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☆ AP photographer captures moment bomb hits apartment building in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | Story Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Beirut AP —As a bomb descended on a multi-story apartment building in Beirut’s Tayouneh area Friday, hundreds of onlookers gathered in the street at a traffic roundabout several hundred meters (yards) away. The Israeli army said the building contained facilities belonging to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. A bomb dropped from an Israeli jet prepares to hit a building in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, on November 15, 2024. Hassan Ammar/APThick smoke and flames erupt from the building after it is struck. The Israeli military has maintained that it takes measures to reduce civilian casualties by issuing warnings before many of its strikes in Lebanon.

Persons: Hassan Ammar, Ammar, “, ”, Richard Weir, Weir, Bilal Hussein Organizations: Beirut AP, Associated Press, Hezbollah, Human Rights Watch, Health Ministry Locations: Beirut, Beirut’s Tayouneh, Lebanese, Tayouneh, Lebanon, Horsh Beirut, Israel

☆ Biden authorizes Ukraine to use powerful ATACMS to strike inside Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Katie Balevic | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementPresident Joe Biden will allow Ukraine to strike Russia with US-provided long-range missiles. The US previously restricted Ukraine from striking Russia with the powerful ATACMS. President Joe Biden has authorized the use of powerful, US-provided long-range missiles for Ukraine to strike inside Russia, according to multiple reports. Biden's decision will allow Ukraine to train its sights on some 245 Russian targets using ATACMS. Beyond the US-provided missiles, Kyiv also fields long-range cruise missiles that the UK and France provided.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden, Zelenskyy Organizations: Army Tactical Missile Systems, New York Times, Kyiv's, ATACMS, Military, The Defense Department, White House National Security Locations: Ukraine, Russia, North Korea, Russia's Kursk, Sunday, Kursk, Kyiv, Russian, United States, France

☆ How Europe can avoid a trade war in a 2nd Trump term
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Kelly Cloonan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

They say the EU will need to employ some retaliatory measures but has to be careful not to escalate. AdvertisementEconomists and analysts said that in order to avoid a trade war, policymakers in Europe need to employ a specific playbook to mitigate the economic drag while keeping trade tensions in check. Kenningham says the EU will likely hit the US with targeted tariffs on certain industries, rather than an across-the-board action. Related storiesTrade deals to avoid tariffsKenningham said EU policymakers could also negotiate a deal to avoid US tariffs. Advertisement"There is a possibility that if the strategy toward Europe is very aggressive, Europeans may change attitudes toward the Transatlantic Alliance.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Donald Trump, Trump, Joachim Nagel, Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi, Andrew Kenningham, Kenningham, Harley, Carlo Bastasin, Bastasin Organizations: Biden, Italian, Capital Economics, European Union, EU, Trade, European, Brookings, Trump, Transatlantic Alliance Locations: Europe, China, European, EU, Trump's, Ukraine, Germany

☆ Biden allows Ukraine to use U.S. arms to strike inside Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns. Russia has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons as a major escalation. Some congressional Republicans had urged Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.-provided weapons. Russia is advancing at its fastest rate since 2022 despite taking heavy losses, and Ukraine said it had clashed with some of those North Korean troops deployed to Kursk. Despite Zelenskiy's pleas, the White House had been reluctant to allow U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike targets deep inside Russia for fear this could escalate the conflict.

Persons: Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Trump, Richard Grenell, Grenell, Biden, Zelenskiy, Alex Plitsas, Radoslaw Sikorski, Putin, Sikorski Organizations: U.S, State Department, Trump, Biden, Korean, Atlantic Council, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams Tanks, White Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Korean, Washington, Ukrainian, U.S, Kursk, HIMARS

☆ Biden’s green light for Ukraine to use ATACMS in Russia just raised the stakes in a war Trump will inherit
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Kyiv loudly decries the refusal, and just when the request seems to have been parked, the Biden administration approves it. Is it too late for the US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, to make a difference if it hits targets deep inside Russia? The answer is complex and perhaps explains some of the reluctance of the Biden administration to grant permission. Secondly, Ukraine has been able to penetrate deeper inside Russia using domestically manufactured and cheaper drones. Thirdly, the permission to use US precision missiles to hit deeper inside Russia is, as it sounds, quite provocative.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, HIMARS, Abrams, Russia –, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Analysts, Institute for, United, NATO, America Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, ATACMS, United States, Moscow, Europe, Kursk

