Thursday morning news: November 28, 2024

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Threats to incoming Trump officials » The FBI is investigating violent threats against members of the incoming Trump administration and others.

Bomb threats and so-called swatting attacks have reportedly targeted nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for leadership roles as well as some Republican lawmakers.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York said Wednesday:

TENNEY:  We've got to stand up to these people. This is what terrorism looks like. This is local, you know, domestic terrorism. A lot of the hysteria on the left, you know, does get people incited.

Investigators are not yet certain whether the perpetrators are domestic or foreign.

Among those targeted were Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the UN and Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

No word on whether incoming border czar Tom Homan was targeted, but told Fox News:

HOMAN:  I'm not going to be intimidated by these people, uh, uh, I'm not, they're not going to silence me. Look, I'm going to do this job. I'm going to do this job because it's a, it's an issue of national security.

Among the GOP lawmakers targeted was Congressman Lee Zeldin of New York. He said yesterday—quote … “a pipe bomb threat was targeting me and my family at my home today [and] was sent in with a pro-palestinian themed message.”

Israel latest » In the Middle East so far the cease-fire in Lebanon is holding for now.

The agreement between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group took effect Wednesday morning.

But Israeli government spokesman David Mencer had a stern warning for Hezbollah:

MENCER:  We will respond forcefully to any violation — with the US’ full understanding, Israel maintains full freedom of military action, so if Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to, again, rearm itself, we will defend ourselves.

Under the terms of the deal, both sides must hold their fire for at least 60 days. And Hezbollah must disarm and move away from the Israeli border ...while Israel slowly withdraws its ground forces from Lebanon.

But many are skeptical that the truce will hold. NATO Secretary-general Mark Rutte.

RUTTE:  I welcome it, uh, but let's not be naive. Um, Hezbollah is still there, Iran is still backing Hezbollah. So it is good that it is there, but now it has to be implemented.

Hezbollah began launching rockets into Israel at the start of the war in Gaza last year. Israel launched a ground invasion last month into Lebanon to take out the Iran-backed group’s military capabilities.

Ukraine » Mark Rutte also weighed in on support for Ukraine.

Russian forces are reportedly advancing in Ukraine at the fastest rate since early in the invasion.

RUTTE:  We have to make sure that Ukraine is in a position of more strength than they are at the moment so that a deal can be struck, which is favorable, not to the Russians and therefore to China, North Korea and Iran.

Retired three-star general Keith Kellogg will serve as the Trump administration’s point man for efforts to end the war. President-elect Donald Trump just tapped him to serve as special envoy for the war in Ukraine.

Meantime, the Biden administration is reportedly urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops, including those as young as 18.

Walmart DEI rollback » The nation’s biggest retailer is the latest to walk back so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion —or DEI— policies. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: D-E-I initiatives have come under heavy fire recently. Critics say such policies are blatantly discriminatory … as they favor certain groups or employees based on race or identity.

A growing list of companies are walking away from D-E-I, including Ford, Toyota, and Lowes, just to name a few.

Walmart’s announcement comes after a string of legal wins by groups challenging such corporate policies.

The retail giant says it is also carefully reviewing its grants for LGBT groups and events … to ensure those funds aren’t paying for inappropriate messages aimed at kids.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Ohio governor signs bathroom bill into law » Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law protecting women’s privacy. The law requires all schools to prevent male students from using women’s restrooms and vice versa. And that is to be defined by biology, rather than so-called gender identity.

The law also applies to changing rooms and locker rooms in school buildings—or buildings used for school-affiliated activities.

It also prohibits schools from having multi-gender locker rooms and restrooms. Schools can still have separate single-occupancy or family restrooms.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: people in Northern Israel and Lebanon consider returning to their homes.

Plus, keep relationships strong, even when you disagree over politics.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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