Monday morning news: November 25, 2024

Hezbollah fires heaviest missile barrage at Israel in months » Hezbollah launched 250 rockets into Israel Sunday, wounding seven people. It’s the heaviest attack from Hezbollah on Israel in months. It followed deadly Israeli airstrikes in Beirut.

Israel also struck a Lebanese army center near Tyre, killing one soldier and injuring 18 more. Israel expressed regret, saying the strike targeted Hezbollah militants, not Lebanese forces.

All this is happening as negotiators press on with cease-fire talks aimed at ending the fighting.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell…

BORRELL: We must pressure the Israeli government and maintain the pressure on Hezbollah to accept the U.S. proposal for a cease-fire.

Israel says it did intercept some of the rockets Hezbollah fired Sunday.

NATO, Ukraine to hold emergency talks about new Russia missile » NATO and Ukraine will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday after Russia’s launch of an experimental, hypersonic missile last week in its war on Ukraine.

The missile, named Oreshnik, reached Mach 11, carried non-nuclear warheads, and caused no fatalities.

But Russia says Oreshnik missiles could be fitted with nuclear warheads, and leader Vladimir Putin says the launch of several of the missiles at once fitted with just conventional warheads… could rival the impact of a nuclear weapon.

Russia called the strike retaliation for Ukraine using new long-range missiles supplied by Western allies, including some from the U.S. green-lighted by President Biden.

President-elect Trump’s National Security Advisor nominee, Congressman Mike Waltz, tells Fox News Sunday…

WALTZ: We need to bring this to a responsible end. We need to restore deterrence, restore peace, and get ahead of this escalation ladder rather than responding to it.

NATO leaders called Russia’s strike an escalation. The Czech Republic has since pledged more air defense support for Ukraine.

Democrats, GOP react to Trump Cabinet » President-elect Trump has told Republican senators he wants to hit the ground running when he takes office January 20th.

Trump wrapped up naming his major Cabinet nominees over the weekend. His goal is to have the new Republican Senate start confirmation hearings right when it convenes in early January,

Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty told ABC’s This Week...

HAGERTY: He wants us to have these hearings done quickly and expeditiously. I’ve said I’m more than happy to work through the weekends as long as it takes.

Republicans will hold 53 Senate seats, meaning each nominee can only afford to lose three GOP votes to ensure approval.

Democrats say they’ll be evaluating each nominee closely. Senator-elect Democrat Adam Schiff of California, on NBC’s Meet the Press...

SCHIFF: The president has a right to nominate anyone who’s qualified, who has good judgment and good character. It doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed Senate approval of whoever he nominates, and some of these nominations are deeply problematic.

Democrats have expressed concern about Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who’s accused of sexual assault and Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard, who some Democrats have accused of being too friendly toward Russia.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

Three arrested in UAE rabbi killing » Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacting during a cabinet meeting to the killing of a rabbi who’d gone missing last week in the United Arab Emirates.

Sunday, Israel confirmed Rabbi Zvi Kogan was killed in the UAE in what the Israeli government calls a ‘heinous antisemitic terror incident.’ Emirati officials arrested three suspects, but offered few details.

Kogan managed a kosher market in Dubai that had been the target of several online protests by Palestinian supporters.

A spokesman for the U.N. Security Council called Kogan’s death a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence.

Texas approves Bible-based curriculum for public schools » The Texas Board of Education has given its okay to optional Bible-based lessons in public elementary schools. The board is also offering extra funding to schools that use the curriculum.

Amanda Tyler with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty opposes this move, saying it could alienate some students.

TYLER: It’s compulsory to go to school. Kids of all faiths and none attend Texas public schools. And so it infringes on religious freedom to teach these Bible stories in ways that will be devotional.

But supporter Mary Elizabeth Castle with the group Texas Values says students have a First Amendment right to learn about Bible references they’ll encounter in other subjects like American History.

CASTLE: Actually, they’ll be a great benefit to students to help them be culturally and functionally literate.

Castle also says 300 common everyday phrases come from the Bible, and the lessons will help students better understand them.

The lesson plans instruct the teachers to explain that the Bible is a collection of ancient texts and that its different parts are the core books of the Jewish and Christian religions.

Winter storms could affect Thanksgiving travel » Winter weather could disrupt Thanksgiving travel this week.

In California, storms have caused flooding and landslides, with heavy snow forecast in the Sierra Nevada through tomorrow.

The Midwest and Great Lakes will see rain and snow today, while the East Coast faces wet, breezy conditions on Thanksgiving. National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Otto says one possibility is…

OTTO: A coastal storm that tracks into the Northeast, and this would be for Thanksgiving day into Friday, with a mixture of likely rain along the coast and some snow for the inland location.

Forecasters expect better travel weather by Sunday, though temperatures will drop in the East while warming out West.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: a special Legal Docket report on legal reforms and international justice in Africa. Plus, getting serious about the U.S. debt on Moneybeat.

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