North America

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Over five hours at a congressional hearing, lawmakers pressed the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT on the topic of antisemitism. In some instances, they were unable to say whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ conduct policies.

The backlash started almost immediately. Penn’s leader stepped down within days. Harvard’s president was on the hot seat for nearly a week before a university governing board announced Tuesday she would stay on the job.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - He has been impeached twice, tried to thwart the peaceful transfer of power after losing the 2020 presidential election, faces scores of charges in multiple criminal cases, and his critics warn he is plotting to rule as an autocrat. Yet, Donald Trump could still return to the White House.

Trump leads his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination by nearly 50 percentage points in national opinion polls, a remarkable comeback for a one-term president who three years ago appeared vanquished and humiliated.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden warned Republicans on Tuesday that they would give Russia a "Christmas gift" if they failed to provide additional military aid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose meeting with a top U.S. lawmaker concluded without a commitment for more support.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began, a source familiar with the intelligence said on Tuesday.

The report also assessed that Moscow's losses in personnel and armored vehicles to Ukraine's military have set back Russia’s military modernization by 18 years, the source said.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden declined to directly answer a question on reports that Israel was pumping seawater into Hamas' Gaza tunnel complex, referring only to assertions that there were no hostages in the areas targeted.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had recently begun pumping seawater into Hamas' vast labyrinth of tunnels underneath Gaza, in a process that would likely take weeks.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war after more than three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly backed the move, which had been vetoed by the United States in the Security Council last week.

The United States does not have a veto in the General Assembly. It voted against the resolution, along with Israel and eight other countries. The resolution was adopted to a round of applause with 153 votes in favor, while 23 countries abstained from the vote.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Israel is losing support over its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza and that Benjamin Netanyahu should change, exposing a new rift in relations with the Israeli prime minister.

Biden's remarks, made to donors to his 2024 re-election campaign, were his most critical to date of Netanyahu's handling of Israel's war in Gaza. They are a stark contrast to his literal and political embrace of the Israeli leader days after Hamas militants' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it.

Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year. Republicans are seizing on the dissatisfaction to skewer Biden, while the White House is finding less success as it tries to highlight economic progress.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Palestinians are hoping that a vote Tuesday in the U.N. General Assembly on a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire will demonstrate widespread global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war, now in its third month.

After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a humanitarian cease-fire, Arab and Islamic nations called for an emergency session of the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon to vote on a resolution making the same demand.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear renewed his oath of office early Tuesday during a ceremony at Kentucky’s Capitol, launching his second term after notching a convincing reelection victory that could offer a roadmap for his party’s broader efforts to make inroads in Republican strongholds.

Beshear, 46, was sworn in shortly after midnight before a gathering of family, friends and supporters — a Bluegrass State ritual every four years to ensure continuity at the head of state government.