November 17, 2023 - Daily News Roundup

Osama Bin Laden trends on TikTok and George Santos decides not to run again

Today is November 17, 2023 and here are all the critical stories that you missed during the past week. If you enjoy this content and want access to more, exclusive content, or if you want to support my work, then please consider becoming a monthly subscriber at the link below:

1) Israeli Ground Operation Continues

The Israeli ground operation continues this morning with an extra focus on the remaining territory in northern Gaza, while beginning preparations for a likely operation in southern Gaza in the coming days. During the past week, the Israeli military was focused on liberating the Al Shifa hospital in north Gaza after U.S. and Israeli intelligence confirmed that Hamas was using the hospital as a command node. After raiding the hospital, the Israeli military found several weapons and ammunition, along with tunnels under the hospital. Following the raid, the military began dropping leaflets in the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza telling residents to move to shelters for their own safety as a likely operation in south Gaza will begin soon. More to come on this soon. 

2) Two Hostages Found Dead

Unfortunately, after successfully raiding the Al Shifa hospital, the Israeli military found the bodies of two Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th. The first hostage was Noa Marciano, a 19 year old IDF soldier, and the second was Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old Israeli woman taken from a kibbutz near the Gaza border. May their memories be a blessing. This news comes as we learned that one of the hostages taken by Hamas gave birth to a newborn in captivity. Although the Israeli Government and the United States remain working around the clock to bring the hostages home to their families, a deal remains difficult. 

3) TikTok Turns To Osama Bin Laden

In a surprising development, several young leftists on TikTok began spreading positive messages about Osama Bin Laden after reading Bin Laden's "Letter to America," which was a manifesto to justify his terror operations in the 1990s and 2000s. Many of these accounts on TikTok began to spread positive messages about the terrorist, his message, and his goals. Some went so far as to justify the 9/11 terrorist attacks based on the document. After significant public backlash, the Guardian, which previously published Bin Laden's letter, took down the message, while TikTok, for one of the first times ever, publicly commented stating that it will seek to take down the videos supporting Bin Laden or promoting his message. While some videos were taken down shortly after, others remain and the damage has been done. This latest development has prompted many in U.S. national security to question the need for an app like TikTok which has historically promoted anti-American rhetoric while censoring pro-democracy voices. 

4) The House Avoids a Shutdown, But Gets Nothing Else Done

Days before a government shutdown was scheduled to occur, the House of Representatives successfully averted the closure of our government. By an overwhelming vote, House Democrats joined some Republicans to pass a clean continuing resolution that keeps the government funded through January 19th. This was the same continuing resolution that once forced far-right Republicans to oust Kevin McCarthy, yet they have refrained to do the same to current Speaker Mike Johnson. Minutes after passing the bill, the House attempted to pass a rule to vote on an appropriations bill. Surprisingly, the vote failed, with Republicans rebuking Mike Johnson, and forcing him to send the House home for an early Thanksgiving vacation. Remember, members of Congress are paid $174,000 per year to do their jobs. While most Americans are working up until the Thanksgiving holiday, House members are not. Is this really working for you?

5) George Santos Spent Campaign Donations For OnlyFans Subscriptions

Finally, the House Ethics Committee released its long-awaited report on George Santos' actions during the 2022 election. The damning 50+ page report detailed many of Santos' public lies, while also noting that Santos repeatedly used campaign funds for personal use, including but not limited to making luxury purchases at Hermes and subscribing to OnlyFans accounts. Immediately after the release of the report, Santos announced that he will not run for reelection, despite previously stating he would. This morning, the House Ethics Committee Chairman (a Republican) introduced a third resolution to expel Santos from Congress, putting pressure on other Republicans to vote to expel the embattled Congressman. An expulsion would be unprecedented and would require a 2/3rds vote of the full House of Representatives.