Axios

Former President Trump has repeatedly said undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," language echoing the rhetoric of white supremacists and Adolf Hitler.

Why it matters: The phrase "poisoning the blood of our country" has a deep racist and antisemitic history, and the comments come as some Republicans have openly endorsed the once-fringe and racist "white replacement theory."

The Biden administration went around Congress on Friday for the approval of an emergency weapons sale to Israel that includes "projectiles and related equipment," per the Defense Department.

Why it matters: This is the second time in December that the administration has done so, and the move comes as Israel continues its war against Hamas and faces criticism for its military actions in Gaza.

Qatari mediators told Israel that Hamas has "agreed in principle" to resume talks on a new deal to secure the release of more than 40 hostages held in Gaza in return for up to a month of a halt in fighting, three Israeli officials said.

The big picture: Israeli officials are treating the message with extreme caution and say they hope to get more clarification over the weekend in order to know if Hamas is indeed serious. Hamas has for weeks publicly demanded that Israel stop the war and pull out its forces from Gaza before any serious discussions on a new hostage deal begin.

Russia launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian cities on Friday, killing at least 24 civilians across the country, AP reports.

The big picture: Ukrainians officials described the barrage as the largest launched by Moscow in nearly two years of full-scale war.

Beijing is taking U.S. sanctions head-on with its latest round of restrictions targeting U.S.-based firms that gather open source data about business links to Xinjiang.

Why it matters: The sanctions expand on Beijing's previous efforts to criminalize certain kinds of research, intimidate individual researchers, and make it harder for companies to comply with U.S. sanctions against China. The escalating sanctions fight between the U.S. and China risks forcing companies to choose between the world's largest markets.

American Paul Whelan said he is concerned that "diplomatic efforts have failed" and "not enough has been done at the very top" to ensure his release from a Russian prison.

The big picture: The former American Marine was arrested on Dec. 28., 2018, on espionage charges that the U.S. State Department has denounced as baseless. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.