President Joe Biden will visit Israel this week. The House of Representatives is expected to vote for a new speaker. And a man suspected of a fatal terror attack in Belgium is dead.
Here's what to know today.
Biden to visit Israel in a show of solidarity
President Joe Biden will visit Israel tomorrow, his second foray into an active war zone this year, after visiting Ukraine in February. Biden’s visit, at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a show of solidarity with the country as it reels from Hamas’ surprise attack and prepares for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
During the visit, Biden is expected to meet with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. He’ll also stop in neighboring Jordan to meet with regional leaders who are crucial to the effort to protect Palestinian civilians and stabilize the Middle East over the long term, said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. Read more about Biden’s trip.
Blinken announced yesterday that the U.S. and Israel have agreed “to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid” to reach civilians in Gaza. An aid convoy carrying critical equipment has been stuck on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing as Gaza’s hospitals are overwhelmed and necessities are in short supply.
The director of Gaza’s border crossings was killed this morning, the region’s government said. Part of his remit includes the Rafah crossing, where hundreds of foreign nationals have been waiting to exit the strip into Egypt for days, but the gate remains closed.
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More on the Israel-Hamas war:
- Hamas released the first video of a hostage held inside Gaza.
- Doubt and fears run high among Palestinian Americans stuck in Gaza, where one border crossing didn’t open despite the State Department’s assurance that it would.
- Here’s how the Supernova music festival terror attack unfolded, according to video analysis
- Were their loved ones killed or abducted? For some families in Israel, the answer is neither.
- About 2,000 U.S. troops have been put on prepare-to-deploy orders for possible support to Israel.
- Donald Trump called for barring potential refugees from Gaza from entering the U.S.
Over Palestinian food, loved ones remember child killed by landlord who once treated him like family
Six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume was remembered as a happy child, full of life and spunk and who had grown close to the neighbor and landlord who stands accused of attacking him and his mother in a hate crime. Family and friends gathered at a restaurant after Wadea was laid to rest yesterday, sharing stories about the boy who one family friend said “didn’t have any hate or anger.”
Wadea died over the weekend after he was stabbed 26 times at his Illinois home. Landlord Joseph Czuba also stabbed Wadea’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, more than a dozen times, but she is expected to survive. In a court appearance yesterday, Czuba was charged with three counts of murder, two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of committing a hate crime. He was obsessed with the Israel-Hamas war, prosecutors said, and told Shahin “he was angry at her for what was going on” in Israel.
Jim Jordan rallies GOP support ahead of possible floor vote
A floor vote for a new speaker of the House could take place as early as today, with Rep. Jim Jordan working to rally the support of his party to meet the 217-vote threshold he needs to win the gavel. The vote will be a moment of reckoning for centrist and politically vulnerable Republicans, who fear Jordan’s scorched-earth brand of politics won’t suit their swing districts and could alienate independent voters. While it’s still unclear if Jordan has the votes, the trends are in his favor.
Jordan already has an idea about how to keep the government funded past a Nov. 17 deadline, but not all House Republicans are on board.
Brussels shooting investigated as apparent terrorist attack
The person responsible for a shooting that left two Swedish nationals dead and one person wounded in Belgium’s capital on Monday night said on social media that he was inspired by the Islamic State militant group and that he was possibly motivated to attack Swedish people, according to authorities. A nearby soccer game between Belgium and Sweden happening near the shooting was canceled shortly afterward. Belgian authorities are investigating the attack as apparent terrorism but said there was no indication that it was linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Here’s what else we know.
Rite Aid bankruptcy deepens the decline of the neighborhood pharmacy
The bankruptcy of the third-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. means that it’s likely that Rite Aid will close a big chunk of its 2,000 stores, leaving people with fewer options for where to fill their prescriptions. With big box chains and grocery stores opening pharmacies inside their stores, along with medicine delivery through apps, some consumers might see the news of Rite Aid’s bankruptcy and think, “So what?”
Some experts say that’s partly the point. Drug stores “are not good retailers,” said one expert. And that may be one big reason why physical pharmacies are changing.
Vaccine hesitancy rising among pregnant women
This is the first year that four vaccines are being recommended during pregnancy, to protect against the flu, Covid, pertussis (also called whooping cough) and the respiratory virus RSV.
However, a recent CDC report found growing doubts about vaccination during pregnancy. Almost a quarter of 2,000 pregnant women surveyed said they were “very hesitant” about getting a flu shot, an increase over the 17.2% who said they had reservations during the 2021-2022 respiratory illness season, according to the report. In addition, 47.2% expectant mothers got their flu shots last year, compared to 57.5% during the pre-Covid 2019-2020 season. Other statistics further illustrate the growing hesitancy.
One doctor said women’s instincts to question everything they put in their body “is a good one,” so creating an atmosphere where women feel comfortable voicing their concerns is important. But “there are a lot of myths out there,” another doctor said.
Politics in Brief
Trump investigations: Former President Donald Trump is expected to make an appearance today at the $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his company, even though the witness he was planning to watch won’t be testifying. And yesterday, the judge overseeing the federal election interference case issued a partial gag order forbidding Trump from making statements about potential witnesses or disparaging comments about the prosecutors.
Family separation: The Biden administration and thousands of migrants who were separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration reached a settlement that allows the families to live and work in the U.S. for three years.
Supreme Court: Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that “it would be a good idea” for the Supreme Court to have a code of conduct in the wake of recent claims that some justices have fallen short of required ethical standards.
2024 election: Wealthy self-funding candidates could hold the key to Republican hopes of taking the Senate.
Staff Pick: Suzanne Somers’ final days
Suzanne Somers’ longtime husband, Alan Hamel, said she seemed to be doing better after finding out her cancer had returned a few months ago. But things took a turn in the days leading up to the “Three’s Company” actor’s death, he said. Hamel’s exclusive interview sheds light on the comfort and love he provided Somers in her final days. It’s a kind of care I found both heartwarming and devastating, knowing heartbreak that waited. — Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor
In Case You Missed It
Four inmates, including a man accused of murder, have escaped from a Georgia jail, authorities said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a rare trip abroad.
The suspect in Natalee Holloway’s 2005 disappearance in Aruba is expected to plead guilty to his involvement in an extortion plot connected to her disappearance, and the deal will require him to reveal how she died.
The MLB’s first female general manager, Kim Ng of the Miami Marlins, will not return to the team in a stunning departure after the club won more games this season than it had in more than a decade.
A queer professor at Arizona State University was allegedly left bloodied after an altercation broke out between him and two members of a conservative group. Authorities are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
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