President Biden delivers updates on where the United States stands in its support of Israel and Ukraine. And, Apple is rolling out a new security feature to protect iPhone users from passcode thieves. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.
Biden says Israel is losing support; US will aid Ukraine ‘as long as we can’
President Biden has provided updates on where the United States stands in its support of Ukraine and Israel as they continue to fight their respective wars. Biden is expected to meet in person for the first time on Wednesday, Dec. 13, with families of Americans being held hostage in Gaza, after giving his sharpest criticism of Israel’s ongoing retaliation to Hamas’ terror attack on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Also on Tuesday, Dec. 12, Biden met face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the Ukrainian president looked for additional aid in its war with Russia, meeting with congressional leaders in Washington D.C.
During a fundraiser with Democratic donors, President Biden warned that Israel is losing international support for its operations in Gaza. Biden said while Israel currently has most of the world’s support, it’s waning due to “the indiscriminate bombing” taking place.
Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to change his approach, calling him the leader of “the most conservative government in Israel’s history” that doesn’t “want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution.”
Hours before Biden’s comments, Netanyahu remarked on the rift between the U.S. and Israel concerning what a post-war Gaza would look like.
“Yes, there is disagreement about ‘the day after Hamas’ and I hope that we will reach agreement here as well,” Netanyahu said.
Meanwhile, Biden announced $200 million in approved aid for Ukraine during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
However, Biden admitted with funding for additional aid stalled amid disagreements in the Senate over a stricter border policy, the U.S. will only be able to support Ukraine for a limited time if no action is taken. Biden called it a gift for Russian President Vladimir Putin and said America will continue to supply Ukraine with critical weapons and equipment for “as long as we can.”
“Without supplemental funding, we’re rapidly coming to an end of our ability to help Ukraine respond to the urgent operational demands that it has,” Biden said. “Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine. We must, we must, we must prove him wrong.”
UN General Assembly votes in favor of cease-fire after US veto
As the United States continues to support Israel and its right to defend itself after Hamas’ terror attack, while being critical of the impact on civilians in Gaza, the U.S. has refused to back calls for a cease-fire. On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the U.N. General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution demanding a cease-fire despite opposition from the U.S. and Israel.
The 193-member world body voted overwhelmingly in favor of a humanitarian cease-fire to end the war — 153 nations voted in favor, 10 voted against, and 23 abstained.
Eight countries, including Austria, Guatemala, and Paraguay, joined the U.S. and Israel in opposing the resolution. The assembly’s vote came a few days after the United States vetoed a similar resolution in the smaller Security Council on Friday, Dec. 8.
Arab and Islamic nations called the emergency session of the general assembly to vote on Tuesday, Dec. 12. While resolutions from the General Assembly are not legally binding, they are a gauge of where the world stands on issues.
Following the vote, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, said it was a “historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly.”
Media Matters sues Texas, alleging it violated the First Amendment
The progressive watchdog group that published stories alleging that ad campaigns ran next to white nationalist content on Elon Musk’s social media platform X is now suing the state of Texas, alleging it violated the group’s First Amendment rights.
Media Matters filed the lawsuit in federal court on Monday, Dec. 11, after Texas Attorney General, Republican Ken Paxton, launched an investigation into the group for “potential fraudulent activity” related to the investigative reports it published about Elon Musk and X.
Following the reports’ publication, there was a major departure of advertisers on X; companies like Disney, Apple, Sony, and Walmart pulled ads from Musk’s platform.
In its lawsuit, Media Matters is asking a judge to block Paxton’s investigation, which began as Musk filed a lawsuit against Media Matters claiming the group “manufactured” the report to intentionally drive advertisers away from X.
Following the Texas AG’s office opening its fraud investigation, Musk posted to X. “Fraud has both civil and criminal penalties,” Musk wrote.
In addition, Missouri’s Republican Attorney General has also launched a fraud probe into Media Matters’ investigation of X.
New York ordered to redraw congressional districts ahead of 2024 elections
New York’s highest court has ordered the state to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections. A move that could shake things up in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 4-3 decision orders that the state remaps its 26 congressional districts, a blow to Republicans who sought to keep the lines after flipping a couple of seats in the last election cycle, which helped give the GOP a slim majority in the House.
The order seems to be an early victory for Democrats as the decision could help them reclaim control in the House in 2024.
While the maps will be redrawn by New York’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission, the state legislature, which Democrats control, will have final approval of the maps. The order places a deadline for the newly drawn maps of Feb. 28.
Apple releasing security feature to protect against code-stealing thieves
Apple is releasing a new security feature for iPhones to protect users from thieves who learn their passcodes, which unlocks their phones. The move is in response to a report by the Wall Street Journal on criminals stealing iPhones after watching users type in their passcodes.
Thieves then lock victims out of various accounts after using the code and changing passwords to apps and services found on the phone. To combat those attacks, Apple has announced it will be rolling out a new setting called Stolen Device Protection.
With stolen device protection turned on, an iPhone will restrict certain settings, like changing passwords, when it’s away from a location familiar to the user.
If a request is made to change a password, the iPhone will require a Face ID or Touch ID. from the user. There will then be an hour-long delay, at which time another Face ID or Touch ID scan will be needed to confirm the action. Then, and only then, can the password be changed.
iPhone users are still encouraged to hide their passcodes when in public and never give them out to strangers.
Netflix releases viewership data for first half of 2023
The public is getting a better idea of what viewers have been watching on Netflix and how much they’ve been watching. For years, the streaming service has held back on releasing viewer data, but on Tuesday, Dec. 12, Netflix moved to become more transparent.
The first report of its kind, titled “What We Watched,” includes a list of viewing times on the platform for the first half of the year. Netflix released information on more than 18,000 movies and TV series, each having at least 50,000 viewing hours.
According to the report, season one of Netflix’s original “The Night Agent” was the most-viewed show between January and June, with 812 million viewing hours.
The top movie was “The Mother” starring Jennifer Lopez, with nearly 250 million viewing hours.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company’s lack of transparency created an “atmosphere of mistrust over time,” and this list creates “a better environment.” However, he admitted it may be more information than anyone would need.