Tangle - Israel begins Rafah invasion.

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

The Rafah invasion. On Monday, Israeli forces began striking targets in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. During the course of the war, over a million Gazan refugees fled to the Rafah region to shelter from Israel's incursion in the north. Several Hamas battalions have also fled south to Rafah and maintained a stronghold there, which Israel says it is aiming to dismantle with its latest push.You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can watch our latest video, Isaac's interview with former Congressman Ken Buck (CO-04) ⁠here⁠.Check the next episode of our new podcast series, The Undecideds. In episode 2, our undecided voters primarily talk about Trump’s legal troubles. How do they feel about his alleged crimes? How would him being convicted - or exonerated - change the way they vote? What about his claims he should have immunity as president? You’ll hear how they consider these major themes of the race, and also what they made of Haley dropping out and Biden’s State of the Union Address. You can listen to Episode 2 ⁠⁠here.⁠⁠Today’s clickables: A note about this week’s Friday edition (1:01), Quick hits (5:33), Today’s story (7:28), Right’s take (10:46), Left’s take (13:42), Israeli and Palestinian takes (16:20), Isaac’s take (19:04), Listener question (23:15), Under the Radar (25:35), Numbers (26:17), Have a nice day (27:14)You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What military action do you think Israel should pursue in Gaza? Let us know!Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tanglenews/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca.

From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast, a place we get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of my take. I'm your host, Isaac Saul, and on today's episode, we're going to be talking about the Rafah invasion, which appears to be underway. At least some kind of operation is underway in southern Gaza. This is the long-awaited move from the war cabinet in Israel that a lot of people have been dreading, a lot of people have been encouraging. There's been a big debate about whether this should happen or not, and we're going to break down exactly what's going on and some of the initial reactions to it. Interestingly enough, this happened at kind of a both serendipitous and an odd time for a piece that I've been working on tomorrow.

I, since this weekend or late last week, I guess, have been kicking around this idea of writing a piece that is basically an argument that I'm wrong. argument that I'm wrong. It is a little bit of a thought experiment and a little bit of an expression of just the doubts I have about my position on what's been happening in Israel, and my calls for a ceasefire, and my insistence that the war should end. And I started writing this piece basically trying to steel man the other side, trying to make the best argument I could that actually Israel should invade Rafah. They should rip the Band-Aid off and do this and finish the war and do it fast and do it with as few civilian casualties as possible and do everything they can to destroy Hamas and actually end the war. to destroy Hamas and actually end the war. And I started writing this piece over the weekend. I was working on it early this week, and then we just got this flurry of news, which we're going to talk about today. And you'll hear John explain what exactly has been happening in our main story today. So tomorrow, I'm going to make the case that the Rafa invasion should happen. And I'm going to set the table for this piece. I'm going to explain exactly what I'm doing, that it's a piece,

you know, that's effectively the best argument that I'm wrong. We're going to release it as a written edition. I doubt, in fact, I'm quite sure there will not be a podcast version of that article tomorrow. So if you want to get it in your inbox, you can subscribe and become a member. And I encourage you to become a member because right now that's the best way to support Tangle and this podcast until we set up the paid subscriptions or the Patreon or whatever it's going to be for the podcast, which I know we've been saying we're going to do for a long time. But a lot of stuff has been happening here. And we are just, you know, we're kind of flying by the seat of our pants on the growth side of stuff and developing this podcast because there's just so much news and it never stops. So for now, the best way to support this podcast and support us is to become a Tangle member. You can do that by going to our website,

readtangle.com and just clicking membership and becoming a member. But if you are a member, you will get that piece tomorrow. If you are just a podcast listener and you're not a member, I will probably talk a bit about it today on the podcast with Ari that we record. We record the Sunday podcast on Thursday. So on Sunday, you'll probably hear a little bit of me talking about this. We're trying very hard to get a guest on who I would love for you all to hear from. He's an Israeli analyst who has made a very strong case that I'm going to be using in my piece tomorrow about why Israel should go into Rafah and why it's the right move. So hopefully you get that podcast sometime down the road. But I just wanted to mention all that because today we are covering the Rafah invasion as our main story. And as you'll hear in my take, I still feel the same way

