Biden aides slam Trump for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’  —  Aides to President Biden and his campaign blasted former President Trump on Thursday for remarks a night earlier in which Trump described Hezbollah as “very smart” amid unfolding violence in Israel.

10/12/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM … But worse.  Maybe way worse. … Only the stakes this time are higher, the time frame is shorter, the opposition is larger and the House Republican Conference is angrier. … After winning the GOP speaker nomination on Wednesday — barely …

A new indictment charges Sen. Menendez with being an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government  —  Federal prosecutors have rewritten their indictment against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife to charge them with conspiring to have him act as an agent of Egypt and Egyptian officials.

U.S., Qatar agree to stop Iran from tapping $6 billion fund after Hamas attack  —  U.S. officials and the Qatari government have agreed to stop Iran from accessing a $6 billion account for humanitarian assistance in light of Hamas's attack on Israel, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats …

Israel-Hamas War  —  U.N. Warns of ‘Disaster’ in Gaza as Israel Strikes Back at Hamas  —  More than 300,000 people are homeless as Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas attack.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged steadfast support for Israel while calling for …

Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter.  The Effects Have Been Negligible  —  A lot of people threaten to leave Twitter.  Not many of them have actually done it.  —  This was true even before Elon Musk's purchase of the platform a year ago.  But the parade of calamities since …

What It Would Mean to Treat Hamas Like ISIS  —  The instant I understood the scale of Hamas's attack on Israel, I understood the probable response.  As I read reports of Hamas terrorists murdering entire families, raping Israeli women beside the bodies of their dead friends and dragging Israeli hostages …

Van Orden defends outburst at Biden officials over Israel, denies cursing  —  Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) on Thursday defended his questioning of Biden administration officials at a briefing this week on Israel after other lawmakers criticized him for what they called rude and obnoxious behavior.

Wisconsin Republicans Retreat From Threats to Impeach Liberal Justice  —  Republicans had floated the idea of impeaching Janet Protasiewicz, newly seated on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, before she could undo the party's legislative gerrymander.  But on Thursday, they backed off.

Poll: Majority blames gov't for Hamas massacre, says Netanyahu must resign  —  An overwhelming majority of 86% of respondents, including 79% of coalition supporters, said the surprise attack from Gaza is a failure of the country's leadership.  —  Four out of five Jewish Israelis believe …

France bans pro-Palestinian protests, citing risk of ‘disturbances to public order’  —  French police used teargas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinian people in Paris on Thursday after the interior minister said such gatherings were “likely to generate disturbances to public order”.

Republican Sen. Tuberville Warns Against ‘Picking Sides in the Middle East’ in Jaw-Dropping Interview  —  Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is under fire for telling an interviewer that “when you start picking sides in the Middle East, it can get really messy very quick” amid the violence in Israel spurred by Hamas.

North Carolina's cautionary tale for purple states  —  Republicans have made themselves so powerful, it doesn't matter if Dems win elections. … North Carolina Republicans are having a very good year, and now that they've locked down both the legislature and the judiciary …