October 1, 2024

ISRAEL AND LEBANON | In what it characterized as “limited, localized, and targeted” raids, the Israeli military began ground operations against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight. Lebanese officials say they have redeployed army troops in some areas of the border with Israel.  [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 950 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned to Kyiv following his trip the United States, where he attended and addressed the United Nations General Assembly session, received a pledge of $8 billion in military aid from the Biden administration that is intended to last through the installation of a new U.S. administration, and met with both Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate former President Donald Trump. [more]

NORTH CAROLINA | Recovery efforts continue today in western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Authorities say at least 133 storm- and flooding-related deaths have been confirmed in the region and that hundreds of people were still unaccounted for as of last night. Much of the region remains without power, food, communication, and transportation. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Vice-presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz are scheduled to take part in what is expected to be their only pre-election debate tonight. The debate, hosted by CBS News, is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern. [more]

U.S. PORT STRIKE | Some 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association union at 36 U.S. Gulf and East Coast ports went on strike overnight over pay and automation contract issues. Analysts say the strike could cost the economy $3-5 billion per day and cause shortages in some goods if it goes on for an extended period of time. [more]

GEORGIA | Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney yesterday struck down Georgia’s abortion law, which effectively prohibited abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy. McBurney’s ruling, in which he said that "liberty in Georgia includes…the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices,” is expected to be appealed to state Supreme Court by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. [more]

OKLAHOMA | The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced the launch of the first-ever federal probe into the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in which as many as 300 people were killed in racial violence in the Oklahoma city. The review is being conducted by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Cold Case Unit. [more]

FLORIDA | Ryan Wesley Routh pleaded not guilty in federal court yesterday to charges related to his alleged attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a Florida golf course last month. [more]

NATO | Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was installed as NATO’s new secretary-general today, taking over from Jens Stoltenberg, who served as the military alliance’s top civilian official for 10 years. [more]

JAPAN | Japan’s parliament formally elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba as the country’s new prime minister today. Ishiba replaces Fumio Kishida, who resigned his position earlier in the day. [more]

THAILAND | Thai authorities say at least 25 people are thought to have died today after a bus carrying elementary and junior high school students and their teachers caught fire in suburban Bangkok. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. [more]

EUROPEAN ECONOMY | New data from E.U. statistics agency Eurostat indicates that inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency fell to 1.8% in September – down from 2.2% in August and the first sub-2% rate since mid-2021. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | In ceremonies marking Armed Forces Day, South Korea today unveiled its newest, and most powerful ballistic missile – the Hyunmoo-5, which can reportedly carry an 8-ton conventional warhead capable of penetrating deep into the earth to destroy underground bunkers. [more]

HAITI | According to a new report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, nearly half of Haiti’s 11 million residents are facing crisis, emergency, or famine levels of hunger amidst the Caribbean nation’s ongoing gang violence and national instability crisis. [full report] [more]

NEPAL | Authorities in Nepal say search and rescue and recovery efforts continue today in the aftermath of massive flooding and landslides over the weekend that killed more than 200 people in the Himalayan country. [more]

MEXICO | Claudia Sheinbaum is scheduled to be inaugurated as Mexico’s first female president later today. Sheinbaum, a 62-year-old scientist-turned-politician who holds a Ph.D. in energy engineering, won nearly 60% of the vote in Mexico’s June presidential election. [more]

TAIWAN | Schools and offices have been closed, dozens of flights have been cancelled, and nearly 40,000 military troops have been mobilized ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Krathon, which is expected to hit Taiwan’s densely populated western coast tomorrow morning. [more]

FOOTBALL | In a 42-29 win over the Seattle Seahawks last night, Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff set an NFL ‘perfect game’ record by completing all 18 of his pass attempts in the game. [more]

R.I.P. | Pete Rose, the Major League Baseball career hits leader who was banned from baseball for life in 1989 after being found to have placed bets on MLB games, died yesterday at the age of 83. [more]

MORE R.I.P. | Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Dikembe Mutombo, who was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and who served as the league’s first Global Ambassador, died yesterday at the age of 58 following a years-long battle with brain cancer. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1949, with most of the Chinese mainland held by the communist People's Liberation Army, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. [more history]