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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Tue Dec 5 2023

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

A Biden impeachment?

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) attends a news conference with House Republican leadership at the U.S. Capitol November 29, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Why House Republicans are pushing for an impeachment inquiry vote.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled Republicans are rallying to strengthen the legitimacy of an impeachment process against President Joe Biden. Also in the news: Israel has extended its offensive in southern Gaza and the 2023 Heisman Trophy finalists have been announced — and they're not all quarterbacks.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. 2023 has got ''rizz.''

Here's the news to know Tuesday.

GOP leaders eye significant escalation in Biden impeachment process

House Republicans are gearing up for the next step in their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, as GOP leaders eye a vote to formally authorize their investigation into the president and the corruption allegations he faces. House Republicans allege Biden financially benefited from his family's foreign business dealings, but they have yet to produce evidence directly implicating him in those overseas ventures. House Republicans' latest effort goes beyond criticizing the president or his family. If they can formally green-light the inquiry on the House floor, they could bolster the probe's legal standing. Read more

Israel targets Gaza's second-largest city

Israeli ground forces brought their pursuit of Hamas militants into southern Gaza on Tuesday, as civilians already unnerved by repeated airstrikes were left with diminishing options for reaching safety.

Israel told Palestinians in Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city, to head south toward the border town of Rafah to avoid getting caught in the anticipated combat. That led to massive displacement, in many cases of the same people who had fled the battered north, further worsening the enclave's humanitarian crisis.

•	A weeklong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas ended because the Palestinian militant group failed to deliver hostages who should have been released, the White House said.
•	Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Tuesday with families of hostages held in Gaza, who are seeking more information about efforts to free their loved ones after negotiations for further releases of captives broke down.
•	A corruption trial against Nethanyahu resumed this week. The trial began in 2020 and was put on hold after the Oct. 7 attacks. He faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

A Displaced Palestinian sits with his belongings at a camp in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip, after fleeing Khan Yunis on December 4, 2023.

MAHMUD HAMS, AFP via Getty Images

More news to know now

•	Five bodies were found after a U.S. military aircraft crashed near Japan.
•	More than $980K was raised for a Palestinian student who was paralyzed after being shot in Vermont.
•	Charges against 17 Austin police officers for force used in 2020 protests will be dropped.
•	How did hackers access the 23andMe data of millions of users?
•	On today's The Excerpt podcast, a former U.S. diplomat has been charged with working as a secret agent for Cuba. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Global carbon emissions set record high

It's been another record-breaking year for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels, European researchers reported in a new study released early Tuesday in Dubai. While fossil emissions have decreased in the U.S. and in Europe during 2023, they have risen overall worldwide – and scientists say global action to cut these fuels is not happening fast enough to prevent dangerous climate change. In addition, researchers said that at the current emissions level, there's a 50% chance that global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) consistently in about seven years. Read more

•	Biden administration unveils new rules targeting methane pollution by oil and gas industry.
•	Here's why 2.7 Fahrenheit matters for Earth's future.

Environmental activists display placards during a demonstration at the venue of the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai on December 5, 2023.

KARIM SAHIB, AFP via Getty Images

Supreme Court split on whether the Sackler family can be sued over opioid crisis

The Supreme Court on Monday appeared divided over whether the Sackler family, which made its fortune selling a drug that fueled the nation's opioid epidemic, could be shielded from civil lawsuits by paying $6 billion to victims and drug treatment programs as part of a bankruptcy settlement with the company it once ran. The high court is being asked to decide a question related to bankruptcy law, but just below the surface is a wrenching debate over how much to punish the Sacklers for their role in the crisis – and whether blowing up the current settlement might jeopardize any payout for tens of thousands of victims and their families. Read more

•	This couple is fighting $15,000 in taxes. Their case could cost Washington trillions.

Keep scrolling

•	Florida's government is arguing that school districts have a First Amendment right to remove LGBTQ books.
•	Here's what we know about CosMc's — the new McDonald's spin-off.
•	How much is George Santos making on Cameo?
•	These are Dove Cameron's ''Essentials.''
•	FSU isn't the only team that needed a bigger bracket this college bowl season.
•	NASA's mission to put humans back on the moon likely won't happen on time.
•	''Wonka'' review: Timothée Chalamet's take on the beloved candyman (mostly) works.

40 men died in the Juárez detention center fire this year

Tziquin Cuc and 39 other men died in a fire inside a migrant detention center in Juárez, México, on March 27. They burned alive or were suffocated by smoke after the guards – for reasons that are still being investigated – failed to unlock their cell door. The fire came in the middle of a record year for migrant deaths at the El Paso-Juárez border. Their deaths inside a locked cell were an international tragedy – the result, advocates say, of inhumane U.S. and Mexico policies at what the United Nations has deemed the deadliest border in the world. Read more (This story is part of a collaborative series about migrant deaths between El Paso Times and USA TODAY for subscribers only. If you've haven't yet signed up to support our newsroom, please do so here).

At home in her village near La Ceiba, Guatemala, Juana Cuc holds a photo of her son, Marcos Abdon Tziquin Cuc. He died in a March 27, 2023, fire at a migrant detention center in Juárez, Mexico.

Omar Ornelas / El Paso Times

Photo of the day: 2023 Heisman Trophy finalists

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Washington quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. were named finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday. The winner will be announced during a live telecast Saturday from Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Read more

Ncaa Football Pac 12 Championship Oregon At Washington

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix fires a pass during warm-ups before the Pac-12 championship game against Washington at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Dec. 1, 2023.

Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, 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 USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.