☆ Weak shipbuilding could be the US Navy's Achilles' heel in a war with China
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The US Navy faces critical shipbuilding problems that could hobble it in a war with China. China's commercial and military shipbuilding capacity overshadows the rest of the world. China has pursued shipbuilding dominance over the past few years, building a massive naval fleet. Long-term investments and solutions are needed to fix the US Navy's shipbuilding problems. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Erwinjacob Miciano/ReleasedThe US Navy's shipbuilding woes aren't new, and there simply isn't a quick fix.

Persons: Shelby Oakley, Oakley, Paula Zorensky, Gerald R, Petty, Alex Smedegard, Bryan Clark, who's, Mackenzie Eaglen, Seaman Wesley J, Bryan McGrath, Matthew Funaiole, McGrath, Seaman Erwinjacob Miciano, Lisa Franchetti, Franchetti, John Harris, Campbell Organizations: US Navy, US, Getty Images China, Newport News Daily Press, TNS, Navy, Huntington Ingalls Industries, General Dynamics, Marinette Marine Corporation, of, Pentagon, USS Enterprise, Getty Images Navy, Shipbuilders, GAO, Shelby, Norfolk Naval Shipyard Shipbuilders, Shipbuilders Council of America, Ford, Columbia, Hudson Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Communication, Jiangnan Shipyard, Shipyards, China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China Power, Center for Strategic, International Studies, People's Liberation Army, of Naval Intelligence, Technological, Department of Defense, Pacific . US Locations: China, US Navy, Virginia, Columbia, Shelby West, Jiangnan, Dalian, Huangpu Wenchong, Hong Kong, Hudong, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, Pacific, Japan, South Korea

☆ How different a commander in chief will Trump be?
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-17 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +27 min

On the face of it, there are sizable differences in foreign policy between Trump and President Joe Biden. In October, the Biden administration again helped to intercept a barrage of around 200 Iranian ballistic missiles, which also caused minimal damage to targets in Israel. Bringing US troops homeIn 2020, the Trump administration signed a US withdrawal agreement from Afghanistan with the Taliban. But after McMaster was pushed out of office in 2018, the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban the withdrawal agreement of all US forces from Afghanistan. Nonetheless, the incoming Trump administration seems intent on resurrecting Schedule F, an executive order issued in the last months of the first Trump term.

Persons: sneezes, Trump, Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, —, Biden, Trump’s, shored, Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Andrew Harnik, ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Ahmad Gharabli, Israel, Jared Kushner, Qasem Soleimani, Mike Huckabee, Israel — Huckabee, David Friedman, Reagan, JD Vance —, H.R, McMaster, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Haley, Pompeo, Elise Stefanik, Mike Waltz, Florida, George W, Bush, Pete Hegseth —, Lloyd Austin, Jim Mattis, Robert Gates, John Ratcliffe of, Tulsi Gabbard, Vladimir Putin, Basher al, Assad, Putin, Diego Fedele, Ukraine doesn’t, John Bolton, Mark Rutte, Tom Homan, Homan, ” Trump, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, “ It’s, Maura Healey, Stephen Miller, CBS’s, Camp David, It’s, Kim Jong Un Organizations: CNN, Trump, NATO, Ukraine, White, of, Biden, CIA, Liberation Army, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Obama, Getty, West Bank, Abraham Accords, Arkansas Gov, US Defense Intelligence Agency, ISIS, McMaster, UN, GOP, Republican, Special, House Armed Services Committee, Pentagon, Fox News, Senate, Republicans, US Civil, Policy, State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Policy Institute, Rep, House Intelligence, NATO Trump, US Congressional Research Service, Joint Assault Brigade, National Police, of Homeland, American Immigration Council, NBC News, US Bureau of Prisons, Massachusetts Gov, National Guard, Congress, Washington Post, H.R, North, America Locations: Paris, Russia, China, Beijing, South China, United Kingdom, Australia, Taiwan, Washington, United States, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Iranian, Syria, Israel, Yemen, Jerusalem, AFP, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, John Ratcliffe of Texas, Hawaii, Ukraine, Dnipro, Soviet, Toretsk, Crimea, Japan, NATO, “ Russia, Baltic, Western Europe, ”, Korean, North Korean