I have, but I also think it's time for me to give a little more air time to the opposing argument of my own for a lot of different reasons. So that's the story. Little promo for the Friday edition tomorrow. If you want to get that newsletter, it'll be behind the paywall. And I'm headed over to Penn's campus today, later this afternoon. Looking forward to that. Just want to go see what all the fuss is about and experience the protests a bit myself and talk to some people on the ground. Hopefully, I'm very hopeful that some students will chat with me and we'll probably have a video or some kind of podcast that comes out of that. So there's a lot of stuff going on. We are, as always, trying to do our best to show you guys some different perspectives, a wide range of opinions, and put in front of you all the information you need to make some decisions

about how to navigate this big, crazy world we are living in right now. So with that, I'm going to pass it over to John, and I'll be back here for my take. Thank you, Isaac, and welcome, everybody. Here are today's quick hits. First up, House Democrats joined Republicans to vote 359 to 43 to dismiss Marjorie Taylor Greene's motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. Number two, the Biden administration is preparing to publish a new rule that would more rapidly reject migrants at the border who arrive and claim asylum. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrat from New York, is also considering bringing a bipartisan border deal back to the floor for a vote. Number three, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suffered a series of health issues

that involved a parasite that affected parts of his brain and caused memory loss, according to a report in the New York Times. Number four, over the past day, Russia has launched over 70 missiles and drone attacks on Ukrainian power plants across the country. Number five, Barron Trump, former President Donald Trump's youngest son, was picked to be a Florida delegate at the Republican National Convention in July. Trump turned 18 in March. And now to the Middle East, where Israel has issued a warning to the civilian population of Rafah to get out. It is the latest sign a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city may be imminent, despite strong opposition from the U.S. and other allies of Israel. As we've been reporting, thousands of displaced Palestinians are now fleeing eastern Rafah after Israel ordered people to evacuate ahead of a ground offensive on the southern city. This morning, President Biden sending a message. As Israel's military continues its operation in

Rafah, a senior administration official saying the White House stepped in to pause a shipment of arms to Israel out of concern about the possible invasion. On Monday, Israeli forces began striking targets in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. During the course of the war, over a million Gazan refugees fled to the Rafah region to shelter from Israel's incursion in the north. Several Hamas battalions have also fled south to Rafah and maintained a stronghold there, which Israel says it is aiming to dismantle with its latest push. News of the Israeli operation in Rafah began after a flurry of breaking stories over the course of 24 hours. First, news broke that four Israeli soldiers

had been killed by a mass mortar attack in southern Israel. Then, Israel warned over 110,000 Rafah residents to evacuate the city, airdropping pamphlets across the region telling them that an invasion was forthcoming. Just hours later, news broke that Hamas had accepted a ceasefire deal, sending Gazans into the streets to celebrate. However, Israel quickly said the deal was brokered by Qatar and Egypt without Israeli officials present and did not meet their terms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it was an attempt by Hamas to sabotage the Rafah invasion. Hours later, airstrikes began in Rafah and then Israeli tanks rolled in. The proposal Hamas agreed to outlined a phased release of Israeli hostages in Gaza to be timed with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the

entire enclave. It called for a sustainable calm or a permanent cessation of military operations. Israel has said it would not agree to a full withdrawal or a permanent ceasefire as part of any deal. Israel also objected because the first phase of the deal, which would last 42 days, involved the release of 33 hostages held in Gaza, including women, children, older adults, and those who are ill. However, Hamas wanted the terms of the deal to involve 33 living or dead hostages and could not guarantee they would release living hostages in the exchange. While ceasefire negotiations continue, Israel has ramped up its operation in Rafah. Israeli tanks are now stationed just hundreds of yards

from the border with Egypt, and satellite imagery shows significant damage in the region. One Egyptian official described the scope of the operation as limited to the Associated Press, though reports of airstrikes have continued since Monday. Israel has also taken control of the Karam Shalom border crossing between Egypt and Rafah, one of two corridors that has been used to import humanitarian aid into Gaza. The crossing was shut down for a few days before Israel announced it had reopened on Wednesday. Hamas had previously controlled the crossing, allowing it to manage incoming resources, which Israeli officials claim have included weapons being smuggled across the border. Meanwhile, the Biden administration delayed the transfer of thousands of precision weapons to

