October 23, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 17 of the conflict:

• Ahead of a widely anticipated ground offensive into Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, Israel has repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza and has increased its airstrikes across Gaza to reduce risks to troops in the next stages of the war. [more]
• Multiple clashes have taken place over the past 24 hours between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants along the Israel-Lebanon border, increasing fears of the Israel-Hamas war expanding into a wider regional conflict. [more]
• A third convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border today, bringing to about 50 the number of aid trucks allowed into the Palestinian enclave since Saturday. U.N. officials say at least 100 truckloads of aid per day are needed to meet essential needs in Gaza. [more]
• Two American hostages – a mother and daughter – being held in Gaza were released by Hamas on Friday. Israeli officials say more than 200 hostages are still being held by Hamas. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 606 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• At least six people are reported to have been killed when a Russian missile struck a postal depot in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region Saturday. [more]
• Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said today that overnight Russian artillery shelling caused damage in several villages in the Kherson region and that transport and food production facilities in Kherson City were damaged in the attacks. [more]

U.S. CONGRESS | Following a third failed floor vote in the House of Representatives on Friday, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan was removed as the GOP nominee to be Speaker of the House. Nine Republican congressmen have announced their bids for the position and will make their cases for being elected to the role in a GOP candidate forum this evening ahead of a secret conference ballot to select a candidate tomorrow. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | According to provisional data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearm-related homicides in the U.S. fell about 6% in 2022, compared to 2021, to a rate of 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people. [full report] [more]

OREGON | Portland Public Schools teachers have voted to authorize a strike over pay and working condition issues beginning November 1, barring a contract agreement being reached before that date. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, 269,735 immigration enforcement encounters occurred along the U.S. southern border in September, up from 232,963 in August, with immigrants from Venezuela being the most commonly encountered. [more]

MARYLAND | Authorities in Maryland say the manhunt continues today for Pedro Argote, 49, who is suspected in the shooting death of Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson on Thursday. The shooting occurred at Wilkinson’s home in Hagerstown hours after he ruled against Argote in a divorce-related child custody case. [more]

TRUMP GEORGIA ELECTION CASE | Kenneth Chesebro, a key co-defendant in the Georgia case charging former President Donald Trump and others of conspiring to interfere with the 2020 presidential election results in the state, pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing of false documents. Under the terms of the plea deal, Chesebro will serve five years probation, pay a $5,000 fine, and be required to testify against others and provide evidence in the case. [more]

PHILIPPINES, U.S., AND CHINA | Following a weekend incident in which Chinese naval ships blocked and damaged Philippine ships attempting to enter the South China Sea’s contested Second Thomas Shoal, the U.S. warned today that, under a 1951 treaty, it would defend the Philippines in the event of an armed attack. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike on a mosque in the West Bank's Jenin refugee camp yesterday was a "dangerous escalation" in regional violence. Israeli officials say the airstrike was intended to prevent an "imminent terror attack" by militants using the mosque as a staging point. [more]

MEXICO | Hurricane Norma came ashore at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula Saturday as a Category 1 storm, leaving tens of thousands of residents without power, before weakening to a tropical storm. [more]

PAKISTAN | Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was indicted by a Pakistani court today on charges of violating the official secrets act. Prosecutors in the case say Khan made public a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. in early 2022. [more]

NEPAL | A 5.2-magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks struck near Nepal’s capital Kathmandu yesterday, causing a landslide and damaging dozens of homes in the region’s Dhading district. [more]

ARGENTINA | Sergio Massa and Javier Milei received the most votes in yesterday’s opening round of Argentina’s presidential election, earning them places in the country’s November 19 runoff election. [more]

VENEZUELA | Winning about 93% of early votes counted, former legislator Maria Corina Machado claimed victory last night in Venezuela opposition parties’ presidential primary, becoming the coalition’s choice to oppose President Nicolás Maduro in next year’s presidential election. Of note, Madura’s government previously barred Machado from running for office, and it remains unclear how her candidacy will proceed. [more]

CERVICAL CANCER | Study results released at the 2023 ESMO medical conference show that a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation can reduce the risk of disease recurrence or death by 35% in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer, compared to chemoradiation treatment alone. Study researchers say the findings represent the biggest breakthrough in treating cervical cancer in 20 years and that the combination therapy should be considered a new standard of care. [more]

OIL MERGER | In a move aimed largely at increasing its operations in oil-rich Guyana, energy giant Chevron Corp. announced today that it will buy smaller rival Hess Corp. in a $53 billion all-stock deal. [more]

NFL | With yesterday's win over the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick became the third coach in National Football League history with 300 regular-season victories. [more]

BASEBALL | The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 9-2, last night to force a decisive Game 7 tonight in the American League Championship Series. In the National League Championship Series, the Philadelphia Phillies face the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight in Game 6 of the series, which the Phillies lead, 3 games to 2. [more]

GAMING | Saudi Arabia announced today that it is launching an annual E-sports World Cup that will have participants playing the world’s most popular games and have the largest prize pool in E-sports history. Reports say the first competition will take place in summer 2024. [more]

HOLLYWOOD | Negotiation between the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union and Hollywood film and television companies are scheduled to resume tomorrow in hopes of ending the union’s 150-day-old strike. [more]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE | "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $31 million in receipts, followed by "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "The Exorcist: Believer." [more]

R.I.P. | English soccer icon Bobby Charlton, who survived a plane crash that killed several of his Manchester United teammates and who led his country to the 1966 World Cup championship, died Saturday at the age of 86. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1983, suicide bombers drove truckloads of high explosives into the barracks of U.S. Marines and French paratroopers in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French troops. [more history]