CNN —The spokesperson of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Mohammed Afif, was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut on Sunday. The attack was just the fourth Israeli strike inside Beirut’s city limits since 2006, when a 34-day armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah took place. Dozens of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli operation in the nearby Jabalya area were sheltering in two of the houses hit, a local journalist said. People check the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip on November 17, 2024. Israeli forces withdrew after clashing with Hezbollah, Lebanese state media said.

Persons: Mohammed Afif, Afif, Ras, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Afif’s, Beit, “, panicking, Mahmoud Azaiza, Ali Jadallah Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah, Getty, Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, IDF Locations: Lebanese, Beirut, Sunday, Beirut’s, Israel, Lebanon, Beit Lahiya, Gaza, Beit Lahya, AFP, Jabalya, Al Aqsa, Deir al, Anadolu, Chama, Haret

☆ Zelenskyy says Ukraine must try to ensure war ends next year through diplomacy
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine must do all it can to ensure the war with Russia ends next year through diplomacy, commenting at a decisive moment after Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election win and Russia’s grinding battlefield gains. “From our side, we must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means,” Zelenskyy said in a Ukrainian radio interview aired on Saturday. Zelenskyy said U.S. law prevented him from meeting Trump before his inauguration on Jan. 20. On the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, Russia is now advancing at the fastest rate since the war’s earliest days in 2022. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was now making four different missiles, which he said were currently in testing.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump’s, Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, ” Zelenskyy, Trump, “, Ukraine Zelenskyy, ” Organizations: Trump, U.S Congress Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Geneva, Crimea, Pokrovsk

☆ Will Tulsi Gabbard bring a pro-Russian bias to intelligence reporting?
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's 2024 Road to Majority Conference, in Washington, DC., on June 21. But current and former intelligence officials fear that Gabbard will refuse to relay intelligence reporting that doesn’t fit in with her — or the president’s — worldview. “Would that predisposition translate into pressure on analysis to fit the administration’s policy goals?” one senior former intelligence official said. “We’ll see.”Previous administrations have clashed with the CIA and intelligence agencies over assessments that didn’t support their policy agendas or their views about a particular threat or an adversary’s intentions. The DNI’s job “is to define the world as it is, as opposed to advocating for a world as you want it to be,” the former intelligence official said.

Persons: Tulsi Gabbard, “, ”, Gabbard, Michael Brochstein, Donald Trump’s, George W, Saddam, Trump, Vladimir Putin, Bashar al, Assad, ” Gabbard, Syria’s Assad, Matt Gaetz, autocrats, Putin, Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el, Sissi, Narendra Modi, Modi, Jason Crow, ” Crow Organizations: NATO, Former, Faith, Majority Conference, Senate, CIA, Democratic, Indian, Modi, House Intelligence, NBC News Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Hawaii, Western, Washington ,, Former U.S, New Hampshire, Syria, Washington, Ukrainian, DNI, Cairo, United States, U.S, autocrats, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand

I’m tripping over their bodies,” said Sydney Seiler, the U.S. national intelligence officer for North Korea from 2020 to 2023. “Kim Jong Un is selling North Korean soldiers as cannon fodder mercenaries,” South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said last month. It’s an entirely new environment for the North Korean soldiers, who live in one of the most isolated and repressive countries in the world. The Russian military is teaching the North Korean soldiers about 100 key military terms, but “North Koreans are having a difficult time learning Russian,” South Korean lawmakers Lee Sung-kwon and Park Sun-won said last month. North Korean soldiers’ inexperience could be another point of friction and a major factor in how they are deployed.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Sydney Seiler, Seiler, Gavriil, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Shigeru Ishiba, Kim, “ Kim Jong, Kim Yong, hyun, John Hardie, Lee Sung, Bruce Bennett, ” Hardie, Bennett, ” Bennett, Edward Howell, “, ” Howell, Stella Kim Organizations: Ukraine, North, NBC News, U.S, The State Department, Korea’s National Intelligence Service, NBC, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Getty Images, Economic Cooperation, South Korean Defense, Pentagon, Politico, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, North Korean, South Korean National Intelligence Service, AFP, Getty, Korean, Battalion, Russian Ministry of Defense, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, South, Sun, Rand Corp . Communication, Chatham House Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, U.S, North Korea, Russian, Kursk, Korean, Korea, Washington, Pyongyang, Getty Images North Korea, South, Asia, Lima , Peru, The U.S, California, Ukrainian, London, Seoul, Hong Kong

☆ Ukraine latest: Bad news mounts for Ukraine across the frontlines. But Russia is under pressure too
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Russia is making gains at key spots along the frontlines of eastern and southeastern Ukraine, while unleashing wave after wave of aerial terror against Ukrainian cities. … You just get boxed into a corner and you have to choose from a buffet of bad options,” Barros added. Taking over Kupiansk would make it a lot easier for Russia to push further into the Kharkiv region. Ukraine has put up a fierce fight in the area in recent months, even though it has lost some ground. Pokrovsk has been a target of Russia for months as it seeks to capture eastern Ukraine.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” George Barros, Barros, That’s, …, ” Barros, Kupiansk, Zelensky, Pokrovsk, Diego Fedele, they’ve, “ It’s, ”, that’s, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: CNN, Institute for, Geospatial Intelligence, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Russian Central Bank, Western Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Kursk, Ukrainian, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s, Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, crosshairs, Avdiivka, North, United States

☆ China willing to be partners, friends with US, Chinese envoy says
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The national flags of the United States and China flutter at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on April 25, 2024 in Shanghai, China. China is willing to be partners and friends with the United States, China's ambassador to Washington said, seeking to strengthen dialogue between the world's two largest economies. China has no plan to surpass or replace the United States, Xie Feng said in a speech in Hong Kong on Friday, addressing Chinese officials and the U.S. ambassador to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Friday for rejecting unilateralism and protectionism in favour of economic globalisation. However, some analysts say China's pitch as a counterbalance to a Trump-led United States has lost its shine compared to 2016, when Trump was first elected.

Persons: Xie Feng, Donald Trump's, Trump, Xi Jinping, Xie Locations: United States, China, Fairmont, Shanghai, Washington, Hong Kong, U.S, Beijing, Europe, Asia, Trump, Taiwan, Taipei

☆ Before politics, JD Vance had a career in venture capital. Here are the startups he's invested in.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Madeline Berg | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

JD Vance is a man of many careers: attorney, author, senator, vice president-elect, and, perhaps less well-known, venture capitalist. For about six years between graduating from law school and becoming a United States senator from Ohio, Vance held various positions in the space before eventually starting his own fund, Narya Capital. Vance co-founded Narya Capital in 2019After two years, Vance broke out on his own, cofounding Narya Capital in 2019 with investments from Thiel, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and VC veteran Marc Andreessen. According to his vice president and senate disclosure forms, he has a stake in Narya Capital Fund I, Narya Capital Fund II, and Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. AdvertisementHis stake in Narya Capital Fund I is worth between $500,001 and $1 million.

Persons: JD Vance, Vance, doesn't, Peter Thiel's, Steve Case's, Boston —, Thiel, Eric Schmidt, Marc Andreessen, Narya, Vivek Ramaswamy's, Nayra, Luke Schroeder Organizations: United, Narya, Mithril, Narya Capital, cofounding, II, Narya's Capital, US Space Force Locations: United States, Ohio, New York, Silicon Valley, Boston, Narya, ValueBase, PitchBook

