Tuesday Briefing

Israel issues a warning to Hezbollah

Israel warned that attacks by the Hezbollah militia along the border with Lebanon could not continue and would require a response. In a show of solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah has launched repeated missile and drone attacks on army bases and other targets inside Israel, forcing the evacuation of civilians and prompting cross-border strikes.

The Israeli military has sought to focus on its goals in Gaza — freeing hostages and destroying Hamas — but there are fears that the conflict could draw in neighboring countries, with the fighting now in its third month and Iran-backed militias across the region increasing hostilities.

The Houthis in Yemen, for example, threatened over the weekend to step up attacks on ships in the Red Sea bound for Israel unless Gaza receives badly needed food and medicine. The French Navy said one of its frigates in the sea had shot down two drones fired from Yemen.

In other news from the war:

• In Gaza, a lack of clean water, toilets and food has fueled a spike in illnesses, and increasingly dire conditions are making it hard for the sick to recover.

• The Biden administration said it was looking into reports that Israel used white phosphorus supplied by the U.S., in violation of international law.

The search for a new strategy in Ukraine

American and Ukrainian military leaders are pushing for a new approach to revive Kyiv’s fortunes, along with flagging U.S. support for its fight against Russia, after a failed counteroffensive, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived in Washington yesterday for hastily arranged meetings this week with President Biden and Congress to discuss the way forward. The two leaders will try to demonstrate solidarity and bolster support for Ukraine at a critical moment, both on the battlefield and on Capitol Hill.

Some senior U.S. officials have expressed worries that if the war falls into a long stalemate next year, Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, will gain the advantage. The Russian military, after its own failed drive to Kyiv in 2022, has begun to reverse its fortunes and is rebuilding its might in troops and firepower.

In Russia: Aleksei Navalny, Russia’s jailed opposition leader, missed another court date; his allies said they had not heard from him in more than five days.

Donald Tusk will lead Poland

Poland’s newly elected Parliament torpedoed a long-shot effort by right-wing forces to stay in power and chose the opposition leader Donald Tusk as prime minister, ushering in a new era for the nation.

Tusk, a veteran centrist politician who led Poland from 2007 to 2014, is expected to be sworn in tomorrow by President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the hard-right Law and Justice party, which after years in power failed to win a majority in the October election.

Quotable: “This is a truly wonderful day,” Tusk said, “not only for me, but for all those who have deeply believed for many years that things will get better, that we will chase away the darkness, that we will chase away evil.”

THE LATEST NEWS

Around the World

• Rishi Sunak faced one of his toughest weeks as Britain’s prime minister as he defended his immigration policy and testified before a Covid inquiry.

• Vulnerable nations assailed a draft of a final agreement at the U.N. climate talks that failed to call for a phaseout of fossil fuels, calling the deal a “death warrant.”

• Iran put an E.U. official from Sweden on trial for allegations that include spying for Israel and a vague charge, called “corruption on Earth,” that could carry the death penalty.

• Kenya’s government said it was gradually restoring power after the country’s third major blackout in four months.

From the U.S.

• The Texas Supreme Court overturned a court order allowing an abortion for a woman whose fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition.

• Oregon’s governor has a plan to clean up Portland: more police enforcement and a ban on public drug use.

• A jury ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws to extract fees and limit competition from game developers on its app store.

• Around 2009, American roads started to become deadlier for pedestrians, particularly at night. Fatalities have risen ever since.

• Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, asked the Supreme Court to rule on the former president’s argument that he is immune from prosecution.

What Else Is Happening

• This year’s Golden Globe nominations highlighted the “Barbie” movie, which led the way with nine nods, followed by eight for “Oppenheimer.”

• In the “discovery of a lifetime,” an artist and fossil hunter found the six-foot-long skull of the largest carnivorous reptile that ever lived.

• Pediatricians are hesitating to prescribe powerful weight loss drugs like Wegovy, citing uncertainty and their relative newness.

• A family in a small town in New York holds a world record for having the most holiday lights on a residential property. Not every neighbor is delighted.

A Morning Read

Is this the year of the bunk bed? Some designers certainly think so — and upscale versions are popping up in high-end beach and ski homes, as well as boutique hotels, with thoughtful touches that combine luxury with an efficient use of space.

SPORTS NEWS

No longer friendly neighbors: Girona must now be considered serious title contenders.

Ranking Manchester United’s home defeats: How does Bournemouth compare to the others post-Alex Ferguson?

Nick Kyrgios: “I feel more respected in the U.S. than Australia,” the tennis star says.

Merely an outlier: Expect a response from Bayern Munich after their defeat to Frankfurt.

ARTS AND IDEAS

What can you do with an einstein?

The technical term for a shape that can tile an infinite flat surface in a pattern that does not repeat is an “aperiodic monotile” — but you might also know it as an “einstein.”

The National Museum of Mathematics in New York and the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust in London together ran a competition asking entrants for their most creative renditions of a hat-shaped einstein discovered in March. (The winners will receive their prize today at a ceremony at the House of Commons in London.)

Two people suggested variants on Tetris; other entries included einstein-shaped ravioli, prepared with bespoke wood molds, a 24-foot frieze made up of more than 1,500 handmade ceramic tiles and a kite that is, as one juror put it, “made of a hat, which is made of kites made of hats.” See more creative renditions.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Cook: Warm up chilly days with rigatoni alla zozzona.

Read: “Airplane Mode” takes a lively and sometimes ruthless look at who gets to travel.

Scrub: Cleaning jewelry doesn’t have to be challenging.

Hibernate: Curl up with hot chocolate by a warm fire in a snug inn.

Drink: Our wine critic listed his most memorable bottles of the year.

Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today’s Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha

Reach Natasha and the team at [email protected].