TUNNEL VISION: Israeli soldiers led journalists on a tour of the grounds of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza in an attempt to prove that it was used as an underground base by Hamas militants.

  They were shown the entrance to a tunnel, although where or how far it went is unknown. Soldiers showed a cache of assault rifles, grenades, and ammunition found in a car at the hospital. 

  The NY Times team reported that they heard gunfire rattling throughout their visit that was closely guarded and monitored by Israeli soldiers.

  A CBS reporter suggested that the evidence was “underwhelming” that the hospital was used as a command center. “You say there’s three separate command centers, but we can’t see any of those,” reporter Imtiaz Tyab said to his escorts.

  The claim that Al-Shifa and other hospitals have been used as Hamas command centers has been central to Israel’s justification for the ferocity of its attacks on civilian structures in pursuit of eradicating Hamas.

  In the last day, two more bodies of hostages were found near the hospital, one of a 19-year-old female soldier, the other of a 66-year-old grandmother who had lived on a kibbutz and was known to be alive when she was taken.

  As the war drags on, the UN says the 2.2 million residents of Gaza are in danger of starvation. There’s no fresh food – no refrigeration – bakeries and markets have closed while farming and fishing have stopped.

ORANGE ALERT: A New York appeals court judge yesterday lifted the gag order placed on Donald Trump by the judge in the former president’s civil fraud trial.

  Citing Trump’s right to free speech, Associate Justice David Friedman said that “Considering the constitutional and statutory rights at issue an interim stay is granted.”

  Trump lawyer Christopher Kise said in a triumphant statement that, “Fortunately, the constitution and the First Amendment protect everyone, including President Trump. The public will again have full access to what is taking place in this unprecedented trial.”

  Trial judge Arthur Engoron had placed the gag order saying it was a matter of safety and security for court staffers under Trump’s verbal attacks. 

LIAR’S POKER: Following a damning report on him by the House Ethics Committee, New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who lied his way into office and has since been indicted, said he will not run for re-election next year. 

  Santos survived one vote to oust him from office and this report might spark another attempt to throw him out.

  The 56-page report says Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit,” and that he based his 2022 campaign on “a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.”

  The report says Santos used campaign money for himself, defrauded donors, and filed false or incomplete campaign finance and financial disclosures.  He blew campaign money on gambling, Botox treatments, hanging out in the Hamptons, and on the OnlyFans porn site. The report says, “He blatantly stole from his campaign.” 

  A vote to remove Santos from the House will be a test of whether Republicans value honesty and ethics over party loyalty.

STRIKE THREE: The Oakland Athletics baseball team, which has won the World Series nine times since 1910, is moving to Las Vegas after failing to convince the City of Oakland to buy them a new stadium. Baseball’s team owners unanimously approved the move.

  One by one the East Bay has lost its professional spirts teams, and this is the last.

  The Nevada legislature has approved the construction of a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof for A’s. Billy Witz writes in the NY Times that the move represents is the death of baseball for the everyday fan, the working class. Television deals and online gambling lured away the Athletics.

THE SPIN RACK:  A San Francisco jury yesterday convicted David DePape of federal crimes in the break-in and hammer attack on 83-year-old Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Police caught the actual attack on their body cameras. DePape has been a follower of online conspiracy theories about liberals being a threat to American liberty. — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit charging that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and education officials violated the First Amendment when they ordered the removal of support for a campus activist group, Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida.  — IBM, a major advertiser on Twitter/X, punched the “delete” button after Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic post calling it “the actual truth.” IBM pulled $1 million in advertising for the last three months of the year and other advertisers are asking why they are appearing next to next to white nationalist and Nazi content. 

BELOW THE FOLD: Home and hospitality perfectionist Martha Stewart announced that if her friends want a Turkey dinner this Thanksgiving, don’t come to her house. She’s cancelling her annual feast.

 Appearing on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” that nine guests cancelled, Stewart said she’s already cooked 14 turkeys for her television show and has to cook one more for “the Today Show.” She declared, “I am turkeyed out.”

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