Thursday morning news: December 14, 2023

SOUND: [Funeral procession]

Israel - Hamas update » Israelis mourned the loss of one of their own yesterday at a funeral service for Lieutenant Colonel Tomer Grinberg.

Grinberg was one of nine Israeli soldiers killed during a Hamas ambush in Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood Tuesday.

A total of 10 soldiers were killed in 24 hours, making it the worst single-day loss for Israel since 15 soldiers died on October 31st.

Attorney Saadia Gopstein lives in Israel. He said the lives of those soldiers is a heavy price to pay.

GOPSTEIN: But really, what choice do we have? This is a fight for our survival. And unless and until we eliminate the Hamas and the terror threats, we have no future. We’ll all be killed.

SOUND: [IDF fighting in Gaza]

Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the fighting continues in northern Gaza.

When asked yesterday about reports that the Israel Defense Forces was flooding tunnels used by Hamas with seawater, Hagari would only say that the military was using “a range of creative means to damage the tunnels.”

SOUND: [LA protesters]

Israel - U.S. update » Meanwhile, in the U.S. dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters shut down a major freeway in downtown Los Angeles.

And at the White House, President Biden met privately with the families of eight Americans believed to be held hostage by Hamas.

Speaking to reporters afterward, those families made a special plea:

RELATIVE: Pray for us, pray for our families, pray for our leaders, pray for the President. And that the Pope and all that he can do is to push. We'd love a Christmas miracle. We would love all of our loved ones to come back and be with us for Christmas.

The president faces criticism for comments he made earlier this week accusing Israel of quote indiscriminate bombing in its campaign in Gaza.

But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters yesterday, much of that blame lies with Hamas.

KIRBY: As the president has said, Hamas could release the hostages today. They could surrender all those responsible for the October 7th attacks and lay down their arms and the war would stop immediately. If they really cared about the Palestinian people the way they claim to, they would do this. That they haven’t done it, I think, speaks volumes.

Officials from Hamas-controlled sources in Gaza say more than 18,500 Palestinians have died since the conflict began.

Hunter Biden not testifying » Hunter Biden appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, but did not testify at a scheduled closed-door meeting with House Republicans. The president’s son has requested a different kind of meeting with House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.

BIDEN: When you said, “We can bring these people in for depositions or committee hearings, whichever they choose.” Well, I've chosen. I am here to testify at a public hearing today.

Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan say they wanted to interview the president’s son first.

JORDAN: What we want is the facts and the way you get the facts in every single investigation I've been involved in is you bring people in for an interview behind closed doors where you can get those facts. And then, as the chairman said, we'd love for him to come public.

House Republicans are threatening to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.

House Impeachment Inquiry » Also on Wednesday, the House formalized an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

The House voted along party lines to back the impeachment inquiry that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy opened earlier this year.

Republicans have been investigating the president for allegedly participating in a “influence peddling” scheme while he was vice president.

Congressman James Comer speaking before the vote:

COMER: Since January, we have learned some of the following: the Biden's created 20 shell companies, most of which were created while Joe Biden was vice president. The Biden's and their associates then raked in over $24 million through the shell companies.

Democrats say the evidence doesn’t point where Republicans claim it does. Congressman Jamie Raskin:

RASKIN: They've got a mountain of evidence, but all the evidence shows that Joe Biden is not guilty of any presidential events. In fact, their own witnesses came to their only public hearing on impeachment and, to a witness, said that they did not see sufficient evidence to justify impeachment.

The White House has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing on the part of the president.

SCOTUS Trump » The Supreme Court will hear a case related to the January 6 Capitol riots that could affect former President Donald Trump. WORLD’s Alex Carmenaty has more.

ALEX CARMENATY: The case of Fischer vs. the U.S. challenges how prosecutors apply a statute outlawing the obstruction of an official proceeding.

Former Boston police officer Joseph Fischer was indicted on seven charges for his alleged role in the January 6th U.S. Capitol riot. One of the charges involves obstruction.

He says his actions didn’t constitute obstruction, and that the Enron-era statute applies to white-collar crime, not incidents like January 6.

Obstruction charges leveled against Trump could be affected by the ruling.

For WORLD, I’m Alex Carmenaty.

SCOTUS Mifepristone » The U.S. Supreme Court will also hear a case involving the abortion drug mifepristone.

An appellate court’s ruling earlier this year left in place some rules protecting unborn babies from the pill. It can’t be sent through the mail or be given to women after seven weeks of pregnancy.

The Biden administration is appealing the lower court’s order while pro-life physicians are challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug.

Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer Erin Hawley is representing the physicians.

ERIN HAWLEY: The FDA must answer for the damage that is caused to the health of countless women and girls and the rule of law by failing to study how dangerous chemical abortion drugs are.

The Supreme Court is only ruling on questions of how the drug is dispensed, not the FDA’s original approval of the pill.

I'm Anna Johansen Brown.

Straight ahead: the backstory to an alleged plot to kill critics of the Indian government. Plus, visiting a cave in modern-day Bethlehem.

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