In today's newsletter: A suspect has been arrested in the shooting of three U.S. college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont. Republicans and Democrats have little time left to resolve their disputes over foreign aid. And, on a lighter note, check out the best deals for Cyber Monday.
Here's what to know today.
Vermont police arrest suspect in shooting of three students of Palestinian descent
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting of three U.S. college students of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vermont. The students remain hospitalized, with the FBI probing the attack.
Burlington police said Jason J. Eaton, 48, was detained on Sunday afternoon near the scene of the shooting. A search of his nearby apartment “gave investigators and prosecutors probable cause to believe that Mr. Eaton perpetrated the shooting,” police said in a statement.
Police earlier said the shooter, who is white, said nothing before firing at the victims.
Relatives have identified the three victims as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmed. Awartani is a student at Brown University, Abdalhamid is a student at Haverford College, and Ahmed is a student at Trinity College.
Two of the victims were wearing keffiyehs, police said, and they were speaking Arabic, according to the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
More hostages released Sunday as cease-fire enters fourth day
Hamas released 17 hostages on Sunday, including 4-year-old Israeli-American Abigail Edan, according to a list from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Abigail, who turned 4 on Friday while being held captive in Gaza, was in her father’s arms when a Hamas gunman shot him on Oct. 7 and he fell on top of her, her great-aunt Liz Hirsh Naftali said. Abigail then “crawled out from under her father’s body … full of his blood,” she added.
In exchange for the hostages, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, all of whom are minors, a Qatari spokesman said.
Aid trucks continue to flow into Gaza under protection of the cease-fire, including those with much-needed fuel. The humanitarian aid brings relief for civilians who have been suffering for weeks as supplies of food, water and medicine ran low.
More hostages are expected to be released from Gaza today and, in exchange from Israel, the release of more Palestinian prisoners. Monday is the last day of the initial crease-fire agreement, but Israel has said it would agree to an extra day of a cease-fire for every 10 additional hostages released.
Read more:
- The latest updates on the truce between Israel and Hamas.
- 58 hostages have been released from Gaza in the days of paused fighting so far, including citizens from Thailand, the Philippines and Russia.
As Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess this week, it’s uncertain what the path forward will be amid the tensions between the two parties. Congress must still grapple with a two-part deadline to fund the government, and that could creep up sooner than expected.
Top lawmakers believe they have to solve the divisions between the parties over foreign aid. The House only has 12 legislative days left in this year. Republicans want to enact tougher U.S. border enforcement in exchange for Ukraine and Democrats are divided whether to give funding for Israel.
“That’s a worthwhile thought,” Biden said, referring to the idea of conditions on Israel aid, while speaking with reporters Friday about a U.S.-brokered deal to release hostages in the Israel-Hamas war. “But I don’t think if I started off with that we’d ever gotten to where we are today.” Between the tight calendar and the looming funding deadlines, it’s a difficult puzzle to solve.
Formula 1 broke new ground in America this year
“In many ways [Formula 1] had been under monetized. There was an opportunity to better market it, to better capitalize on some of the revenue streams, to go out and grow it in America,” Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei told CNBC. “America was always on our minds.”
Politics in Brief
Immigration: A recent NBC News poll found that 3 in 4 registered voters favored Congress’ spending more money on border security to address immigration.
Biden administration: National security advisor Jake Sullivan didn’t rule out the possibility that President Biden will send aid to Israel with conditions, during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Staff Pick: One Ivy League school’s unique approach
The war between Israel and Hamas has sparked heated protests and fiery rhetoric on college campuses. Jewish, Muslim, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian students have been forced to confront violent threats. Students from those groups at Dartmouth College told NBC News they have appreciated the open dialogue on the issue, as hundreds showed up to a forum to discuss it further on the school’s campus. - Elizabeth Both, associate platforms editor
In Case You Missed It
- Derek Chauvin’s family hasn’t received any updates after he was stabbed in prison.
- Authorities recovered the body of an 11-year-old girl from the debris of a landslide in Alaska that tore down a wooded mountainside.
- Pope Francis postponed a series of meetings due to a lung inflammation and breathing difficulties, the Vatican said.
- Some sexual health advocates worry that regulation of over-the-counter STI tests could backfire as diagnoses continue to soar in the U.S.
- City officials in Chicago are looking to get migrants off the streets and out of shelters more quickly as the weather gets colder, but advocates question if the new restrictions will complicate things.
- A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus.
Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
"Cyber Monday” was coined in a 2005 press release to describe the spike in online sales and traffic that had started to happen the Monday after Black Friday each year.
Today, Cyber Monday 2023, online sales are expected to out-gross Black Friday, at an estimated $13.9 billion, according to eMarketer.
NBC Select’s tech reporters and shopping editors curated the Best Cyber Monday deals and are updating them in real time. And don’t miss the best online deals at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
Amazon: Up to 80% off select products sitewide.
Walmart: Up to 70% off products across categories online and in stores.
Target: Up to 50% off products across categories online and in stores.
Thanks for reading today’s Morning Rundown. Today’s newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Both. If you’re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign-up here.
