Israel continues seige of Gaza: After almost two months of intermittent conflict and a general seige of Hamas in Gaza, IDF forces are announcing that they have found a Hamas command center in Gaza City. Meanwhile, Hamas leadership begins meeting with Isreali leaders in Egypt for more peace talks. Telecom is reported down throughout Gaza. (AP/WSJ)

US, Venezuela swap prisoners: The US freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans and the return of a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who is at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal.(AP)

Biden Administration Explores Raising Tariffs on Chinese EVs: The Biden administration is discussing raising tariffs on roughly $300 billion of Chinese goods, including electric vehicles, in an attempt to bolster the U.S. clean-energy industry against cheaper Chinese exports.(WSJ)

Colorado Supreme Court justices face a flood of threats after disqualifying Trump from the ballot: In the 24 hours since the Colorado Supreme Court kicked former President Donald Trump off the state's Republican primary ballot, social media outlets have been flooded with threats against the justices who ruled in the case(NBC)

BTC/GOLD ratio hits new highs, mirroring Bitcoin's ascent against traditional safe havens: As the BTC landscape has matured, the ratio climbed a staggering 139.9% since the dawn of 2023, signaling a potential shift in the tides of investment.(CryptoSlate)

Home Sales Ticked Up in November After 5 Months of Declines: Existing-home sales, which make up most of the housing market, increased 0.8% in November from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.82 million(WSJ)