April 30, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 207 of the conflict:

• The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said today that more than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,704 have been wounded, in Israeli military offensives in Gaza since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 of last year. [more]
• The U.N.’s International Court of Justice is scheduled to rule today on a request by Nicaragua that Germany be ordered to halt military aid to Israel. Nicaragua argued in the case that German aid is contributing to genocide and other breaches of international law in Gaza – charges Germany has denied. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 796 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say at least five people were killed, and 32 others were injured, yesterday in a Russian missile attack that struck the campus of a private law academy in the Black Sea port city of Odesa. [more]
• According to a new U.N. Security Council report, debris that landed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on January 2 was from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile and use of such a missile is in violation of the U.N. arms embargo on North Korea. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Four law enforcement officers were killed, and four others were wounded, yesterday in a shootout in Charlotte, North Carolina, while serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm. The officers killed included members of a U.S. Marshal’s Service task force and a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer. [more]

U.S. COLLEGE PROTESTS | Reports tracking recent and ongoing pro-Palestinian and counter protests, which continue to spread and intensify, at U.S. colleges say hundreds of protesters have been arrested on more than 20 campuses in at least 16 states. [more]

U.S. TRANSGENDER CARE | In an 8-6 ruling yesterday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found West Virginia’s and North Carolina’s refusal to cover gender-affirming healthcare for people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory. The cases are expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. [more]

U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY | Under a final rule released yesterday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, all new passenger vehicles in the U.S. weighing 10,000 pounds or less will be required to have forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and pedestrian detection braking as standard features by September 2029. The NHTSA projects the change will save at least 360 lives and prevent at least 24,000 injuries per year. [press release] [final rule] [more]

FLORIDA | A ban on abortions past six weeks of pregnancy is scheduled to take effect tomorrow in Florida, lowering the state’s legal time limit from the current 15 weeks. [more]

U.S. MEDICAL SETTLEMENT | Dutch medical device maker Philips said yesterday that it has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle hundreds of personal injury lawsuits in the U.S. related to defects in its sleep apnea and CPAP machines, more than 5 million of which have been recalled since 2021. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA HOTEL INDUSTRY | Unionized hotel workers are expected to rally tomorrow in 18 U.S. and Canadian cities as new contract talks between unions and leading hotel chains Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt begin. [more]

BIRD FLU | The World Health Organization said today that there is a risk of the H5N1 bird flu virus spreading from cows in the U.S. to other countries through bird migration. To date, the current U.S. outbreak has seen infection by the virus in 34 dairy cattle herds in nine U.S. states since last March. [more]

INDONESIA | Sulawesi Island’s Mount Ruang volcano erupted today for a second time in two weeks, sending ash and debris as far as two kilometers from the eruption site. Indonesian authorities closed the region’s Sam Ratulangi International Airport and have raised the volcano’s alert status to its highest level. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | Officials with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban say six people were killed yesterday when an unidentified gunman opened fire in a mosque in the Guzara district of the country’s Herat province. Reports cite local media and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai as suggesting that the mosque was targeted due to it being a place of worship for Afghanistan’s Shiite Muslim minority. [more]

JAPAN | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida denied suggestions today that he would resign over his Liberal Democratic Party's losses in last weekend's by-elections in Nagasaki, Shimane, and Tokyo. [more]

RED SEA | A Malta-flagged, Greece-owned bulk carrier ship was damaged yesterday in the Red Sea in a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels – the latest in the militant group’s ongoing campaign against Red Sea shipping sparked by the Israel-Hamas conflict. [more]

MALI | State media in Mali reports that senior Islamic State commander Abu Huzeifa, who has been linked to several high-profile terrorist attacks, including one that killed four U.S. soldiers along with troops from Niger, was killed in a Sunday military operation in Mali carried out by troops from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. [more]

SOCCER | The U.S. Soccer Federation and the Mexican Football Federation dropped their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup yesterday, leaving a proposal from Brazil and a joint-hosting bid by Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium as the remaining host alternatives. The U.S. and Mexico will reportedly focus now on a proposal to host the 2031 women’s tournament. [more]

FOOTBALL | The Kansas City Chiefs have reportedly signed Travis Kelce to a new two-year, $34.25 million contract, making him the National Football League's highest-paid tight end. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1900, U.S. President William McKinley signed the Hawaiian Organic Act, which made Hawaii a territory of the United States. [more history]