Israel Said It Had Begun a Less Intense Phase of the War

Israel announced today that its military had begun a new and less intense phase of its war against Hamas, after weeks of pressure to curtail its large-scale ground and air campaign. Israeli officials privately told their American counterparts they hoped the transition would be completed by the end of the month.

The new phase would involve fewer airstrikes and fewer troops on the ground, a spokesman for Israel’s military said. Israel is also expected to rely more on small groups of elite forces to find and kill Hamas leaders, rescue hostages and destroy tunnels in Hamas’s southern and central strongholds.

“We can expect more targeted operations rather than wide maneuvers,” Patrick Kingsley, our Jerusalem bureau chief, told us. “Whether that alleviates civilian suffering remains to be seen. The strikes are clearly still continuing, killing scores every day.”

Israel’s disclosure came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel, where he is expected to press officials to curtail their campaign in Gaza and prevent the war from spreading across the region. Worries of wider conflict were stoked again today when Hezbollah said that one of its commanders had been killed in a strike in southern Lebanon.

What caused the Boeing 737 Max 9 incident?

Government investigators are trying to get to the bottom of what caused a part of a Boeing plane to be blown out in midflight on Friday. They are looking into whether Alaska Airlines, which operated the flight from Portland, Ore., appropriately handled pressurization warnings aboard the plane, including two in the two days before the blowout.

The investigation is also focusing on the installation and inspection of the piece of the plane that was ripped out — a plug where an emergency exit door would have been — which landed in the backyard of a Portland science teacher. Their work is expected to carry on for weeks.

Separately, United Airlines said today that it had found some loose bolts in door plugs on its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, the same model involved in the Alaska incident.

Biden made his pitch to Black voters in South Carolina

President Biden delivered a campaign address about threats to American democracy today from the pulpit of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the site of a racist massacre in June 2015. Biden was hoping to remind Black voters of the significance of this year’s election. In his speech, he condemned Donald Trump, linking his efforts to overturn the 2020 election to the nation’s history of white supremacy.

In Iowa, where the Republican caucus is just a week away, there is far less drama than in a typical election year because Trump is polling far ahead of his competition. Still, in the first edition of our relaunched On Politics newsletter, my colleague Lisa Lerer explained how it could make or break the other candidates.

A U.S. spacecraft malfunctioned on its way to the moon

The first NASA-financed commercial mission to send a robotic spacecraft to the surface of the moon most likely will not be able to make it there.

The lunar lander was launched this morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla., inside of a new rocket named Vulcan, designed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The rocket’s liftoff was flawless, offering a challenge to SpaceX’s dominance of the commercial launch market. But a failure in the lander’s propulsion system depleted its propellant and most likely ended the mission’s original lunar ambitions.

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The highs and the lows of this year’s Golden Globes

“Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, all but swept the awards at last night’s Golden Globes. The film won five trophies — best drama, director, actor, supporting actor and score. But the prizes were only a fraction of the night’s entertainment. We collected the highs and lows, including Jo Koy’s widely panned monologue, Steven Yeun’s heartfelt speech and a pointed jab at studio executives.

The stars wore ball gowns, sequins and lots of red. Here’s a selection of those who stood out above the rest.

An exciting, and expensive, championship game

Millions of Americans will tune in tonight at 7:30 Eastern to watch Michigan take on Washington in college football’s national championship game. It’s expected to be an entertaining clash of styles: Michigan’s dominant defense and run-heavy playbook against Washington’s top-tier offense and pass-first attack.

Behind the scenes, another interesting story is at play. Both teams have benefited from college football’s new rules permitting some payments to players. My colleagues took a close look at the way money has changed the game.

An a cappella sensation

For decades, one obscure tune has been belted out time and again by a cappella groups across the country. It’s called “Insomniac,” and my colleague Sopan Deb investigated how it became a go-to performance.

As it turns out, the song’s release (in 1994) came around the same time a cappella was transitioning into its modern form, in which the instruments of songs are also represented by rhythmic vocal approximations. Around that time, a student at Tufts University put the track on a “Best of College a Cappella” album, and it spread the old-fashioned way: by word of mouth.

Have a harmonious evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

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