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Russia says forces seize part of key Ukraine town of Chasiv Yar as deadly airstrikes continue
Kyiv — Russia said Wednesday its forces had captured a district in the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow has been pressing for months. The claim from Moscow came just after Kyiv said Russian strikes on the industrial city of Dnipro had killed five people and wounded nearly three dozen more, including a 14-year-old girl.
The Russian defense ministry said its troops had “liberated” the Novy district of Chasiv Yar, but it was unclear if it was claiming its forces had crossed a canal which runs through the eastern part of the town.
The capture of Chasiv Yar — a prized military hub once home to some 12,000 people — would pave the way for Russian advances towards the last Ukrainian-controlled civilian centers in the Donetsk region.
Russia’s capture of the district was also reported by the DeepState military blog, which has links to the Ukrainian army. It said the area had been flattened by Russian bombardments, and that withdrawing was “a logical, albeit difficult decision.”
There was no immediate reaction from officials in Kyiv.
CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D’Agata was in Chasiv Yar in February, for the second time in the space of a few months, and even then he found it ravaged by artillery fire and defended by exhausted Ukrainian troops, who were pleading for help. On one bombed-out building, someone had spray painted a message: “We are not asking too much, we just need artillery shells and aviation — the rest we’ll do ourselves.”
It was written in English. Ukraine’s forces knew exactly who to aim both their dwindling bullets, and their words at.
“We are counting on our American partners to help us with weapons, so that our guys do not have to sacrifice their lives,” Reuben Sarukhanian, a soldier with Ukraine’s 5th Assault Brigade, told D’Agata at the time.
The Russian attack on Dnipro prompted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to call yet again on his Western partners to help bolster his country’s air defences and provide more long-range weapons to thwart Russian strikes.
“As of now, five people have been killed. My condolences to the families and friends. Thirty-four people were wounded, including a child,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.
Russian forces have targeted Dnipro and the surrounding region persistently since they launched their full-scale invasion two and a half years ago.
The regional governor Sergiy Lysak described the attack as “vicious” and said a 14-year-old girl was among those wounded in the attack. Amateur video of the attack published by Ukrainian media showed a huge plume of black smoke rising over the city and drivers speeding from the scene.
Ukraine’s air force said its air defense systems had downed six drones and five of seven missiles that had targeting the region, mostly aimed at Dnipro.
“The world can protect lives, and it requires the determination of leaders, determination that can and must make it the norm to protect against terror again,” Zelenksyy said in his online post.
Dnipro had a pre-war population of around one million people and lies about 62 miles from the nearest point along the southern front line.
More than 40 people were killed in a Russian strike on Dnipro in January 2023, in one of the worst single aerial bombardments by Russian forces.
Separately, officials in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv said two civilians had been killed in overnight Russian attacks.
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Israeli strike kills Lebanese soldier as Hezbollah fires at least 185 rockets at Israel
Hezbollah fired at least 185 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in the militant group’s heaviest barrage in several days, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the war.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center killed one soldier and wounded 18 others on the southwestern coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon’s military said. Israel’s military expressed regret and said the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah, adding that its operations are directed solely against the militants. The strike was under review.
Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon’s military has largely kept to the sidelines.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.
“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.
The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.
Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.
Hezbollah fired a total of around 160 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they treated three other people in northern Israel, closer to the border, including a 60-year-old man in serious condition.
It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.
Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel’s ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country’s north.
The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a cease-fire, and U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.
The European Union’s top diplomat called for more pressure on both Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was “pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”
Josep Borrell spoke Sunday after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.
Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208m) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.
The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.
Lebanon’s army reflects the religious diversity of the country and is respected as a national institution, but it does not have the military capability to impose its will on Hezbollah or resist Israel’s invasion.
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Sen. Rand Paul says he “will not support” use of military in Trump’s planned deportations
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Transcript: Rep.-elect Sarah McBride on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Nov. 24, 2024
The following is a transcript of an interview with Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, Democrat of Delaware, on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that aired on Nov. 24, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The 2024 election was historic for several reasons. Among them, the first openly transgender person was elected to the United States Congress. She joins us now from the state she will be representing, Delaware. Democratic Representative-elect Sarah McBride. Welcome to Face the Nation.
