THE HUMANITARIAN QUESTION: An American woman and her teenage daughter taken hostage by Hamas militants into Gaza were released yesterday in the first turnover of people taken in the October 7^th assault on Israel. The two are dual citizens.

  They have been identified as Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17. They live in the Chicago area and were visiting a kibbutz on the day of the attack. A spokesman for Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that Hamas had released the women for “humanitarian reasons” after mediation by Qatar but did not explain further.

  It’s unknown whether this represents hope for the roughly 200 hostages being held by Hamas, some of them infants. Israeli authorities say they believe “most” of the hostages are still alive, but concern is growing for the very young, the old, and the ones who are ill. Israel says the hostages include at least 20 children including toddlers, and more than a dozen people in their 60s, 70s and 80s. 

  Humanitarian aid began moving across the Egyptian border at the Rafah crossing today. Close to 100 trucks had been lined up and waiting for days, but what’s coming is barely a teaspoon compared to what’s needed.  An estimated 2.3 million Gazans have been cut off from food, water, electricity, and medical supplies. 

  In Washington, the Biden administration formally asked Congress for $105 billion in emergency military funding that would include $10.6 billion for Israel and $61.4 billion for Ukraine, linking the two in the same bill. The request includes about $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine.

GUILTY AS CHARGED: In another surprise deal, Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer aligned with Donald Trump after the 2020 election, pleaded guilty yesterday in Georgia to a felony charge of conspiring to install a fake slate of electors who would vote for the former president. 

  The 62-year-old Chesebro was one of the 19 people, including Trump, indicted on various charges accusing them of trying to illegally overthrow the results of the presidential election in Georgia. He is the third to plead guilty and the second lawyer to do so.

   Chesebro’s plea came on the brink of jury selection in his trial and one day after the also surprising plea of fellow defendant Sidney Powell. Chesebro helped with the Trump campaign’s plot to line up unauthorized slates of GOP electors in Georgia and six other states. 

  Chesebro has journeyed from being a left-leaning Harvard educated lawyer who worked for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign to joining the January 6^th MAGA crowd. 

  As with Powell and Atlanta bail bondsman Scott Hall ahead of him, Chesebro agreed to “truthfully testify” against the remaining co-defendants. That is likely to include the marquee names in the indictment, Trump, former New York Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. 

THE CHAOS CONGRESS: Three strikes, and he’s out … for now. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan lost his third bid to become speaker of the House, this time losing an additional three votes. He’s lost five since the first round on Wednesday.

  Hours later the Republicans voted to cancel Jordan as their nominee for speaker. 

  The vote yesterday was 210 for Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, 194 Jordan, and 25 for other candidates. Jordan needed 215 to win. Jordan’s party opponents seem dead set against him. They are not bargaining, not asking for concessions or promises. They just don’t want him.

  The House is paralyzed, unable to do business without a speaker, and the Republicans have produced no other electable candidate. Urgent business awaits, in particular President Biden’s military aid request. 

  Whither they go, no one knows. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the No. 3 House Republican, is reported to have started making calls running for speaker. He garnered exactly one vote yesterday.

DRIVING A DEAL: The big three auto makers have offered their striking employees what both sides agree are record improvements in the contract, but the auto workers want more.

  The offer for wage increases over a 4 ½ year contract is now 23 percent. “One thing we’ve been hearing over and over from these companies is how they’ve offered us record contracts,” UAW president Shawn Fain said. “You know what? We agree. These are already record contracts, but they come at the end of decades of record decline. So it’s not enough.”

THE SPIN RACK: The judge in the New York civil fraud trial of Donald Trump fined the former president $5,000 for a “blatant violation” of his gag order with a social media attack on a court clerk that appeared on a campaign website. Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump could even face jail time if he violates the order again. — The US government paid $659billion in interest alone this year on the national debt, according to a Treasury report. The figure, and the national debt, have doubled in two years. — Police in Maryland are searching for a man they believe killed the judge who awarded full custody of the suspect’s four children to the man’s ex-wife. Police say they believe Pedro Argote shot and killed Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Wilkinson in the judge’s driveway. — After 15 years in the making, a $96 million Hindu temple has opened in Robbinsville, New Jersey. It’s believed to be the biggest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It doesn’t match the local architecture. 

BELOW THE FOLD: The office of New York Mayor Eric Adams is using artificial intelligence to send New Yorkers robocalls in the mayor’s voice speaking Spanish, Yiddish, Mandarin, and more. He actually speaks only two languages, English and Politics.

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