Israel and said they would continue to do so if Israel continued the operation. However, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Tuesday, the operation will go on until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip or until the first hostage returns home. Today, we are going to explore some arguments on Israel's decisions to pursue the Rafah invasion from the right and the left, as well as some pieces from Israeli and Palestinian writers, and then Isaac's take. We'll be right back after this quick commercial break. First up, we'll start with what the right is saying. The right mostly supports the operation in Rafah, calling it a necessary step to fulfill Israel's objectives in the war. A smaller faction worries that the move could have unintended

consequences for Israel. In the New York Post, Jonathan Sweet and Mark Toth wrote, Israel is finally moving to end its war against Hamas by entering Rafah. Count on it to succeed. Hamas is clearly in trouble. Its last bastion of defense in Gaza is now squarely in the sights of the IDF. Despite President Biden's repeated efforts to publicly deter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from destroying Hamas in Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from destroying Hamas in Rafah, Israel is not going to agree to any ceasefire that allows Hamas to survive to fight another day,

Sweetentoth said. Hamas as a military threat to Israel will be destroyed and Rafah ultimately seized by the IDF. The IDF is likely to take a sector-by-sector ground-and-air approach in Rafah, replicating the divide-and-conquer strategy it deployed since October 7th. By piecemealing its ground operations, Israel is likely attempting to temper or forestall any adverse Biden administration response while systematically accomplishing its goals, Sweet and Toth wrote. Israel is determined to defeat Hamas with or without the White House's support. It has no choice. Not just to wipe out the remaining Hamas cadres, but because Rafah, which borders Egypt, is key to Hamas's weapons smuggling. In the Chicago Tribune, Daniel DiPetro said, The implications of an Israeli assault on Rafah are horrible.

It's hard to overstate just how dangerous this entire situation is. Rafah, the Gaza border city near Egypt, is now host to more than half of Gaza's 2.4 million people. Most of them are crowded into tents, makeshift shelters, and whatever apartments are left. The vast majority of the humanitarian aid shipped into Gaza also comes through the crossing point at Rafah. Hamas is fully ensconced in the city, a consequence in large part of the terrorist group having months to prepare its defenses, DePetris wrote. How to destroy Hamas while freeing the hostages has always been the ultimate question for Israeli policymakers, and it will remain top of mind during the prospective Rafah offensive. The politics of the decision aside, we should be

under no illusions about how momentous an assault on Rafah would be. The humanitarian implications could be disastrous. The diplomatic consequences would be no less explosive, DePetris said. Israel can forget about getting its hostages back because Hamas is unlikely to hand over its bargaining power at a time when its fighters are being hammered by Israeli bombs in the air and Israeli troops on the ground. From the very beginning, Netanyahu has insisted repeatedly

that defeating Hamas militarily and freeing the hostages were compatible goals. A Rafah invasion will test this proposition like no other. All right, that is it for what the right is saying, which brings us to what the left is saying. The left opposes the incursion, arguing it would needlessly worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Most call on the Biden administration to attempt to halt the operation by any levers at its disposal. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Daya Ahmed said Israel could create a humanitarian apocalypse in Rafah. Ahmed said, Israel could create a humanitarian apocalypse in Rafah.

