November 13, 2024

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• U.S. State Department officials said yesterday that Israel has not failed to meet a U.S. deadline to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, noting that while Israel has taken a number of steps to improve aid delivery, more progress is needed. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 993 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Damage assessments are ongoing this morning in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv following an overnight combined missile and drone attack by Russian forces – the first such combined attack on the city in more than two months. [more]
• Speaking in Brussels today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration intends to bolster military support for Ukraine prior to the January inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that U.S. consumer inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose 0.2% in October and that year-over-year inflation for the month showed an increase of 2.6%. [full report] [more]

U.S. POLITICS | President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House today in a traditional show of the peaceful transfer of power. Trump is also expected to meet with Congressional Republicans later in the day. [more]

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION | President-elect Donald Trump has announced Fox News host and Army National Guard captain Pete Hegseth as his choice to serve as secretary of defense in the incoming administration – a choice welcomed by some, but questioned by others over Hegseth’s apparent lack of experience. Trump also announced that billionaire Elon Musk and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead what he says will be a new “Department of Government Efficiency.” Other newly announced nominations include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. [more]

LOUISIANA | A federal judge yesterday blocked implementation of a Louisiana state law that would have mandated the prominent display of the Ten Commandments from the Christian Bible in all public school classrooms. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles said the law was “overtly religious” in purpose and was a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment provisions forbidding the government from establishing a religion. [more]

TRUMP NEW YORK TRIAL | New York state Judge Juan M. Merchan yesterday delayed until November 19 his decision on how to move forward with the business records falsification and hush money conviction of now-President-elect Donald Trump, who is scheduled to be sentenced in the case on November 26. [more]

U.S. SENATE | Senate Republicans are scheduled to meet behind closed doors today to begin considering who will replace longtime Senate leader Mitch McConnell and lead the party’s new Senate majority next year. Among the leading contenders for majority leader are: South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, and Florida Sen. Rick Scott. [more]

U.S. AND HAITI | The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced a 30-day ban on flights to Haiti yesterday after at least three airplanes were struck by gunfire at the Caribbean nation’s main airport earlier this week. [more]

GERMANY | German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced today that he will seek a vote of confidence on December 16, paving the way for early parliamentary elections in February. [more]

CANADA | Health officials in Canada’s British Columbia province say a teenaged resident has been hospitalized in critical condition after being infected with what appears to be Type A H5N1 bird flu. The teen is not known to have been in contact with any animals infected with the virus, according to reports. [more]

INDONESIA | Airline flights of several international carriers to and from the Indonesian tourist island of Bali are facing ongoing disruptions and cancellations this week due to smoke and ash from multiple eruptions of the country’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano. [more]

CHINA | Chinese naval and air forces held combat drills today at the South China Sea’s disputed Scarborough Shoal – the focus of ongoing tensions between China and the Philippines. [more]

SUDAN | Amidst the ongoing civil war between Sudan’s military and paramilitary forces, Sudanese government officials said today that they plans to expand use of the country’s Adre border crossing with Chad to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to regions facing famine due to the conflict. [more]

SONGWRITING | Among the nominees announced yesterday for induction next year into the Songwriters Hall of Fame are: Bryan Adams, George Clinton, Boy George, Sheryl Crow, Eminem, the Doobie Brothers, Alanis Morissette, and Steve Winwood. [full list of nominees] [more]

LITERATURE | British author Samantha Harvey was announced yesterday as the winner of the 2024 Booker Prize for fiction for her novel “Orbital,” a story about six orbiting astronauts aboard the International Space Station and their reflections on Earth. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2015, Islamic State terrorists staged coordinated attacks in and around Paris, France, the deadliest occurring at the Bataclan theatre and concert hall. At least 130 people were killed in the attacks and more than 350 others were wounded. [more history]