White House Dossier's

How Hamas weaponized sexual violence on Oct. 7 . . . Israeli officials say that everywhere Hamas terrorists struck — the rave, the military bases along the Gaza border and the kibbutzim — they brutalized women. A two-month investigation by The Times uncovered painful new details, establishing that the attacks against women were not isolated events but part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence on Oct. 7. The Times interviewed several soldiers and volunteer medics who together described finding more than 30 bodies of women and girls in and around the rave site and in two kibbutzim in a similar state as Ms. Abdush’s — legs spread, clothes torn off, signs of abuse in their genital areas. New York Times

"Everyone over there is a terrorist," says freed Israeli hostage . . . Mia Schem, a 21-year-old Israeli-French woman who was abducted by Hamas on October 7, opened up about the “holocaust” she experienced during her 54 days in captivity in Gaza, saying, “Everyone over there is a terrorist.” After being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from a music festival in southern Israel during the terrorist group’s brutal attack on Israel, Schem said she was held captive by a family in Gaza who were working with the terrorist organization. Entire families are in the service of Hamas,” she added. “Suddenly I realized that I’m with a family. Suddenly I’m asking myself questions: Why am I in some family’s home? Why are there kids here? Why is there a wife?” Daily Wire

Maine becomes second state to bar Trump from the ballot . . . Maine’s top election official Thursday barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballot, the second time a state knocked the Republican former president off its ballot and escalating a national legal effort to disqualify him from office. In a 34-page written decision, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, said the Constitution bars a second Trump term because of his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol following his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Wall Street Journal

Supreme Court asked to weigh in on the issue

CNN sounds the alarm on Biden poll ratings . . . CNN’s Dana Bash sounded the alarm on Thursday after a new poll revealed President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings on key issues. A Monmouth University Poll conducted between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4 found that Biden has a 26 percent approval rating on immigration and a 28 percent approval rating on inflation, two key topics heading into 2024. "That is not good,” Bash said. Daily Caller

No, it's not good. Excellent analysis.

Tlaib brands Netanyahu "genocidal" . . . Democrat 'Squad' member Rashida Tlaib has sparked fury by branding Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu a 'genocidal maniac' - and told her own party colleagues they are supporting a war criminal. The outspoken Michigan representative was censured by Congress and denounced as anti-Semitic last month for defending the October 7 attack that left 1,200 Israelis dead as 'resistance'. Daily Mail

Biden gets nothing from outreach to Mexico on immigration . . . The White House sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador Wednesday, hoping to obtain his assistance in slowing the wave of migrants crossing through his country on their way to ours. The resulting “Joint Communique” from that parley reveals Mexico City has no interest in assisting an administration that won’t secure US borders. The trip itself, scheduled during a holiday week when little gets done in either capital, reeked of desperation, and nothing in that communiqué dispels the stench. New York Post

International

Russia launches biggest missile barrage of the war . . . Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets, officials said Friday, killing at least 22 civilians across the country in what an air force official said was the biggest aerial barrage of the war. The Ukrainian air force intercepted most of the ballistic and cruise missiles and the Shahed-type drones overnight, said Ukraine’s military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Associated Press

Putin "ally" falls out a window . . . Vladimir Egorov, a political ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead on Wednesday after allegedly falling from a third-floor window, according to Russian state media. Egorov, 46, a member of Putin’s United Russia party who served as Tobolsk City Duma deputy, plunged from the third-floor window of a house in Tobolsk in the Tyumen Oblast, Russian Telegram channel Baza reported. NY Post

It's so strange the way these Russian politicians and businessmen seem to lose their balance around windows and balconies

Israel using small drones to help navigate battlefield . . . The Israeli military has tried a variety of methods to explore Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza: robots, robot dogs and real dogs. But what it has quickly learned is that the cheapest and most effective option for exploring the underground labyrinths—which are a potential death trap for soldiers—is a small quadcopter drone.  It isn’t just tunnels. In the dense urban battlefield of Gaza, the Israeli military has been flying these quadcopters—essentially small helicopters with four rotors—into buildings before sending in soldiers. Wall Street Journal

