Putin’s news conference: Russian President Vladimir Putin held a four-hour news conference in Moscow today and took questions from Western journalists as well as Russian reporters. Ordinary Russian citizens were invited to send in questions for Putin and the Kremlin said that two million were received. Putin said the Russian military has 617,000 troops currently fighting in Ukraine and that Russia won’t stop fighting until it achieves its objective of taking over Ukraine. Putin said he wants to reach agreement on a prisoner swap that would return Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate-security executive Paul Whelan to the U.S.
Impeachment inquiry: On a party-line vote, the House of Representatives has approved opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which is something twice-impeached Donald Trump had been advocating. The Republican investigation is being launched without the Republicans presenting any evidence that President Biden committed any high crimes or misdemeanors, which are criteria for impeachment. Republicans also did not specify any crimes that Biden is suspected of committing. The vote was 221 in favor of opening the investigation and 212 opposed.
Retail sales: The Commerce Department reported this morning that retail sales in the U.S. rose by 0.3% in November beating forecasts that sales would drop by 0.2%. Total estimated sales for November came to $705.7 billion. Total sales for the September 2023 through November 2023 period were up 3.4% from the same period a year ago. The Commerce Department’s report follows yesterday’s decision by the Federal Reserve to continue pausing interest rate hikes while holding out the possibility of interest rate cuts in 2024.
Israeli attacks: The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, reported today that 11 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the West Bank. U.S. Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was in Israel today where he was expected to tell Israeli officials that they are losing international support by not doing more to protect civilians from military action. Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu said today that nothing will stop Israel in its campaign to wipe out Hamas.
Possible mass shooting: CNN reported this morning that police in Canton, Ohio, have arrested a 13-year-old boy for allegedly planning a mass shooting at Temple Israel in Canton. The name of the boy has not been released. Court records indicated the boy will be in court next week. The Anti-Defamation League in Cincinnati released a statement saying it is horrified by the reports of the planned mass shooting.
Artificial Intelligence: Pope Francis today called for an international treaty to control the use of artificial intelligence. A fake image of Pope Francis that showed him wearing modern clothing had been generated by artificial intelligence software and circulated on the internet earlier this year. Pope Francis said that while artificial intelligence holds the promise of helping humans it also could be misused and disrupt everyday life.
