Cease-fire: Israel’s Security Cabinet today recommended ratification of the cease-fire deal with Hamas and the full Israeli cabinet was expected to go along. This makes it very likely that the cease-fire will go into effect on Sunday as planned with the first release of hostages by Hamas taking place then. Hamas charges that Israel is trying to scuttle the cease-fire by continuing to stage attacks in Gaza. A Gaza Civil Defense official said at least 111 civilians have been killed and more than 200 injured since the cease-fire deal was announced. Â
Giuliani: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the Georgia election workers he defamed have reached an agreement that settles the case against Giuliani. Giuliani had been ordered to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss $148 million for defaming them. He delayed paying, argued in court that he didn’t have all the assets it was claimed he had, and failed to show up at a court hearing that was scheduled for yesterday. Giuliani and Freeman and Moss put out statements saying that they had come to a settlement but did not disclose the terms. Â
Inauguration: CNN says it has reviewed court records and found that at least 11 people who have been charged or convicted in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have asked judges in their cases to allow them to return to the Capitol for Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Seven were given approval; four were rejected. CNN said that sources report members of a group that has staged demonstrations at a Washington, D.C. jail in support of Jan. 6 convicts were given tickets to the inauguration.
Explosion: In a post on his website X, formerly Twitter, Elon Musk said the explosion of one of his SpaceX Starship spaceships was entertainment. A rocket carrying the spaceship was launched yesterday from Brownsville, Texas, and just under nine minutes after launch the spaceship exploded. A trail of debris spread out about 90 miles up, forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to ban airliners from certain airspace. It was the seventh unmanned launch for the Starship rocket and spaceship configuration.
Russia and Iran: Russian President Vladimir Putin and the president of Iran met at the Kremlin today and signed a treaty committing their countries to cooperate in various areas including trade and military. A Kremlin spokesman said that the meeting and treaty signing had been scheduled for a long time and were not held to send a message before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday. Iran has been asking for additional military equipment from Russia that it says it needs to protect itself from attacks by Israel.
Sentences: President Biden today commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses. The White House said they are serving disproportionately long sentences compared with the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice. In a statement, Biden noted that with today’s action he has now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history. He cited Congressional passage of the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act as evidence that there is a need to fix sentencing disparities that have resulted in some people spending far too much time behind bars.
