Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on Wednesday to get medicine delivered to hostages held in Gaza. In exchange, humanitarian aid and medication will be delivered to Palestinian civilians. And overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday, Israeli forces advanced on the area around the Al Nasser hospital complex in Khan Younis, a city in Southern Gaza.

Over in Texas, a floating barrier in the Rio Grande will stay for now because an appeals court reversed an order for the state to remove it. Governor Greg Abbott installed the 1,000 foot-long string of buoys and submerged netting in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass last July as part of his anti-immigration program.

And in headlines: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decided to move his presidential campaign away from New Hampshire and instead prioritize South Carolina’s primary, Democrats filed a lawsuit to demand that the Wisconsin Supreme Court throw out the state’s congressional maps, and thousands marched the streets of Honolulu on Wednesday for the annual ‘Onipa’a Peace March that commemorates the day that the U.S. illegally overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom. 

Show Notes:

President Biden invited Congressional leaders to the White House Wednesday for their first face-to-face talks in months about critical aid to Ukraine, immigration and border policy, and aid for Israel. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday where he emphasized the need for more aid and called out Putin directly.

In the Middle East, fears of an expanding war in the region have multiplied in recent days. The U.S. launched a new airstrike against Houthi ballistic missiles in Yemen on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Iran launched missiles of their own at locations in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.

And in headlines: Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson dropped out of the race, the Supreme Court decided to stay out of the debate over bathroom access for transgender students, and Elton John joined the EGOT club.

Show Notes:

The Iowa caucuses are officially over. Donald Trump won as expected with just over 50 percent of the vote, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley came in third. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy finished in fourth place, and suspended his campaign just minutes after the polls closed and then endorsed Trump. We’re joined by Eugene Scott, senior politics reporter for Axios, to break down the results and turnout in Iowa.

And in headlines: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from the hospital, the Biden Administration sent a cease-and-desist to Texas officials to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from the border, and we recap last night’s Primetime Emmy Awards.

Show Notes:

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  For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Iowa caucuses are here. Former President Donald Trump is in the lead, according to the most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa poll. He has the backing of 48 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers. Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley is in second place with 20 percent, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is in third place at 16 percent.

Meanwhile, it is bitterly, bitterly cold in Iowa with a wind chill warning in place until after the caucus on Tuesday. And it’s not just Iowa – an arctic cold outbreak is set to bring record-setting, too-cold-for-comfort temperatures all over. Daily records for this time of year could be broken from coast to coast.

And in headlines: Sunday marked 100 days since the Israel-Hamas war began, John Kerry will step down as the U.S. special climate envoy, and the Supreme Court agreed to take on cases that will impact people experiencing homelessness and workers’ rights to unionize.

Show Notes:

The Iowa Caucuses are back! Trump is the clear favorite, but there’s a tense battle for second place that is all going to play out on Monday. We dive into what the caucuses even are, how they work, and what their role is in this year’s presidential election.

Then, Crooked’s very own Tommy Vietor joins the show after being on the ground in Iowa himself. He walks us through what it was like sneaking into Republican campaign events, and what voters said.

Show Notes:

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  For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Israel is accused of committing genocide in Gaza in a case before the International Court of Justice on Thursday. South Africa filed the claim, and it alleges that Israel violated international law by committing and failing to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

Hunter Biden took a surprise trip to the Capitol Building on Wednesday to look Republicans in the eye as they advanced a resolution to hold him in contempt of Congress. And outside the Capitol, Hunter and his legal team reiterated the notion that House Republicans are attempting to use Hunter as a surrogate to attack the president.

And in headlines: at least 10 people are dead in Ecuador in a series of attacks blamed on armed gangs, Chris Christie suspended his presidential campaign, and the Screen Actors Guild and the Director’s Guild Award nominations dropped yesterday.

Show Notes:

Donald Trump was back in court on Tuesday for the federal case against him for trying to overturn the 2020 election. This time, however, Trump tried to make the argument that he cannot be charged at all. Plus, Trump on Monday requested that a Maine judge put a pause on deciding whether he should appear on the state’s ballot for now.

The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing today about how artificial intelligence could impact journalism. One of the committee’s members – Sen. Amy Klobuchar – discusses a bill she introduced that protects local news. We’re joined by the Senator to discuss that bill and the larger effort to crack down on A.I.

And in headlines: The White House ordered cabinet secretaries to tell them if they might not be able to perform their duties, New York City started evicting migrant families that hit their 60-day shelter stay limit, and powerful storms swept across the country on Tuesday.

Show Notes:

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  For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Chair of Florida’s Republican Party of Florida, Christian Ziegler, was removed from his position on Monday after a closed-door meeting of party members in the state. It’s the latest development in the relatively small but very mighty scandal that also includes Ziegler’s wife, Bridget.

Pope Francis called for surrogacy to be banned globally on Monday and described the practice as “despicable.” However, the Pope’s position on surrogacy doesn’t necessarily match up with some of his more progressive stances, including the recent allowance for Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.

And in headlines: United Airlines said that preliminary inspections into its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes revealed some loose bolts on door panels, President Joe Biden was in Charleston, South Carolina to gain much-needed support from Black voters, and we recap the winners and losers of the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Show Notes:

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the inspection of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after a panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight on Friday. No serious injuries were immediately reported, but this isn’t the first time a Boeing plane raised passenger safety concerns.

At least nine Palestinians including a young child were killed in the West Bank on Sunday. And on Saturday, the Israeli military said that the remaining Hamas fighters in northern Gaza were no longer “under an organized military command,” according to the New York Times. Meanwhile, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon escalated in recent days, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region for the fifth time since October 7th.

And in headlines: Congressional leaders reached a deal to potentially avoid a partial government shutdown, the Pentagon faced backlash for taking three days to inform the White House of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization, and the Golden Globes and the first installment of the Emmy Awards took place over the weekend.

Show Notes:

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  For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings in Iran that killed at least 84 people and injured 284 others on Wednesday. Plus, the United States launched a drone strike in Iraq’s capital of Baghdad on Thursday, killing a senior commander of an Iran-linked militia group and several others.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday that he filed a lawsuit against 17 charter bus companies used by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to bus people seeking asylum at the border to New York. Adams is asking the companies to pay $708 million to cover the costs of caring for migrants.

And in headlines: Donald Trump’s businesses received more than $7.8 million from at least 20 foreign governments during his time in office, a 17-year-old gunman opened fire at a high school in Iowa on Thursday, and Britney Spears took to social media to shut down rumors of a new comeback album.

Show Notes: