September 6, 2024

ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR | Update from day 336 of the conflict:

• In an interview yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said reports of a Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal being close to fruition are “inaccurate,” despite claims by U.S. negotiators and officials to the contrary. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 925 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Speaking at a U.S.-hosted meeting of allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western nations to allow his country to use donated long-range weapons to strike Russian territory as a way to pressure Russia to end its 2 1/2-year-old invasion. [more]
• Ukrainian officials say 27 of 44 Russian drones that targeted cities across Ukraine overnight were shot down and that eight others were “likely downed by electronic warfare tools.” [more]

GEORGIA | The father of the teenager accused of fatally shooting four people and wounding several others Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, was arrested yesterday and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children in connection with allowing his son to possess a firearm. The suspect, 14-year-old Colt Gray, is scheduled to make his first court appearance before a judge in Barrow County today. (Editorial note: In yesterday’s Daily Brief, we mistakenly reported the name of the Georgia town in which the shooting took place as “Windsor.”) [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Analysts predict that Labor Department data due out later this morning will show that U.S. employers added about 160,000 jobs in August and that the unemployment rate will have declined slightly to 4.2% during the month. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | The U.S. Office of Special Counsel watchdog agency says Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro acted illegally by publicly endorsing the reelection of President Joe Biden and criticizing former President Donald Trump in statements he made while on official duty overseas earlier this year. The OSC notes that Del Toro self-reported the incident, which was later determined to have violated the Hatch Act. [full OSC report] [more]

NEW YORK | Federal authorities raided the homes of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and multiple other New York City officials Wednesday as part of what is reported to be a corruption probe. No official reason for the raids has been announced. [more]

U.S. ABORTION | Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a federal lawsuit this week seeking to block a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services patient privacy rule that prohibits healthcare providers and insurers from giving state law enforcement authorities information about patients who travel out of state for reproductive healthcare, including abortions, to locations where the healthcare or procedure is legal. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Massachusetts physician Jacquelyn Starer, 70, who pleaded guilty in April to charges including felony assault on a police officer in connection with her participation in the January 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced yesterday to nine months in prison followed by nine months of home confinement. [more]

HUNTER BIDEN | Ahead of scheduled jury selection yesterday, Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to nine counts of federal tax violations and now awaits sentencing in the tax case, as well as the federal gun violation of which he was convicted earlier this year. [more]

U.S. AND RUSSIA | The U.S. Justice Department announced an expanded indictment yesterday in the so-called “WhisperGate” malware attacks, naming five Russian military intelligence officers suspected of conspiring to carry out a series of cyberattacks in January 2022 that targeted companies in the U.S., Ukraine, and various NATO member nations. [more]

GLOBAL HEAT | The European Union’s Copernicus climate agency reports that this year’s northern meteorological summer was the hottest ever recorded, with a global average temperature of 62.24 degrees Fahrenheit (16.8 degrees Celsius) for June, July, and August – up 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit from the previous record, set just last year. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Reports say Israeli forces appear to be withdrawing from the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp today following a more-than-weeklong military operation in the region in which at least 21 Palestinians, most thought to have been militants, were killed. [more]

KENYA | Authorities in Kenya say at least 17 students died, and 13 others were seriously injured, last night in a school dormitory fire at the Hillside Endarasha Primary school in the African nation’s Nyeri county. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. [more]

JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is in Seoul today for what is widely seen as an effort to emphasize progress in improving ties between Japan and South Korea before he leaves office later this month. [more]

SUDAN | A U.N. Human Rights Council investigation team today recommended the expansion of an arms embargo for Sudan to encompass the entirety of the country and the creation of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians amidst the African nation’s ongoing civil war. [more]

CHINA | The official Xinhua news agency reports that nearly 420,000 residents of southern China’s Hainan island province were relocated ahead of today’s arrival of Typhoon Yagi, which made landfall near Wenchang city this morning with winds up to 152 mph. [more]

FOOTBALL | In the opening game of the 2024 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 27-20, last night. [more]

TENNIS | Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka advanced to tomorrow’s U.S. Open women’s final with wins yesterday over Karolina Muchova and Emma Navarro, respectively. The men’s final on Sunday will feature the winners of today’s semi-final matches between Jannik Sinner and Jack Draper, and Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1901, William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley died eight days later. [more history]