☆ Pro-Palestinian activists’ anger at Democrats hasn’t been dampened by Trump’s election
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Gregory Krieg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —For Democratic pro-Palestinian activists, Donald Trump’s reelection delivered a bitter vindication. Led by the Uncommitted National Movement, they spent months pushing and pleading with the Biden administration to scale back its support for Israel’s war in Gaza. “I don’t have any regrets,” Uncommitted spokesman and strategist Waleed Shahid told CNN. After weeks of back-and-forth, on the final night of the confab, party officials inside the United Center told Uncommitted leaders it was a no-go. “The thing I’ve been saying and I will always say is that these uncommitted voters are our voters, they’re our family,” Barnes told CNN at the time.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Biden, Joe Biden’s, “, ”, James Zogby, Kamala Harris, ” Uncommitted, Lexis Zeidan, Trump “, ” Lexi Zeidan, Trump, Jill Stein, Harris, Harris ’, wasn’t, ” Zeidan, ’, Wa’el Alzayat, Emgage, Alzayat, Wa'el Alzayat, Jose Luis Magana, Mike Huckabee, Tulsi Gabbard, Matt Gaetz, Waleed Shahid, Lavora Barnes, –, ” Barnes, Shawn Fain, Ruwa, Romman, ” Romman, Trump’s, Dalal Baydoun, Stein, Israel, ” Harris, Bill Clinton, ” Clinton, ” Clinton’s, capper, Liz Cheney, Dick Cheney, Donald Trump, ” Shahid, “ it’s, ” Zogby, Zogby, “ There’s, we’re, he’s, CNN’s Danny Freeman, Yon Pomeranz Organizations: CNN —, Democratic, Movement, Black, Arab American Institute and, Democratic National Committee, Trump, CNN, Green Party, Democrat, Democrats, Muslim, Latina, Democratic National Convention, United Center, Michigan Democrats, United Auto Workers, statehouse, West Bank, United Nations, UN Human Rights, State, Defense, Michigan State University Locations: Gaza, Michigan, Dearborn, CNN Dearborn , Michigan, American, Chase , Maryland, Israel, Chicago, Palestinian, Georgia, ”, Arab, Lebanon, East Lansing, Palestine, Iraq

☆ Read the casual emails between Elon Musk and Sam Altman that kicked off OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementElon Musk amended his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, adding Microsoft as a defendant. Musk included emails between himself and Altman from 2015 in which they discussed starting OpenAI. Elon Musk unveiled several emails between himself and fellow billionaire Sam Altman this week as evidence in the Tesla CEO's lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI, shining a light on the casual beginnings of the now-$157 billion company. Musk helped found OpenAI in 2015 but has frequently criticized the company and its leaders in the years since. The SpaceX CEO left the AI startup in 2018.

Persons: Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Musk, Altman, OpenAI, Sam Musk, Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, Dustin Moskovitz, we'd, Peter Thiel, I've, Semafor Organizations: OpenAI, Microsoft, Business, SpaceX, Google, YC, Manhattan Project

☆ During meeting with Biden, China's Xi cautions the U.S. to 'make the wise choice' to keep relations stable
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, on Nov. 16, 2024. Biden was expected to urge Xi to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its support for Russia's war on Ukraine. In front of the cameras Saturday, Xi spoke to Biden — but it was unmistakable that his message was directed at Trump. After he was greeted by Xi, Biden ignored shouted questions from reporters on his concerns about the incoming Trump administration as well as North Korea. Biden is looking for Xi to step up Chinese engagement to prevent an already dangerous moment with North Korea from further escalating.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Xi, Biden, haven't, We've, Trump, Warby Parker, Steve Madden, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Yoon Seok Yul, Shigeru Ishiba, Kim Jong, Pyongyang's, Kim Organizations: APEC, U.S, Economic Cooperation, U.S ., China -, Conference Center, Nike, Trump, White House, FBI, Ukraine, South, North, The North Locations: Lima , Peru, Beijing, U.S, Asia, China, North Korea, Ukraine, Lima's, Northern California, Russia, Taiwan, Moscow, United States, Russia's Kursk, Pyongyang, The, The North Koreans, Japan, South Korea, Xi, Peru

☆ How Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency could actually work
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Alice Tecotzky | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Trump has flirted with changing budget laws, but experts told BI that could cause a massive fight. Despite its name, the DOGE will not actually be a government department, as departments are permanent and can only be created by Congress. "The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will ultimately be staffed and dedicated to this mission," Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for Trump's transition team, told BI in a statement. "It just doesn't work, unless you decide to start cutting Social Security benefits or Medicare, at which point all hell breaks loose," she told BI. Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy may try to circumvent the congressional obstacles standing in the way of their cost-cutting agenda.

