White House Dossier's

US, Britain carry out strikes across Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks . . . U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines struck across Yemen overnight in retaliation against Iran-backed Houthi forces for attacks on Red Sea shipping. Witnesses confirmed explosions throughout Yemen, saying raids targeted a military base adjacent to Sanaa airport, a military site near Taiz airport, a Houthi naval base in Hodeidah and military sites in Hajjah governorate. "These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation," U.S. President Joe Biden said. The Houthis said five of their fighters had been killed in a total of 73 air strikes and said they would retaliate for the strikes and continue their attacks on shipping. Reuters

Biden must invoke the Reagan Doctrine against Iran . . . To prevent the crisis in the Middle East from reaching the boiling point and consuming the region, it is time for President Biden to switch strategy – from escalation control to escalation dominance. Fear of escalation and of angering Iranian leaders has shaped Biden’s policy toward Tehran, with which his administration is still hoping to renew a nuclear deal that had been broken by the Trump administration. As recently as August, Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that the administration would "welcome any steps that Iran takes to actually deescalate the growing nuclear threat that it has posed since the United States got out of the Iran nuclear deal." Rebekah Koffler for Fox News

Democrats fume over Biden "violation of the Constitution

Inside Biden's decision to strike . . . President Joe Biden was still on his holiday getaway in St. Croix when he spoke with his national security team on the first morning of 2024. The Iran-backed Houthis had launched yet another attack on international shipping in the Red Sea, and the president was ready to discuss the possibility of a military response. The president’s guidance was twofold. On the diplomatic front, he directed his team to push harder for a United Nations resolution to condemn the attacks. On the military side, he ordered the Pentagon to develop options to strike back at the Houthis. Politico

Haley gains in New Hampshire but still well behind Trump . . . Former President Trump has lost support in New Hampshire since November, while Republican rival Nikki Haley has gained support in the state’s presidential primary, new polling shows. An Emerson College Polling/WHDH New Hampshire survey released Thursday found Trump with 44 percent support among Republican primary voters in the Granite State, down from 49 percent in November. Haley, on the other hand, sits at 28 percent, up from 18 percent in November. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds just 7 percent in the new poll, unchanged from November. The Hill

Note that this poll was done before Chris Christie withdrew from the race. Most of his support will go to Haley, which could end up being the difference for her in the state. Remember, the predictions and expectations of the chattering class about presidential primaries are almost always upended. Trump is likely to win in the end, but anything can happen. Some of you may remember President Edmund Muskie . . . 

DeSantis shows signs of life in Iowa . . . Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is showing some signs of late momentum with the Iowa caucuses looming on Monday. DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled for months, has performed better at the past two debates than previously — including at Wednesday night’s CNN clash in Des Moines, the last televised debate before the caucuses. Speaking at a BBQ restaurant here in this city roughly 30 miles north of Des Moines, DeSantis appeared much more at ease than his stiff reputation would suggest — even when interrupted three times by pro-environment hecklers. The otherwise supportive crowd that showed up felt more energized than the audience that came to a Haley event in the upscale Des Moines suburb of Ankeny earlier in the day. The Hill

Iowa often offers a huge surprise. Is DeSantis it? He did sound more like a human being than ever in his debate with Haley Wednesday.

Trump batters judge in "closing argument" of civil trial . . . Donald Trump on Thursday accused the judge in his civil fraud trial of having his “own agenda,” berating the judge to his face in brief courtroom remarks that defied the judge’s attempts to control Trump’s rhetoric on the final day of the 11-week trial. Trump’s courtroom outburst came during a day that began with police responding to a threat at the Long Island home of the judge, Justice Arthur Engoron, and included closing arguments from Trump’s counsel, who called Trump an “industry expert,” and Attorney General Tish James’ lawyers, who accused him of committing widespread fraud in part to finance his 2016 presidential campaign.n Politico

The judge said Trump couldn't give his own closing argument. So Trump gave it anyway. If you want to know why many voters think Trump is the only candidate who truly will stand up to the Deep State, there's your evidence.

Iran seizes Greek tanker, escalating tensions . .. Iran’s navy on Thursday boarded and seized a Greek-operated oil tanker, the St. Nikolas, off the coast of Oman. The high seas seizure heightens tensions with the West, not far from where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attacking merchant ships and facing off with American and British naval vessels in the Red Sea. The tanker was transiting through the Strait of Hormuz en route to Turkey. Politico

Austin's woes mount as Pentagon probes secret hospital stay . . . The Pentagon’s internal watchdog announced Thursday that it will investigate the circumstances surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s secretive prostate cancer surgery and a subsequent lengthy hospital stay and will examine whether the secretary’s office has effective procedures in place for the “transition of authorities” when such an emergency arises. Washington Times

International

Israel defends itself at world court against genocide charge . . . Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel insisted at the United Nations’ highest court Friday that its war in Gaza was a legitimate defense of its people and said instead that Hamas was guilty of genocide. Israel described the allegations leveled by South Africa as hypocritical and said that one of the biggest cases ever to come before an international court reflected a world turned upside down. Israeli leaders defend their air and ground offensive in Gaza as a legitimate response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, when militants stormed through Israeli communities, killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage. Associated Press

Another monkey trial at the world's least-great deliberative body. Why even legitimate it with a defense?

The lost cities of Ecuador . . . Archeologists have uncovered a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest that was home to at least 10,000 farmers around 2,000 years ago. Recent mapping by laser-sensor technology revealed those sites to be part of a dense network of settlements and connecting roadways, tucked into the forested foothills of the Andes, that lasted about 1,000 years. “It was a lost valley of cities,” said Rostain, who directs investigations at France’s National Center for Scientific Research. “It’s incredible.” Associated Press

Money

Hertz seeks to shed 20,000 electric vehicles because of repair expense . . . After an ambitious electric vehicle push in recent years, the Hertz rental car company will reduce its EV fleet by one-third to make room for more gasoline-powered vehicles. In a regulatory filing submitted Thursday, the car rental giant said it will scale back roughly 20,000 electric vehicles as they have higher damage-repair costs and higher depreciation. Washington Examiner

Remote workers losing out on promotions . . . Over the past year, remote workers were promoted 31% less frequently than people who worked in an office, either full-time or on a hybrid basis, according to an analysis of two million white-collar workers by employment-data provider Live Data Technologies. Remote workers also get less mentorship, a gap that’s especially pronounced for women, research shows. Wall Street Journal

Companies aren't done cutting white collar jobs . . . After a year of right sizing, employers are looking in the mirror and concluding there is still fat to lose. Companies including Amazon, Xerox, Google and BlackRock this month have announced plans to trim their workforces. Some of the companies now cutting jobs conducted larger-scale layoffs over the past year or so. Since then, inflation has come down along with expectations for a recession, which most economists anticipated as recently as the middle of last year. Wall Street Journal

Culture

University of Michigan spends tens of millions to pay 241 DEI staffers . . . One day after winning the national college-football championship, the University of Michigan was recognized as a leading competitor in another popular collegiate sport: wasteful diversity, equity and inclusion spending. Having recently embarked on a new five-year DEI plan, UM is paying more than $30 million to 241 DEI staffers this academic year alone, Mark Perry found in a recent analysis for The College Fix. That represents an astounding expansion of the school’s already-infamous DEI bureaucracy, which had a mere 142 employees last year. New York Post

Harvard sued by student group over antisemitic attack . . . The Harvard University graduate students who were caught on film accosting and shoving a Jewish classmate during an anti-Israel "die-in" protest remain in good standing with the school, with one of the assailants avoiding discipline altogether, according to a lawsuit. The complaint, which was filed Wednesday afternoon by Students Against Antisemitism, accuses the Ivy League institution of failing to combat "outrageous antisemitic conduct" and ignoring "Jewish students' pleas for protection." Washington Free Beacon

Poll shows growing disapproval of Pope Francis among Americans, US Catholics . . . A new poll shows growing displeasure among Americans and U.S. Catholics for Pope Francis, who nonetheless maintains high approval ratings. In a Gallup poll conducted Dec. 1-20, a new high of 30% of Americans held an unfavorable view of Francis and 58% held a favorable view. Among U.S. Catholics, a record 17% disapproved of the pope and 77% approved. Washington Times

Fruit Stripe gum to be discontinued . . . Ferrara Foods announced earlier in January that its Fruit Stripe chewing gum will no longer be available to purchase. “We have made the difficult decision to sunset Fruit Stripe Gum, but consumers may still be able to find the product at select retailers nationwide,” a spokesperson for Ferrera Foods said in a statement. “The decision to sunset this product was not taken lightly, and we considered many factors before coming to this decision, including consumer preferences, and purchasing patterns.” Daily Caller

Did a part of your childhood just die?

Fiancee of actor accused of cannibalism calls it off . . . The fiancee of famous actor Armie Hammer, who was accused of cannibalism, announced the end of their relationship on Thursday. Marina Gris wrote a lengthy statement to her Instagram story, explaining the reason for the change in their relationship status. “It’s with a reflective heart that I announce the end of my journey with Armie, a chapter that’s been deeply personal and warmly significant in my life and closed a month ago,” she wrote. Gris insisted the allegations against Hammer had nothing to do with their breakup. Daily Caller

Professor Hillary Clinton gets failing grade from disappointed student . . . Hillary Clinton's class on "decision-making" was blasted by a Columbia University student for lacking insights as she said that the former secretary of state was "basically reading passages from her book" and morphed more into a politician as the semester continued.  Laalitya Acharya said that Clinton wasn't relatable to the students and there was a feeling of disconnect. Fox News

What a "deplorable" student!