Tuesday morning news - November 26, 2024

Israel latest » The White House says a cease-fire agreement to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah may be close.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY: The conversations that I almost had, uh, were very positive. Um, and we, as I said earlier, we believe the trajectory is, is going in the right direction here to potentially, uh, getting the ceasefire done.

The agreement reportedly calls for a 60-day cease-fire that could bring peace, at least temporarily, in Lebanon and along Israel’s northern border.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel since the start of the war in Gaza last year. And Israeli forces launched a ground invasion in Lebanon in October.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon:

DANON:  Our goal was very clear, which is to push Hezbollah north, uh, of the Litany River. Um, we haven't finalized it, but we are moving forward.

Israeli officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet was set to convene today to discuss the proposal.

One of the last sticking points has reportedly been that Israel wants more guarantees to make sure that Hezbollah's weapons are fully removed from the border.

House committee to work with DOGE » In Washington, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says Republicans are ready to drop the ax on government waste when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

COMER:   We want to start with, uh, getting the new Department of Government Efficiencies back and the President's back, uh, with, uh, codifying legislation, passing legislation, uh, we want the President to start off with as many executive orders as possible in, uh, being able to reduce the size of government.

A new House subcommittee is set to work closely with the Department of Government Efficiency. Business leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead that department which will be an independent office, not a government agency.

Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett calls it an opportunity to tackle the debt crisis.

BURCHETT:  We're printing money. We're borrowing money from our great grandchildren right now. Every hundred days, we add a trillion dollars to the debt and nobody has a plan to pay it back. I think this would at least stop some of that, that debt being piled on.

The national debt has now topped $36 trillion dollars with the government set to add another $2 trillion to the debt in this fiscal year.

Immigration fight » Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green will lead that aforementioned subcommittee.

And she says some of the first federal spending cuts could come in places where local and state governments refuse to cooperate with federal immigration law.

GREEN: Absolutely. Those, those, uh, sanctuary states and cities are in danger of losing their federal funding and rightfully so.

Officials in blue states and cities are gearing up for legal fights over funding cuts.

Many migrants are racing to reach the US southern border before Trump takes office. Border officials say they’re still seeing many children show up without a guardian, including some as young as 2 years old, brought to the border by traffickers.

And a whistleblower is speaking out about the fate of many migrant children. Tara Rodas is a former employee of the Department of Health and Human Services.

RODAS: The truth is that children have been handed over to criminals, to traffickers, and to members of transnational criminal organizations to include MS 13, 18th Street Gang.

Virginia migrant rape suspect » Meantime, in Virginia a case with  shades of the highly publicized Laken Riley murder case in Georgia.

Police have arrested an illegal Honduran migrant for allegedly raping a woman on a hiking trail outside Washington, D.C. just days after he was released from jail on a separate sex charge.

Herndon, Virginia Police Chief Maggie Deboard:

DEBOARD: There has to be a priority to remove anyone who is committing violent acts against the community.

She says criminals must be held accountable the first time.

The suspect, Dennis Romero, has reportedly been accused of multiple sex attacks in Herndon.

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is outraged that Fairfax County officials released Romero after his first offense, rather than turning him over Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jack Smith Trump cases » Special counsel Jack Smith has moved to drop two cases against Donald Trump … as the president-elect prepares to return to the White House. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Smith’s office is winding down the cases and closing up shop. In court filings on Monday, the prosecutors cited longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution.

They said the decision has nothing to do with the strength of the cases or the evidence against Donald Trump.

One of the cases being abandoned accused Trump of election interference. The other involved his retention of classified documents after leaving office.

The president-elect has called those cases and others … purely political.

Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.”

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

White House Christmas tree » It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the White House.

First lady Jill Biden received the official White House Christmas tree. The 19 foot Fraser fir came from Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in an area of western North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene.

JILL-BIDEN: The Cartner Family lost thousands of trees in the storm.

But she said, “this one remained standing and they named it ‘Tremendous’ for the extraordinary hope that it represents.”

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the harrowing story of an Israeli grandmother held hostage by Hamas for more than 50 days. Plus, what a new administration may mean for hostages that remain.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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