Friday morning news: January 5, 2024

Blinken to Middle East » Secretary of State Tony Blinken is back in the Middle East this morning for another round of high-stakes diplomacy. It’s his fourth trip to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.

State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller:

MILLER: We don’t expect every conversation on this trip to be easy. There are obviously tough issues facing the region and difficult choices ahead. But the secretary believes it is the responsibility of the United States of America to lead diplomatic efforts to tackle those challenges head on.

He is prepared to do that in the days to come.

He will meet with leaders in Israel and the West Bank and visit several other countries in the Middle East and beyond.

He’s expected to talk with Israel once more about minimizing harm to civilians in Gaza. And he’ll meet with a variety of leaders about humanitarian aid to Gaza and keeping the war from spreading regionally.

U.S. kills Iraq militia leader » The U.S. military says an Iraqi militia leader who carried out attacks against American troops is dead.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder:

RYDER: And finally I can confirm that on January 4 at approximately 12 PM Iraq time, U.S. forces took necessary and proportionate action against Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari (a.k.a Abu-Taqwa), who was a Harakat-al-Nujaba leader.

Ryder wouldn’t provide more specific details on the operation, but Iraqi police and witnesses said a drone fired rockets toward a facility used by the militia group. Those rockets hit a vehicle inside, killing four people.

Ryder added:

RYDER: We maintain the inherent right of self-defense and will continue to take necessary actions to protect our personnel.

He said no civilians were harmed, and the strike did not damage any infrastructure.

Iran Red Sea » Meantime, U.S. officials are warning Iran about its involvement in attacks against commercial vessels on the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have targeted key shipping lanes.

Christopher Lu is a U.S. representative to the United Nations.

LU: Iran has long enabled these attacks by the Houthis. Beyond Iran’s longstanding of financing to aid such Houthi operations, since 2015 it has transferred advanced weapons systems to the Houthis, including unmanned aerial systems, land attack cruise missiles and ballistic missiles used in attacks against maritime vessels.

His remarks followed an incident on the Red Sea. An armed unmanned vessel — effectively a floating drone — came within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels before detonating on Thursday.

The vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen.

And it happened just hours after the White House and partner nations issued what they called a “final warning” to the militia group: stop attacking commercial ships or face military action.

Mayorkas Impeachment » Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says he will cooperate with a House impeachment inquiry. The first hearing is set for next week.

The House Homeland Security Committee has been investigating the secretary’s role in the crisis at the southern border. Congresswoman Erin Houchin is a committee member:

HOUCHIN: Mayorkas has clearly failed in his responsibilities as head of DHS. Their sole mission is to protect the United States from our greatest threats. Yet they’re letting in millions of people into the United States without any vetting.

U.S. border officials in December reported a record 300,000 encounters with illegal immigrants.

Some Democratic lawmakers have called the impeachment inquiry baseless and a distraction from other issues.

School Shooting » Iowa police are still investigating a fatal shooting that took place yesterday morning at Perry High School near Des Moines.

Iowa's assistant director of Criminal Investigation Mitch Mortvedt confirmed that one student was killed.

Five other people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, four of whom were students.

MITCH MORTVEDT: The shooter has been identified as 17-year-old Dylan Butler, a student at Perry High School. Butler was armed with a pump action shotgun and a small caliber handgun.

Mortvedt said the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Law enforcement also found an improvised explosive device in the building…which was safely disarmed.

Microchip Investment » The Commerce Department says it is giving more than $160 million to the company Microchip Technology. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The Commerce Department said the government grants would give the company the ability to increase its production of mature-node microchips essential for commercial and defense industries.

Microchip Technology is receiving the money under the bipartisan-supported CHIPS Act which aims to decrease the United States’ dependence on microchips manufactured abroad.

The act also aims to bolster the existing semiconductor manufacturing industry in the United States.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Vatican defense » The Vatican is doubling down on its decision to let priests bless—but not marry—same-sex couples.

The Holy See released a five-page document defending the new policy yesterday, stating that blessing same-sex couples is neither heretical nor blasphemous.

POPE FRANCIS: [Speaking Italian] Let us remain vigilant against rigid ideological positions that often, under the guise of good intentions, separate us from reality and prevent us from moving forward.

That’s Pope Francis addressing the Vatican bureaucracy last month, days after the policy was implemented.

He’s warning about what he called rigid ideology, saying it will prevent the church from—in his words—moving forward.

The Pope has faced criticism from church leaders around the world with many feeling the church is endorsing sinful behavior.

The Vatican’s latest document once again stressed the difference between a blessing and a wedding saying that Biblical marriage is between a man and a woman only.

I'm Kristen Flavin.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, venturing into the wilderness of ideas in this month’s Ask the Editor.

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