What A Day - The Tragedy of War, Made Worse

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

Israel confirmed that an airstrike targeting a top Hamas commander hit a densely populated refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing at least 50 people and wounding hundreds more. The attack raises fears that Israel’s continued push into the enclave will put even more Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. On Capitol Hill, anti-war protesters interrupted a U.S. Senate hearing over the White House’s emergency aid request for Israel and Ukraine.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin both testified that the $106 billion request is imperative for national security.And in headlines: Republican Rep. George Santos could face an historic vote to expel him from Congress, a federal judge in Texas ordered Border Patrol agents to temporarily stop removing razor wire along the US-Mexico border, and a Kansas judge ruled that officials there cannot enforce laws that discourage anyone from seeking an abortion.Show Notes:What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcastCrooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffeeFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

It's Wednesday, November 1st. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And I'm Juanita Tolliver, and this is What A Day. On today's show, it was an unexpectedly chilly Halloween for many Americans. Plus, lawmakers could vote to expel George Santos from Congress. But first, the devastation mounts in the war between Israel and Hamas. Yesterday, Israel confirmed that it deployed airstrikes on a densely populated refugee camp in northern Gaza called Jabalia, killing at least 50 people and wounding hundreds of others. According to the Israeli military, the strikes killed their intended target, Hamas commander Ibrahim Biyari,

who helped plan the attacks on Israel on October 7th. They also said that it killed other Hamas militants and destroyed the, quote, underground terror infrastructure beneath the area. But according to medics and eyewitnesses, the strikes also killed many others in the area and left chaos in their wake. Images from the scene show a decimated area with a large crater in the ground where people had assembled the bodies of the dead. CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht about this strike and the civilians that it put in harm's way. Take a listen to their exchange from yesterday. But you know that there are a lot of refugees, a lot of innocent civilians, men, women and children in that refugee camp as well, right? This is the tragedy of war, Wolf. I

mean, we, as you know, we've been saying for days, move south. Civilians are not involved with Hamas. Please move south. I'm just trying to get a little bit more information. You knew there were civilians there. You knew there were refugees, all sorts of refugees, but you decided to still drop a bomb on that refugee camp attempting to kill the Hamas commander. By the way, was he killed? I can't confirm yet. There'll be more updated. Yes, we know that he was killed. About the civilians there, we're doing everything we can to minimize. I'll say it again. Sadly, they are hiding themselves within civilian population. Wow, what a just heartbreaking exchange. And I appreciate Wolf Blitzer for probing further to ask about the civilian toll here.

Yeah. What more do we know about the area that the Israeli military targeted with these strikes? Yes. So Jabalia is the largest of eight refugee camps in Gaza, and it's been home to Palestinians for almost 75 years. Again, according to the Israeli military, they claim this area was also a Hamas stronghold. In addition to the militants and tunnel network, Israel said that they targeted a weapons production facility and rocket launch positions. Jabalia is just north of Gaza City, which the Israeli army is currently advancing on with troops and armored vehicles.

As you heard Lieutenant Colonel Hecht reference, Israel had issued warnings to evacuate northern Gaza and for people to head south. But there have been airstrikes in southern Gaza as well. That was actually part of the holdup in getting aid to that area earlier. Aid organizations have said that nowhere in Gaza is safe for civilians at this point. And they've repeatedly emphasized that over the past week, people have become increasingly desperate for food, water, and for shelter. The death toll in Gaza has also passed a new milestone. 8,500 people have been killed there since this war started less than a month ago. Save the Children also shared another milestone that the number of children reported killed in just three weeks in Gaza is more than the number killed in armed conflict globally

over the course of an entire year. And that also gave me pause. Definitely. So what other updates do you have for us on this, especially as it relates to the hostages being held in Gaza? Yes, I do have a few updates. So a spokesperson for Hamas did say earlier yesterday that the group will allegedly release more foreign hostages in the coming days after receiving requests from their home countries. That I'm sure is very welcome news for the families of these hostages, but it's a far cry from releasing all of them. I mean, many Israeli civilians are still being held as hostages. This statement did come before Israel confirmed the strike on Jabalia. So it's unknown at this time

if that will change Hamas's stance at all. Hopefully it will not. Regarding the hostages that Hamas took, the Pentagon said yesterday that American special operations forces are on the ground in Israel to help locate over 200 hostages who have still not been returned.

And that includes a number of Americans as well. And unfortunately, more of our fears about this conflict expanding have started to become a reality as well. Yemen's Houthi militia, which is backed by Iran, said yesterday that they had launched a, quote, large number of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and that there would be more to come. This is not the first time that they have launched aerial threats at Israel over the course of this conflict. All the previous attempts were successfully intercepted, some by Israel and at least three by the U.S. But this kind of declaration is certainly not a step in the direction of peace or stability in the region.

