China ends war games around Taiwan, but leaves door open to more
TAIPEI — China’s military vowed to take further action against Taiwan if needed after staging a day of war games on Monday it said were a warning to “separatist acts” and which drew condemnation from the Taiwanese and U.S. governments.
Nation and world news in brief for October 15
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of sexual abuse in six new lawsuits
Israel kills at least 21 in strike on Christian town in north Lebanon
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT — Israel expanded its targets in its war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon on Monday, killing at least 21 people in an airstrike in the north, health officials said, while millions of Israelis took shelter from projectiles fired back across the border.
Israel steps up pressure in north Gaza amid fears of siege and displacement
CAIRO — Israeli forces tightened their squeeze around Jabalia in northern Gaza on Monday, killing at least 10 people queuing for food, according to Palestinians medics, and instructing people to evacuate as they pushed in against Hamas fighters.
Attention Kmart shoppers: It’s closing time
When Chrissy Economos and Gloria McCourtney heard that the last full-size Kmart in the mainland United States was closing down, they knew they had to pay their respects, even if the store was more than 1,300 miles away.
The Trump voters who don’t believe Trump
DETROIT — One of the more peculiar aspects of Donald Trump’s political appeal is this: A lot of people are happy to vote for him because they simply do not believe he will do many of the things he says he will.
Meteorologists face harassment and death threats amid hurricane disinformation
A meteorologist based in Washington, D.C., was accused of helping the government cover up manipulating a hurricane. In Houston, a forecaster was repeatedly told to “do research” into the weather’s supposed nefarious origins. And a meteorologist for a television station in Lansing, Michigan, said she had received death threats.
Columbus holiday in Latin America revives centuries-old historical debate
MEXICO CITY — An Argentine claim that European contact brought civilization to the Americas has provoked rebukes from across Latin America, where heated debates often flare up over the era’s contested historical legacy.
US to send anti-missile system and troops to Israel, Pentagon says
WASHINGTON — The United States said on Sunday it will send U.S. troops to Israel along with an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, in a highly unusual deployment meant to bolster the country’s air defenses following missile attacks by Iran. U.S. President Joe Biden said the move was meant “to defend Israel,” which is weighing an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on Oct 1.
UN says Israeli tanks burst into peacekeeper base, Israel gives different account
JERUSALEM/NEW YORK — The United Nations said on Sunday Israeli tanks had burst through the gates of a base of its peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, the latest accusation of Israeli violations and attacks denounced by its own allies.
China starts new round of war games near Taiwan, offers no end date
TAIPEI — China’s military started a new round of war games near Taiwan on Monday, saying it was a warning to the “separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces”, and offered no date for when they may conclude, drawing condemnation from Taipei’s government.
The ground game: Harris’ turnout machine vs. Trump’s unproven alliance
In the final weeks of the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are staking their chances on two radically different theories of how to win: one tried-and-true, the other untested in modern presidential campaigns.
NASA spacecraft to study whether Jupiter’s moon Europa can harbor life
WASHINGTON — NASA is set to launch a spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon Europa, considered one of our solar system’s most promising spots to search for life beyond Earth, to learn whether this ice-encased world believed to harbor a vast underground ocean is habitable.
Texas man drops suit against women who helped ex-wife get abortion pills
A Texas man has dropped his lawsuit against three women who helped his ex-wife obtain abortion pills, a case widely seen as designed to discourage private citizens from aiding women in using the pills in states where abortion is all but banned.
A tale of 2 hurricanes finds more that differs than is the same
NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — Cindy Miller wasn’t sure where to begin the cleanup this weekend at her home in Englewood, Florida. Hurricane Milton had drenched her home and dumped debris everywhere. Much of it was not even hers. A sofa, doors and shoes littered the backyard, along with detritus that remained from Hurricane Helene, the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in nearly two decades.
SpaceX catches giant Starship booster in fifth flight test
SpaceX in its fifth Starship test flight on Sunday returned the rocket’s towering first stage booster back to its Texas launch pad for the first time using giant mechanical arms, achieving another novel engineering feat in the company’s push to build a reusable moon and Mars vehicle.
Hurricanes amplify insurance crisis in riskiest areas
Until late last month, there was optimism in the insurance industry. Hurricane season had been quiet, and the number of wildfires was still below the yearly average. Insurers were beginning to hope that the cost of reinsurance — that is, insurance for insurers — would only inch up next year, instead of shooting higher as it did the previous two years.
Hundreds of Hilton hotel workers walk off the job in Seattle
(Reuters) — More than a hundred Hilton hotel workers in Seattle have walked off the job, calling for higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-19 era cuts, the Unite Here union said on Saturday.
Hours-long toxic gas leak at oil refinery near Houston far exceeded legal limit
Pemex’s Deer Park oil refinery near Houston discharged 43,500 pounds of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide gas over more than seven hours in a deadly incident earlier this week, according to the Mexican state-owned company’s disclosure to a Texas regulator.
Biden declares disaster from Milton before Florida visit
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Florida for communities ravaged by Hurricane Milton, freeing up federal funding to assist in the state’s recovery and rebuilding.
