Tuesday morning news: December 3, 2024

Israel, Hezbollah trade strikes amid fragile ceasefire » Israel and Hezbollah are trading fire threatening their fragile ceasefire in Lebanon.

Hezbollah struck a disputed border zone held by Israel Monday, and Israel retaliated a few hours later carrying out a wave of strikes that Lebanon says killed closed to a dozen people.

Each side is accusing the other of violating the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which just took effect Wednesday. U.S. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller is downplaying the impact of the recent strikes.

MILLER: “Just as anywhere in the world when you see a ceasefire implemented, you see various violations at times. Ultimately what we don’t want to see is the ceasefire break down, and we’ve not seen the ceasefire break down.”

The ceasefire is meant to end close to 14 months of fighting. Hezbollah started attacking Israel to show solidarity with Hamas, which is battling Israel in Gaza.

Gaza: Blinken meets w/Israel, Trump demands hostages release » Winding down the war in Gaza tops Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s agenda. He’s meeting with Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, pushing for a ceasefire with Hamas.

Allies of Donald Trump say the president-elect is hoping for a ceasefire in Gaza before he takes office, along with a deal to release the dozens of hostages Hamas is still holding captive… including Americans.

Republican Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville…

TUBERVILLE: “I think a lot of us believe that, hey, they’ve been over there too long. There hadn’t been enough done from this administration. We’ve got to get our hostages home. It is a mess in the Middle East.”

Trump issued a threat over social media Monday, writing that if the hostages aren’t released before his inauguration… the hostage-takers will be hit harder than anyone’s ever been hit in U.S. history.

Trump tariff threats affecting Canada’s border approach » The threat of new tariffs from the incoming Trump Administration if there aren’t big changes at the border… is forcing action from Canada.

After a meeting with the president-elect at Mar a Lago Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to deploy more resources to the northern border. Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, says the biggest deliverable Trudeau promised Trump was…

HILLMAN: “More infrastructure, so more surveillance, more helicopters, potentially more infrastructure at the border. Again, these are things that we were thinking of doing on our own anyway, just because secure borders are essential.”

However, the tariffs on Canada still aren’t off the table. Canada’s public safety minister says Trudeau warned the president-elect Americans will suffer if he follows through with those tariffs.

UK Parliament advances assisted dying law » Several months of a heated debate over death are kicking off in The United Kingdom which is now one step closer to legalizing assisted suicide.

HOYLE: The Ayes to the right 330. The Noes to the left 275. The Ayes have it, the Ayes have it. Unlock!

British lawmakers have advanced a bill that would allow adults in England or Wales to end their lives with the help of doctors.

The patient would be required to have less than six months to live. He or she would have to sign two declarations expressing their wish to die. And two doctors would have to conduct evaluations and verify the patient is eligible to end his or her life.

Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater spoke on behalf of the bill.

LEADBEATER: Let's be clear: We are not talking about a choice between life or death. We are talking about giving dying people a choice of how to die.

But critics like Parliament member Danny Kruger say the bill will pressure vulnerable patients to end their lives...while creating a new industry of death.

KRUGER: Like the medics I met in Canada...specialists in assisted death who personally killed hundreds of patients a year in their special clinics. [GROANS FROM LAWMAKERS] And if the honorable members have a difficulty with the language, then I wonder what they're doing here! This is what we're talking about!

The House of Commons still has to review the bill, then vote on it again, before sending it to the House of Lords.

Assuming it survives similar votes there, it moves on to the King for final approval. That whole process is expected to take several months.

California AG pushes pro-abortion legislation » Meanwhile, here in the United States, a push to weaken protections for the unborn.

BONTA: We'll continue to work around-the-clock as we move into Trump administration 2.0.

State lawmakers in California started an emergency session advocates describe as strengthening state protections for abortion against a second Trump term.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the special session last month.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta unveiled two bills designed to protect so-called reproductive health care. One empowers the state to seek financial penalties if any local government hinders the operations of an abortion facility.

Bonta says the other protects chemical abortions.

BONTA: Our Medication Abortion Access Bill would ensure medication abortion remains an accessible option for those seeking abortion care throughout the state.

Newsom is also asking for $25 million dollars to fund court challenges to any Trump administration actions he believes are unconstitutional.

Biden in Angola to counter China, Russia influence in Africa » President Biden is in sub-Saharan Africa, working to temper Chinese and Russian influence on that continent.

The president is spending three days in Angola, where he’s highlighting a new trans-African rail line aimed at providing an economic boost and backed by U.S. financing.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: It’s going to reduce, literally by days, the amount of time that it takes to move crops and goods from one side of the continent to the other. It’s going to create incredible economic opportunities here on the continent.

It’s also a way of countering China’s growing influence in a region rich with the minerals used to make electric batteries.

The U.S. is considering putting U.S. military bases in Angola as well to neutralize Russia, which has provided military help to African countries in exchange for resources.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: a presidential pardon for Hunter Biden. Plus, students learning how to speak with confidence and clarity.

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.