The Evening: Lebanese Leadership, Iran Releases Journalist, Thoughts of L.A., and More

Newsletter - January 8, 2025

Lebanese Attempt to Secure Leadership

Lebanon's deeply divided Parliament is set Thursday to try to elect a new president, potentially ending a yearslong political vacuum and ushering in a degree of stability for a country reeling from its bloodiest war in decades, as the NYT reports.

Italian Journalist Released by Iran

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, arrested in Iran last month, was released Wednesday after weeks of diplomatic wrangling between Rome and Tehran, as The Washington Post reports.

Fed Minutes Suggest Officials Will Hold Rates Steady for Now

Federal Reserve officials saw risks of higher-than-expected inflation, due in part to potential tariffs by President-elect Donald Trump, when they made a "finely balanced" decision last month to lower interest rates, according to minutes of the meeting published Wednesday, as the WSJ reports.

Executive Education

From production to procurement, explore the defense acquisition process with Mapping the U.S. DOD Acquisition Ecosystem. Join us at CSIS in-person or virtually on February 11 for a deep dive into the requirements process, funding stages, and how the government acquires and maintains capabilities. Registration closes January 31.

Audio Briefs

CSIS now offers audio versions of our latest analysis. Listen to the latest Critical Questions by CSIS's Christopher Hernandez-Roy, "Trudeau Steps Down: Now What?"

In That Number

46

In the most severe confrontation between the countries since Kabul fell to the Taliban, Pakistani airstrikes killed 46 people in eastern Afghanistan in late December, according to the Afghan government.
Source: The Washington Post

Critical Quote

It is difficult to process the immensity of the destruction and loss.

- L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath

iDeas Lab

Modifications to photograph by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

On March 24, 2024, the bird flu virus was detected among dairy cows for the first time in the United States. Since then, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported dozens of human cases across eight states, with the first bird flu death in the United States reported on Monday. Read strategies to prevent another pandemic here.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

Photo: Apu Gomes/Getty Images

A firefighter watches the flames from the Palisades Fire burning homes on the Pacific Coast Highway amid a powerful windstorm on January 8, 2025, in Los Angeles.

Recommended Reading

"Trudeau Steps Down: Now What?" by CSIS's Christopher Hernandez-Roy.

This Town Tomorrow

At 4:00 p.m., the CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department welcomes Dr. Geraldine Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation at the Department of Energy.

Earlier, at 9:00 a.m., Brookings unpacks what people in the United States and Taiwan think about Taiwan's security situation.

And, at 10:00 a.m., the Hudson Institute hosts Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to discuss Georgian protests against Russian influence in the country's elections.

Video

Today, Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, joined the CSIS Global Health Policy Center to discuss the future of the CDC. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

Image

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, joins the podcast to discuss bipartisan efforts to address U.S.-China competition in technology, economics, and national security, including TikTok's legal challenges, the risks of Chinese-made technology, and strategies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

I was going to write about the resilience of New Orleans tonight but we'll have to save that for another time. If you read this space, you will know that in addition to the Crescent City, Malibu is close to my heart. Pacific Palisades, Malibu and other parts of Los Angeles are under tragic assault by fire. These are fragile, special places. Let's all say a prayer tonight for our friends and family in L.A. I have no doubt of their resilience.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz.