Friday morning news: November 17, 2023

SOUND: [D.C. protest]

Israel-Gaza protests » In Washington, pro-Palestinian protesters blocked entrances outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday.

And many protesters clashed with police who showed up to clear the entrances.

SOUND: [D.C. protesters]

Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza also blocked bridges in major cities, including Boston where they shut down the major artery to Cambridge for more than two hours.

SOUND: [Boston protest]

Police arrested dozens of people.

And in California, authorities arrested at least 50 protesters who blocked the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Meantime, in Israel, demonstrators marched demanding the return of hostages captured by Hamas.

SOUND: [Israel demonstration]

GALLANT: [Speaking Hebrew]

Israel latest » And Israeli Military officials say they’ve found a Hamas tunnel shaft inside the Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza City. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Israeli Defense Forces released a video showing the hole, reinforced with concrete and lined with pipes and cables less than 100 feet away from the hospital. Nearby, they found a booby-trapped car packed with weapons.

HAGARI: [Speaking Hebrew]

And IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said they also found the body of one of the hostages taken by Hamas in a house near the hospital.

He said Yehudit Weiss was abducted from her home during the October 7th Hamas attacks. Her husband was murdered in the same attack.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Funding bill Senate » President Biden is expected to sign a short-term government funding package that landed on his desk after the Senate approved it late Wednesday night.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer:

SCHUMER: Because of bipartisan cooperation we’re keeping the government open without any poison pills or harmful cuts.

The stopgap measure, which passed in the House earlier in the week, funds some government agencies into January and others into February.

Many House Republicans opposed it because it does not address Washington’s spending problem.

Rep. Santos report » Congressman George Santos will not seek reelection in 2024 after the House Ethics Committee released a report saying it found substantial evidence of his wrongdoing.

Santos’s fellow New York Congressman Nick Lalota was one of several Republicans who unsuccessfully tried to expel Santos from the House earlier this month.

LaLOTA: I don't need an ethics report to tell me what I already know I am certain that he does not deserve to be a member of the House of Representatives.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to nearly two dozen federal felony charges while confessing to lying about his background during his campaign.

Manchin possible White House bid » West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is not seeking reelection to the Senate next year. But that does not necessarily mean he’s retiring from politics. The blue dog Democrat said he may yet run for a different office, one of the oval variety.

MANCHIN: But what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together.

But he most likely will not challenge President Biden for the party’s nomination. The moderate lawmaker described himself as an independent in an interview this week.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already announced an independent bid for the White House.

MLB All-Star game to Atlanta » Two years after Major League Baseball waded into politics in Georgia, the league appears to be reversing course. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher reports.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The league announced Thursday that Truist Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves, will host the 2025 All-Star Game.

Atlanta was set to host the game in 2021. But just months before the game, the league caved to political pressure by Democrats and moved the game to Denver in protest of new voting laws in Georgia.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred later expressed regret over entangling the league in a political fight.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp responded to the announcement, stating, “Georgia’s voting laws haven’t changed, but it’s good to see the MLB’s misguided understanding of them has.”

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, Word Play with George Grant.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.