Biden and Bibi at odds
President Joe Biden delivered his most direct criticism yet of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Congress with a last-ditch plea for aid. And over 140 people were displaced after a building collapsed in the Bronx in New York City.
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Biden says Israel is losing support
In his most direct criticism of the Israeli government amid the Middle East conflict, President Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel is losing international support over the war in Gaza and pushed back at Israel's post-war vision. Speaking to supporters at a fundraiser Tuesday, Biden singled out Israel's "indiscriminate bombing" and took aim at Netanyahu's government, calling it "the most conservative government in Israel's history." The Biden administration has so far been a staunch defender of Israel's military actions following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, even amid global criticism over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza. 👉 What to know.
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Report: Inflation easing again
Inflation is coming down, but not without some twists and turns. As a drop in gasoline prices offset another increase in rent, overall inflation eased again in November – but an underlying measure that the Federal Reserve watches closely stayed elevated, possibly buttressing the case for the central bank to hold off on interest rate cuts in the short term.
The good news: Consumer prices broadly rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.2% in October, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index. That pulled inflation closer to the more than two-year low it reached in June, before a jump in gasoline prices. On a monthly basis, prices rose a modest 0.1%.
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Zelenskyy visits DC to plea for aid
In a last-ditch plea for Congress to pass a funding package that would provide aid to the war-ravaged country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his third trip to Washington on Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it a productive and powerful meeting where Zelenskyy outlined to lawmakers the need for aid and how it will help Ukraine win the war against Russia. "He made it clear, well we all made it clear, that if we lose, Putin wins and this will be very, very dangerous for the United States," Schumer said. The time crunch is on for lawmakers to pass an aid package, but negotiations have reached a snag with Republicans pushing for more stringent border security measures in exchange for their support. 👉 What to know.
Over 140 people displaced in NYC building collapse
It sounded like an explosion, Maridelsa Fana said. She was just outside the seven-story building in the Bronx where she's lived for over a decade when the entire corner crumbled and fell in a massive heap onto the street below. No one was seriously injured or killed but the more than 140 residents who lived in the building, like Fana, have had their lives upended by the century-old building's partial collapse. As of Tuesday, the Red Cross had registered 141 people – 37 households – for assistance, including meals and emergency housing. Work on the building's facade was being done as recently as a few days ago, officials said. 🔎 Here's a closer look.
A break from the news
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Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hello: laura@usatoday.com. This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden on Israel-Hamas war, Zelenskyy in DC, NYC building collapse: Tuesday's news
