Middle East: Officials in Lebanon say that at least 558 people have been killed in the latest round of Israeli airstrikes. The Israelis say they are targeting only locations used by Hezbollah militants. The Lebanese say that Israelis hit at least 1,300 sites and that hospitals were bombed. The U.S. has ordered additional troops and Navy ships to the Middle East to serve as a deterrent against an expansion of the fighting involving Israel and Hamas and Israel and Hezbollah.
Johnny Carson: In a rambling speech to a rally of supporters in Indiana, Pennsylvania, yesterday, Donald Trump demanded that NBC bring back Johnny Carson to do “The Tonight Show.” Trump did not seem to know that Carson died in January 2005. Trump said that he thinks the current late night hosts on CBS, NBC and ABC are not doing very good jobs and that NBC should bring back Carson because he would be better. Â
Hurricane watch: A tropical storm in the Caribbean is expected to intensify and become Hurricane Helene. The National Hurricane Forecast Center expects that the storm will make landfall in Florida possibly on Friday or Saturday and has ordered a hurricane watch for parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared an emergency for more than 40 of Florida’s counties. The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane tomorrow or Thursday.
Electoral vote: A Republican state senator in Nebraska has blocked an effort by Republicans including U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham to change the way Nebraska awards its Electoral College votes. The plan was to make Nebraska into a winner-take-all state rather than allowing the area including Omaha, Nebraska, to have its own own Electoral College vote. Omaha has traditionally been a Democratic stronghold and its single Electoral College vote was forecast to go to Vice President Harris. Republican State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha refused to vote for the change, causing the winner-take-all effort to fail.
U.N. trip: A senior administration official at the White House says that President Biden’s trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York includes meetings with officials of other countries to discuss some of the world’s biggest challenges. The source said that these include settling the Israel-Hamas conflict, the use of artificial intelligence, the threats from illegal drugs and strengthening global institutions. Today’s speech by Biden to the UN. General Assembly was the last of his presidency.
Longshoremen: Agencies that manage U.S. ports suggest hat cruise ships will continue to sail if the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) goes on strike after the current contract expires Oct. 1. Both sides in contract negotiations say they are far apart. An estimated 85,000 workers are in the ILA. About 45,000 of the workers would be expected to go on strike shutting down cargo traffic in ports from Maine to Texas.