Allowing any ground operation in Rafah to expand undermines the urgent humanitarian needs and risks countless civilian lives. There can be no meaningful improvement under continued bombardment, destruction, and displacement to the north toward famine, Ahmed wrote. If what I saw in Qanunis in January as an American doctor from Chicago is any indication of what's to come. An Israeli invasion of Rafah will be a bloodbath in the midst of a historic medical, humanitarian, and infrastructure apocalypse. Reality on the ground is different from what policymakers understand in war rooms, far from the constant sound of bombs and drones, Ahmed wrote. Biden

needs to prevent a full-scale Rafah invasion with concrete policy actions, ending unconditional U.S. weapons and military aid assistance. A ceasefire deal crafted by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. had Palestinians in Gaza celebrating outside of their tents in hopes that it would bring an end to the suffering. An incursion in Rafah by the Israelis will deepen the humanitarian crisis and ensure a protracted war. deepen the humanitarian crisis, and ensure a protracted war. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel

a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province.

Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at FluCellVax.ca. In the New York Times, Nicholas Kristof wrote, the U.S. must keep the Rafah invasion from turning into a starvation crisis. Israeli forces have entered Rafah near the Egyptian border of the Gaza Strip, but we don't yet fully understand whether this is the beginning of a full-scale ground invasion of the city or something more modest. What we do know is that the flow of desperately needed food aid into a territory that is already starving is severely impeded, Kristof said. Israel has the

right to pursue Hamas fighters who attacked Israeli civilians in a brutal attack on October 7th and to recover its hostages still kept in Gaza. But Israel does not have the right to starve civilians. The United States, along with Israel and Hamas, bears a measure of responsibility for the crisis. The Biden administration is providing both food aid to Gazans and the bombs that fall on them, Christoff wrote. When President Biden has applied leverage by raising the possibility of cutting off the flow of offensive arms, Israel has announced measures to allow more food into Gaza. A central question this week is whether Biden will use his leverage to prevent the starvation in which the United States is complicit. All right, that is it for what the right and the left are saying,

which brings us to what some Palestinian and Israeli writers are saying. Israeli writers are mixed on moving into Rafah, but many frame it as a sacrifice for Israel's long-term safety. Palestinian writers say Israel has already brought catastrophe on Gaza regardless of what it does next. The Jerusalem Post editorial board argued Israel must act now or suffer the consequences. It is now time for Israel to tell Hamas in no uncertain terms that enough is enough. The longer the war drags on, the more soldiers will be killed, and the more Israel gives

time to Hamas to prevaricate in talks about a hostage deal, the worse the outcome will be for Israel on all fronts, both militarily and diplomatically, the board wrote. Entering Rafah will enable Israel to directly confront the terrorist infrastructure that poses an existential threat to its citizens. Israel would be able to further degrade Hamas' ability to launch attacks and disrupt its ability to operate with impunity. Gaining a foothold in Rafah will also send a powerful message to Hamas and other terrorist groups that Israel will not tolerate acts of aggression

and will take decisive action to protected citizens. Too often, Israel's measured response to rocket attacks and other provocations has been interpreted by its enemies as weakness and has encouraged them to escalate violence further. By showing resolve, Israel can better deter future attacks and create a more secure environment for its people. better deter future attacks and create a more secure environment for its people. In Al-Jazeera, Rada Ejil said, Rafah is past the point of no return. If we listen to world leaders, we could be lulled into believing that Rafah has been a place of safety.

But this city, nestled in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, has been on the threshold of terror since Israel launched its genocidal assault on October 7th. The daily toll of genocide and destruction has been devastating, even without a ground invasion,' Ajil wrote. Israel's slaughter of the air never subsided, even as it ordered more than a million people in the north of the Gaza Strip to evacuate south. Instead of safety, Palestinians who fled south found death once again raining on them. In a recent weekend, dozens were killed, most of them children.

My teacher, Dr. Akram Abib, dozens were killed, most of them children. My teacher, Dr. Akhmet Mabib, an associate professor at the Islamic University in Gaza, which now lies in ruins after being targeted, like all Gaza universities, by the Israeli occupation forces, penned a prayer born of desperation, which echoes the collective anguish of 2.2 million Palestinians experiencing genocide. Some 1.5 million of them are in Rafah with nowhere else to go, Ajil said. The need for an end to the genocide, accountability, and meaningful change has never been more pressing. All right, that is it for what the left, the right, and some voices from Israel and Palestine are saying, which brings us to my take. So at this point, I kind of feel like a broken record.

