Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the past 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Walz, 60, is a former teacher and Army National Guard veteran. Harris announced Walz’s position on social media, praising his support for middle class families and his personal history. Amie Parnes, Brett Samuels, and Brandon Conradis report for The Hill.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar as the new head of its political office, replacing Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated in Tehran last week. Sinwar, who spent two decades in Israeli prisons, has served as the group’s leader inside Gaza since 2017, and is considered one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack. Rushdi Abualouf and Tom Bennett report for BBC News; Adam Rasgon, Aaron Boxerman, Erika Solomon report for the New York Times.
The Israeli military yesterday closed the only route for humanitarian aid to enter southern Gaza, after it said “several Israeli soldiers were injured by anti-tank missiles fired at them in eastern Rafah.” Hamas’s military wing said it had attacked a tank in the area. The New York Times reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — REGIONAL RESPONSE
Turkey will file a request at the International Court of Justice today to join South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel, a Turkish official said. AP News reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
President Biden spoke with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt yesterday about their efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and calm regional tensions, the White House said. All three leaders agreed on the urgency of closing negotiations “as soon as possible,” the statements said.
ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly told Iran to avoid civilian casualties in any retaliatory attack on Israel. Foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation will likely echo the call at a meeting in Jeddah today. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington has been “engaged in intense diplomacy,” urging both Iran and Israel to not “escalate this conflict.” Patrick Wintour reports for The Guardian; Missy Ryan, John Hudson, Yasmeen Abutaleb, and Karen DeYoung report for the Washington Post.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CONFLICT
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah yesterday pledged a “strong and effective” response to Israel’s killing of its military commander last week no matter the consequences. Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah would act either alone or with its regional allies, adding that it would wait for the right moment to respond. Timour Azhari and Maya Gebeily report for Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
An Arizona grand jury expressed “interest” in charging former President Trump and other Republican state lawmakers as part of its investigation of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. But the Democratic Arizona Attorney General’s Office “requested” the jurors not indict Trump or lawmakers, according to court papers released yesterday. Stacey Barchenger and Elena Santa Cruz report for the Arizona Republic; Alan Feuer and Danny Hakim report for the New York Times.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), a member of the progressive “Squad,” was defeated in her Democratic primary yesterday by local prosecutor Wesley Bell, according to the AP. Bush is the second member of the “Squad” to lose a primary this cycle, following Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-NY) defeat in June. Andrew Solender reports for Axios.
A federal appeals court yesterday upheld Maryland’s decade-old ban on military-style firearms, rejecting gun rights groups’ arguments that the law is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. Maryland had passed the sweeping gun-control measure after the Sandy Hook mass shooting in 2012. NPR reports.
Georgia’s State Election Board voted yesterday to require county election officials to make a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results to the state, indicating that controversy around approving election results could intensify in November’s election. NPR reports.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) yesterday said that the FBI has seized his phone as part of a probe related to “discrepancies with his campaign finance report.” Ogles says the errors were unintentional. Juliegrace Brufke reports for Axios.
Harvard University failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit in which Jewish students accused the school of letting its campus become a bastion of antisemitism. Without ruling on the merits of the case, Stearns said, “The facts as pled show that Harvard failed its Jewish students.” CNBC reports.
A New York City journalist was arrested yesterday on charges that he accompanied a group of pro-Palestinian protesters as they threw red paint at the homes of top leaders at the Brooklyn Museum earlier this summer. Samuel Seligson, an independent videographer, faces felony hate crime charges. Jake Offenhartz reports for AP News.
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. Justice Department charged a Pakistani man with ties to the Iranian government in connection to a foiled assassination plot potentially targeting Trump, according to court documents unsealed yesterday. Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of traveling to New York City and conspiring with a hitman to carry out the assassinations. Evan Perez and Hannah Rabinowitz report for CNN; Nadine Yousif reports for BBC News.
Thousands of police are preparing for more anti-immigrant riots across England today amid “one of the worst spates of violent disorder in the last decade.” Over 400 people have been arrested in the last week in connection with rioting. X’s owner Elon Musk weighed in online, saying that “civil war is inevitable,” a remark criticized by the British government. The Guardian reports; Karla Adam and William Booth report for the Washington Post.
Thailand’s constitutional court today disbanded Move Forward, the country’s most popular party, which won last year’s election but was blocked by the country’s conservative establishment over its call to reform a strict royal defamation law. The court also barred from politics for a decade 11 party members and executives, including Pita Limjaroenrat, its former leader and prime ministerial candidate. Sui-Lee Wee reports for the New York Times.
About 40 people have been arrested in northern Nigeria for waving Russia’s national flag at protests against the high cost of living and what they view as “bad governance.” Nigeria has seen six days of nationwide protests, in which at least seven people have died and over 700 arrested. Chris Ewokor and Wycliffe Muia report for BBC News.
The United States today said it would provide nearly $414 million in humanitarian assistance for the Democratic Republic of Congo, where nearly a quarter of the population require aid. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.
Niger’s junta yesterday cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine over comments it said showed Ukraine’s support for groups involved in the Mali-Wagner attack that killed dozens in July. Reuters reports.
A Chinese-U.S. scholar was convicted yesterday of acting as a foreign agent and working on behalf of Beijing’s national intelligence agency to gather information on U.S.-based activists. Cate Cadell reports for the Washington Post.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEVELOPMENTS
Ukraine yesterday launched a cross-border attack into the Kursk region, Russia’s ministry of defense has said. Up to “300 Ukrainian militants” launched the attack, supported by “11 tanks and more than 20 armored fighting vehicles,” the ministry said. Although Russia claimed it repelled the incursion, reports from Russian military bloggers indicate the attack was substantial. Dan Sabbagh reports for The Guardian.