June 24, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 262 of the conflict:

• In an interview broadcast in Israel yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the “intense phase” of the war with Hamas in Gaza would soon end and that Israel’s military focus could shift to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and its long-entrenched Hezbollah militant group. Netanyahu also said he would only accept a partial cease-fire that would not end the war in Gaza, casting doubt on the viability of a U.S-backed proposal to end the fighting. [more]
• Gaza Health Ministry officials say Hani al-Jaafarawi, the director of the ministry's Ambulance and Emergency Department, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a medical clinic in Gaza City, bringing to at least 500 the number of Palestinian health workers killed in the war. Israeli officials say the airstrike in question was targeting senior Hamas commander Mohammad Salah. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 851 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Formal European Union accession talks for Ukraine are scheduled to open tomorrow in Luxembourg. Reports say the talks are the start of what is expected to be a years-long process for E.U. membership, which Ukraine requested just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. [more]
• Reports say at least four people were killed, and 100 others were injured, yesterday in a Ukrainian long-range missile strike on the city of Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea. Commenting on the incident, Russian officials said the U.S. shared responsibility for the deaths for providing Ukraine with the missiles used in the attack. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | According to a new FBI report, there were 48 “active shooter incidents” in the U.S. in 2023 – down 4% from the 50 incidents in 2022. The report also notes that there were 229 active shooter incidents from 2019 to 2023, representing an 89% increase from the previous five-year period. [press release] [full report] [more]

MORE U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Four people were killed, and 11 others were wounded, Friday when a gunman opened fire with a shotgun and a handgun in a grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas. Police say the man suspected of carrying out the attack had no apparent links to any of the victims. [more]

TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS TRIAL | U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to hear arguments today on a prosecution request to impose a gag order barring former President Donald Trump from making public comments about FBI agents working on the classified documents case against him. [more]

NEW MEXICO | The FBI offered a $10,000 reward this weekend for information leading to the arrest and conviction of “the person or persons” responsible for starting the ongoing South Fork and Salt fires in New Mexico that have killed two people and burned hundreds of homes over the past week. [more]

U.S. GUN REGULATION | In an 8-1 decision on Friday, with Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal criminal prohibition on gun possession by people subject to domestic violence-related restraining orders. [more]

U.S. LOGGING | The Associated Press cites a yet-unpublished federal government analysis as indicating the Department of Agriculture intends to move forward with a proposal to restrict commercial logging in old-growth forests on federal land, with exceptions for tree clearing that would make forests less susceptible to wildfires. [more]

RUSSIA | Regional governor Sergei Melikov said today that at least 15 police officers and four civilians were killed yesterday in a series of attacks on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a police post in two cities in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan. No claims of responsibility for the attacks have yet been made. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Authorities say at least 22 people were killed and several others were injured early today in a fire at a lithium battery manufacturing plant in the South Korean city of Hwaseong. Reports note that several workers remain missing and that the fire apparently broke out when batteries exploded while being inspected and packed for shipping. [more]

PAKISTAN | Authorities in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province say 23 people have been arrested in connection with last week’s seizing and killing of a man suspected of desecrating the Quran. The suspects have also been charged with burning the police station in the town of Madyan, where the murdered man had been held. [more]

IRAN AND BAHRAIN | Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reports that foreign ministry officials from Iran and Bahrain have agreed to create a framework to begin talks on resuming bilateral relations between their countries, which were severed in 2016. [more]

E.U. AND CHINA | The European Union and China have reportedly reached an agreement to hold talks on the E.U. plan to impose heavy new tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. China has characterized the tariffs as unfair, while E.U. regulators say the Chinese vehicles benefit from “unfair subsidization” that hurts E.U. rivals. [more]

SAUDI ARABIA | Saudi officials announced yesterday that 1,301 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, with 83% of those deaths being among pilgrims not officially authorized to take part in the annual Muslim ritual. Reports say temperatures during the pilgrimage reached as high as 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) during this year’s Hajj, contributing to many of the deaths. [more]

TECH INDUSTRY | European Commission regulators today accused Apple of violating the E.U. bloc's sweeping Digital Markets Act by preventing app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content. A final decision on Apple's compliance with the law is required by March 2025. [more]

AIRLINE INDUSTRY | Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying federal prosecutors are recommending that the U.S. Justice Department file criminal charges against aircraft giant Boeing for allegedly violating the terms of a settlement related to two fatal crashes involving the company’s 737 MAX jet in 2018 and 2019. [more]

SOCCER | The U.S. beat Bolivia, 2-0, yesterday in the team’s opening match of the Copa America tournament. The U.S. continues group play with a match against Panama on Thursday. [tournament schedule and results] [more]

GOLF | Scottie Scheffler beat Tom Kim yesterday in a playoff to win the Travelers Championship – his sixth PGA Tour victory of the year. In women’s play, Amy Yang shot a final round even-par 72 yesterday to win the Women’s PGA Championship and claim her first major tournament title. [more]

HOCKEY | The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers are tied at 3-games-apiece ahead of tonight’s deciding Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Inside Out 2" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $100 million in receipts, followed by "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" and "The Bikeriders." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, ending the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States. [more history]