September 27, 2024

ISRAEL AND LEBANON | Cross-border strikes continue today between the Israeli military and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to dismiss international calls for an immediate 21-day cease-fire. Reports say Israel has moved thousands of troops to its northern border region in preparation for possible ground operations in Lebanon to force Hezbollah from the area. [more]

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Update from day 357 of the conflict:

• Palestinian health officials say at least 11 people were killed, and 22 others were injured, yesterday when an Israeli airstrike hit a school being used as a shelter in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp. Israeli officials say the strike targeted Hamas militants who were operating from within the school. [more]

HURRICANE HELENE | At least three deaths – one in Florida and two in Georgia – have been attributed to Hurricane Helene, which came ashore last night as a Category 4 storm near the mouth of the Aucilla River in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Reports say more than 1.8 million homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas lost power due to the storm, which has weakened to Category 1. [more]

NEW YORK | In a federal indictment unsealed yesterday, prosecutors charged New York City Mayor Eric Adams with conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery in connection with his alleged acceptance of illegal campaign contributions and improper gifts from foreign government officials seeking to influence city policy. Adams, who maintains his innocence, is scheduled to make his first appearance related to the charges before a judge in Manhattan later today. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Under a new measure signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday, and as part of a package of reparations bills introduced this year, California will formally apologize for slavery and for decades of policies that drove racial disparities for African Americans. [more]

U.S. COVID TESTS | Ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season, the U.S. government has reopened its program for ordering free COVID-19 test kits. Four free tests per household can be ordered online at covidtests.gov. [more]

U.S. EMPLOYMENT | According to new data from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their current employer was 3.9 years in January 2024 – down from 4.1 years in January 2022 and the shortest employment tenure level since January 2002. [full report]

U.S. MARIJUANA | A new National Academies of Sciences report sponsored by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health recommends several reforms related to the development of cannabis and marijuana policies in the United States. Among the report's recommendations are: the development of related health education campaigns, the creation of best practices for state regulation, the monitoring of cultivation, sales, and use, the removal of restrictions that prevent further study of the substances, and the automatic expungement or sealing of criminal records for low-level cannabis-related offenses in states in which it has been decriminalized. [press release] [full report] [more]

INDIA | Amidst heavy monsoon rains that have raised the levels of waterways, authorities in India’s eastern Bihar state say at least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in the state this week while participating in a three-day Hindu festival that involves visiting rivers and ponds for cleansing rituals. [more]

JAPAN | Members of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party selected former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as their new leader today, clearing the way for him to replace Fumio Kishida as the country’s prime minister next week. [more]

CHINA | Reports cite U.S. defense officials as saying that China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank between May and June while under construction at the Shuangliu shipyard on the Yangtze River and that is unclear if the vessel had been loaded with nuclear fuel or if its reactor was operating at the time of the incident. [more]

INDONESIA | Local emergency officials say at least 15 people were killed, and another 25 remain missing, following a landslide yesterday at an unauthorized gold mining operation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island. [more]

TUNESIA | Just nine days before Tunisia's presidential election, the country's parliament is scheduled to vote today on an amendment to election laws that would strip the African nation's Administrative Court of its authority to adjudicate electoral disputes. Opponents say the measure would cement President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule, while supporters say it is necessary because the Court is no longer neutral. [more]

ARGENTINA | According to the government’s INDEC statistics agency, the poverty rate in Argentina grew to 52.9% in the first half of 2024 – up from 40.1% in the same period last year. [more]

BASEBALL | The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2, yesterday in the last game for the MLB franchise in the Coliseum – the team’s home field since 1968. The A’s are expected to play the next three seasons in Sacramento before opening a new ballpark in Las Vegas ahead of the 2028 season. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1066, after being delayed by bad weather, William, duke of Normandy, set sail with his army for the southeastern coast of England in what would become known in history as the Norman Conquest. [more history]