Good morning! Best of luck with your candy hangover and welcome to November. It’s now socially acceptable to listen to Christmas music. The annual Mariah Carey renaissance begins shortly.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Israel-Gaza war updates

• A Spanish princess takes center stage

• A floating prison ship

• And plenty more!

Here’s today’s edition of The Elective:

 ISRAEL 

Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza’s largest refugee camp

A lot has happened in the past few days regarding Israel and Gaza. Here are a few updates:

Refugee camp: Israel confirmed its airstrikes hit a Gaza refugee camp on Tuesday. Gaza officials claim 50 Palestinians were killed. Israel says it killed a terror leader and 50 other “terrorists” and cited the possibility of Hamas tunnels in the area. The US government said protection of civilian lives is a moral obligation and that Hamas is deliberately targeting civilians while Israel is not.

Yemen attack: Houthi militants from Yemen launched a few missiles at Israel from the nearby Red Sea. Israel says it intercepted the attacks before any entered their airspace. Yemen sits about 1,000 miles south of Israel and has been in the midst of a complicated civil war since 2014. The Houthis are an armed militia backed by Iran. They control a huge chunk of Yemen, including the capitol of Sana'a.

US Aid: House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a bill to fund $14.3 billion in military aid to Israel by cutting the IRS budget. Some opponents of the plan support the aid but say the understaffed IRS needs that cash. They also want funding for Israel and Ukraine in the same bill. But Johnson's bill doesn't address Ukraine. Their likely strategy? Try to force the hand of the Congressmen who support Israel aid but oppose funding Ukraine.

Ambassador Lew: The Senate confirmed Jack Lew to be the next US ambassador to Israel. He previously served in the Obama administration as both treasury secretary and White House chief of staff. Lew will soon present his credentials to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog (rather than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and work out of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

US troops in the Middle East: Here is a great map showing where over 40,000 American troops and contractors are stationed in the Middle East. US forces in Syria and Iraq have been attacked a few times since this war began by various militia groups.

 NEWS 

👑 Spain: The future Queen of Spain just turned 18. Princess Leonor swore an oath to the Spanish Constitution at a ceremony before a joint session of parliament. The Spanish monarchy was abolished in 1931 but was restored in 1975 when her grandfather, Juan Carlos, became king. Due to financial scandals and ongoing investigations, he now lives in Abu Dhabi. Leonor’s father, King Felipe VI, became king when his dad called it quits in 2014. The princess recently began three years of military training. She will someday become Spain’s first ruling queen since 1868. Royals being royals, she is of course a distant cousin of the UK’s royal family.

🚘 Tesla: Tesla notched another win in court. The company won a lawsuit in California that claimed its Autopilot technology resulted in a fatal accident in 2019. The suit, which asked for more than $400 million, alleged defective software caused a car to fly off the highway at 65 miles per hour. Tesla won a similar case earlier this year in which the company argued its Full Self-Driving feature actually requires human input. The lesson: drivers are ultimately responsible. The company still faces several other lawsuits, scrutiny from regulators, and a probe by the Justice Department.

⚖️ Crypto: Disgraced former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in his own defense (not the strategy of someone with other options). He answered questions from the prosecutor for a whopping eight hours. He admitted to both small and large mistakes but blamed his team for mismanagement of the company’s funds. Jury deliberations begin this week after a five week trial for all sorts of fraud and money laundering charges. If convicted, SBF faces up to 100 years in prison. But hey, he’ll always have the memories.

 POLITICS 

🔵 The first lady of New Jersey, Tammy Murphy, just might run for the US Senate seat of scandal-ridden gold bar collector (and senator...) Bob Menendez. As spouse of the state’s popular two-term governor, she would have a significant platform from which to run. And let’s just say funding wouldn’t be an issue. Phil Murphy is a former finance exec worth tens of millions of dollars. But first ladies aren’t always successful in their own political runs. Former first lady of Arkansas Janet Huckabee got smacked even as her husband won reelection on the same ballot. If she chooses to run, she’ll have to get through both Menendez and Rep. Andy Kim in the primary. If elected, she would be the first woman to represent New Jersey in the Senate.

🔴 Nikki Haley is surging. The former UN Ambassador and governor of South Carolina now tops Ron DeSantis in polling in both South Carolina and New Hampshire. The two candidates are neck and neck in Iowa. The problem for Haley? Ron DeSantis isn't leading the pack. Donald Trump is. And the former president is still beating her by 31 points — in her own home state. As it stands, DeSantis and Haley are still fighting for a distant second. The remaining non-Trump candidates are on a collision course as they all fight to become the last non-Trump standing. Look for Haley and DeSantis to duke it out on stage at next week’s Republican debate. But, as usual, Trump won’t be there. And voters don’t seem to mind.

🔴 Is Ron DeSantis running around wearing lifts in his shoes? Hilariously, some shoe pros think so. We have no comment on the matter but the DeSantis campaign thinks the story is garbage.

 TRIVIA 

 BRIEFS 

🛳️ This is somehow a real story: the US’s last floating prison ship will close this week. New York City’s 800-bed lockup opened in 1992 as a temporary measure to ease overcrowding.

🪙 A Canadian doctor spends his spare time hunting for silver Judaica (Jewish ceremonial art) the Nazis stole from his grandparents.

🏢 WeWork plans to file for file for bankruptcy. The comically overpriced company was once thought to be worth $47 billion. Shares of the stock have fallen by nearly 99% in the past year.

💰 The 31-year-old who inherited half of Red Bull last year just got his first payout: $615 million. Not being born rich was our biggest mistake in life.

🕵️ Conservative Sen. Josh Hawley wants to reverse the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. His bill would ban publicly traded corporations from getting involved in politics.

💗 The stock market just declined three months in a row. The last time that happened was either in 2020 or in 2022 depending on which subset of the market you’re looking at.

 QUOTE 

 ANSWER 

Governors: 12 / 50

The nation’s first female governor, Nellie Ross, was elected in 1924.

Senators: 25 / 100

The first woman to serve in the Senate, Rebecca Felton, was appointed in 1922. Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the Senate in 1932.

Representatives: 125 / 435

The first woman elected to the House was Jeannette Rankin in 1916.