It puts innocent Israeli civilians in harm's way, which is not what anyone wants to see. Yeah, it's not good. 100%. And definitely goes against all the calls that we've heard from the Biden administration for this to be contained and not expanded. So it's truly scary to hear that. And I think that goes hand in hand with the fact that the Biden administration started making its push on Capitol Hill for the $106 billion national security funding request for additional aid for Israel, Ukraine, and U.S. border security. Just as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin were beginning their opening statements before the Senate Appropriations

Committee, protesters in the Senate hearing room spoke out. Thank you for this opportunity to testify before you today. Sir, sir, let me see you. Stop supporting the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the people of Gaza. Cease fire now. Save the children of Gaza. As the protester was escorted out of the room, other protesters remained seated and raised their hands that were covered with red paint. Later during the proceedings, though, the protesters began shouting ceasefire now, and they were all ultimately removed by Capitol Police. Yeah, I mean, you could really hear the pain in that man's voice as he's protesting, clearly an issue that has struck a chord and has affected so many people.

So how did Secretary Blinken and Austin react to the protesters being in the room with them? Well, both Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin seem unfazed, but Blinken did take a moment to acknowledge the, quote, passions expressed, and they continue with their prepared remarks. During the hearing, Secretary Blinken specifically emphasized that passing the national security funding package would send a signal to foreign adversaries who are, quote, making the bet that the United States is too divided or distracted at home to stay the course.

Secretary Austin also made a prediction about Russia's invasion of Ukraine when he said, quote, sooner or later, Putin will challenge NATO and we will find ourselves in a shooting war. And to reiterate how connected the Israel and Ukraine funding requests are, Blinken added, quote, allowing Russia to prevail with Iran's support will embolden both Moscow and Tehran. Yes, they have have really made an effort to tie these two conflicts together. But I mean, as a lot of people have been noting, $106 billion is a lot of cash.

Do you know the breakdown of the proposed spending here? Can you share a little of those details with us? Yeah, take out your calculator, friend. It's a lot. So here we go. President Biden has requested $61.4 billion for Ukraine, with a lot of that being used to replenish weapons stocks. $14.3 billion would be dedicated to Israel, with $9 billion for humanitarian relief in both Gaza

and Israel, though the specific split there is unclear. $13.6 billion would be for security at the U.S.-Mexico border, and $7.4 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region. And part of the reason that the Ukraine aid is such a huge amount is because during the last effort to fund the government, Republicans in Congress cut out aid for Ukraine entirely. And that effectively prompted Ukraine to deplete the last round of aid and military assistance that the U.S. provided. Right. So newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson has been clear that he wants a separate aid package for Israel without Ukraine funding attached. How are Senate Republicans responding to Johnson's posturing on this issue? Look, Mitch McConnell is essentially like,

bump Mike Johnson. I don't know him. Let's advance this national security package and the included aid for Ukraine. And it's a little bit of a different posture than what McConnell took with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, where he was more cautious. But McConnell's going all out this time. Earlier this week, McConnell even reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine during an event with Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. Interestingly enough, even though McConnell is on board with folks like Senator Lindsey Graham there with him, there is grumbling from other Senate Republicans who want to at least reduce the amount of aid going to Ukraine. To make matters worse, House Speaker Johnson faced bipartisan backlash after presenting an Israel-specific funding bill that also called for cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.

Like, make it make sense. What are you doing? Read the room. Senate Republicans, Senate Democrats, and the White House all shut this idea down and called it a non-starter. But that's not going to deter Johnson, who is looking to hold a vote on Friday. Of course, we will keep following this story as it unfolds on Capitol Hill. But that's the latest for now. We'll be back after a short break for some ads. Let's get to some headlines.

Headlines. us some headlines. Republican Representative George Santos could face a historic vote to expel him from Congress later today. We told you earlier the motion to give him the boot was introduced by some of his own GOP colleagues from New York. And while House Democrats are certainly on board, it is not clear if the rest of the Republican caucus will come to its senses to help clear the two-thirds majority needed to show Santos the door. Come on, everybody, let's make this a bipartisan issue, a beautiful thing to come together over. We all can take down a scammer. It could be fun. It could be. Just a little bonking exercise. Only five members of Congress have ever been kicked out this way, but Santos would be the first to be ousted without first being convicted of a crime. Santos is pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges of fraud, money laundering,

and identity theft. He is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which announced yesterday that it will take its next steps on or before November 17th. Meanwhile, ahead of today's vote, Santos said on Spaces, the audio platform on X slash Twitter, that, quote, if this motion passes, I think it's a clear indication that this country has now gone down the drain. Wow. That is not the indicator I was thinking. I think there are many George Santos related indicators that this country has gone down the drain, but none of them have to do with him potentially getting kicked out of Congress. I think that's the sanest part of this whole story. Yeah, I just need two thirds of Congress to do what needs to be done here so we

can move on. Please, please. A federal judge in Texas has ordered Border Patrol agents to temporarily stop cutting or removing razor wire set by state officials along the U.S.-Mexico border. The order comes after Texas sued the Biden administration last week, accusing the federal government of illegally destroying state property and allowing migrants to enter the country without permission. For context, we've told you before that Texas officials have spent about $11 million to put up the razor wire along a busy border crossing called Eagle Pass, and it has seriously injured many people, including children who have tried to get through it. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also ordered the installation of