Persons: Trump, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Jim WATSON, Musk's, Elaine Kamarck, Bill Clinton, Kamarck, Brian Hughes, Barney Frank, Douglas Holtz, it's, Lisa Gilbert, Holtz, Eakin, he'll, they're, Gilbert, Brandon Bell, It's, aren't Organizations: Government, Wednesday, Department of Government, GOP, Trump, Brookings Institute, Social Security, Department, Government Efficiency, Congressional, Office, Management, Public Citizen, White, Bloomberg, SpaceX

☆ Defense tech companies like Anduril hope Trump can streamline military contracts
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-16 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Others in the defense industry are less optimistic. Tech billionaire Palmer Luckey's bet on the defense industry is paying off at Anduril, the drone-making company he founded. AdvertisementSacknoff said that procurement reform in the defense industry is not a new concept and that the Defense Department is always restructuring its contracting process. Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, a consulting firm, said that reforming the defense industry will take time. AdvertisementSacknoff said the military defense business is always looking for a "counter" to the newest technology and that the growth of autonomous drones would likely bring more innovations to stop them.

Persons: Palmer Luckey, Anduril, Palmer Luckey's, Donald Trump's, Brian Schrimf, Schrimpf, Scott Sacknoff, Sacknoff, Richard Aboulafia, Abaulafia, DefenseScoop, Tesla, Eric Schmidt, Schmidt Organizations: Tech, Yahoo, Spade, Defense Department, Teledyne, Defense, Google Locations: Anduril, United States, Saudi Arabia

Twitch has revised its “Hateful Content Policy” to include “Zionist” as a potential slur following mounting criticism over Israel-Gaza war content on the platform. “We recognize that ‘Zionist’ and ‘Zionism’ also refer to a political movement,” Twitch wrote in its blog post. “Using the term to refer to the political movement, whether in a supportive or critical way, does not violate our Hateful Conduct policy. Compared to other online platforms, Twitch had largely dodged controversies involving content over the war between Israel and Gaza — until this fall, when criticism online toward the platform began to escalate. In October, Twitch was accused of disabling sign-ups for the platform from some users in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Persons: Twitch, ”, ” Twitch, Rep, Ritchie Torres, Defamation League —, Dan Clancy, Instagram —, —, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio, Tim Walz —, Palestine ”, “, …, Zack “ Asmongold ” Hoyt, ” Hoyt, ” Clancy Organizations: Defamation League, Twitch, NBC, Meta, Minnesota Gov Locations: Israel, Gaza, Alexandria, Cortez, Palestinian, Palestine, San Diego

☆ Germany's Scholz discusses Ukraine with Russia's Putin in first such call in 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years. Scholz urged Putin to be open to negotiations with Ukraine, his office said. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz urged Putin in the hour-long call to withdraw his troops and end the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022. The new communication between Scholz and Putin — their first since December 2022 — comes at a time of widespread speculation about what the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump will mean for Ukraine. The U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Vladimir Putin, Scholz, Putin, Steffen Hebestreit, Alexei Navalny’s, Yulia, “, ” Hebestreit, —, Donald Trump, Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ” Zelenskyy, ” Scholz, ” Putin, Dmitry Peskov Organizations: Kremlin leader’s, Kyiv, NATO, Ukraine, Kremlin, Russian Federation Locations: BERLIN, Ukraine, Russian, Berlin, Russia, Washington, Moscow, U.S, South Korea, North Korea, Germany, ”, East

Despite its name, it won’t actually be a “department,” like the Department of Education or the Department of Homeland Security. “From the outside, will Musk and Ramaswamy be able to do a whole lot? During a late-October town hall on X, Musk suggested his ideal spending cuts could trigger economic pain for people. Democrats acknowledged they had little ability to prevent the Trump administration from enacting the changes Musk and Ramaswamy suggest. “In this second term in particular, President Trump has a better understanding of what needs to be done and how to do it,” Schatz said.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, ” —, Ramaswamy, Trump, “, ” Musk, Max Stier, ” Stier, Musk, ”, MacGuineas, Joe Spielberger, ” Ramaswamy, Tucker Carlson, ” Sen, John Fetterman, “ It’s, Trump’s, —, they’re, Elon, Vivek, ” Spielberger, he’s, Lisa Gilbert, “ Musk, ’, Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Dean Phillips Organizations: Trump, “ Department, Government, Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, White, Management, Budget, Partnership for Public Service, Social Security, Federal, Roivant Sciences, GOP, NBC News, FBI, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Education Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Food and Nutrition Service, Agriculture Department, Democrats, Senate, “, SpaceX, NBC, Twitter, Elon, Public Citizen, Democratic, Democrat Locations: Government

