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ATLANTA , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cousins Properties Incorporated (the "Company" or "Cousins") (NYSE:CUZ) announced today that its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP (the "Operating Partnership"), has priced an offering of $400 million aggregate principal amount of 5.375% senior unsecured notes due 2032 at 99.463% of the principal amount. The offering is expected to close on December 17, 2024 , subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Cousins intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund a portion of the purchase price of 601 West 2nd Street, also known as Sail Tower, an 804,000 square foot trophy lifestyle office property in Austin (the "Sail Tower Acquisition"), and the remainder to repay borrowings under its credit facility and for general corporate purposes. In the event the Sail Tower Acquisition is not completed, Cousins will use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition and development of office properties, other opportunistic investments and the repayment of debt. The notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by the Company. J.P. Morgan, Truist Securities, US Bancorp, BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley, PNC Capital Markets LLC, TD Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as joint book-running managers. A shelf registration statement relating to these securities is effective with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. Copies of these documents may be obtained by contacting J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, 383 Madison Avenue, New York, New York , 10179, Attention: Investment Grade Syndicate Desk, 3rd Floor, telephone collect at 1-212-834-4533; Truist Securities, Inc., Attention: Prospectus Department, 303 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308, telephone: 800-685-4786, or e-mail: TruistSecurities.prospectus@Truist.com ; or U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., Attention: High Grade Syndicate, 214 North Tryon Street, 26th Floor, Charlotte, NC 28202, or by telephone at: (877) 558-2607. Electronic copies of these documents are also available from the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov . This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell the notes, nor shall it constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. About Cousins Properties Cousins Properties is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT"). The Company, based in Atlanta, GA and acting through the Operating Partnership, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high growth Sun Belt markets. Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments. Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risks, as itemized in Item 1A included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2024 and September 30, 2024 . These forward-looking statements include information about the Company's possible or assumed future results of the business and the Company's financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans, and objectives. They also include, among other things, statements regarding subjects that are forward-looking by their nature, such as: guidance and underlying assumptions; business and financial strategy; future debt financings; future acquisitions and dispositions of operating assets or joint venture interests; future acquisitions and dispositions of land, including ground leases; future acquisitions of investments in real estate debt; future development and redevelopment opportunities; future issuances and repurchases of common stock, limited partnership units, or preferred stock; future distributions; projected capital expenditures; market and industry trends; future occupancy or volume and velocity of leasing activity; entry into new markets, changes in existing market concentrations, or exits from existing markets; future changes in interest rates and liquidity of capital markets; and all statements that address operating performance, events, investments, or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future — including statements relating to creating value for stockholders. Any forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of our future performance, taking into account information that is currently available. These beliefs, assumptions, and expectations may change as a result of possible events or factors, not all of which are known. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from forward-looking statements due to, but not limited to, the following: the availability and terms of capital and our ability to obtain and maintain financing arrangements on terms favorable to us or at all; the ability to refinance or repay indebtedness as it matures; any changes to our credit rating; the failure of purchase, sale, or other contracts to ultimately close; the failure to achieve anticipated benefits from acquisitions, developments, investments, or dispositions; the effect of common stock or operating partnership unit issuances, including those undertaken on a forward basis, which may negatively affect the market price of our common stock; the availability of buyers and pricing with respect to the disposition of assets; changes in national and local economic conditions, the real estate industry, and the commercial real estate markets in which we operate (including supply and demand changes), particularly in Atlanta , Austin , Tampa , Charlotte , Phoenix , Dallas , and Nashville , including the impact of high unemployment, volatility in the public equity and debt markets, and international economic and other conditions; threatened terrorist attacks or sociopolitical unrest such as political instability, civil unrest, armed hostilities, or political activism, which may result in a disruption of day-to-day building operations; changes to our strategy in regard to our real estate assets may require impairment to be recognized; leasing risks, including the ability to obtain new tenants or renew expiring tenants, the ability to lease newly-developed