I have argued before, and I will say again, that I think invading Rafah is a mistake. My sense from the best military analysts, even those who support a Rafah incursion, is that this mission is going to be extremely dangerous for Israeli soldiers and has the potential for very high costs to civilians in southern Gaza as well. Also, Israel does not seem to have a clear plan for getting the remaining living hostages home safe in concert with an invasion. In broad terms, my philosophical belief is that for every civilian who ends up dead in this conflict, Israel risks radicalizing a whole community of Palestinians who are friends and family of someone

they'll see as a victim of an unjust war. I think Israel needs to do more to win the battle against the ideas that Hamas promotes, not just the physical militants they are fighting. For seven months, Gazans have been experiencing the horror and madness of war, and the million-plus who are sheltering in the Rafah region are there because Israel told them to go there. Now they are once again on the front lines. Who would ever feel that such a thing was fair? The Wall Street Journal shared a vivid story capturing the situation on the ground for Gazans and Rafa. It described people pouring into the streets when news of a ceasefire deal came to light, cheering and celebrating, with some making

plans to begin heading back north to see what was left of their homes. Then, hours later, they hear bombings and see tanks, who are told they must pack up and evacuate once again. One 54-year-old mother of four told the Wall Street Journal, quote, We can't plan for anything. We keep hearing news that the talks are on and off, going well and then going south. Although we are very desperate and exhausted, anything can give us hope, even fake news, that the deal is close. For civilians who have done everything they've been told by the Israeli military to avoid the war, a RAFA incursion creates some impossible decisions. While some are already fleeing by car, by foot, or on donkey, others

believe staying put might be safer. Because of power blackouts and inconsistent telecommunications, many struggle to stay up to date on the latest information. And because Rafa has become a central location for humanitarian aid, some are deciding to risk being close to the fighting rather than leave for areas where they may not be able to get food, water, or medical treatment. Kan Yunis, for example, is one of the closest major cities to Rafa. But one man who had been there as recently as a month ago told the journal he wouldn't evacuate back in that direction because the city is unlivable with no water or food and too few standing buildings. Maybe the best justification for pushing forward on the invasion has been Hamas's actions this week. When the war started, I argued that Israel gave Hamas

exactly what it wanted by entering Gaza for a fight. I still believe this to be true. But Hamas's attempt to suddenly embrace a ceasefire deal is a signal that they did not want Israel to enter Rafah, which, for an Israeli military determined to destroy Hamas, is a good reason to push forward. Advancing makes military sense, too, given that Hamas's fighters have regrouped in Rafah and will have nowhere to go as Israel closes in on the city. I mentioned this at the top of today's podcast, but I've been thinking a lot about my blind spots on this issue, and I'm going to use tomorrow's Subscribers Only Friday edition and a little bit of this Sunday's podcast to argue against myself, to make the case that I'm wrong, that this invasion is the right decision for Israel and Palestinians, could bring long-term stability and peace, and that a ceasefire has more downsides

than a lot of people want to concede. But for now, I feel a lot like I did on October 8th, horrified by the violence we've already witnessed and fearful of what's to come. We'll be right back after this quick break. All right, that is it for my take, which brings us to your questions answered. This one's from Mike in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Mike said, The proposed wealth tax is a percentage of wealth and not income. So how will a billionaire pay the tax? They would have to sell assets. Wouldn't this hurt stock prices, which would hurt everyone who has a 401k? Personally, my wealth has increased because of all the rich people buying wealth through

the stock market. So when we first covered the global wealth tax, I said the plan had too many unanswered questions. First of all, I don't know who would be collecting the tax. I also don't know how that group would be enforcing collection or allocating the funds or deciding on how to allocate the funds. Those are foundational questions to me that I thought I would need to know the answers to before having an opinion. I never even got to this important question. Would a global wealth tax be worth the unintended consequences? Because you're right. If we impose a tax on the wealth instead of income, meaning stocks, bonds, real estate, art, or other precious items, or even just savings accounts, billionaires would need to sell off some assets to pay the tax.

