10 things you need to know today: December 12, 2023

1. Gaza fighting forces UN to curb aid distribution

Israeli warplanes and tanks continued the bombardment of Hamas strongholds in southern Gaza overnight. The United Nations said Tuesday it had largely halted aid distribution to civilians in the Palestinian enclave due to the intense fighting. "At night we can't sleep because of the bombing and in the morning we tour the streets looking for food for the children, there is no food," Abu Khalil, a father of six, told Reuters. The 193-member U.N. General Assembly is expected to pass a draft resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire on Tuesday, but General Assembly resolutions are not binding. The United States vetoed a similar resolution at the Security Council on Friday. Reuters

2. Special counsel asks Supreme Court to rule on Trump immunity

Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to rule expeditiously on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for trying to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. "This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office," Smith wrote in the filing. The Supreme Court said late Monday it would quickly consider whether to hear the case. Smith is pushing for a rapid decision because Trump is the front-runner to win the Republican presidential nomination and a delay in the trial, now set for March 2024, could push it until after the 2024 presidential election. NBC News, The Associated Press

3. Texas Supreme Court rules against woman seeking emergency abortion

The Texas Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling that would have let a woman obtain an emergency abortion under an exception to Texas' near-total ban. The court said a doctor's "good faith belief" that the woman, 31-year-old mother-of-two Kate Cox, needed an abortion for medical reasons wasn't sufficient under state law. Cox's lawyers told the court Monday that she had left the state to get an abortion. Cox's fetus was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality that is usually fatal. Her doctors say continuing the pregnancy could jeopardize her ability to have more children. A lower court ruled she could terminate the pregnancy but the state's Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, appealed to the state Supreme Court. Reuters

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4. Giuliani defamation trial starts

Lawyers made opening statements Monday in Rudy Giuliani's civil trial for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss after the 2020 election. Giuliani, then one of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers, baselessly accused Freeman and Moss of tampering with Atlanta ballots. They received racist threats from people saying they should be hanged as traitors. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in August awarded the women a default judgment, so the trial is focused on the damages Giuliani will pay. Lawyers for Freeman and Moss, seeking up to $43.5 million, urged jurors to send a message that behavior like Giuliani's "will not be tolerated." Giuliani lawyer Joseph Sibley called the requested amount "the civil equivalent of the death penalty." Politico, The Washington Post

5. COP28 delegates clash over phasing out fossil fuels

Negotiators at the United Nations' COP28 climate summit in Dubai continued trying to reach a deal on a package of agreements after a deadline expired Tuesday, the gathering's last official day. Negotiators remained divided after a draft of the centerpiece agreement published Monday dropped references to phasing out fossil fuels. The watered-down version urged countries to reduce planet-warming pollution, and listed cutting back oil, coal and gas burning among possible actions. Delegates criticized the draft as "incoherent" and "grossly insufficient" to fight climate change devastation. "We will not sign our death certificate," said Cedric Schuster of Samoa, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States. CNN, The Guardian

6. Donald Tusk chosen as Poland's prime minister

Poland's new Parliament rejected a bid by right-wing lawmakers to stay in power and chose opposition leader Donald Tusk as prime minister on Monday. Mateusz Morawiecki had been serving as caretaker prime minister after his right-wing ruling Law and Justice party lost its majority in October elections. Law and Justice won the most votes but lacked coalition partners to stay in power. Tusk promised to "chase away the darkness ... chase away the evil" after eight divisive years of national-conservative rule. Tusk's three-way alliance won a comfortable majority that he said would allow them to "fix everything together" and "right the wrongs so that everyone, without exception, can feel at home." The New York Times, The Guardian

7. Zelenskyy heads to Capitol Hill amid Ukraine aid stalemate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday as Congress remains deadlocked on President Joe Biden's request for a $110 billion national security package that includes more aid to help Ukraine fight off a Russian invasion. Republicans are insisting on tightening security on the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for Ukraine aid, but Democrats say their proposed measures go too far. "It is maddening," said Biden ally Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). "A very bad message to the world, to the Ukrainian people." Zelenskyy plans to meet with senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Biden has expressed a willingness to discuss border policy with Republicans as migrant crossings hit record highs. The Associated Press

8. Epic Games wins antitrust case against Google

Epic Games on Monday won its antitrust lawsuit against Google. A San Francisco jury's finding that Google's app store is an illegal monopoly was "a major blow to the tech giant, which has mostly been able to avoid losing lawsuits and being forced to make changes" despite years of allegations that it violated competition laws, The Washington Post reported. Epic Games has battled Google and Apple for years over their control over their app stores. The game-maker's victory could expose other Big Tech companies to legal challenges over pricing and payments on dominant internet platforms. The Washington Post

9. Air Force disciplines 15 airmen over leak

The Air Force has disciplined 15 Air National Guard members implicated in a "culture of complacency" that allowed a 21-year-old airman, Jack Teixeira, to share hundreds of classified documents over the popular gaming chat platform Discord, according to an Air Force investigation report released Monday. The Air Force blamed Teixeira's superiors for failing to restrict his access to classified systems when they became aware he was seeking out intelligence, although the watchdog report found no evidence Teixeira's superiors knew he was sharing the information. The Air Force relieved Col. Sean Riley of his command of the 102nd Intelligence Wing as a result of the investigation. ABC News, The Washington Post

10. Hasbro cuts jobs after toy sales fall from pandemic highs

Hasbro plans to cut 1,100 jobs, about 17% of its workforce, as toy and game sales remain weak heading into the crucial holiday shopping season, according to a Monday memo from CEO Chris Cocks to employees, The Wall Street Journal reported. The reductions come on top of layoffs earlier this year that affected 800 workers. The company, which makes Transformers action figures, the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy game, Monopoly and other popular toys and games, posted toy sales that were weaker than expected in the first nine months of 2023, coming back down after "historic, pandemic-driven highs," Cocks said. The Wall Street Journal