August 22, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 321 of the conflict:

• With Gaza cease-fire negotiations scheduled to resume in Cairo today, Egyptian officials expressed skepticism on the possibility of reaching agreement on the current proposal, noting, in particular, that the proposal does not guarantee the removal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave. [more]
• Reports say Israeli forces have begun a new operation in the eastern sections of the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah and have urged residents to flee to the western side of the city. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 910 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russia’s Ministry of Defense says a Ukrainian drone attack on a military facility in the Volgograd region of southern Russia today sparked a fire at an air base near Marinovka. [more]
• Amidst the ongoing Ukrainian military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, reports cite local authorities as saying concrete shelters are being erected in the region to help protect civilians. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | In the minutes of their latest policy-setting meeting released yesterday, most Federal Reserve officials supported a likely cut to the Fed’s benchmark interest rate in September if inflation continues to cool. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS AND AI | The Federal Communications Commission says communications firm Lingo Telecom has agreed to pay a $1 million fine to settle charges related to the transmission of robocalls to voters in New Hampshire in January that used an AI-generated voice designed to mimic President Joe Biden. Steve Kramer, the political consultant who orchestrated the calls, still faces a proposed $6 million fine and potential state criminal charges. [more]

U.S. FLUORIDE | A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program says a review of previously published research indicates "with moderate confidence" that total exposure to fluoride of twice the recommended level appears to be linked to lower IQ in children. Researchers note that the study was not meant to assess the benefits of fluoride, but to examine the possibility of health risks and provide guidance to agencies that set standards for safe use of the mineral, which is commonly added to drinking water to reduce dental cavities. [full report] [more]

U.S. SECURITY | In an Associated Press interview yesterday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he is “hard pressed to think of a time in my career where so many different kinds of threats are all elevated at once.” Wray noted that the elevated threat levels pose a challenge to law enforcement and that investigation of some threats, such as cyberattacks, require cooperation between law enforcement and the private sector. [more]

ARIZONA | A federal judge this week temporarily blocked a lithium mining project in northwestern Arizona that the local Hualapai Native American tribe says would harm lands that have been used for centuries by the tribe for religious and cultural ceremonies. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Under a new deal announced yesterday, California says it will provide $250 million in funding from tax funds and tech companies to advance journalism and AI research over a period of five years. [more]

MPOX | Amidst growing concern over the continental and global spread of the disease, health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo say the African country saw 1,030 new cases of mpox infection over the 7-day period ended Tuesday out of a total of 1,405 cases reported across all of Africa. [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province say gunmen opened fire on a school van in the city of Attock early today, killing two children and wounding six others. Police say the driver of the van, who was wounded in the incident, appears to have been the target of the attack. [more]

CANADA | Major Canadian freight railway operators Canadian National and CPKC locked out employees today after efforts to reach a contract agreement with the union that represents train engineers, conductors, and dispatchers failed. Reports note that a prolonged work stoppage at the railways could have significant economic impacts in both Canada and the United States. [more]

RED SEA | Reports say a French destroyer operating as part of the European Union’s Operation Aspides in the Red Sea rescued 29 seamen from an oil tanker after the tanker was damaged yesterday in an attack thought to have been carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. [more]

INDIA | Authorities in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state say at least 15 people were killed, and 40 others were injured, yesterday in an explosion and subsequent fire at a pharmaceutical plant in the state’s Anakapalli district. [more]

SERBIA AND BOSNIA | Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic says a boat carrying 25 migrants attempting to cross the Drina River from Serbia to Bosnia overturned today and that at least seven migrants are missing in the incident. [more]

INDIA AND BANGLADESH | Local authorities say at least 15 people – 11 in northeastern India's Tripura state and four in neighboring Bangladesh – have died since yesterday in floods and mudslides brought on by heavy rains. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1485, Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII) defeated the Yorkist king Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth Field, effectively ending the Wars of the Roses and establishing the Tudor dynasty on the English throne. [more history]