Money

Culture

Conservatives press for public Catholic schools . . . Groups aligned with the conservative legal movement and its financial architect, Leonard Leo, are working to promote a publicly funded Christian school in Oklahoma, hoping to create a test case to change the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. At issue is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma’s push to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would be the nation’s first religious school entirely funded by taxpayers. Politico

University of Wisconsin to fire chancellor for appearing in porn videos . . . The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously fired UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow on Wednesday after discovering videos posted on porn websites featuring him and his wife. Gow, 63, and his wife, Carmen Wilson, appear in videos on several porn websites using "Sexy Happy Couple." The couple also published two books under pseudonyms detailing their experiences in the adult film industry. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Higher education in the United States continues is march to glory . . . 

Even a UN official gets that Biden's trans Title IX change would harm women . . . The Biden administration’s Title IX proposal that would expand the meaning of sexual discrimination to include gender identity and prevent schools and colleges from banning transgender athletes received pushback from a United Nations expert. Reem Alsalem, a U.N. special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, expressed concern the proposed changes would violate biological women and girls’ rights to equality and non-discrimination as student-athletes. Fox News

Professor on antisemitism panel resigns after being accused of . . . antisemitism . . . Professor Ari Kelman, a history professor at Stanford University, resigned from the school's newly-formed Antisemitism Committee for allegedly having an antisemitic past. A report by the Jewish Insider appeared to be the catalyst for Kelman's resignation. It noted that he authored a paper in 2017 downplaying antisemitism on college campuses and allied with anti-Israel groups. Newsmax

Massive beach waves assault California coast . . . At least eight people were hospitalized when gigantic waves wreaked havoc across coastal California towns on Thursday, as powerful storms hovered over the Pacific Ocean. Daring residents ignored evacuation orders and flocked to the beaches to watch the epic show of the waves crashing, but some were too close as the monstrous formations broke over the seawalls. A rogue wave swept approximately 20 beachgoers at Pierpont Beach around 11 a.m. in Ventura. New York Post 

Ex-girlfriend of Grand Central stabber says he stalked her for years . . . The ex-girlfriend of the man accused of stabbing two teen tourists at Grand Central Terminal says he terrorized her for years and should have been institutionalized long before the Christmas morning attack. “The system could have done a better job taking care of him,” Charisma Knight told the Daily News on Wednesday night. “It had to happen for someone to get hurt for them to take this seriously.” NY Daily News

NFL set to pay quarterback up to $60M a year . . . Dak Prescott is about to get PAID, and historically at that. The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly set to make their superstar quarterback the highest-paid player ever in NFL history, according to the Bleacher Report’s league insider Jordan Schultz. In terms of actual figures, Schultz said Prescott could make a very shiny penny of $55-60 million per season in a new deal. Daily Caller

Detroit Pistons have lost 28 in a row, tying the record

Bishops can opt out diocese from Pope's same-sex marriage decree . . . The Vatican’s doctrinal office head on Thursday appeared to provide an “out” for clerics not on board with its declaration last week that priests can bless individuals in “irregular” relationships, including same-sex couples, so long as the prayers do not mimic a marriage ritual. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said, “it’s proper for each local bishop to make that discernment” about whether those blessings should be permitted in their diocese. Washington Times

Dentist sued after massive mouth invasion . . . A patient is suing her Eden Prairie dentist after he performed eight dental crowns, four root canals and 20 fillings in a single visit, according to a newly-filed malpractice lawsuit. Kathleen Wilson of Minneapolis says she received negligent treatment from Dr. Kevin Molldrem, of Molldrem Family Dentistry, in July 2020, that caused significant injuries. Minneapolis Star Tribune

At some point, you might want to get a second opinion