January 29, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | U.S. officials say three American service members were killed, and 34 others were wounded, in a weekend drone attack by Iran-backed militants on the Tower 22 support base in northeast Jordon near the Syrian border. President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. will respond to the attack “at a time and in a manner of our choosing.” A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for the attack, and Iran has denied involvement in the incident. [more]

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 115 of the conflict:

• U.S., Israeli, and Egyptian officials met yesterday in ongoing attempts to formulate a new cease-fire agreement that would allow for the release of hostages held by Hamas and increase the movement of humanitarian aid into Gaza. [more]
• Reports say Israeli forces launched renewed assaults on Gaza City overnight, weeks after largely pulling back from the city. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 704 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto is meeting with government officials in Kyiv today ahead of tomorrow's E.U. summit at which funding for Ukraine that has been held up by Budapest is expected to be a major agenda item. [more]
• Ukrainian security officials say employees of arms maker Lviv Arsenal and multiple defense ministry officials conspired to embezzle almost $40 million in funds earmarked for the purchase of mortar shells for Ukraine’s military. Reports say at least five people have been charged in the case. [more]

U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY | House Republicans released two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas yesterday, charging him with “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of the public trust” related to what they say is a failure to manage migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. [more]

U.S. PAY EQUITY | Marking the 15th anniversary of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act pay equity law, the Office of Personnel Management is issuing a final rule today that bars the government from considering a person’s current or past pay when determining their salary for federal employment. [White House fact sheet] [more]

AI SAFETY | Developers of artificial intelligence systems in the U.S are now required to report results of AI-related safety tests to the federal government, as directed by an executive order issued by President Joe Biden last year. [more]

TRUMP DEFAMATION TRIAL | A New York jury on Friday awarded former columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages in the trial against former President Donald Trump over his statements about Carroll after she claimed he sexually assaulted her in 1996. An earlier trial found Trump guilty of sexually abusing Carroll and of defaming her. [more]

U.S. SLEEP APNEA | Under a consent decree announced today, Dutch health technology company Philips will not sell new devices to treat sleep apnea in the U.S. for multiple years as it works to comply with an FDA settlement regarding the safety of the company’s Respironics CPAP machines. [more]

IRAN AND PAKISTAN | Iranian and Pakistani officials are scheduled to meet in Islamabad today for discussions aimed at reducing tensions after each side launched anti-militant airstrikes on the other’s territory earlier this month. [more]

FRANCE | The French Interior Ministry says it has deployed some 15,000 police officers, mostly in the Paris region, in response to ongoing protests and road blockages by farmers seeking protections against low wages, bureaucratic requirements, and low-cost imports. [more]

IRAN | Iranian state media reports that three satellites were successfully launched by the Iranian government yesterday in a move that analysts say advances Iran’s development of technology for use in intercontinental ballistic missiles. [more]

MEXICO | The first bullfight in Mexico City in more than a year and half took place yesterday after the country’s highest court suspended a 2022 lower court ruling that ordered an end to bullfighting in the city on animal rights grounds. [more]

U.K. | British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to announce new government regulations today that ban the sale of disposable vapes and limit e-cigarette available flavors as part of efforts to prevent youth nicotine addiction. [more]

CHINA | A Hong Kong court yesterday ordered the liquidation of Chinese real estate development giant China Evergrande following the company’s failed effort to restructure its $300 billion in debt. [more]

FINLAND | Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb and ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will face each other in a runoff election for Finland’s presidency next month after finishing 1st and 2nd in the Nordic country’s first-round voting yesterday. [more]

FOOTBALL | The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions, respectively, yesterday to claim spots in Super Bowl 58, which will be played February 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. [more]

TENNIS | Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev yesterday, and Aryna Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen on Saturday, to win the men’s and women’s Australian Open championships, respectively. [more]

GOLF | France’s Matthieu Pavon shot a final-round 3-under-par 69 Saturday to win the Farmers Insurance Open. Pavon is the first Frenchman to win a PGA Tour event since World War II. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "The Beekeeper" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $7.4 million in receipts, followed by "Mean Girls" and "Wonka." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1919, the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors in the United States, was officially certified. Prohibition remained in effect in the U.S. until 1933, when it was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment. [more history]