The sale of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ media empire is a major blow to one of the defining independent media brands that ushered in a new era of fringe thinking, mainstreaming conspiracy theories once banished to the edges of the internet. And while Jones’ Infowars brand is now owned by the satirical news site The Onion, media researchers and conservative media experts say its legacy will live on thanks to the far-right media ecosystem it helped inspire, which continues to flourish. YouTube and other social media platforms began removing Jones’ videos in 2018 as they were flagged for violating content rules related to violent and graphic content. “What is going to happen with Infowars ‘Onion-ified,’ and what is going to happen to the kinds of internet conspiracy theorists who Alex Jones represents?” Phillips asked. “Alex Jones is not.”

Persons: Alex Jones, Jones, ”, A.J, Bauer, Donald Trump’s, Infowars, Sandy, Jones “, Reece Peck, Barack Obama, —, ” Jones, Peck, ” Peck, Trump, Sandy Hook, Josh Owens, ” Owens, Owens, “, Elon Musk, Whitney Phillips, ” Phillips, “ Alex Jones Organizations: University of Alabama, Sandy Hook Elementary, Free Speech Systems, Safety, Rush, City University of New York, College of, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Trump, Infowars, University of Oregon Locations: Newtown , Connecticut, Austin , Texas, College of Staten Island, Trump, Infowars

☆ Lebanese cease-fire efforts inch ahead as Israel keeps up fierce bombardment
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Months of U.S. efforts to broker a deal between Washington’s ally Israel and Hezbollah have so far failed. In another potentially promising sign, a senior Lebanese official signalled that Hezbollah would pull its forces away from the Lebanese-Israeli border under a ceasefire. Its terms require Hezbollah to remove fighters and weapons from areas between the border and the Litani River, which runs about 20 miles from Lebanon’s southern border. After 2006, Israel complained Hezbollah fighters and weapons remained in the border are while Lebanon accused Israel of violating the resolution by sending warplanes into its airspace. Hezbollah attacks have killed about 100 civilians and soldiers in northern Israel, the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon over the last year, according to Israel.

Persons: Israel, “, ”, Ayat, Nabih Berri, Ali Hamdan, Ibrahim, Eli Cohen, Biden, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ali Hassan Khalil, Al Jazeera, Amos Hochstein, Hochstein, Khalil, Cohen, Jean, Pierre Lacroix Organizations: Lebanon’s National News Agency, NBC News, Reuters, Ibrahim Amro, Getty, Washington Post, Trump, Israel, Lebanese, Security, Hezbollah, United Nations, Bank Locations: Lebanon, Beirut, Iran, Baalbek, U.S, Israel, Ghobeiry, Beirut's, AFP, Gaza, Lebanese, Israeli, Lebanon’s, The U.S, Golan

☆ Lebanon ceasefire talks intensify as Hezbollah considers new US-Israeli proposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hezbollah is considering a US-Israeli ceasefire proposal, sources told CNN, as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group intensify. The US ambassador to Lebanon, Lisa Johnson, relayed the proposal to the Lebanese government on Thursday night, a Lebanese official familiar with the discussions told CNN. Those efforts were upended when Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a major bombing attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Another Lebanese official familiar with the discussions around the ceasefire told CNN that US President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed the ongoing negotiations, which have been spearheaded by the Biden administration’s special envoy to Lebanon, Amos Hochstein. The US embassy in Beirut declined CNN’s request for comment on the ceasefire negotiations.

Persons: Lisa Johnson, Johnson, Nabih Berri –, –, Israel, Hassan Nasrallah, Donald Trump, Biden, Amos Hochstein, “, CNN’s Organizations: CNN, Lebanese, UN, Lebanese Armed Forces Locations: Israel, Lebanese, Lebanon, Beirut’s, Lebanon’s, Beirut

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