and/or recently acquired space, the failure of a tenant to commence or complete tenant improvements on schedule or to occupy leased space, and the risk of declining leasing rates; changes in the preferences of our tenants brought about by the desire for co-working arrangements, trends toward utilizing less office space per employee, and the effect of employees working remotely; any adverse change in the financial condition or liquidity of one or more of our tenants or borrowers under our real estate debt investments; volatility in interest rates (including the impact upon the effectiveness of forward interest rate contract arrangements) and insurance rates; inflation; competition from other developers or investors; the risks associated with real estate developments (such as zoning approval, receipt of required permits, construction delays, cost overruns, and leasing risk); supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and increased construction costs; risks associated with security breaches through cyberattacks, cyber intrusions or otherwise, as well as other significant disruptions of our information technology networks and related systems, which support our operations and our buildings; changes in senior management, changes in the Company's board of directors, and the loss of key personnel; the potential liability for uninsured losses, condemnation, or environmental issues; the potential liability for a failure to meet regulatory requirements, including the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar laws or the impact of any investigation regarding the same; the financial condition and liquidity of, or disputes with, joint venture partners; any failure to comply with debt covenants under debt instruments and credit agreements; any failure to continue to qualify for taxation as a real estate investment trust or meet regulatory requirements; potential changes to state, local, or federal regulations applicable to our business; material changes in dividend rates on common shares or other securities or the ability to pay those dividends; potential changes to the tax laws impacting real estate investment trusts and real estate in general; risks associated with climate change and severe weather events, as well as the regulatory efforts intended to reduce the effects of climate changes and investor and public perception of our efforts to respond to the same; the impact of newly adopted accounting principles on our accounting policies and on period-to-period comparisons of financial results; risks associated with possible federal, state, local, or property tax audits; and those additional risks and environmental or other factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and the Company does not intend to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contacts Roni Imbeaux Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations 404-407-1104 rimbeaux@cousins.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cousins-properties-announces-pricing-of-senior-notes-offering-302330787.html SOURCE Cousins PropertiesLocal business receives government boost
BOSTON — UConn coach Jim Mora pulled a move that would make Bill Belichick proud while preparing the Huskies to play the notoriously churlish former New England Patriot's next team in his old backyard. Mora and his players were more than 45 minutes late for what was scheduled as a 30-minute media availability a day before Saturday's Fenway Bowl against North Carolina. Mora then gave a non-apology straight out of Belichick's playbook. "We practice at a certain time the day before a game," Mora said. "And we stuck to the script." A six-time Super Bowl winner in New England with Tom Brady, Belichick was fired after going 4-13 in 2023, leaving him just 14 wins short of matching Don Shula's all-time record for NFL victories. Unable to land a pro job at the age of 72, Belichick signed on with North Carolina — his first college gig — when they fired 73-year-old Mack Brown. Belichick hasn't taken over on the Tar Heels' sideline yet; interim coach Freddie Kitchens — another ex-Cleveland Browns coach — will lead them in the Fenway Bowl. But the future Hall of Famer's potential return to a football field in Boston has been the biggest story ahead of Saturday's game. Belichick did not attend media day, and Fenway Bowl executive director Brett Miller tried to preempt questions about him by asking reporters "to keep questions focusing on the players and coaches out here today." "I don't need to beat around the bush any more than that," he said in comments that would have been cryptic if it weren't so obvious to everyone who he meant. "I know there's probably a lot of questions that you guys have about next year, particularly one side. Please do your best to keep it to these guys, because they've earned the right to be here." The request wasn't completely successful, with Kitchens taking a question about Belichick specifically and saying he talks to his new boss every day. Earlier this month, Kitchens said: "He asks questions; I answer the questions." "I'm going to try to soak in all I can from him, and be a better coach because of it," Kitchens said after Belichick was hired. "I love Carolina, I want what's best for Carolina, and I know that right now at this moment in time, coach Belichick is what's best for Carolina. "At the end of the day, he's a ballcoach," he said, "and I enjoy working for ballcoaches." This was already a long season, one in which the Tar Heels saw their high hopes deflate quickly, one in which they had to suffer through the impossible task of burying a teammate, one in which they watched the coach who brought them here fired and an NFL legend hired to replace him. “It’s definitely been a challenge,” wide receiver J.J. Jones said. “I think this past season was probably one of the most mentally challenging seasons I’ve had since I’ve been here. We’ve had a lot of things to go wrong off the field and on the field. ... At the end of the day, we’re here to play one more football game. I know this is my last football game in the Tar Heels uniform, so I’m going out there and giving it my all.”
NoneSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law , as most ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential power. The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals. After the motion fell through, members of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party rallied inside the National Assembly, chanting slogans calling for Yoon's impeachment or resignation. The party's floor leader, Park Chan-dae, said it will soon prepare for a new impeachment motion. “We'll surely impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, who is the greatest risk to Republic of Korea,” party leader Lee Jae-myung said. “We'll surely bring back this country to normal before Christmas Day or year's end.” Despite escaping the impeachment attempt, many experts worry Yoon won’t be able to serve out his remaining 2 1⁄2 years in office. They say some ruling party lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties’ efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people densely packed several blocks of roads leading up to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing. Protesters also gathered in front of PPP’s headquarters near the Assembly, angrily shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional. Impeaching Yoon required support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The Democratic Party and five other small opposition parties, which filed the motion, have 192 seats combined. But only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn’t reach 200. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result “very regrettable” and an embarrassing moment for the country’s democracy that has been closely watched by the world. “The failure to hold a qualified vote on this matter means we were not even able to exercise the democratic procedure of deciding on a critical national issue,” he said. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.” “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan. Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon’s martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. PPP later decided to oppose Yoon's impeachment motion. Yoon’s speech fueled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of accepting impeachment, as a way to ease public anger over the marital law and facilitate Yoon’s early exit from office. Lee told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “greatly disappointing” and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon’s martial law “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers. On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon’s martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities.” Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon had ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. The Defense Ministry said Friday it suspended three military commanders including the head of the defense counterintelligence unit over their involvement in enforcing martial law. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has told parliament that Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Opposition parties accused Kim of recommending to Yoon to enforce martial law. Kim resigned Thursday, and prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
On December 5, the IndieWire Honors Winter 2024 ceremony will celebrate the creators and stars responsible for crafting some of the year’s best films . Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, IndieWire Honors is a celebration of the filmmakers, artisans, and performers behind films well worth toasting. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event. When filmmaker Chris Sanders began to imagine what his fifth animated film , “The Wild Robot,” might look like on the big screen, he was stuck on one crucial idea: how to turn Peter Brown’s deep-feeling and beautifully rendered YA novel about a caring robot and the baby goose she adopts into a movie for everyone. “One of the things we talked about a lot, was how do you make a movie like this for a broad audience?” Sanders said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “We’ve talked a lot about who you work to not exclude , but you also don’t try to target anybody specifically. Anytime I’ve been near that, when you try to deliberately target any particular group of people, I think inevitably you miss and it throws things into a very strange place.” That meant crafting a film that could appeal to all ages, not just the built-in audience of kiddos who would naturally gravitate toward a colorful world mostly populated by chatty forest animals and the charming robot ( voiced by Lupita Nyong’o ) who brings them together. “One of my most critical concerns from the very beginning was making a movie for adults,” the filmmaker said. “I absolutely knew by nature of the story that kids were going to be interested. A robot in the wilderness and these really adorable animals? It’s naturally going to be interesting to kids, very kid-friendly. I was really concerned that the style of the movie and the storytelling be something that adults would really engage with in a big way, and that’s where the whole style of the island came from.” For Sanders, the recipient of this year’s IndieWire Honors Spark Award , dedicated to