October 19, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 13 of the conflict:

• According to reports, the casualty toll in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict includes at least 1,403 people killed, and 3,800 wounded, in Israel, and 3,400 killed, and 12,000 wounded, in Gaza. [more]
• U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday that Egypt has agreed to allow up to 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to cross into Gaza from Egyptian territory. Reports say the aid deliveries could start as early as tomorrow and that talks are ongoing concerning the involvement of international monitors for aid distribution. [more]
• Israeli officials said this morning that 63 alleged “Hamas terror operatives” were arrested overnight in raids in the occupied West Bank. [more]
• U.S. officials say intelligence indicates that a rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from within Gaza was responsible for the blast that killed hundreds of people earlier this week at Gaza City's al-Ahli Hospital. Palestinian authorities continue to blame the attack on Israeli forces. [more]
• In response to ongoing threats associated with the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI jointly announced heightened security stances and the U.S. State Department ordered emergency reviews of security practices at U.S. embassies worldwide. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 602 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• In a press conference yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the U.S. made a mistake in supplying Ukraine with its Army Tactical Missile Systems. Putin suggested that while the missile systems pose a threat to Russian forces, they would not be able to change the course of the war in Ukraine. [more]
• Ukrainian military officials say Russia carried out airstrikes with ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones on multiple targets in eastern, southern, and northern Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, and there were no immediate reports of casualties associated with the strikes, according to Kyiv. [more]

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY | Following his visit to Israel yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a televised address this evening in which he is expected to make his case for expanded aid and support for both Israel and Ukraine. [more]

U.S. CONGRESS | The second vote on Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives failed yesterday, with 22 House Republicans, as well as all Democrats, voting for someone other than Jordan. It is unclear if a third round of balloting on Jordan's speakership will take place later today, as support grows for empowering Speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry to temporarily conduct legislative business. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Following a years-long pause in such action, the U.S. resumed deportation flights to Venezuela yesterday, with a first plane carrying more than 100 Venezuelan migrants from the Texas border city of Harlingen to Caracas. The resumption is seen as an easing of migration-related tensions between the U.S. and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. [more]

U.S. INFRASTRUCTURE | Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm yesterday announced $3.5 billion in funding for 58 projects across the U.S. as part of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program. The projects are aimed at strengthening electrical grid security and resilience and improving energy reliability and affordability. [full list of funded projects] [more]

NORTH CAROLINA | Authorities at the U.S. Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, say a Marine has been arrested in connection with the suspected murder of another Marine last night at a barracks on the base. Identities of the victim and the suspect have not yet been released. [more]

U.S. FINANCES | The Federal Reserve Board’s new triennial Survey of Consumer Finances report says that real median net worth in the U.S. rose 37% between 2019 and 2022 and that real mean net worth rose 23% over the same period. The report notes that increases in both median and mean household net worth were near universal across different types of families, grouped by either economic or demographic characteristics. [full report] [more]

MAINE | The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says the population of young lobsters in the Gulf of Maine and nearby fishing waters has declined 39% in recent years, triggering regulations that will impose more strict size limitations on lobsters that can be caught by fishermen. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Four Pepperdine University students were killed, and two other people were injured, Tuesday evening when a car being driven along the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, west of Los Angeles, lost control and struck other cars, causing them to hit a group of pedestrians. A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the incident. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | The U.S. Treasury Department agreed yesterday to temporarily suspend some U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil, gas, and gold sectors in response to an agreement between the South American country’s government and opposition leaders to set conditions for Venezuela’s next presidential election. [more]

RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA | Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui today in Pyongyang, where he said that the recent summit between the two countries’ leaders strengthened their bilateral relations to a “qualitatively new strategic level.” [more]

CZECH REPUBLIC | Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s coalition government survived a vote of no-confidence in parliament today, with only 85 of 200 members of parliament voting to dismiss the government. The vote was brought forward by opposition leaders who accuse Fiala’s government of mishandling economic and immigration issues. [more]

U.K. | London’s British Museum has announced plans to digitize its entire collection to ensure public access to its collections following an August report that suggested some 2,000 artifacts had been stolen from the museum or were missing. The digitization project will reportedly involve some 2.4 million records to upload or upgrade and take five years. [more]

JAPANESE ECONOMY | Customs data released by Japanese officials today indicates that Japan had its first trade surplus in three months in September, with exports for the month increasing 4.5% and imports falling 16.3%, compared to the year-ago period. [more]

TECH LAYOFFS | After reporting a 20% decline in third-quarter sales, technology and telecommunications company Nokia says it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs, or 16% of its workforce, worldwide as part of efforts to reduce costs. [more]

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | The Las Vegas Aces beat the New York Liberty, 70-69, last night to clinch their second straight WNBA Finals championship. Aces’ forward A’ja Wilson was named the Finals MVP. [more]

R.I.P. | Oscar-nominated actor Burt Young, best known for his role as Paulie Pennino in the six “Rocky” movies, died earlier this month at the age of 83, according to newly released reports. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, effectively ending the American Revolution and assuring America's independence. [more history]