September 13, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Update from day 343 of the conflict:

• Amidst increasing levels of direct military action between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar sent a letter to Hezbollah officials this week, thanking the group for its support in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 932 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his view yesterday that NATO would be at war with Russia if authorization is given to Ukraine to use donated long-range weapons for strikes deep within Russia. Putin's statement comes amidst Ukraine's push for such authorization and reports of discussions on the issue by NATO allies. [more]
• Reports say nearly $6 billion in U.S. funding for military aid to Ukraine will expire at the end of September if Congress does not act to extend Defense Department authorization to provide weapons from its stockpiles to Kyiv. The White House says it is working with Congress to renew the authorization. [more]
• Reuters cites European intelligence agency sources and documents as saying that Russia is producing a new long-range attack drone made with Chinese engines and parts for use in the invasion of Ukraine. [more]

WASHINGTON | Some 33,000 Boeing aircraft assembly workers are on strike beginning today as International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union announced that its members had rejected a proposed new contract from the aerospace giant. Reports note that the striking workers assemble the company’s 737 MAX, 777, and 767 cargo planes at factories in Renton and Everett, Washington. [more]

NEW YORK | New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned yesterday – a week after reports revealed that he was one of several city officials whose phones were seized by federal investigators as part of an unspecified investigation. Mayor Eric Adams has named retired FBI official Tom Donlon as the NYPD’s new interim commissioner. [more]

TEXAS | A new report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility says CBP agents who responded to the 2022 Robb Elementary School mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, failed to establish command and had inadequate training to effectively respond to the incident in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. The report notes that no CBP agents were found to have violated any rule, regulation, or law in the response, but suggests that additional training and better understanding of policies and doctrine should be undertaken to better respond to any future similar incidents. [full report] [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Former President Donald Trump said yesterday that he does not intend to participate in another debate with Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of November’s presidential election. Following Tuesdays’ debate between the two candidates, Harris had proposed at least one additional debate. [more]

TRUMP GEORGIA ELECTION TRIAL | Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee dismissed two of the 10 remaining criminal election interference charges against former President Donald Trump in Georgia yesterday, saying that charges of fraudulently filing election-related documents in federal court were not within the state court’s purview. [more]

U.S. AND IRAN | The Associated Press cites unnamed U.S. government sources as saying that the Justice Department is preparing criminal charges in connection with Iran-backed cyberattacks that targeted the campaign of former President Donald Trump in hopes of shaping the outcome of November’s election. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | Reports say the U.S. finalized plans for new tariff hikes on Chinese imports today, including a 100% duty on imported electric vehicles, 50% on solar cells, and 25% on steel, aluminum, EV batteries, and key minerals. The new tariff levels are expected to take effect on September 27. [more]

RUSSIA AND U.K. | Russia’s Federal Security Service accused six U.K. diplomats today of spying and other, unspecified, “subversive activities,” and said that the diplomats would be expelled. Russian media reports say the British diplomats met with independent media and rights groups within Russia that have been critical of Russia and its war in Ukraine. [more]

VIETNAM | The death toll from Typhoon Yagi and associated landslides and flooding continues to rise, reaching 233 today. U.N. officials say the storm and its aftermath has left more than 500 health facilities, 800 schools, and more than 10,000 homes damaged, and that some 3 million people in the country are without access to safe drinking water. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | At least 14 people were shot and killed yesterday as they traveled between Afghanistan's Shiite-majority provinces of Ghor and Daikundi. The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

SENEGAL | Just six months after becoming Africa’s youngest elected leader, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved his country’s opposition-led parliament yesterday and called for new elections to be held in November. Faye said the early elections would give his PASTEF party a chance to carry out the “systemic transformation” of Senegal that he promised voters. [more]

CHINA | Amidst falling birthrates and an aging workforce, Chinese legislators said today that their country’s retirement age will be raised for the first time in decades. The statutory retirement ages will be increased over a period of 15 years to 63 for men and 58 for women in white collar jobs and to 55 for women working in factories. [more]

AI | Several leading artificial intelligence and technology companies, including Adobe, Anthropic, Cohere, Microsoft, and OpenAI, pledged yesterday to take steps to remove nude images from the datasets on which their AI models are trained as part of efforts to reduce the spread of sexual deepfake imagery. [more]

FOOTBALL | Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in last night’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills – the Hawaii native’s third confirmed concussion of his NFL career. [more]

COLLEGE ATHLETICS | A year after most Pac-12 teams announced they would be leaving the conference, Pac-12 officials said yesterday that the conference will be adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State to its member list in 2026. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1971, a four-day riot by inmates at western New York’s Attica Correctional Facility ended when police and guards stormed the prison. The uprising claimed the lives of 33 inmates and 10 correctional officers and employees. [more history]