’ on the Palestinian civilians who have survived two years of genocide. In November, several news outlets reported on the Trump administration’s plan to carve Gaza in two: a so-called ‘green zone’ controlled by Israel and a ‘red zone’ controlled by the militant group Hamas. The US would construct what it called ‘Alternative Safe Communities’ for Palestinians to live in the Israeli-controlled portion of Gaza, which is over half of the territory under the current ‘ceasefire’ agreement. The New York Times described these communities as ‘compounds’ of 20,000 to 25,000 people, where Israeli officials reportedly argued they should not be allowed to leave.” (12/04/25)
“Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have said they will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, following the decision to allow Israel to compete. The response on Thursday came immediately after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the competition, said there would not be a vote on whether to exclude Israel, despite calls from some countries to do so. Opponents of Israel’s participation criticise it over its genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza – which has so far killed at least 70,125 people – and over allegations that it unfairly intervened in the most recent competition to the benefit of its entrant.” [editor’s note: Why would Israel, which is in Asia, be included in a European music competition anyway? – TLK] (12/04/25)
“The Navy admiral who reportedly issued orders for the U.S. military to fire upon survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat is on Capitol Hill for a classified briefing with top congressional lawmakers overseeing national security. The information from Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who is now the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, comes at a potentially crucial moment in the unfolding congressional investigation into how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth handled the military operation in international waters near Venezuela. There are mounting questions over whether the strike may have violated the law. The briefing in a secure facility at the Capitol is with congressional leaders, including the Republican chairs and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, and separately to the GOP chairman and Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.” (12/04/25)
“A commission chosen by the late Pope Francis to study the possibility of women becoming deacons in the Catholic Church has voted against it. Francis established the ‘Study Commission on the Female Diaconate’ in 2020 to follow up on a previous group that studied the history of women deacons in the New Testament and early Christian communities. Though the group said women could not be deacons, it expressed hope that access to other ministries could expand for women.” (12/04/25)
“The State Department renewed its ‘do not travel’ advisory for Venezuela. Without edits, the travel advisory was reissued Wednesday, with the State Department citing a myriad of high risks related to crime, terrorism, detention and poor health infrastructure. ‘All U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately,’ the advisory says. In 2019, the U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Venezuela, closing its embassy. It says it no longer has the ability to provide emergency services or consular assistance to U.S. citizens in the country. ‘There is no safe way to travel to Venezuela,’ the advisory states, adding that people should avoid traveling to the country by any means.” (12/04/25)
“Layoff announcements this year have hit their highest level since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the U.S. economy, consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday. It’s only the sixth time since 1993 that announced job cuts through the month of November have surpassed 1.1 million. The last time was in 2020, when planned cuts totaled 2.3 million by this point in the year. U.S.-based employers announced 71,321 job cuts in November, Challenger reports. This is fewer than the overall number of layoffs announced in October, but more than in the same month a year ago. It’s the highest total for the month of November since 2022.” (12/04/25)
“There were hundreds, then dozens, and then just a few. Now there’s one Israeli hostage left in Gaza: Ran Gvili. Gvili, a 24-year-old police officer known affectionately as ‘Rani’, was killed while fighting Hamas militants during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. After a series of ceasefire-mandated exchanges of hostages for Palestinians held by Israel, Gvili’s body still has not been recovered. His remains are somewhere in Gaza. On Thursday, as Israel woke to the news that remains militants returned the previous day belonged to another hostage, the country mourned Gvili as a hero who died fighting to save a kibbutz that was not his own.” (12/04/25)
“Britain sanctioned Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and summoned Moscow’s ambassador on Thursday after an inquiry concluded that President Vladimir Putin was responsible for a nerve agent attack on British soil in 2018. The government said that the GRU was being sanctioned in its entirely for ‘reckless’ acts including the attack in the city of Salisbury that targeted Sergei Skripal, a former GRU officer who was imprisoned in Russia in 2006 for spying for Britain. He was released as part of a 2010 spy swap and settled in the U.K.” (12/04/25)
“The New York Times is suing the Department of Defense over the Pentagon’s new restrictions on press access. The lawsuit, set to be filed in federal court in Washington, DC, names the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks the repeal of a new policy, instituted in October, that prompted Pentagon beat reporters to turn in their press passes rather than sign onto the restrictions. ‘The policy is an attempt to exert control over reporting the government dislikes, in violation of a free press’ right to seek information under their First and Fifth Amendment rights protected by the Constitution,’ Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander said.” [editor’s note: The First Amendment doesn’t require “press access” to the Pentagon or anything else – TLK] (12/03/25)
“During a Wednesday interview on CNN’s ‘The Lead with Jake Tapper’, Rep. Ilhan Omar [D-MN] appeared to struggle to explain how fraud became ‘so out of control’ in Minnesota after federal officials announced an investigation into an alleged Somali fraud network operating in the state. After being pressed by Tapper to explain how fraud became so rampant within her state, the congresswoman gave a meandering response, attributing the problem to inadequate ‘guardrails’ for COVID relief funds that were subsequently exploited. ‘I think what happened, um, is that, you know, when you have these, kind of new programs that are, um, designed to help people, you’re oftentimes relying on third parties to be able to facilitate. And I just think that a lot of the COVID programs that were set up — they were set up so quickly that a lot of the guardrails did not get created,’ Omar told the host.” (12/04/25)
