AP-Newswatch

Israeli army chief says military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli army chief says the military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon. He made the statement Wednesday as Hezbollah hurled dozens of projectiles into Israel, including a missile aimed at Tel Aviv that was the militant group’s deepest strike yet. Addressing troops on the northern border, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said the latest Israeli airstrikes were designed to ”prepare the ground for your possible entry.” The Lebanese health minister said Israeli strikes on Wednesday killed more than 50 people. That raised the death toll from the past three days to 615, with more than 2,000 people wounded. Also on Wednesday, a drone hit the port of the southern Israeli city of Eilat an Iran-backed militia in Iraq claimed responsibility.

Thousands are pouring into Syria, fleeing worsening conflict in Lebanon

JDEIDET YABOUS, Syria (AP) — Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon are pouring into Syria in growing numbers. They waited for hours in heavy traffic Wednesday to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country. U.N. officials estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey, and those numbers are expected to grow as Israel targets southern and eastern Lebanon in an aerial bombardment that local officials say has killed more than 600 people this week, at least a quarter of them women and children. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah fighters and weapons. Lines of buses and cars extended for several miles from the Syria border beginning on Monday, and some families were seen making the journey on foot.

Biden says Israel-Hezbollah conflict could turn into ‘all-out war’ as US floats cease-fire proposal

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden says that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah threatens to become an “all-out war.” The president made the comments Wednesday as his top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other advisers are working behind the scenes pressing for a temporary cease-fire to calm the escalating conflict. More than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon in recent days. Blinken says the administration was “intensely engaged” with partners to ease tensions and work to get a cease-fire agreement. An Israeli official said Netanyahu has given the green light to pursue a possible deal, but only if it includes the return of Israeli civilians to their homes.

A tale of crushing security lapses and missed chances to stop the man who shot Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigations into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July have revealed striking security lapses. But the questions have only grown since then. As the country deals with a second attempt on Trump’s life, there’s still a reckoning to be done from the Pennsylvania shooting that killed one man and wounded three — the ex-president among them. The Secret Service was one of at least nine federal and local security divisions that were supposed to be working together that day. But at Trump’s rally, a young man with a rifle borrowed from his dad outmaneuvered authorities for more than 90 minutes before firing the shots that came millimeters from killing Trump.

Helene is expected to strike Florida as a major hurricane. Residents are fleeing

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Forecasters are warning that huge Hurricane Helene will intensify as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico on a path to Florida. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that the hurricane is about 500 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, with sustained winds of 80 mph. Helene became a tropical storm Tuesday in the western Caribbean Sea and strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday. Forecasters say it is expected to become at least a Category 3 hurricane with its center making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida’s northwestern coast as soon as late Thursday. In the Pacific, former Hurricane John re-formed as a tropical storm and again threatened parts of Mexico’s western coast.

Fluoride in drinking water poses enough risk to merit new EPA action, judge says

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge in California says fluoride in drinking water poses a risk to the intellectual development of children, and U.S. environmental regulators need to address it. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids. But he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be. The agency says it is reviewing the decision.

NTSB engineer says carbon fiber hull from submersible showed signs of flaws

An engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board says the carbon fiber hull of the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic had imperfections dating to the manufacturing process. Don Kramer also testified to the Coast Guard Wednesday that the material behaved differently after a loud bang was heard on one of the dives the year before the tragedy. OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush was among the five people who died when the submersible imploded in June 2023. Titan’s unusual design subjected it to scrutiny in the undersea exploration community. Kramer said hull pieces recovered from the ocean floor after the tragedy showed substantial delamination of the layers of carbon fiber.

C’mon get happy, Joker is back (this time with Lady Gaga)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — “Joker” is a hard act to follow. Todd Phillips’ dark, Scorsese-inspired character study about the Batman villain made over a billion dollars at the box office, won Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar, dominated the cultural discourse for months and created a new movie landmark. Knowing that it was a fool’s errand to try to do it again, Phillips and Phoenix pivoted to “Joker: Folie à Deux,” a dark and fantastical musical journey that goes deeper into the mind of Arthur Fleck as he awaits trial for murder and falls in love with a fellow Arkham inmate, Lee, played by Lady Gaga. It hits theaters Oct. 4.