10 things you need to know today: December 15, 2023

1. US urges Israel to shift to precision attacks on Hamas

The Biden administration is urging Israel to end its large-scale offensive in the Gaza Strip by the end of the year, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing American officials. Israel says its war with Hamas could last "more than several months," but President Joe Biden wants Israel to shift to precision attacks against Hamas as civilian deaths rise and international support for Israel weakens. "I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives — not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful," Biden said. U.S. intelligence officials believe nearly half of Israel's strikes have used unguided "dumb" bombs more likely to kill noncombatants. The New York Times, The Washington Post

2. Putin says Ukraine goals remain unchanged

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his traditional year-end news conference Thursday that his forces would continue fighting for the original goals of his Ukraine invasion, which he claimed were the "demilitarization" and "denazification" of the country. International officials call his excuses for attacking Ukraine phony, and Russia's relations with the West have fallen to new lows. But Putin appeared "confident" on Thursday, after being "emboldened by battlefield gains and flagging Western support for Ukraine," The Associated Press reported. In 2022, Putin skipped his annual news conference after his troops suffered numerous setbacks in Ukraine. The Associated Press, The New York Times

3. Hungary blocks $54 billion in EU Ukraine aid

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban blocked a $54 billion European Union financial aid package for Ukraine on Thursday. The veto marked a tough setback for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he failed to persuade U.S. lawmakers to approve $61 billion in new aid. But EU leaders agreed to start negotiations on admitting Ukraine to the 27-nation bloc, a "historic political win for Kyiv" as it pleads for more aid to continue battling invading Russian forces, according to Bloomberg. Orban, considered Russia's closest ally in the bloc, opposed opening Ukraine accession talks but didn't stand in the way, leaving the room before the vote to avoid taking part. The Associated Press, Bloomberg

4. House sends defense spending bill to Biden's desk

The House on Thursday passed the annual defense authorization bill in a 310-118 vote. The overwhelming approval marked a defeat for hardline conservatives who tried to tack on measures to change Pentagon policies on abortion, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights. The Senate passed the bill, the $866 billion National Defense Authorization Act, on Wednesday, also with a large bipartisan majority. President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law. The sprawling legislation includes a 5.2% pay raise for military personnel. It also extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative used by the Biden administration to help Ukraine fight off Russia's invasion. The Washington Post

5. Ex-FBI counterintelligence official gets 50-month sentence

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden on Thursday sentenced former FBI counterintelligence official Charles McGonigal to 50 months in prison for colluding with a Russian oligarch he once investigated. McGonigal, the former counterintelligence chief in the FBI's New York field office, pleaded guilty in August to a conspiracy charge. He told the judge before the sentencing that he "committed a felony, and as a former FBI special agent it causes me extreme emotional and physical pain." McGonigal's lawyers had asked that be spared a prison sentence. Rearden noted McGonigal's "extraordinary contributions" but said the "extraordinary seriousness" of McGonigal's efforts to get the oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, off the U.S. sanctions list required tough punishment.  ABC News, CNN

6. 7 arrested in alleged Europe terrorist plots

Authorities in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands on Thursday arrested seven people, including four suspected Hamas members, on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks on Jewish institutions across Europe. Three of the suspects were detained in Berlin; one was arrested in the Netherlands. The four suspected Hamas members have close ties to the leadership of the Palestinian Islamist group's military branch, German prosecutors alleged. The arrests came as Israeli forces battle Hamas in the Gaza Strip, aiming to crush Hamas in response to its deadly Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. Reuters

7. Appeals court rejects Trump challenge of gag order in civil fraud trial

A New York appeals court on Thursday rejected former President Donald Trump's challenge of the gag order barring him from publicly disparaging court staff in his $250 million civil fraud trial. The appellate court said the mechanism Trump's lawyers used was "not the proper vehicle" to challenge Judge Arthur Engoron's gag order, although he can still use the normal appeals process. The court also said "the gravity of potential harm is small, given that the gag order is narrow." In a separate decision, the court rejected the Trump team's request for the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, to review the gag order. Testimony in the trial ended Wednesday. A verdict could come in January. CNN, Politico

8. US to impose pricing penalties on 48 drugs

The Biden administration said Thursday it would impose pricing penalties on 48 drugs in the Medicare program that have grown costlier, outpacing inflation in the fourth quarter of the year. The manufacturers of the drugs might have to pay rebates, Reuters reported. President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act lets the administration penalize drugmakers who sell prescription medicines through Medicare, the government program providing health coverage for disabled people and those age 65 and older. Rebates for Medicare recipients could cut their co-insurance costs by between $1 and $2,786 per dose. Biden said big pharmaceutical companies "jacked up" prices at nearly four times the inflation rate in the year before the legislation passed. Reuters

9. 30-year mortgage rate falls to lowest since August

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.95% from 7.03% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. The decline, announced a day after the Federal Reserve said it might cut interest rates three times next year now that inflation is cooling, marked the first time since August that long-term mortgage rates dropped under 7%. A year ago, the average rate was 6.31%. It peaked in late October at 7.79%. Falling rates are expected to help would-be homebuyers who have been kept out of the market by high borrowing costs coupled with still-high real estate prices. The Associated Press

10. GOP picks local politician to run for George Santos House seat

New York Republicans on Thursday chose Mazi Melesa Pilip, a local legislator who was born in Ethiopia and served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, to run in a special election to fill the House seat left vacant when George Santos was expelled. The selection of a little-known politician first elected in 2021 is "a bold gamble by Long Island Republicans" who typically nominate older, white establishment politicians, The New York Times reported. Pilip is a fierce Israel advocate but hasn't taken public stands on abortion rights, gun laws and other key issues. She will be running against Democrat Tom Suozzi, who once held the seat and has been a Long Island political fixture for decades. The New York Times