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Daily Briefing: The US wants a 'humanitarian pause'

Nicole Fallert   Paste BN

Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel Friday to push for better protections for civilians and more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Also in the news: Why bomb threats have been linked to conservative social media channel Libs of TikTok and the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the 2023 NFL coaches diversity report.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. The last Beatles song is wistful, quintessential John Lennon.

Here's the news to know this Friday.

Israel says Gaza City surrounded as Blinken lands in Israel

The U.S. Secretary of State's visit to Israel Friday comes while Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush the enclave’s ruling Hamas group. 

Israel's position heightens concerns about civilian casualties at a time when Israel faces increasing pressure to agree to a humanitarian halt in the war.

  • A rising Palestinian death toll that has surpassed 9,000 − including more than 3,600 children − and images of widespread destruction in densely populated areas of Gaza have contributed to growing unease among Israel supporters and Arab nations with which it has peaceful relations.
  • President Joe Biden has endorsed a humanitarian "pause,'' a message likely to be underscored in Friday's visit. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the country will not accept a ceasefire on Thursday and said “We are advancing … Nothing will stop us.”
  • Blinken is also working to contain the conflict: Increasing attacks against Israel from across its northern border with Lebanon − mostly from Hezbollah but some also coming from its ally and fellow militant group Hamas − threaten to open a second front in the war.

Keep reading: The club no Israeli or Palestinian wants to be in and hundreds of Americans are still awaiting exit from Gaza.

House approves nearly $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel

The House of Representatives approved more than $14 billion in Israel aid Thursday afternoon setting up House Speaker Mike Johnson’s first major legislative clash with the Senate and White House. President Joe Biden had requested Congress pass a broad national security funding bill that includes money for Ukraine and U.S. border security. Johnson’s bill only includes assistance for Israel - a clear opening salvo from the newly-crowned speaker as he seeks to extract conservative policy wins with a narrow GOP majority. Read more

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When Libs of TikTok tweets, threats increasingly follow

A slew of bomb threats at U.S. hospitals, schools, libraries and other more public spaces have shared a common link: The victim of each threat had been targeted in the days before by the enormously popular conservative social media channel Libs of TikTok. In almost every case, the perpetrator of the threat is unknown. But whoever is making the threats, the posts show a clear pattern. Paste BN has confirmed dozens of bomb threats, death threats and other harassment after Libs of TikTok’s posts since February 2022, based on exclusive new research from the progressive analysis group Media Matters for America. Read more

Senate confirms first woman to lead the Navy despite Tuberville blocks

The Senate on Thursday confirmed the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy despite Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., continuing his blockade of over 300 military promotions. The upper chamber confirmed Admiral Lisa Franchetti as the new chief of naval operations and the first woman to hold a seat on the Join Chiefs of Staff. The confirmation comes less than 24 hours after several of Tuberville's Republican colleagues took to the Senate floor for five hours to urge him to lift the holds. The Alabama senator is protesting a Pentagon abortion policy that pays troops for travel to obtain abortions. Read more

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Steelers walk away with victory against Titans in Thursday Night Football

Tennessee Titans rookie Will Levis performed admirably, but his team’s play wasn’t enough on “Thursday Night Football,” as the Steelers walked away with a 20-16 victory. Demonstrating some gunslinger moxie, Levis finished 22-for-39 with 262 passing yards. His lone interception came with six seconds remaining, when Kwon Alexander picked him off in the end zone to end the Titans’ chances of a last-second victory. The Titans also took a hit when Treylon Burks tried to haul in a fourth-down pass attempt deep downfield from Levis but was out of bounds. As he went to the ground, the back of his helmet hit the ground with force. Burks did not get up, and a cart came onto the field to help him off while the training staff tended to him. Read our full recap of the game here.

Photo of the day: Stars celebrate Día de los Muertos

To honor Día de los Muertos, Mexican American celebrity photographer Carlos Eric Lopez assembled some of the biggest Latino culture makers for his third annual celebration at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on November 1, 2023. Click here to see more photos.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to Paste BN here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

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