floating barriers in the Rio Grande, bust thousands of migrants out of the state, and could soon sign a law giving state police the authority to arrest migrants and order them to leave the country. I feel like the inhumanity just keeps jumping. Add on a layer of racial profiling that will only emerge from this new practice they're proposing next. Yeah. The restraining order

against taking down the razor wire will remain in effect until November 13th and a hearing on the case is set for next Tuesday. And over in Michigan, state prosecutors say

that they can no longer pursue criminal charges against former Governor Rick Snyder and other former state officials for their role in the 2014 Flint water crisis. That is because Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal made earlier this year that would have reopened the case against Snyder and others. Snyder, who was governor at the time of the crisis, had been charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty. In a joint statement, prosecutors said of the court's decision,

quote, our Supreme Court has put the final nail in the coffin of the Flint water prosecutions. Our disappointment in the Michigan Supreme Court is exceeded only by our sorrow for the people of Flint. The prosecution team said that it will deliver a full report on its findings sometime next year. It really is just injustice after injustice for these people of Flint. Literally no accountability, no clean water. I checked Little Miss Flint's page. They still don't have clean water in Flint, but nothing is going to come of this scandal with Governor Snyder. Moving on to some updates on the fight for abortion access. Ohio voters have until November 7th to decide whether to codify the right to the procedure in the state's constitution.

But state Republicans, as always, are doing everything they can to make that process harder. We recently learned that Ohio's secretary of state quietly canceled the registration of nearly 27,000 supposedly inactive voters. To be considered active, voters must confirm their registration or have voted in the last four years. And the cutoff to re-register in time for this upcoming election was October 10th. So these people are just being disenfranchised casually.

Totally, in the dark, after they have an opportunity to do anything about it. It's completely unfair. But we do have some good news to share about abortion access elsewhere. In Kansas, a state judge ruled that officials there cannot enforce laws that discourage anyone from seeking an abortion. These include an older law forcing patients to wait 24 hours before the procedure and more recent rules that require providers to tell patients that medication abortion can

be reversed, which is completely false. Yeah, what? Yeah, it's just casual misinformation about basic health care, but okay. The judge said that such restrictions infringe on the right to bodily autonomy and the right to free speech for abortion providers. The order will stay in place until a trial in the case begins next year. And finally, it was a very chilly Halloween for many trick-or-treaters last night. That is because a strong and very spooky cold front swept across the country, hitting especially hard in the Midwest and East Coast. Maybe this is why it's called a cold spell. Yikes, but I love this song. I love it. Big yikes. Big yikes. In any event, temperatures in some areas

were as much as 30 degrees below average for this time of year. This is not a hot time of year, so that is not good. The Twin Cities woke up yesterday morning to over two and a half inches of Halloween snow. Juanita's probably thrilled. Juanita is ready for Christmas. I can't wait.

I can't wait. I'm on the side of the trick-or-treaters, though. I am just like justice for the trick-or-treaters. They needed one night, and this did not need to happen. They had 80 degrees last week. Give me the snow, please. Thank you. Not 80 degrees when they're trying to get candy.

Anyways, through yesterday's peak trick-or-treating time, conditions ranged from chilly to downright bone chilling as 120 million Americans were under freeze watches or warnings. So all of this really begs the question, when is it too early to start decorating for Christmas? Because to me, snow on the ground means that Mariah Carey will materialize. Those are just the rules. I wish I could sing because if I could, I'd sing. It's time, y'all. Yes. I mean, you nailed it. I don't have the whistle tones, but no one has the whistle tones.

No one could do it. Juanita's buzzing. I just, I'm on the side of the trick-or-treaters. I like remember what it felt like to be a child in Chicago, trick-or-treating in the frigid cold. Probably wasn't even that bad. I'm like eight years old.

Anything is probably cold, but like, I feel bad for these kids. I hope they still got their candy. Is it bad that I'm like, bump these kids? Juanita's like, yeah, whatever. Make room for these kids. I hope they still got their candy. Is it bad that I'm like, bump these kids? He's like, yeah, whatever. Make room for the tree. And those are the headlines. One more thing before we go.

The holidays are coming up and it's not just me saying it now because the Crooked store has everything you need to get festive, which I know is everyone's first priority what better way to say thank god 2023 is almost over than with an indictment inspired ornament

to remember this year i i don't want to remember the year but okay no delete it there's also a bunch of cozy sweaters which i can personally vouch for because i love my crooked christmas sweater i was actually wearing it yesterday in the festive mood already these cozy sweaters, which I can personally vouch for because I love my Crooked Christmas sweater. I was actually wearing it yesterday in the festive mood already. These cozy sweaters are perfect for that family holiday party where you know your conservative cousin is going to try to argue with you. Head to Crooked.com slash store to shop today. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends to listen. What a Day is also a nightly newsletter.

Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Juanita Tolliver. And I'm Priyanka Arabindi. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance. Our show's producer is Itzy Quintanilla. Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf are our associate producers. And our senior producer is Lita Martinez.

Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.