honoring those who advance and delight in the craft of animation, that meant a combination of both the look and the feel of his lauded film. “Visually, I think that was the biggest challenge: to find an artistic and aesthetic altitude that was worthy of the story,” Sanders said. “It’s just natural for me to operate in those kinds of zones because I came from ‘Mulan,’ ‘Lilo & Stitch,’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ where I love to attend to the big emotional wavelengths of these things and to not shy away from it.” Sanders, who has directed animated hits like “Lilo & Stitch” (he even voices the cuddly blue alien) and “How to Train Your Dragon,” pointed to a wide variety of other animated classics as his creative waypoints: everything from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” to “My Neighbor Totoro” and the “always inspiring” classic “Bambi.” Even during production on a new film, Sanders said he likes to watch other movies to keep his brain fresh and his imagination bold. “You get so busy on your particular film, you get so into the details, sometimes you just need to remind yourself what a movie is,” he said. “I’ll go to see a movie, it can have nothing to do tonally with the thing I’m working on, it can be a drama, it can be a comedy, it can be almost a near documentary. It could even be a horror film. It just reminds you of what a movie is, the audacity of it, the boldness of it.” Mostly, Sanders and his team — as you can see, the filmmaker nearly always says “we” when chatting about his creative choices, rarely just “I” — wanted to tell a story they would all enjoy. Perhaps that was the ticket. “We were just so busy making a movie that entertained ourselves, because I think we’re very representative of the core audience,” he said. “All of the things that people were feeling when they watched it, we felt when we were making it. ... Our wish was that, when the movie was over, people would walk out of the theater and just have a moment of, ‘Oh, I’m back,’ to really try to immerse people and beguile them with the environment.” Sanders, who also adapted the script for the film from the first book in Brown’s beloved trilogy about the wondrous robot Roz and the lush forest (and all its furry friends) she eventually makes her home, was so struck by Brown’s book that he could instantly “see” some of the key scenes he wanted to bring to the big screen while reading. “It absolutely happens,” he said when asked about those “lightbulb moments.” “As I’m reading a book, if I see [even one moment] very clearly in my head, I get very anxious that other people will see what I just saw. In ‘The Wild Robot,’ there were several places like that. One of the most notable would be in the very middle, the migration. It isn’t the climactic finish of the movie, it’s just the midpoint, and yet it’s one of the most compelling things I’d ever worked on.” In the film, Roz is unexpectedly shipwrecked on an uninhabited island while she’s out for delivery to the wider, decidedly human world. While the animals that live on the island — foxes (like one voiced by Pedro Pascal), squirrels, bears, beavers, falcons — are initially scared of their new mechanical citizen, Roz finds sanctuary when she adopts young Canadian goose Brightbill (voiced by Kit Connor) after she (oops) accidentally kills his entire family. Ever driven by her programmed directives, Roz makes it her job to get Brightbill ready for an upcoming migration. “I liked the complexity of it, the spectacle, the scale,” he said. “I always work to music and immediately as I was reading this, music was going through my head, visuals were going through my head. What an incredible moment.” Of course, Roz and Brightbill (plus Pascal’s fox Fink) eventually come to love each other, seeing each other as their own chosen, slightly weird but deeply adorable family. And while Brightbill is, at first, angry at Roz for forcing him to migrate (and thus, take him away from his new clan), his goose mentor Longneck (voiced by Bill Nighy) offers him some key context to her choices as his surrogate mom, just as they — and hundreds of other geese — finally take to the skies. “At that moment of truth, when Longneck lays this big last piece of information on him to consider, there’s no longer time for him to apologize, there’s no time left to make things right,” the filmmaker said. “This is something that I have experienced in my life, that I’ve waited too long to say something, and the regret that I carry is huge. So I love the complexity of the moment and these two characters are doing their best to navigate that moment while this really huge thing is going on and time has run out and the train is leaving the station and Brightbill has to be on that train.” What was thrilling for Sanders was “not only these big, magnificent events that were visually compelling, but the incredible complexity and power of the emotional wavelengths that were flowing” through them. And, yes, those first sparks of an idea, those lightbulb moments, are very close to what we see onscreen. “In the case of the migration, pretty close, because I actually [story] boarded it,” he said when asked about how closely his vision and the final product align. “I thought, ‘I know exactly what I want, let me just jump in there, I’ll board it, and I’ll get it up there.’ I had a very specific series of shots that I really wanted to get up on screen, some of those high angles with all the birds and Roz running with her arms out and stuff like that. I usually have a pretty clear thought for what I want, and in that particular case, I took the extra step of, I’ll just board it. That one didn’t shift very much at all, it pretty much stuck.” That look is essential, because while “The Wild Robot” was computer-animated, it also comes with a distinctly painterly look. A combination of technological advancements and old-school attention to details, which included hand-painted elements (artists used styluses, not brushes, in a 3D environment, but the look and feel are wonderfully familiar), made it possible. “I hadn’t been on a film that did that since ‘Lilo & Stitch,'” Sanders said of the hand-painted elements. “The idea that we had matte painters painting the sky, painting the trees, oh my gosh . It made such a gigantic contribution to the emotional resonance of that film. It cannot be understated. We are so at the verge of another Renaissance, as far as seeing new styles of things now. I’m really thrilled by it.” Given the tremendous success of the film — it has so far made nearly $320 million at the global box office, with glowing reviews from both critics and audiences to boot — talk of a sequel is only natural. After all, “The Wild Robot” is part of a trilogy of novels. “ We have not yet begun to do anything on a sequel yet,” Sanders said. “I think we’re very hopeful. I’ve definitely read the second book, and I plan to actually re-read it because his books have many, many chapters. When I read it the first time, I just read it. I just needed to digest it. And the second time through, I’m actually going to make some notes to myself that, perhaps, may come in handy.” Whatever the filmmaker tackles next, Sanders believes animation is returning to “more handmade-looking things.” “I am not somebody who is lamenting the disappearance of traditional animation,” he said. “I love traditional animation and I know it’ll always be there. I was just watching ‘Robot Dreams,’ and it’s hand-drawn and it’s the perfect style for that story, but the fact that we have now finally broken away from that gravitational hold that we were under technologically is the thing that’s so thrilling to me about where we are right now. I feel like we’ve come through a tunnel and we are looking at a big open field and mountains, and we can finally see the sky, and now we can finally go back to more broad, stylistic choices.” He credits “Into the Spider-Verse” for breaking down those doors “with a Sherman tank.” “That was such a revelation, that film worked so well because of it, and it got the Oscar,” Sanders said. “It so deserved it. That just let everybody know, ‘Oh, we are open and free to maneuver, should we be able to get our software to the point where we can do it.'” While audiences might not be too fussed about the mechanics that make this all possible, they do feel it in the final product. That’s what really gets Sanders going. “People noticed the difference on ‘The Wild Robot,'” Sanders said. “I was wondering, well, we are so attuned to it within the studio, I saw it as looking like a radically different thing, and I actually wasn’t sure, when we show this to a general audience, are they going to see the same things that we are? And they sure did, people would comment on it, and oh , that made me happy.” “The Wild Robot” is available to download or rent on various streaming platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Video, Fandango at Home, Microsoft Store, and more.UCF coach Gus Malzahn reportedly resigning to take Florida State OC job
NoneThe proposal to establish a state investigation commission into the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and subsequent negligence was rejected in a vote in the Knesset. The Israeli Parliament voted on a proposal to establish a state investigation commission into the October 7 attacks and subsequent negligence. The proposal, prepared by National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz, was rejected by 51 “no” votes to 43 “yes” votes. This development has increased tensions in the Israeli political arena. Benny Gantz, who introduced the motion, heavily criticized the coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Gantz accused government lawmakers of “evading responsibility” and “jeopardizing the security of the state for political gain.” “Our people are not stupid, they understand exactly what you are trying to do. This will not help you,” Gantz said in his speech, arguing that the Netanyahu government was “ready to tear apart Israeli society because of its lust for power.” The Netanyahu government has opposed the establishment of a full-fledged state commission of inquiry, proposing instead the establishment of a “people’s committee of inquiry” without binding decision-making authority. “A real, impartial committee of inquiry must be established,” said Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem, implying that the judiciary is not impartial and that the government plans to create an alternative body to a state commission of inquiry. The opposition, on the other hand, argues that a commission with the authority to fully investigate the neglect is necessary. The opposition emphasized that not only political but also military and intelligence weaknesses should be examined. Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, launched a massive attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel announced that 1,200 Israelis were killed and 5,132 were injured in the attack. In Israel’s attacks on Gaza since October 7, 44,805 Palestinians, including 17,492 children and 11,979 women, have lost their lives. 106,257 people have been injured. Thousands of people are reported to be buried under the rubble. The humanitarian crisis is deepening as civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and educational institutions are targeted. The Israeli army announced that 808 soldiers died during the same period. 380 of these losses occurred in land invasion operations. 806 Palestinians and civilians, including 167 children, lost their lives in attacks carried out by Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. A four-day humanitarian pause in hostilities was imposed on November 24, 2023, and was later extended by three days. During this period, 81 Israeli and 240 Palestinian prisoners were mutually released. However, Israel is reported to continue to detain thousands of Palestinians. The Times Of Israel, Arguing in favor of the resolution, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz accuses members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition of “trying to cover up in order to evade responsibility” and “selling the security of the state for political needs.” “Our people are not stupid, they understand exactly what you are trying to do. It will not help you,” he continues. “We see that you are ready to dismantle Israeli society, because of the lust for power.”
'An odds game': Global study pinpoints whale-ship collision hot spots
Australian social media ban started with call to act by politican’s wifeTopline The federal prosecutions of Donald Trump officially came to an end Tuesday when a federal appeals court dismissed Trump’s case for allegedly withholding White House documents, after Special Counsel Jack Smith asked on Monday that the felony charges against Trump be dropped—ending the historic saga. Key Facts Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Crucial Quote Trump responded to the cases being dropped, saying on Truth Social these cases—and the others he has faced in New York and Georgia—were “empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” He continued : “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON.” What To Watch For Smith’s two cases were dismissed without prejudice, meaning the federal government could try and charge Trump again after he leaves office—though it’s unclear if they will, and if doing so would be allowed under the statute of limitations. Key Background Trump was charged by the Justice Department in August 2023 with trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, one of four indictments brought against Trump at the state and federal level—a historic move, marking the first time a former president has faced criminal charges. Trump attempted to have the charges thrown out by arguing he had “presidential immunity,” and the Supreme Court ultimately sided with him, ruling mostly in his favor by saying he could not be charged for any activities that were “official” presidential duties. After the court’s ruling, Smith’s team issued a new , slimmed down indictment against Trump in August for the same four felonies. The second indictment more clearly argued Trump was not acting as president in his efforts to overturn the election, but was acting as a presidential candidate. Separately, Trump was indicted in the federal documents case last June for allegedly withholding national security documents and obstructing justice. Prosecutors alleged Trump intentionally tried to conceal classified documents and prevent them from being returned to the government, leading to 40 federal felony charges . Trump argued he was legally allowed to have the documents because of the Presidential Records Act, though experts said his argument was flawed. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges brought against him and described them as a “witch hunt” by President Joe Biden’s DOJ in an attempt to ruin his presidential campaign. In October before he was elected, Trump said if he returned to the White House he would “fire [Smith] within two seconds” and called the prosecutor a “scoundrel” and a “very dishonest man.” Tangent Last week, Trump’s criminal sentencing in his New York hush money case was postponed indefinitely . Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and was scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26, but Judge Juan Merchan paused the sentencing and asked for briefs on whether the case should be dismissed to be filed by Dec. 9. There’s not yet a clear path forward for when the sentencing could take place, but prosecutors proposed sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office. Meanwhile, Trump’s criminal charges in Georgia for trying to reverse his election loss are on hold amid an appeals court fight over the prosecutor. Further Reading