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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Waahmbulance time: When your water pipes become rockets, it's Israel's fault there's no water  —  Since Hamas didn't seem to be getting any sympathy at the moment in the “Look what Israel's doing to our buildings!” quarter (I'm admittedly biased)...  ...they've apparently decided to switch tacks.

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”.

EU probes X over spread of Israel-Gaza disinformation, ‘terrorist’ content  —  The European Union launched a probe Thursday into X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, over the handling of content about the war in Israel and Gaza.  —  The move to investigate the platform owned by Elon Musk …

Law enforcement steps up patrols of Jewish houses of worship, businesses as calls for attacks in the U.S. intensify online  —  Former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal recently called for Friday to be a global day of “anger” in support of the recent Hamas attack on Israel.

US arranging evacuation flights from Israel starting Friday, Kirby says  —  John Kirby pressed on why U.S. isn't sending in military to help  —  White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced Thursday that the U.S. will start arranging charter flights for Americans to leave Israel beginning Friday.

The Massacre in Israel and the Need for a Decent Left  —  On Tuesday evening, I was drinking on the porch of my friend and neighbor Misha Shulman, the Israel-born rabbi of a progressive New York synagogue called the New Shul.  All day, he'd been on the phone with congregants deeply distraught …

Trump Doral event with Eric Trump will feature a Hitler-promoting antisemite who killed someone  —  This is at least the fourth Hitler-promoting antisemite who's toured with Eric Trump  —  Trump National Doral Miami is scheduled to host a ReAwaken America tour event featuring Eric Trump …

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 …

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 …