March 1, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Updates from day 147 of the conflict:

• Palestinian officials in Gaza say at least 112 people were killed, and 700 others were injured, yesterday when Israeli troops opened fire on crowds waiting for aid distribution in Gaza City. Israeli authorities say their troops were responding to the threat of being overrun by stampeding crowds and that many of those killed or wounded were victims of a stampede or were struck by fleeing aid trucks. NOTICE OF CORRECTION: Yesterday's Daily Brief incorrectly stated that deaths and injuries in the incident were caused by an Israeli airstrike. Later reporting clarified that Israeli ground troops had fired weapons into the crowd. [more]
• According to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Authority, as of today, at least 30,228 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The Israeli military says more than 13,000 Hamas militants are among those killed. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 736 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said this week that, amidst the ongoing Russian invasion, Ukraine will need about $3 billion in foreign aid per month in 2024 to cover budgetary needs, including paying state pensions and wages and providing social and humanitarian programs. [more]
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called this week for a new defense industry strategy to respond to security challenges posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the manufacture and purchase of weapons made in Europe as a key component. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT FUNDING | The House and Senate each passed a short-term spending measure yesterday, extending to March 8 and March 22 the funding deadlines for federal agencies. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure into law today to avoid a partial government shutdown. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis yesterday indicate that consumer prices in the U.S. rose 0.3% from December to January – up from a 0.1% increase in the November to December period. On a yearly basis, January prices rose 2.4% from the same month in 2023 – down from the 2.6% annual pace in December. [BEA report] [more]

TEXAS | A federal judge issued a temporary injunction yesterday suspending a new Texas law that would have allowed state police to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. In his ruling, which the Texas attorney general's office immediately appealed, U.S. District Judge David Ezra said allowing the law to take effect would "amount to nullification of federal law and authority.” [more]

CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA | Portions of the Sierra Nevada region in California and Nevada are expected to receive as much as 10 feet of snow through this weekend from a powerful winter storm stretching from north of Lake Tahoe to south of Yosemite National Park. Authorities have issued widespread blizzard warnings in the region and have urged residents to expect road closures and power outages related to the storm. [more]

U.S. ENVIRONMENT | The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it plans to delay new rules on curbing emissions from existing natural gas plants in the United States. The agency says that while new rules for future plants are still on schedule for implementation, delaying plans for existing plants will allow the new rules to be expanded to include more pollutants. [more]

U.S. SMART CARS | Citing national security, safety, and privacy issues, the Biden administration announced yesterday that it will open an investigation into so-called smart cars from China and other countries that could potentially be used to gather sensitive information on American drivers. [more]

BANGLADESH | Officials in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka say at least 43 people were killed, and dozens of others were injured, in an overnight fire at the city’s six-story Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall. [more]

GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS | According to a new International Energy Agency report, global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.1% in 2023 to a record-high 37.4 billion tonnes. The report suggests that the 2023 increase, which was smaller than that seen in 2022, was driven in part by increased fossil fuel use in countries where droughts hampered hydropower production. [more]

WORLDWIDE OBESITY | According to a new study published in The Lancet, 504 million adult women and 374 million adult men were obese in 2022 – an increase of 377 million women and 307 million men from 1990 levels. Study authors note that the countries with the largest absolute number of adults with obesity in 2022 were the United States, China, and India, and that the number of adults worldwide who were affected by being underweight fell by more than half during the study period. [full study] [more]

HAITI | United Nations officials say the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, and Chad have joined Kenya in formally notifying the U.N. of their intent to contribute personnel to a U.N.-approved international force to assist in fighting armed gangs in Haiti. [more]

IRAN | Parliamentary elections are being held in Iran today – the country’s first since mass protests over mandatory hijab laws in 2002 following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. Analysts say politicians calling for changes in the country’s theocracy have largely been barred from running for office. [more]

RUSSIA | Reports say authorities have maintained a strong police presence and blocked mobile phone signals in the area surrounding a Moscow church today at which the funeral for opposition leader Alexei Navalny is taking place. [more]

NEW ZEALAND | A New Zealand court today ordered several tour booking agents, tour companies, and property owners to pay $7.8 million in fines and reparations in connection with safety violations related to the deaths of 22 people in the eruption of the Whakaari volcano on White Island in 2019. [more]

BASEBALL | The Major League Baseball players association reports that the average salary for MLB players rose 7.1% in 2023 to a record $4,525,719. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1872, Yellowstone National Park, situated in the western United States and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, was established by the U.S. Congress as the country's—and the world's—first national park [more history]