Around the World
US sanctions leading Christian political ally of Hezbollah
The Trump administration announced Friday that it has placed sanctions on Lebanon’s ex-foreign minister, a key Christian parliamentary ally of the Lebanese Iran-backed group Hezbollah, PBS reports. The sanctions were placed on current lawmaker Gebran Bassil, who is a son-in-law of President Michel Aoun and head of the largest political bloc in Lebanon’s parliament.
Iran, China set to question US over human rights record at UN
The United States is facing its first review in five years at the UN’s main human rights body, with the detentions of migrant children and the killings of unarmed Black people during the Trump administration’s tenure among issues high on minds.
In Europe, Calls Grow Louder for United Front Against 'Political Islam'
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is urging fellow European leaders to form a common front against what some leaders call “political Islam.”

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Hamas calls on Biden to reverse current US policy toward Palestinians
While the leaders of several Arab countries expressed enthusiasm for future cooperation with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris following the November 3 US election, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on a Biden administration to “correct” what he described as “discriminatory American policy toward the Palestinian people that has caused instability in the region and the world,” the Jewish Press reports.
Head of Israeli Missile Defense Organization discusses Israel-US military cooperation
Cooperation between Israel and America saw an important milestone in September, as the Americans took possession of their first Israeli-produced, US-funded, Iron Dome missile defense battery, Defense News reports. In a full published interview with Defense News last month, the head of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization (MDO), Moshe Patel, discussed the current and future cooperation between his organization and the US Missile Defense Agency.

Inside the United States
Federal deficit spiked to $3.1 trillion in 2020, largest since WWII
The federal deficit for fiscal year 2020 was $3.1 trillion, or 14.9% of gross domestic product, the Congressional Budget Office reported Monday, the largest as a share of the economy since World War II.
Barr authorizes DOJ to look into only 'substantial allegations' of voting 'irregularities' in the 2020 election
Attorney General William Barr authorized the Justice Department to investigate only “substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities."
Republicans expand probe into Dominion Voting Systems after Michigan counting snafu
Republicans are probing more Michigan counties and suggesting investigations in Nevada and Arizona to determine whether further Dominion Voting Systems technology errors caused votes to be counted incorrectly.
U.S. President Trump’s Pledge Of COVID-19 Vaccine Realized
U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s pledge of introducing a vaccine against the coronavirus within “just a short few weeks” came to a step closer Monday as two drugmakers said their experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90 percent effective.