Biden targets violent Israeli settlers

Plus crime's mysterious fall and Groundhog Day's mystifying endurance [View this email in your browser]( [Brand Logo]( Biden's stand, crime's tumble and groundhog madness   Good morning, Today is Groundhog Day, a monument to folkloric tradition and insult to meteorology. America's fealty to predicting the weather by watching the perceived actions of a large rodent has produced one good thing: Bill Murray's 1993 movie about a weatherman who lives the same Groundhog Day over and over. Such is the film's impact that we now sometimes use "Groundhog Day" to describe any endlessly recurring human endeavor. This morning's edition touches on one of humanity's most enduring loops, violence — but the news isn't all bad. Peter Weber The Week Digital     Today's INTERNATIONAL story Biden punishes settlers for West Bank attacks What happened? President Joe Biden signed an executive order Thursday authorizing sanctions against non-U.S. Israelis who commit violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Four Israeli settlers were sanctioned immediately. Settlers have launched nearly 500 attacks, killing at least eight Palestinians, since Oct. 7, according to the United Nations. Israeli forces killed another 360 West Bank Palestinians. Who said what? West Bank settler violence "has reached intolerable levels," creating an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and "the security of Israel," Biden's order explained. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office argued Biden's edict is "unnecessary" because "Israel acts against all lawbreakers everywhere." Israeli Finance Minister Bezael Smotrich, an ultranationalist settlement advocate, called "settler violence" reports an "anti-Semitic lie." The commentary Biden's "unprecedented" order is "the most significant step any U.S. administration has ever taken" against Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian civilians, Barak Ravid said at Axios. "The law enforcement system in Israel prefers not to deal with these type of people," Dror Etkes, an Israeli expert on settler violence, told NPR. Or maybe Biden is "pandering" to Arab American voters "in places like Michigan" where his poll numbers are "sagging," said Ward Clark at RedState. What next? Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said the sanctions send a "strong message" to extremist settlers and Biden should similarly punish U.S. citizens involved in such West Bank violence.     Today's national story Why has US violent crime plummeted? What happened?Violent crime plunged across the U.S. in 2023. "At some point in 2022," there was "a tipping point where violence started to fall, and it's just continued to fall" to 50-year lows, crime analyst Jeff Asher told NPR on Thursday's "All Things Considered." Who said what? The 12% drop in homicides nationwide "is historic. It's the largest one-year decline," Asher told ABC News. Every other major crime, except auto theft, is also down. Why? "It's a really hard question to answer," Asher told NPR. The commentary "To understand why murders and other crimes have declined, it's useful to look at the likely causes of the increase: the pandemic and the fallout from [George] Floyd's killing by the police," German Lopez suggested at The New York Times. Police forces seem to have repaired rifts with the public, and the disruptions from Covid are dissipating. What next? It's probably a combination of adjustments that multiple jurisdictions put "in the blender with a generally better economy," The Baltimore Banner's Lee Sanderlin told NPR. What seems certain is that everyone will "try to take credit for this decrease."     Today's SCIENCE Story Why are we still asking groundhogs the weather? What happened? Thousands of people are gathering in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, today to see whether resident groundhog Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow, enabling his top-hatted handlers to predict six more weeks of winter or an early spring. Phil is one of dozens of woodchucks across the U.S. that prognosticate on Groundhog Day. Who said what? Phil, who nearly always sees his shadow, is clearly "struggling with accuracy," Fox Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. "He comes in at 39%." Look, "we know this is silly," said Marcy Galando, head of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. Not entirely, Britt Madera at the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The thousands of visitors bring in a real influx of cash." The commentaryGroundhog Day, which German Americans brought to the U.S., has ancient Celtic and Christian roots, but the ritual "exploded in popularity after the 1993 Bill Murray movie," The Associated Press reported. The crowds got so big and rowdy, "alcohol is now prohibited at Gobbler's Knob, Phil's spot." What next? Friday is supposed to be cloudy, so "Phil is unlikely to see his shadow," indicating an early spring, The Weather Channel said.     On this day February 2, 1990 South African President F.W. de Klerk lifts a 30-year ban on the African National Congress political party, resulting in anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela being released from prison. Mandela would eventually be elected the nation’s first Black president, an event that marked South Africa’s transition from institutional racial segregation to representative democracy.     TODAY’S newspaperS ['Some Republicans fear the force of Taylor Swift']( "Some Republicans fear the force of Taylor Swift," USA Today says on Friday's front page, recapping how prominent Republicans are turning to loony conspiracy theories as they worry Swift will endorse President Joe Biden. The Philadelphia Daily News gives a front-page shout-out to Punxsutawney Phil on his special day: "Groundhog wild!" ► [See the newspaper front pages](     It's not all bad Researchers at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences found that men who increase their cardiorespiratory fitness by 3% annually over five years reduce their risk of prostate cancer by as much as 35%. The new study analyzed data from more than 57,000 men who took at least two fitness tests. Study co-author Kate Bolam told NBC News the results show the importance of engaging in "more vigorous intensity activities," like hiking, swimming, jogging and dancing.     Under the radar [Are live streaming events cable's death blow?]( On Jan. 23, Netflix announced it had signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to make the streaming service the exclusive home of the wrestling brand's flagship show, "Raw." Given that live programming, particularly live sports, has traditionally been the bread and butter of cable television, could expanded live offerings on streaming services be end-time for cable? The deal undoubtedly "changes the landscape for live sports media rights deals, at a time when the NBA's televised future is up for grabs," Axios reported. The deal is also evidence that streaming services are putting more weight than ever behind live events. The WWE acquisition "isn't Netflix's first foray into the live streaming space, but it's certainly its biggest so far," The Ringer reported. However, the deal may not be the final nail in cable's coffin. For one thing, Netflix is not looking to drastically invest further in sports programming, CNBC reported. The numbers also seem to point to a slow burn when it comes to streaming overtaking cable for live events. There is no question that cable is dwindling, and the advertising and subscription "revenue generated from the cable industry, while still lucrative, has been tapering off," Forbes reported. Not everyone agrees on cable's death, though. "Obviously, people's habits are changing," Kathleen Finch, the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery's U.S. networks, told CNBC, "but as a business, [cable is] a large, robust, high-margin business."     Tall tale Taking care of business … In a blink of an eye, Danny Turney went from working at a warehouse in England to performing around Europe as Elvis impersonator Danny Graceland. His late grandmother loved Elvis, and he sang a Presley song at her memorial. A friend recorded it and sent the video to an interested entertainment company. Turney soon quit his job and is now earning $500 to $650 per Danny Graceland show, sometimes performing as many as 18 times a weekend.     Later today If you actually want to know what the weather will bring this spring, "human weather forecasters" predict "temperatures above average" in the northern U.S., though "southwestern Texas may see a below-average breeze," The Washington Post reported. If you're in the middle of the country, though, you might as well ask the groundhog. Thanks for reading, Peter     Morning Report was written and edited by Catherine Garcia, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images; Tony Anderson/ Getty Images; Fatih Aktas / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Shutterstock   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.