10 things you need to know today: November 16, 2023

1. Israel says it found weapons in hospital

The Israeli military said Wednesday it found weapons and Hamas military uniforms in Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital. Israel released a video showing military gear it said its soldiers had found during a raid on the hospital. Israel says Hamas has been using Al-Shifa to hide an underground command center, with patients serving as human shields. Hamas denied using the facility for military operations and called the allegation "a fabricated story that no one would believe." News organizations could not verify either side's claims. Palestinian officials and United Nations leaders condemned the raid, saying it put vulnerable patients and other civilians at risk. The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution calling for days-long humanitarian pauses in the war. The New York Times, CNN

2. Biden, Xi agree to improve communication

President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held their first in-person meeting in more than a year on Wednesday in California. Both sides pledged to stabilize tense relations between the world's two largest economies, which have clashed recently over trade, Taiwan and restrictions on advanced technology transfers. "Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed," Xi told Biden. The U.S. and China have agreed to resume communications between their militaries, Biden said. "It's paramount that you and I understand each other clearly, leader-to-leader, with no misconceptions or miscommunications. We have to ensure competition does not veer into conflict," Biden told Xi. The Associated Press, BBC News

3. Senate approves bill to avert government shutdown

The Senate on Wednesday passed a stopgap spending bill to provide several more months of funding for federal agencies and avert a government shutdown ahead of a weekend deadline. The 87-11 vote ended Congress' third fiscal standoff this calendar year and sent the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature. The last temporary spending deal, passed in early October, sparked a revolt by far-right House Republicans who ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). McCarthy's successor, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), proposed the current measure to extend funding for some agencies until Jan. 19 and others until Feb. 2. Conservatives on Wednesday torpedoed a procedural vote to advance an appropriations bill, signaling ongoing infighting over spending. Reuters, The Washington Post

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4. Report: Hamas backs proposal to release 50 hostages

Hamas has agreed to a proposal to release about 50 women and children among the roughly 240 hostages it captured in a deadly surprise attack in southern Israel five weeks ago, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing an Arab diplomat familiar with the negotiations. Israel is now considering the plan. In exchange for the hostages, Israel would agree to halt its siege of Gaza for three to five days, increase humanitarian aid for civilians in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave, and release some women and children being held in Israel. Senior Biden administration officials said this week that negotiations on freeing the hostages, including foreign nationals and Israelis, have been ongoing between Israel and Qatar, an intermediary with Hamas. The Washington Post

5. New Hampshire defies Democratic Party with early primary

New Hampshire on Wednesday scheduled its presidential primary for Jan. 23 in defiance of President Joe Biden's call that it give up its spot as the first state to hold its primary. Biden wanted South Carolina, a more diverse state that helped boost him to victory in 2020, to kick off the party's primaries, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. The Democratic National Committee is expected to punish New Hampshire by reducing the number of delegates it can send to the Democratic National Convention, making the state insignificant in the race for the party's nomination. The dispute also affects Biden, whose name won't appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot. Reuters

6. Gang members take hundreds of hostages at Haiti hospital

Heavily armed gang members stormed a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday and kidnapped hundreds of hostages, including babies. Jose Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center in Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil slum, confirmed the incident to The Associated Press, saying: "We are in great difficulty." The hospital had been a safe haven for people in the area as Cite Soleil was overrun by gangs that have been behind a wave of violence and kidnappings. Gangs have taken control of most of Port-au-Prince, the Caribbean nation's capital, and grown more powerful in the leadership vacuum left behind after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Sky News, The Associated Press

7. Georgia judge orders lawyers not to leak more evidence in Trump case

A Georgia judge on Wednesday ordered lawyers in former President Donald Trump's Fulton County election interference case not to release sensitive evidence exchanged between prosecutors and the defense as part of the discovery process. Prosecutors requested the protective order after this week's leak of videos showing interviews of four co-defendants — including former Trump team lawyers Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro — who have made plea deals and agreed to cooperate with the Fulton County district attorney's office. Most of the defense lawyers involved in the case have agreed to the order. Attorney Jonathan Miller, who represents co-defendant Misty Hampton, said at the Wednesday hearing he had given the videos to "one media outlet." CNBC

8. Mother of 6-year-old who shot teacher sentenced

A federal judge in Virginia on Wednesday sentenced Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot his first-grade teacher earlier this year, to 21 months in prison for using marijuana while owning a gun, a violation of federal law. Taylor's son shot teacher Abigail Zwerner in January at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News. The boy, who has not been publicly identified, reportedly stole the gun out of his mother's purse. Zwerner was shot in the hand and chest while reading to her students. She is suing the school district for $40 million, accusing administrators of ignoring warnings that the child had a gun. Taylor faces sentencing in state court in December for child neglect. USA Today, The Associated Press

9. FAA approves second test flight for SpaceX's Starship rocket

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday gave SpaceX approval for the second launch of its Starship rocket. The spacecraft could blast off as soon as Friday. The FAA said two months ago that Elon Musk's space company would have to make dozens of fixes before the next test flight of the reusable rocket, after the first launch from Boca Chica, Texas, failed earlier this year. That misfire caused an explosion that blasted a crater into the launch pad and scattered debris for miles. The issuing of the new launch license meant the FAA had determined that SpaceX met all safety, environmental and financial requirements to go ahead with another mission. Axios

10. Kevin Hart to receive Mark Twain humor prize

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday announced that it would award comedian Kevin Hart with its Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in American humor, considered humor's highest award. Hart, 44, got his start as a teenager, performing in comedy clubs in his hometown, Philadelphia, as Lil Kev. He honed his standup act, which USA Today described as a mix of "his diminutive stature, expressive face and motormouth delivery," into a wildly successful touring act. Hart made the shift into movies in the 2002 film "Paper Soldiers" and went on to become one of the most bankable comic actors, with 11 films opening at No. 1 at the box office. He will be honored in a March ceremony. NPR, USA Today