President Biden Allows Ukraine to Launch U.S. Provided Long-Range Missiles on Russian Soil

Your weekly News Memo - a more human way to engage with the news.

+ GetSmart: 🍍Pineapples Used to be a Symbol of Luxury

P.S. What we’re listening to in podcasts this week:

• David: Javier Milei, the maverick President of Argentina, joins the Lex Fridman podcast. (Spotify, YouTube) “So really, what is the point of life if it’s not in freedom, right? I mean what is the point of living without fighting for your values?” - Javier Milei

• John: Glenn Greenwald, an independent journalist, joins the Tucker Carlson Show to discuss the war in Russia and how U.S. politicians are sometimes blackmailed. (Spotify, YouTube)

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Newsbites

Matt Gaetz withdraws nomination: Matt Gaetz, President-elect Trump’s appointment for Attorney General, withdrew his name from the nomination on Thursday as a handful of Republican Senators wavered on whether they would confirm him. In his post on X, Gaetz said, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.”

More: Gaetz had allegations of sex trafficking that he fully denied. He is likely to return to his congressional seat in Florida or work for the Trump Administration in a lower level that doesn’t require Senate confirmation.

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Trump selects Pam Bondi for Attorney General: Hours after Matt Gaetz resigned from the appointment to Attorney General, Trump announced that Pam Bondi, the former Attorney General of Florida, will be his next U.S. Attorney General. The announcement read, "Pam was a prosecutor for nearly 20 years, where she was very tough on Violent Criminals, and made the streets safe for Florida Families…then, as Florida’s first female Attorney General, she worked to stop the trafficking of deadly drugs, and reduce the tragedy of Fentanyl Overdose Deaths, which have destroyed many families across our Country.”

More: Bondi, a less controversial pick and more likely to be confirmed by the Senate, has been a loyal Trump supporter, recently campaigning with him in North Carolina and serving on the Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission during Trump’s first term.

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Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy after it was unable to restructure its debt. The company’s existing equity will be wiped out and carry no value. However, the airline will continue to operate amid the bankruptcy proceedings and customers can continue to book flights. Founded in 1980, for decades Spirit found success in being a low-cost, no-frills carrier. However, it had experienced mounting losses since 2019 as it struggled amid a rise in costs after the pandemic, lower consumer demand for its service, and costly engine recalls. Spirit had entered into an agreement to be acquired by JetBlue this year, but a federal judge blocked the merger on antitrust grounds, saying it would lead to less competition and higher fares.

More: In the decision to block the merger, Judge William Young wrote, “Spirit is a small airline. But there are those who love it. To those dedicated customers of Spirit, this one’s for you.”

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Pentagon Audit Fail: The Department of Defense failed to produce a clean financial audit for the 7th consecutive year. Auditors issued a “disclaimer of opinion”, meaning they received insufficient information to form an accurate opinion of the DoD’s finances. The Pentagon has a budget of $825B and the failed audit means it is unable to properly account for all of its spending. In 2018, the DoD was required to start being audited annually and it is mandated to produce a clean audit by 2028.

More: The comprehensive audit consists of 28 individual audits for each of the units within the Pentagon. This year’s audit cost $178M and involved about 1,700 auditors.

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Secretary of Education: Trump nominated Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education. McMahon had previously served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. Linda and her husband Vince McMahon founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), for which she served as the CEO for decades. Outside of her involvement in WWE, McMahon served two years on the Connecticut Board of Education, and in 2010, she ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, but lost. During her 2010 senate campaign, she expressed support for “competition and choice through charter schools.” For the past four years, she has been the Chair of the Board at the American First Policy Institute. She also was a trustee for Sacred Heart University for two separate stints totaling sixteen years. 

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House rules on transgender bathrooms: The U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is backing a proposed rule on Capitol Hill to divide bathrooms by biological sex. The legislation comes as the first openly transgender representative, Sarah McBride, will be sworn in shortly. "I know how vulnerable women and girls are in private spaces," Representative Nancy Mace said, who is actively pushing the rule changes. "So I'm absolutely, 100 percent, going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a women's restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms." Mace has introduced broader legislation to make the House law universal across all federal properties. She was confronted by ABC reporters in Washington about the bill.

More: McBride released a statement on X saying, “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.”

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Graph of the week: The comparison of college degrees received between men and women in 2020.

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President Biden Allows Ukraine to Launch U.S. Provided Long-Range Missiles on Russian Soil

What’s going on?
Upon the approval of President Joe Biden, Ukraine used U.S.-provided long-range missiles (ATACMS) to hit a Russian ammunition facility in the Bryansk region. Prior to the attack, the standing policy was that American weaponry would not be used to attack Russia on their own soil but rather for Ukrainian defense purposes. 

Russia has warned for months that long-range missile use would be retaliated against with strong force.

“If this decision is made, then it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries—the U.S., European states—in the war in Ukraine,” Putin said. “And that will substantively change the very essence, the very nature, of the conflict. It will mean NATO countries are fighting against Russia.”

Following the attack, President Putin immediately made amendments to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine, lessening the threshold for the use of such weapons.

• Interesting flashback: Then-Senator Joe Biden in 2007, claimed any president who supplied long-range missiles to attack Russia should be impeached. (video)

Just days later, UK-provided storm shadow missiles were also launched into Russia. UK defense officials told the BBC that they had been waiting for approval from the U.S. to allow Ukraine to use their equipment.

Putin responds
Note: These quotes we pulled from each leader are helpful in understanding the tone and message from each country.

On Thursday, President Putin told Russian media that "a new conventional intermediate-range missile" was launched on Ukrainian targets. Putin continued, 

• “In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on November 21, the Russian Armed Forces launched a combined strike on a facility of the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex. They tested one of Russia's newest intermediate-range missile systems in combat conditions. In this case, a ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic configuration. Our missile engineers named it 'Oreshnik.'”

• “We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our facilities. In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively and symmetrically.”

• “I emphasize once again: It is not Russia but the United States that has destroyed the system of international security and is pushing the entire world towards a global conflict by continuing to fight and cling on to its hegemony.”

• “We have always preferred to, and now are ready to resolve all disputed questions with peaceful means. But we are also ready for any scenario. If anyone doubts that, they are wrong. There will always be a response."

Insight: Here is the full 8 minute speech from Putin addressing the situation.

Zelensky responds

• “Also today, our insane neighbor has once again shown what they truly are, and how they despise dignity, freedom, and human life itself. And how terrified they are. So terrified that they are already using new missiles. And they are searching the world for more weapons. First in Iran, then in North Korea. Today it was a new Russian missile. All the parameters: speed, altitude – match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

• “All expert evaluations are underway. Obviously, Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground. Obviously, Putin is terrified when normal life simply exists next to him. When people simply have dignity. When a country simply wants to be and has the right to be independent.”

Insight: Here is the full 2 minute speech from Zelensky

Complications for the incoming Trump administration
Trump has promised he will end the war in Ukraine on day one of his presidency. President Biden’s approval of the Ukraine attacks, just two months before he leaves office, will likely complicate the situation. It is unclear whether Trump and Biden communicated on the matter last week when they met. 

With Russia partnering with Iran and North Korea and the U.S. partnering with the UK and other NATO countries, the war that started out being a conflict primarily between two countries has escalated and risks growing into a more global conflict. 

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