August 6, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 305 of the conflict:

• In a statement released yesterday, the United Nations confirmed that, following an investigation, it has fired nine staff members of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees for possible involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. [full statement] [more]
• Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group launched drone attacks on two military sites in northern Israel this morning, wounding several people. Additionally, Hezbollah officials warned that the group's retaliation for Israel's killing of a top commander last week is yet to come. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 894 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukraine’s military says its forces shot down two ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles, and 15 attack drones launched by Russia overnight at targets across Ukraine. Reports cite local officials as saying that at least five people were wounded in another Russian missile attack overnight on the northeastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv. [more]

U.S. AND IRAQ | Reports say at least five U.S. personnel were injured in a rocket attack on the al Asad airbase in western Iraq yesterday. The attack, for which no group has yet to claim responsibility, came amidst ongoing tension over the potential for Iran and its proxies to escalate regional conflict following the recent deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah militant group leaders in Israeli attacks. [more]

TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | Curfews were imposed in multiple coastal regions of both Georgia and South Carolina last night ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Debby, which struck Florida yesterday as a Category 1 hurricane and which, according to the National Hurricane Center, is expected to drop up to 30 inches of rain in some areas. Five deaths have been attributed to the storm. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | With the completion of voting by delegates to the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris formally secured the party’s 2024 presidential nomination last night. Harris is expected to announce her pick for a vice-presidential running mate later today. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Emergency officials say several homes have been destroyed by a fire that broke out in San Bernardino, California yesterday, prompting the evacuation of portions of the city. The San Bernardino County Fire Department reports that the fire has burned about 54 acres and was 25% contained as of yesterday evening. [more]

U.S. ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE | The Department of Energy announced an investment today of $2.2 billion for eight projects across 18 states to revamp the country’s power grid to increase capacity, improve production and transmission, advance the transition to cleaner electricity, and protect the grid from increased threats from severe weather events. [more]

GLOBAL MARKETS | Stock market indices across the world are slightly up today following a massive selloff yesterday sparked by concerns over the U.S. economy that followed poorer-than-expected jobs and unemployment reports by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday. [more]

U.K. | Amidst ongoing riots and unrest centered around what he called “far-right thuggery” aimed at immigrants and mosques, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday that a “standing army” of specialist police would be set up to deal with violent disorder. Reports note that the unrest was sparked by a knife attack last week in which three young girls were killed and that was initially, and incorrectly, thought by some to have been carried out by an asylum seeker. [more]

CHINA | Chinese state media outlet Xinhua News Agency reports that China launched a rocket carrying 18 satellites for low-Earth-orbit deployment yesterday. The launch was the first for China's Thousand Sails communications constellation project, which aims to rival U.S.-based communications and data capabilities. [more]

BANGLADESH | Following yesterday’s resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after weeks of widespread protests, President Mohammed Shahabuddin announced the dissolution of Bangladesh’s parliament today, clearing the way for new elections. Protest leaders have reportedly called for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to head the country’s interim government. [more]

FRANCE | According to the U.S. nonprofit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, French companies, despite Ukraine-linked restrictions on oil imports from Russia, imported more than double the amount of Russian liquified natural gas in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period last year. [more]

GOOGLE MONOPOLY | U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled yesterday that tech giant Google’s internet search engine has illegally operated as a monopoly by stifling innovation and blocking competitors. Google parent company Alphabet says it intends to appeal the ruling. [full court ruling] [more]

PARIS OLYMPICS | As of 7 a.m. ET today, the U.S. leads the overall medal count at the Paris Olympics with 79, followed by China, France, Great Britain, and Australia. In other Olympic news:

• American gymnast Simone Biles completed her appearance in events at the Paris Olympics last night with a second-place finish in the floor routine. Biles earned three gold medals and one silver medal in the Paris Games. [more]

COLLEGE FOOTBALL | In the USA Today pre-season college football Coaches Poll, Georgia is No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, and Alabama. [full poll] [more]

R.I.P. | Chinese-American physicist Tsung-Dao Lee, whose work advanced the understanding of particle physics and who, in 1957, was the second-youngest scientist to receive a Nobel Prize, died yesterday in California at the age of 97. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1965, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. Also, on this date in 1945, during World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb code-named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.  [more history]