September 24, 2024

ISRAEL AND LEBANON | Lebanese authorities say at least 558 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes yesterday and today in Israel’s ongoing operations against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Lebanese civilians to evacuate areas in which Hezbollah operates. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 943 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in New York City today for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly annual session, where he is expected to make his case before the international assembly and in meetings with individual leaders for continued support of his country in its fight against the Russian invasion. [more]

U.S. OBESITY | According to a new report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, a 2021-2023 survey of some 6,000 people found that the overall prevalence of obesity in U.S. adults was 40.3%. Women were more likely to be severely obese than men, and adults with a bachelor's degree or higher education were less likely to be obese than those with lower education levels, according to the report. [full report] [more]

U.S. BANNED BOOKS | According to the American Library Association, 414 complaints or challenges covering 1,128 titles were filed over books stocked in public, school, and academic libraries across the U.S. in the first eight months of 2024 – down from 695 cases involving 1,915 titles in the same period last year. [more]

FLORIDA | Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 41 Florida counties yesterday ahead of the expected arrival of what is forecast to become Hurricane Helen later this week. The tropical disturbance is expected to affect Cuba and parts of Mexico before turning toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | Reuters cites an unnamed U.S. intelligence official as saying this week that Russia has produced more AI-generated content aimed at influencing the upcoming U.S. presidential election than any other country. [more]

WASHINGTON | Aerospace giant Boeing said yesterday that it has presented its “best and final offer” to the union representing some 33,000 workers who have been on strike for almost two weeks. Union leaders say the offer, which includes pay and bonus increases, is not sufficient and that a vote on the offer will not take place before the Friday deadline by which the company said it wants an answer. [more]

COLORADO | Ahmad Alissa, the man convicted of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in 2021, was sentenced to 10 consecutive life prison sentences without the possibility of parole yesterday. Attorneys for Alissa had not denied his role in the murders, but contended that he was mentally ill at the time of the shooting. [more]

U.S. AUTOMOBILES | The Commerce Department, citing driver protection and national security reasons, announced new proposed rules yesterday that would ban sales in the U.S. of network-connected and autonomous vehicles that are equipped with Chinese and Russian software and hardware. Under the proposal, the software ban would take effect for the 2027 model year, while the hardware ban would take effect for the 2030 model year. [more]

MPOX | Reports say U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce plans today for the U.S. to donate 1 million mpox vaccine doses and at least $500 million in funding to help countries in Africa respond to ongoing outbreaks of the disease, which is also known as monkeypox. [more]

UNITED NATIONS | The annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly opens today in New York City with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “State of the World” speech, which is expected to focus on global conflicts, climate change, and inequalities around the world. [more]

MEXICO | Hurricane John struck Mexico’s southern Pacific coast near the town of Punta Maldonado as a Category 3 storm late yesterday. Authorities have warned of potentially dangerous storm surges and flooding in the region, and meteorologists say some areas could receive as much as 10-20 inches of rain from the storm. [more]

SWEDEN AND IRAN | Swedish authorities accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard today of being behind the sending of text messages to thousands of Swedish citizens last year that called for revenge over public burnings of the Quran in the Scandinavian country. [more]

ARGENTINA AND VENEZUELA | Amidst ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two South American countries, an Argentine court yesterday ordered the “immediate arrest” of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello for alleged crimes against humanity committed against dissidents over the past decade. The order was issued just hours after Venezuela’s Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Argentine President Javier Milei over the seizure of a cargo plane allegedly sold to a Venezuelan state-owned company by a sanctioned Iranian airline. [more]

ENGLAND | Roads are closed, and train services have been suspended, in multiple areas of central and southern England, including London, today amidst ongoing flooding brought on by storms that dropped as much as a month’s worth of rainwater in 24 hours. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1906, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt declared Devils Tower – a butte in the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming – the first national monument in the United States.  [more history]