Hamas leader killed, Harvard President resigns, and Gen Alpha.

Adam Rogers
January 03, 2024

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Big Stories

A drone attack in Beirut killed Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy chief of the political bureau for Hamas in Lebanon.

The strike killed al-Arouri and five others in a Hamas office near the headquarters of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in a Beirut suburb. Hamas confirmed al-Arouri’s death and said that he was one of the masterminds behind the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel. He is the most senior Hamas leader killed since the war in Gaza began.
Israel hasn’t publicly claimed the attack but US officials are saying that Israel was behind the strike. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has warned Israel not to attack Hamas leaders in Beirut and threatened to respond with violence if they did. Israel is now preparing for Hezbollah’s retaliation along their northern border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously dispatched Israel’s Mossad agency to track down Hamas leaders around the world. He said the goal is not only to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure in Gaza but to eliminate its top leaders. Al-Arouri, who was one of the most wanted people by the Israeli intelligence services, was said to be responsible for the growing number of attacks against Israeli civilians in the West Bank last year.

Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday after facing backlash for her testimony during a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism.

During a Dec. 5 congressional hearing, Gay and other elite university presidents testified about their school’s response to antisemitism on campus in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Each president repeatedly said that “it would depend on the context” when asked whether on-campus calls for the eradication of Jews were against the schools’ codes of conduct.
Gay was already being investigated by several news organizations for allegations of plagiarism in some of her published works while the antisemitism issue evolved. Harvard’s board launched its own probe and cleared her of “research misconduct” on Dec. 9 — though she must update her doctoral dissertation with quotations and citations. The same congressional panel that conducted the antisemitism hearings is also investigating her plagiarism charges.
The Harvard Corporation — the university’s highest-ranking governing board — backed Gay in December and said she would stay in her leadership role. However, mounting pressure and the loss of major wealthy donors weakened its resolve. Gay will remain a part of the faculty and Harvard’s chief academic officer Alan M. Garber will serve as interim president. Her 6-month tenure as president is the shortest in school history.

A Japanese coast guard aircraft and a large passenger plane collided on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday.

A commercial flight landed on the runway where a coast guard plane was beginning its takeoff. The two planes burst into flames after the collision, killing five people aboard the coast guard plane. All 379 passengers on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 got off safely before the Airbus A350 was consumed by the fire. The pilot of the coast guard’s plane managed to escape, but the rest of the crew died. The aircraft was on its way to deliver aid to the area affected by Monday’s major earthquake.
JAL executives said that the flight had received permission to land from aviation officials. Transport safety teams are analyzing the communications between aviation control officials and the two aircraft to determine what caused the crash. Police will also investigate the incident on suspicion of professional negligence.
The accident was the first major damage to an Airbus A350, one of the industry’s newest large passenger planes. The fire will likely be used as a test case to compare airplane fuselages made from carbon-composite fibers, like the A350 and Boeing 787, against those made of traditional aluminum skins. Safety consultant John Cox said the airplane fire was the most catastrophic he’s seen but “the fuselage protected the passengers — it didn’t burn through for some time and let everybody get out.”

The death toll from the earthquakes that hit Japan Monday has increased to at least 57 people as emergency workers increased their rescue efforts in the Ishikawa prefecture. Japanese media reports said that tens of thousands of homes were destroyed. Aftershocks continue to shake the area and officials are warning that more quakes could occur. (More)

China’s BYD eclipsed Tesla as the world’s top-selling electric carmaker. BYD said it made 3.02 million vehicles in 2023 to Tesla’s 1.84 million. However, only 1.6 million of BYD’s sales came from battery-only cars. The other 1.4 million were hybrid models, which means Tesla is still king of electric battery-only cars. (More)

Wildfires create compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are highly toxic. PAHs can remain on common household items for weeks, increasing chances for adverse health effects. Researchers found that laundering cotton reduced PAHs by 80% while cleaning glass with a commercial cleaner reduced PAHs between 60% and 70%. However, air filters can’t be cleaned and need to be replaced after an extreme smoke event. (More)

Fox News will broadcast a town hall with Donald Trump on Jan. 10 at the same time that CNN is scheduled to host a GOP primary debate. In doing so, Trump continues his strategy of avoiding the debate stage. One of his opponents, Nikki Haley, called him out saying, “As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide.” (More)

An unidentified man stabbed South Korean political opposition leader Lee Jae-myung during a visit to Busan. The attacker pretended to ask Jae-myung for his autograph before plunging a knife into his neck. He is currently recovering in an intensive care unit after a 2-hour surgery. Police arrested the suspect but haven’t released details about his motive. (More)

Bitcoin hit $45,000 Tuesday for the first time since April 2022. Anticipation around a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has driven Bitcoin’s resurgence over the last few months. A Bitcoin ETF will allow investors to invest in funds that track the value of Bitcoin without exposing themselves to the risks and hassles of using cryptocurrency exchanges. (More)

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