AP News Summary at 11:57 p.m. EDT
Egypt’s border crossing opens to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into besieged Gaza
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory. This was the first aid allowed in since Israel sealed Gaza off in the wake of Hamas’ bloody rampage two weeks ago. Only 20 trucks were allowed in Saturday and aid workers say that’s not enough. Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a summit in Cairo that Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Little light, no beds, not enough anesthesia: A view from the ‘nightmare’ of Gaza’s hospitals
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — In the besieged Gaza Strip, hospitals are nearing collapse as doctors work under the most trying conditions. Medical supplies are dwindling and fuel is running out even as the death toll is mounting and hospitals are overflowing with more patients than they can handle. Doctors deprived of medicine and bandages are focusing on simply stabilizing their patients instead of fully treating their wounds. Many are resorting to creative tactics to make up for the lack of basic items. They use clothes for bandages, vinegar for antiseptic. One says the only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turns.
AP visual analysis: Rocket from Gaza appeared to go astray, likely caused deadly hospital explosion
An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos found that the deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital Tuesday was likely caused by a rocket fired from inside Palestinian territory that veered off course and broke up in the air before crashing back to the ground. A lack of forensic evidence and the difficulty of gathering that on the ground in the middle of a war means there is no definitive proof the break-up of the rocket and the explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital are linked. However, AP’s assessment is supported by a range of experts with specialties in open-source intelligence, geolocation and rocketry.
Americans’ faith in institutions has been sliding for years. The chaos in Congress isn’t helping
WASHINGTON (AP) — For many Americans, the Republican dysfunction that has ground business in the U.S. House to a halt as two wars rage abroad and a budget crisis looms at home is feeding into a longer-term pessimism about the country’s core institutions. The lack of faith extends beyond Congress, with recent polling conducted both before and after the leadership meltdown finding a mistrust in everything from the courts to organized religion. The GOP internal bickering that for nearly three weeks has left open the speaker’s position — second in line to the presidency — is widely seen as the latest indication of deep problems with the nation’s bedrock institutions.
Russian forces make renewed push to take eastern Ukraine towns with drones, missiles and mortars
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say at least two civilians were killed and others wounded across Ukraine in the past 24 hours as Russian forces continued to shell areas across the country and pushed forward near an embattled eastern city. A 60-year-old man died on Friday evening as a Russian missile slammed into an unspecified industrial facility, while his wife was hospitalized with serious shrapnel wounds, a local mayor said. A person was killed and another wounded as Russian forces overnight launched “mass shelling” attacks on the frontline Kherson province in the south; another civilian suffered wounds as Russian forces shelled the embattled eastern city of Avdiivka. Analysts have noted a renewed Russian push near Adviivka that they say has secured minor gains.
A Detroit synagogue president was fatally stabbed outside her home. Police don’t have a motive
DETROIT (AP) — Police say a Detroit synagogue president has been found stabbed to death outside her home. Cpl. Dan Donakowski says a statement from Mayor Mike Duggan identified the victim as Samantha Woll. Donakowski says Woll was found dead at the scene Saturday morning. The motive isn’t known. He says officers “observed a trail of blood leading officers to the victim’s residence, which is where the crime is believed to have occurred.” The 40-year-old Woll had led the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue since 2022. She was also a former aide to Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin and campaign staffer for Attorney General Dana Nessel. Slotkin and Nessel have both issued statements praising Woll.
Inside the meeting of Republican electors who sought to thwart Biden’s election win in Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — A December 2020 meeting of Republican electors in Georgia is a central part of the case against Donald Trump and 18 other people accused of conspiring to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win in the state. The meeting was cited Friday as attorney Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony. Chesebro is accused of helping to orchestrate the meetings in Georgia and elsewhere to send slates of Trump electors to Congress from states Biden won. Prosecutors said the 16 Republicans who gathered in Georgia’s capitol were “fake” electors. Their defenders called them “alternate” or “contingent” electors, saying they were trying to preserve Trump’s legal options as a lawsuit challenged Georgia’s election results.
Venezuelans become largest nationality for illegal border crossings as September numbers surge
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. border last month, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record. Figures released Saturday also show that September was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says arrests for the government’s budget year ended Sept. 30 topped 2 million for the second year in a row. Venezuelans were arrested nearly 55,000 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico in September. That’s more than double the number from August and well above the previous monthly high of about 34,000 arrests in September 2022.
Evacuees live nomadic life after Maui wildfire as housing shortage intensifies and tourists return
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Thousands of people displaced by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century are facing uncertainty as they try to find housing in an expensive housing market that’s also in high demand as a vacation spot. Maui and Lahaina in particular already had a severe housing shortage before the fire incinerated an estimated 3,000 homes. The gradual return of tourists further threatens to displace evacuees who have been staying in hotel rooms. Being an island also means it’s not feasible for authorities to ship in mobile homes as are used in other natural disasters. The Red Cross says it’s not asking anyone to leave hotels until they’ve found permanent housing.
Hurricane Norma makes landfall near Mexico’s Los Cabos and Tammy hits tiny Barbuda in the Caribbean
CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Norma made landfall near the resorts of Los Cabos at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula on Saturday and has weakened to a tropical storm while moving over land. 聽Hours later Hurricane Tammy made landfall on the Caribbean island of Barbuda. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Norma, once a Category 4 hurricane came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 80 mph, near el Pozo de Cota, west-northwest of Cabo San Lucas. Norma later weakened to a tropical storm as it crossed the Baja California Peninsula toward the Sea of Cortez, also known as the Gulf of California.