THE SHOW NOTES: Biden Blames Republicans For Ukraine Funding, Haley Endorsement, And The DeSantis Town Hall

Welcome! Tesla can sue Cybertruck buyers for $50,000 if they try to resell their truck within the first year.

PATRIOTS: Bill Belichick is reportedly leaving New England at the end of the season.

GONE: The owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals is moving the teams to Virginia.

DEFLATION: A toy that cost $20 in 1993 would only cost $4.68 today. - BI

HEADLINE: Seattle high schooler marked incorrect on quiz for saying only women can get pregnant - NY Post

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Ukraine

Biden used his press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce a $200 million military aid package and attack Republicans for demanding that additional Ukraine funding be tied to border security.

Context: The unwillingness of Democrats and the Biden administration to consider proper border security becomes even more confounding since 169 individuals on the terror watchlist have been apprehended at the border this year.

Russia: CNN reports that Russia has lost a shocking 87% of the ground troops it had before invading Ukraine. In order to revamp its vastly depleted ground forces, Russia has sent nearly 100,000 convicted felons to help fight on the frontlines.

Turning Against Israel

Joe Biden offered his strongest criticism of Israel yet claiming the country is losing international support as it continues to purge Hamas from the Gaza Strip. Biden went after Netanyahu personally claiming he is the leader of “the most conservative government in Israel’s history” who doesn’t “want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution.”

Harvard covered up secret plagiarism probe into President Claudine Gay during antisemitism storm

Harvard University covered up a high-level investigation into whether its controversial president was a plagiarist — and used an expensive law firm to threaten The Post over our own probe.

The college announced Tuesday morning that it had investigated Claudine Gay over whether some of her academic work was plagiarized and had cleared her of breaching the college’s “standards for research misconduct.”

Full story at The New York Post.

Haley & DeSantis

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu formally endorsed Nikki Haley in her bid to unseat Ron DeSantis as the defacto alternative to Donald Trump. The Real Clear Politics polling average has Haley in a commanding second place in New Hampshire with 18.7% of the vote but still more than 25 points behind Donald Trump.

DeSantis: In an extensive town hall with undecided voters on CNN, Ron DeSantis had the line of the night talking about his wife’s battle with breast cancer. Watch:

Top Court Clears Path for Democrats to Redraw House Map in New York

New York’s highest court ordered the state to redraw its congressional map on Tuesday, delivering a ruling that offers Democrats a new weapon to wrest control of the House from Republicans in 2024.

The decision could have far-reaching implications in reshaping the House battlefield in a key state. New York Democrats are widely expected to use the opening to try to shift two to six Republican-held swing districts that President Biden won, from Long Island to Syracuse.

Full story at The New York Times (paywall) or Politico (free).

COP28 Nations Agree for First Time to Transition Away From Fossil Fuels

More than 190 governments at the United Nations climate conference approved an agreement Wednesday calling for the world to transition away from fossil fuels, sending an unprecedented signal to the global economy that governments are intent on cutting back on coal, oil and natural gas in the fight against global warming.

The deal, the result of all-night talks, calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner.” It says the shift to clean energy for the global economy should accelerate this decade with the aim of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Scientists say that is crucial to fulfilling the Paris accord, the landmark climate agreement that calls for governments to attempt to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures. 

Full story at The Wall Street Journal (paywall).

The World’s Poorest Countries Buckle Under $3.5 Trillion in Debt

A debt crisis is brewing across the developing world as a decade of borrowing catches up with the world’s poorest countries. In 2024 these nations, known to rich-world investors as “frontier markets,” will have to repay about $200 billion in bonds and other loans. The bonds issued by Bolivia, Ethiopia, Tunisia and a dozen other countries are either already in default or are trading at levels that suggest investors are bracing for them to miss payments.

The situation is especially grave, because these nations have small domestic markets and must turn to global lenders for cash to spend for hospitals, roads, schools and other vital services. As the Federal Reserve vows to keep US interest rates higher for longer, a once-ebullient market for debt from those countries is drying up, cutting them off from more borrowing and adding to the many rate-related risks of 2024. “The punch bowl has been taken away,” says Sonja Gibbs, a managing director of the Institute of International Finance, which represents private and central banks, investment managers, insurers and others in the industry. “Global rates are considerably higher, and the incentive to invest in these markets is challenging when you can get 4% or 5% in US Treasuries.”

Full story at Bloomberg (paywall)

Trending news:

• The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal are ruthlessly attacking Bill Ackman - WSJ & NYT (paywall)

• Tesla is recalling two million cars over autopilot defects. - BBC

• Netflix releases first-ever engagement report - Axios

• Al Michaels out of NBC’s NFL playoff coverage in move he wasn’t expecting - NY Post

• Argentina’s Milei Devalues Peso by 54% in First Batch of Shock Measures - Yahoo

• Hawley endorses Trump for president - Politico

• Jack Smith to use Trump's phone data at trial - Axios

• Andre Braugher, star of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and ‘Homicide: Life On The Street,’ dies at age 61 - CNN

• Newsmax’s James Rosen Takes You Inside White House Press Briefing Room - Daily Signal

• Hunter Biden ducks House interview under threat of contempt, begs for public hearing instead - NY Post

• Polish lawmaker extinguishes Hanukkah candle in parliament - ABC

• Wife of American held hostage by the Taliban fears time is running out - CBS

• Apple Makes Security Changes to Protect Users From iPhone Thefts - WSJ (paywall)

Market snapshot: