It's Friday, December 15th, 2023. And Fridays are like a box of chocolates on the AM update.

You never know what you're going to get.

The House voted on Thursday to pass a defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act,

which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense annually.

The bill will next be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday.

The House vote was 310 to 119, with 73 Republicans and 45 Democrats opposing the bill.

The final negotiated version of the NDAA for fiscal year 2024 authorizes

$886 billion in national defense spending an increase of $28 billion over last year.

The bill includes provisions for warrantless FISA searches, see that as warrantless spying on

American citizens. That provision of the bill was met with little resistance by Republicans

in the Senate, where more Democrats voted to block the bill than Republicans.

Israeli forces have started flooding Hamas tunnels in Gaza with seawater, pumped from the Mediterranean

Sea in an effort to destroy the underground network. It's according to news reports filed

on Wednesday, the Israeli military installed at least five water pumps about a mile north of the Al-Shti refugee camp in the northern portion of Gaza.

That's according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story.

The tunnels estimated to extend 300 miles and separated by thick blast doors are a key part of Hamas military operations.

They allow militants to move undetected and are used to store weapons and supplies.

Some sections are used as command centers.

Israel is reportedly limiting flooding of the tunnel as it evaluates its effectiveness.

It's not yet known how many of the tunnels have been targeted,

but the operation is expected to last several

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