REP.-ELECT SARAH MCBRIDE: Thank you for having me, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You know, it’s interesting, given how polarized, how angry and divided this country is that people choose to serve and to run. You told my colleague Scott MacFarlane that it was your personal experience as a caregiver for your husband during his bout with terminal cancer that inspired you to run. Do you expect that health care policy will be the focus of your work here?
: Well, I certainly am glad to be back here in Delaware after two weeks of orientation and to have the privilege of serving this state that I love in Congress. I ran to bring down costs facing workers, retirees and their families. That means bringing down the cost of health care, but also housing and child care and everyday expenses like gas and groceries. I did run for office after my experience as a caregiver to my husband, Andy, during his battle with cancer. And throughout that experience, while Andy ultimately lost his life, we both knew how lucky we were. We knew how lucky Andy was to have health insurance that would allow him to get care that would hopefully save his life. And we both knew how lucky we were to have flexibility with our employers. That allowed Andy to focus on the full time job of getting care, and me to focus on the full time job of being there by his side to care for him, to love him, to marry him, and to walk him to his passing. And I ran for office because I do not believe that in the wealthiest, most developed nation on earth, that that time and that ability to get care should be a matter of luck. I believe it should be the law of the land. And it’s why during my time in the Delaware General Assembly, I passed paid family and medical leave and secured the largest investment in our state’s Medicaid program. And I want to do that work in Congress on health care, but also on housing and child care.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Paid leave is something that Mr. Trump has paid lip service to, we’ll see in the new Congress if it comes up. We see in our CBS polling that 86% of voters feel congressional Democrats should find common ground with Mr. Trump and Republicans. Do you feel you can?
: Well, I said throughout this campaign that I will work with anyone who’s willing to work with me to help Delawareans, to lower costs facing my constituents. There are opportunities for us to find common ground. But it’s also clear that this administration, as it begins to fill its appointments with Project 2025 authors, that a lot of the policies that this president will pursue will likely hurt my constituents and raise prices. And so where I need to fight back, I will. But where I can find common ground, I will certainly seek it. That’s what I’ve done during my time in the General Assembly, where nearly every bill I passed passed with bipartisan support.
MARGARET BRENNAN: As you mentioned, you were here for orientation. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was asked about you coming to work and some objections by a female South Carolina Republican representative regarding what bathroom you’d be able to use. Here’s what the speaker said.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (ON TAPE): A man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and a man cannot become a woman. That said, I also believe- that’s what Scripture teaches, what I just said. But I also believe that we treat everybody with dignity.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you believe that you are being treated with dignity by your colleagues?
: I didn’t run for the United States House of Representatives to talk about what bathroom I use. I didn’t run to talk about myself. I ran to deliver for Delawareans. And while Republicans in Congress seem focused on bathrooms and trans people, and specifically me, I’m focused on rolling up my sleeves, diving into the details, setting up my office, and beginning the hard work of delivering for Delawareans on the issues that I know keep them up at night. And I look forward to working with any colleague who’s ready to work and ready to be serious about the issues that matter because at the end of the day, how I’m being treated does not matter. What matters is how the American people are being treated and whether we’re actually focused on the issues that matter to them.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, some of your fellow congressional Democrats, including Tom Suozzi and Seth Moulton, have also recently spoken about their feelings, looking back at the last election, and said Democrats should be more open about saying whether they object to transgender athletes playing in girls sports. Those were the specific examples they brought up. How would you respond to your soon to be Democratic colleagues on those? Do you understand why some parents, for example, feel uncomfortable or frustrated?
: Look, I think this country is still entering into a conversation about who trans people are, the full diversity of the community. And I’ve had conversations with colleagues in the Democratic caucus already that- that span diversity of thought about how the party should engage on a whole host of issues. But I think we are all united that every single American deserves equal rights. I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean spirited, but really an attempt to misdirect. Because every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract. It is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. Every single time, every single time we hear them say the word trans, look what they’re doing with their right hand. Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare. Look what they’re doing undermining workers. And here’s also what we have to be clear about, because I think the last week has been a prime example of this. Every bit of time and energy that is used to divert the attention of federal government to go after trans people is time and energy that is not focused on addressing the cost of living for our constituents. And we have to be clear that there is a real cost for the American worker every time they focus on this.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right. Congresswoman elect, I’m sure we’ll be seeing you here in Washington. We’ll be right back.