Inside Daily Brief

For December 30, 2023

Today's Inside Daily Brief:

Israeli airstrikes hit refugee camps in central Gaza, with the U.S. approving a $147.5M emergency weapons sale to Israel bypassing Congress.
Google has agreed to settle a $5B lawsuit alleging it tracked users' activities in 'incognito mode' in its Chrome browser and similar private modes in other browsers.
The influx of migrants from the southern border to cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver has reached a critical level, with city leaders calling for federal assistance to manage the crisis.

Thank you!

Israeli airstrikes hit urban refugee camps in central Gaza as the Biden administration approves a $147.5M emergency weapons sale to Israel bypassing Congress. Over 21,600 Palestinians have died, and 85% of Gaza's population is displaced, underlining the severe humanitarian crisis.

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The Biden administration's decision to sell weapons to Israel for the second time this month has sparked controversy.
Israeli airstrikes significantly hinder the delivery of aid to affected areas and further strain Gaza's already fragile economy and infrastructure.
The Gaza Strip is experiencing substantial displacement and destruction due to the airstrikes.
The war's impact extends beyond immediate casualties, affecting millions in the region.

Zoom Out:

The State Department used the same provision earlier this month to facilitate a government sale to Israel of 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition, valued at ~$106M, bypassing Congress's unfinished review of a larger order from Israel for tank rounds.
In August 2020, a State Department inspector general report criticized the agency for not adequately reducing civilian casualties caused by American-made bombs used by Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Yemen's war.

What the numbers say: In 2021, the U.S. saw a record high of about 70,600 fentanyl overdose deaths, the highest ever recorded. This marked a significant increase from the figures reported in 2019.

Relevance: 2023 may go down in history as the year the U.S. confronted the fentanyl crisis, an unprecedented threat causing over 112,000 fatal overdoses, disproportionately affecting young people and people of color, as reported by NPR. Public health experts attribute the majority of drug-related deaths to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid significantly more potent than heroin.

Google has agreed to settle a $5B lawsuit alleging it tracked users' activity in "incognito" mode in its Chrome browser and similar private modes in other browsers. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused Google of misleading users about their privacy and continuing to collect data despite using private browsing.

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The class-action lawsuit claimed Google misled users into believing their internet activities wouldn't be tracked in incognito mode.
Despite "private" browsing, Google's advertising technologies and other methods still cataloged users' site visits and activities.
Plaintiffs described Google's actions as creating an "unaccountable trove of information" on users expecting privacy.
Still requiring federal judge approval, the settlement was reached on Thursday, with terms not yet disclosed.
The lawsuit initially sought $5B on behalf of users, with a final settlement agreement expected by Feb. 24.

Zoom Out:

In August, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Google's bid to dismiss the lawsuit.
Tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft, have emphasized privacy as a key feature of their products.
In January, U.S. District Judge James Donato will address remedies in Google's ongoing legal battles, including antitrust cases, after a jury found Google's Android app store and in-app billing system maintained an illegal monopoly.

GOOD NEWS: Following its detachment from the shoreline, one hundred twenty-two anglers were rescued from an ice floe on Upper Red Lake, Minnesota. A bystander's canoe rescue attempt before official help arrived resulted in four individuals briefly falling into the water.

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The ice floe broke off, creating a 30-foot gap from dry land.
Emergency response was initiated at 4:57 p.m. CT by local teams.
- Rescuers used boats and hovercraft, reaching the group by 6:40 p.m. CT.
An emergency alert system guided anglers to the evacuation area.
No injuries were reported, including the four individuals who fell from the canoe.
The incident followed warnings of poor ice conditions due to warm weather.

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According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, around 200 anglers were rescued from a significant Red Lake stranding event in November 2022.

The influx of migrants from the southern border to cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver has reached a critical level, with city leaders calling for federal assistance to manage the crisis. Exacerbated by Texas Governor Abbott's strategy of sending migrants to these cities, it is challenging their resources and infrastructure.

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Texas Governor Abbott has been sending migrants to northern cities since spring 2022, recently using planes in addition to buses.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams implemented new busing rules after a Texas-chartered plane was diverted, leading to migrants arriving unexpectedly.
- Adams stated that the migrant surge, intensified by Abbott's actions, is costing NYC about $5B this fiscal year.
In New York, around 161,000 migrants have been processed since spring 2022, with 68,000 currently in city care.
Chicago has received nearly 31,000 migrants since August 2022, with about 15,000 currently housed in shelters.
Border Patrol agents reported over 10,000 arrests on several days in December, with no slowdown expected.

Zoom Out:

For the second consecutive year, over two million arrests at the U.S. Southern border, predominantly of Latin American and Caribbean migrants, were made by the Border Patrol.
The U.S. Department of Justice warns it will sue Texas if it enforces Senate Bill 4, which allows state arrests for illegal border crossings. The DOJ asserts the law, termed unconstitutional, infringes on federal immigration and border enforcement responsibilities.

Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, announced a new family-based humanitarian pathway for those affected by the Sudan conflict. This initiative allows them to reunite with family members in Canada if they were in Sudan at the start of the conflict on April 15, 2023.

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The Sudan conflict involving the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces has escalated since April 15, 2023.
The U.N. Refugee Agency predicts the number of people fleeing Sudan due to the conflict will exceed one million.
Over 4.4 million people have been displaced within Sudan.
Canada has committed over $165M in humanitarian assistance to Sudan and neighboring countries in 2023.
Miller emphasized Canada's commitment to humanitarian aid and supporting those affected by the Sudan conflict.

Zoom Out:

Sudan, now facing the world's largest child displacement crisis, has seen over a million people, including three million children, flee to neighboring countries since mid-April.

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In his New Year message to India and PM Modi, Vladimir Putin praised the dynamic, resilient "special and privileged strategic partnership" between Russia and India.
Against the backdrop of ongoing tensions in the region, Israeli warplanes carried out another strike on Syrian territory.
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