I'm not about to cry a river for all the billionaires who would be forced to sell off their stocks, but at the same time I understand what all the consequences of flooding the market with assets would be. Supply would go up, prices would go down, and millions of other people would be negatively impacted. That's why taxing wealth is so tricky. Personally, I prefer simple solutions like raising the long-term capital gains tax and closing the inheritance loopholes. Reforming our current system, which can function more as a wealth subsidy to people who already have assets, makes more sense to me than creating a new one. But I am not an economist, and through learning and discussing economics for this job, I've learned that there's always some controversy or hidden factor that I'm missing.

So even though the unintended consequences that I can think of concern me, I'm sure there are other factors at play that I can't think of. All right, that is it for your questions answered. I'm going to send it back to John for our under the radar section, our numbers section, and have a nice day story. And like I said, you guys will be hearing from me on Sunday. And if you want to get tomorrow's newsletter, be sure to subscribe. I'll see you then. Thank you, Isaac. Here's your under the radar story for today.

Global bankruptcies are spiking as confidence in impending interest rate cuts disappears. SP Global reported that 66 companies filed for bankruptcy in April, the highest total of any month this year and an 88% increase over January's 35 filings. The year opened with expectations that the Fed would cut rates at some point in 2024, but those expectations have mostly begun to fade. For corporations struggling to handle sustained high interest rates,

one option has been to simply throw in the towel. Business Insider has this story, and there's a link in today's episode description. All right, next up is our numbers section. The approximate population of Rafah before the start of the war between Israel and Hamas was 250,000. The estimated number of displaced Palestinians currently in Rafah is 1.4 million. The estimated number of displaced Palestinians since the start of the war is 2.3 million. The percentage of Jewish Israelis who say they prioritize reaching a hostage deal with Hamas over invading Rafah is 56%, according to a new poll by the Israel Democracy

Institute. The percentage of Arab Israelis who prefer a hostage deal to a ground incursion in Rafah is 89%. The percentage of Jewish Israelis who said the return of hostages should be Israel's primary goal in the war in January of 2024 was 47%. The percentage of Arab Israelis who said the return of hostages should be Israel's primary goal in the war in January of 2024 was 47%. The percentage of Arab Israelis who said the return of hostages should be Israel's primary goal in the war in January of 2024 was 69%. All right, and last but not least, our have a nice day story. Ella was born prematurely in May of 2021 and in need of intensive medical care, including several blood transfusions. Whenever NICU nurse Taylor Derris had downtime during her shift, she would snuggle Ella and read to her.

Her husband Drew, another NICU nurse, who also had a soft spot for the baby, did the same. Ella's mother began to visit less regularly, leading to her being deemed a ward of the state and eligible for foster care upon release. However, after seeing the connection the two nurses had with Ella, her mother decided to ask them to adopt. Today, Taylor, Drew, and Ella are a happy family. The Washington Post has this story, and there's a link in today's episode description. All right, everybody, that's it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, please go to readtangle.com and sign up for a membership. As Isaac said at the beginning of this episode, he is writing a very important and special Friday edition. And the only way to get that is by signing up and becoming a member.

So if you haven't already, it's a great time to do so. And we have a lot more content in the pipeline coming soon to you that will be exclusive to paid members. So take a moment, sign up, support us, and you will hear from us again either this Sunday for Isaac and Ari's pod or on Monday. For Isaac and the rest of the team, this is John Law signing off. Hope you all have a great weekend, everybody. Peace. Our podcast is written by me, Isaac Saul, and edited and engineered by John Wall. The script is edited by our managing editor, Ari Weitzman, Will Kabak, Bailey Saul, and Sean Brady. The logo for our podcast was designed by Magdalena Bokova, who is also our social media manager. Music for the podcast was produced by Magdalena Bokova, who is also our social media manager. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. If you're looking for more from Tangle, please go to readtangle.com and check out our website.

We'll be right back. to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at FluCellVax.ca.