November 7, 2023

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 32 of the conflict:

• In an interview last night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is open to “little pauses” in the fighting in Gaza to facilitate humanitarian efforts and facilitate the release of Hamas-held hostages. Netanyahu also said that Israel would have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an indefinite period of time after its war with Hamas ends. [more]
• Beginning a five-day visit to the Middle East today, U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Volcker Turk characterized the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict as “one full month of carnage, of incessant suffering, bloodshed, destruction, outrage and despair,” and said “Human rights violations are at the root of this escalation and human rights play a central role in finding a way out of this vortex of pain.” [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 621 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian cruise missile carrier, the Askold, at the Kerch shipyard in annexed Crimea over the weekend. [more]
• Andriy Kovalyov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said yesterday that, over the past week, Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attacks on the Zaporizhia-region village of Robotyne, that Ukrainian offensive operations are under way south of Bakhmut, and that Moscow is continuing its efforts to take the long-contested city of Avdiivka. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | Several states are holding off-year elections today, with political analysts watching closely for potential insights into public sentiment ahead of next year’s national elections. Among the high-profile races today are those for control of both legislative houses in Virginia, gubernatorial races in Kentucky and Mississippi, and a constitutional amendment on abortion rights in Ohio. [more]

GUN REGULATION | The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today in a case challenging a federal law that bans people who are under a court order to stay away from their spouse, partner, or other family members from having guns. [more]

COLORADO | Aurora, Colorado, police officer Nathan Woodyard was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter yesterday in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neck hold and injected with ketamine while officers were trying to subdue him. In previous related trials, one police officer was acquitted and another was convicted of lesser charges of negligent homicide and third-degree assault. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | Ahead of a November 17 deadline for funding federal government operations, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to present at least three options for stop-gap funding measures to GOP lawmakers today in a closed-door Republican conference. [more]

CALIFORNIA | A Los Angeles jury yesterday found boat captain Jerry Boylan guilty of criminal negligence in connection with the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the Conception scuba dive ship off the California coast in 2019. Boylan was convicted under a pre-Civil War statute designed to hold boat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. [more]

MORE CALIFORNIA | Police in Ventura County, California, are investigating the death of a Jewish man following an altercation during dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian street protests as a possible hate crime. Paul Kessler, 69, died of blunt force head trauma a day after the altercation on Sunday. [more]

RUSSIA AND NATO | In a move condemned by NATO, Russia today announced its formal withdrawal from the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which placed verifiable limits on categories of conventional military equipment that NATO and the then-Warsaw Pact could deploy in Europe. Following announcement of the Russian withdrawal, NATO said its participation in the Cold War-era treaty was now suspended. [more]

INDIA | Environmental officials in New Delhi India, say air pollution in the capital city today is more than 10-times higher than the global safety threshold. Among measures implemented to deal with the city's annual high pollution period are school closures, bans on high-pollution vehicles, and construction pauses. [more]

G7 | A two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the G7 group of leading industrialized nations begins today in Tokyo, Japan, with the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, North Korean nuclear developments, and Chinese global assertiveness expected to be among the main topics of discussion. [more]

IRAQ | The Islamic Resistance in Iraq militant group has claimed responsibility for two overnight drone attacks that targeted air bases in northern Iraq that house U.S. and other international troops. [more]

PACIFIC REGION | Representatives of the Pacific Islands Forum's 18 member nations began a summit in the Cook Islands yesterday, with discussions on climate change, regional unity, the release of treated radioactive water from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and rival U.S. and Chinese regional influence among the main agenda items. [more]

KENYA | Kenyan government officials announced a nationwide public holiday for November 13 yesterday for the purpose of planting trees across the African nation. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki characterized the holiday, which is part of plans to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, as a “patriotic contribution to the national efforts to save our Country from the devastating effects of Climate Change.” [more]

GERMANY | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the governors of Germany’s 16 states agreed to a series of measures today aimed at limiting surging migration levels. Among the agreed upon measures are accelerating asylum procedures, restricting benefits for asylum seekers, and increasing federal funding for state efforts to deal with immigration issues. [more]

BANKRUPTCY | Office sharing company WeWork, once valued as high as $47 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday. The company says the move was done with the support of a majority of its stakeholders and that it will continue to operate in almost all of its locations as restructuring proceeds. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1916, Jeannette Rankin won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first woman elected to Congress. [more history]