AP-Newswatch

Israeli military says it killed a top commander with Hezbollah’s missile and rocket unit

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military says it has killed a top commander with Hezbollah’s missile and rocket unit in a strike in Beirut. Military officials made the announcement Tuesday about Ibrahim Kobeisi. They said he was responsible for launches towards Israel. The military also said “other key commanders” were with Kobeisi at the time of the strike, but officials did not say whether any of the others were killed or wounded.

As Israel’s fight with Hezbollah heats up, people of Gaza fear being forgotten

MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — As fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Palestinians in Gaza are fearful their plight is being overlooked by the international community. They worry that with concerns diverted elsewhere, pressure to reach a cease-fire will decrease and the miserable conditions in Gaza could become permanent. Ninety percent of the population is homeless, with hundreds of thousands in unsanitary tent camps struggling to find food and clean water. The families of dozens of Israeli hostages still presumed alive in Gaza have the same worry. They dread the Israeli government’s focus on ending the war in Gaza is fading.

Trump wants to lure foreign companies by offering them access to federal land

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump’s new idea to lure foreign companies to the U.S. is to offer them access to federal land. In a visit to Georgia on Tuesday, the former president and GOP presidential nominee is set to unveil what is billed as “a pitch to foreign companies” to revive manufacturing. Up until now, Trump has mostly framed his economic approach with measures to punish companies that take their businesses offshore. It is unclear whether foreign companies would be attracted by some of these incentives he says he will adopt if elected to the White House. 

Biden in farewell U.N. address says peace still possible in conflicts in Mideast and Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Joe Biden has delivered his final address as U.S. president to the U.N. General Assembly. Biden used his wide-ranging address on Tuesday to speak to the need to end the Middle East conflict and highlight U.S. and Western allies’ support for Kyiv after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The president insisted the U.S. must not retreat from the world, and said that despite global conflicts, he remains hopeful for the future. His speech comes as Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon edge closer toward all-out war and Israel’s bloody operation against Hamas in Gaza nears the one-year mark.

Head of United Nations calls global situation ‘unsustainable’ as annual meeting of leaders opens

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is warning that impunity, inequality and uncertainty are creating an “unsustainable world” where a growing number of countries believe they should have a “get out of jail free” card. Guterres is speaking as the General Assembly’s annual debate among presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other leaders begins. Citing deepening geopolitical divisions, wars with no end in sight, climate change and nuclear and emerging weapons, he says humanity is “edging towards the unimaginable – a powder keg that risks engulfing the world.”

House Republicans move to hold Blinken in contempt over Afghanistan testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are moving to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress after a contentious back-and-forth with the Cabinet secretary about an appearance to testify on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Blinken, in a letter to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, says that he was “profoundly disappointed” in the chairman’s decision to advance contempt proceedings and urged him to find a resolution in “good faith.” The contempt of Congress charge is the latest in a series of moves by McCaul and other House Republicans over the past 18 months to hold the Biden administration accountable for what they have called a “stunning failure of leadership” in August 2021.

Tropical Storm Helene forms in Caribbean. It’s expected to become a hurricane and move toward US

Tropical Storm Helene formed has formed in the Caribbean Sea, and forecasters say it could strengthen into a major hurricane while moving north toward the United States. Hurricane watches have been issued for parts of Cuba, Mexico and a stretch of the Florida coastline, including Tampa Bay. A tropical storm warning has been issued for parts of the Florida Keys. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm is 170 miles southeast of Cuba and has sustained winds of 45 mph. It is expected to strengthen into Hurricane Helene on Wednesday as it approaches the Gulf Coast. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in dozens of counties ahead of its arrival.

Several states are making late changes to election rules, even as voting is set to begin

Across the U.S., including in some of the nation’s presidential swing states, new or recently altered state laws are changing how Americans will vote, tally ballots and administer and certify November’s election. It can be a challenge to keep track of these 11th-hour changes, especially since state election processes already vary so widely. Even more changes are looming in some states, with Election Day on Nov. 5 just weeks away. Several states already have started sending out mail ballots, and in others, voters have begun casting ballots in person.

FBI: Son of suspect in Trump assassination attempt arrested on child sexual abuse images charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — The son of the man suspected in the assassination attempt in Florida of former President Donald Trump has been arrested on charges of possessing child sexual abuse images. An FBI official says in court papers that Oran Routh was arrested this week after authorities searched his Greensboro, North Carolina, home “in connection with an investigation unrelated to child exploitation.” Investigators seized multiple electronic devices and found hundreds of files of child sexual abuse, according the court papers. He is charged with possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material. There was no attorney listed for Oran Routh in court papers. Phone messages left for relatives of Oran were not immediately returned.

Iran believes all remaining workers have died in coal mine explosion, raising death toll to 49

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it believes the remaining workers trapped by an explosion at a coal mine in the country’s east have died, bringing the death toll in the disaster to at least 49. A provincial emergency official, Mohammad Ali Akhoundi, gave the death toll in a report carried Tuesday by Iranian state television from the mine in Tabas. Figures for the numbers of miners inside the mine at the time have fluctuated since the methane gas leak Saturday sparked an explosion.