Greetings! Happy National Stuffing Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

🇵🇸 Israel move targets ancient West Bank site Sebastia. Israel’s Civil Administration moved to seize 450 acres in Sebastia, a Palestinian town and ancient site in the occupied West Bank, to cement a new settlement. The plan would fold the land into planned tourism and housing destinations guarded by the Israeli military, furthering illegal settlements per international law, namely the Fourth Geneva Convention, and in direct contravention to United Nations (UN) resolutions and American foreign policy. Palestinians and their supporters worldwide protested the move, which decreases and threatens the sovereignty of the West Bank's borders. The West Bank’s dual legal regime is recognized as apartheid; the UN classifies the territory as occupied since 1967. Each new kibbutz erases space for a viable Palestinian state.

💥 Deadly Gaza strikes shatter a fragile ceasefire. Israeli strikes on Gaza killed at least 33 Palestinians, including children, in deadly attacks since an October 10 ceasefire began. Bombs hit crowded homes in central Gaza as families slept, local hospitals reported. Gaza’s Health Ministry counted hundreds have died since the truce, atop more than the conservative estimate of 68,000 killed in the past two years. International watchdog groups have tallied Israel’s violations of the ceasefire at nearly 400 times. Aid agencies warn of famine across the enclave. For civilians, the only metric is survival. Editor’s Note: The polycrisis afflicting Gaza was officially considered a genocide by the United Nations (UN) and International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), with famine declared by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), confirmed by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, World Food Program (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO), along with Global Sumud Flotilla eyewitnesses.

🇸🇴 Trump targets Somali community by ending legal protections. At a Minnesota rally, President Donald Trump vowed to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali migrants who have lived legally in the country for years. The program shields people from nations facing war or disaster from deportation. Minnesota hosts the largest Somali community in America, many clustered in the Twin Cities. Trump tied the move to crime and border control, while offering no fresh data. Immigrant advocates called the pledge collective punishment for vetted families. Local officials warned fear of removal will undercut businesses, tax receipts and neighborhood trust.

⚓ Coast Guard walks back euphemism on hate symbols. The American Coast Guard reversed a draft policy that described swastikas and nooses in the workplace as merely “potentially divisive” symbols. After reporting and backlash, leaders said the language was unacceptable and would be rewritten. Commanders were reminded that racist and extremist imagery is already barred under existing rules. Advocacy groups asked how such wording cleared internal review in the first place. Lawmakers demanded briefings on bias training and complaint handling. For rank-and-file, the episode shows culture wars can seep into even the quiet language of policy memos.

📈 Wall Street’s mood swings end with a modest grin. American stocks lurched again but finished higher as the Standard & Poor's 500 index (S&P 500) added about 1 percent by the close. Traders cycled between anxiety over interest rates and excitement about AI profits. Big technology names and chip makers led much of the rebound. Government bond yields eased slightly, giving growth stocks more room to breathe. Market strategists warned that volatility is now a feature, not a bug. For 401(k) savers, the lesson was simple: the ticker tape is still on caffeine, not chamomile.

🏛️ Marjorie Taylor Greene quits Congress and torches the stage. Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a loyal Trump ally, announced she is resigning her House seat on January 5th. She blamed Republican leaders for betraying the party’s base and surrendering on immigration and spending. Greene said she planned to take her fight “to the country” without offering specifics. Her exit will trigger a special election in a deep-red district. Colleagues were split between relief and worry about her influence as an outside agitator. The resignation shows that for some politicians, the camera now matters more than the committee room.

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That’s all for today!

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See you tomorrow!