Tuesday morning news: October 29, 2024

One week till Election Day » Election Day is now exactly one week away. And both campaigns are sprinting to the finish line in a very close race.

Donald Trump campaigned in the Atlanta area last night.

TRUMP: We will end inflation. We will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country, and we will bring back the American dream …

Georgia is a key swing state, but it’s been trending in Trump’s direction for several weeks. Recent polls give him a lead of just over 2 points in the state.

Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, urged supporters to turn out in force in one of a few swing states where polls show the race effectively tied

HARRIS: Early voting has started here in Michigan. 

The polls show a statistical tie in Wisconsin and Nevada as well. The race is also extremely tight in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, with Trump holding a very narrow lead in both states.

And in the popular vote, recent national polls show the race dead even.

Early voting » And speaking of early voting … some 45 million Americans have already cast their ballots.

According to an analysis at the University of Florida, about 40 percent of those who have voted so far are registered Democrats. Thirty-six percent are registered Republicans. And those not registered with either party account for the rest.

President Biden is among those early voters. He cast his ballot in Wilmington, Delaware on Monday. 

Poll Worker: Joseph Biden now voting

Dozens of states and cities have reported record early voting turnout this year.

Russia/North Korea/Ukraine » The number of North Korean troops on-the-ground in Russia is growing, according to U.S. officials. And some have already been deployed to the front lines against Ukraine.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte:

RUTTE: Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region.

Rutte called the deployment as a significant escalation of Russia's illegal war against Ukraine.

RUTTE: The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security.

Pentagon officials say that if North Korean troops do join Russia's fight against Ukraine, it will directly affect U.S. policies on Ukraine's use of American weapons.

Iran vows response to Israeli counterstrike » Iran is vowing to attack Israel yet again following an Israeli counterstrike against two Iranian military bases and assets. WORLD’s Paul Butler has more.

PAUL BUTLER: Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the authoritarian regime will—quoting here … “use all available tools to deliver a definite and effective response to the Zionist regime." End quote.

But Iranian officials did not expound on what that means.

One day earlier … Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei [hah-meh-neh-EE] was measured in his public response … He said the attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed.”

And he stopped short of calling for an immediate military response.

Israeli warplanes struck 20 targets across Iran Saturday during a counterstrike … in response to Iran’s recent missile attack against Israel.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

Israel UNRWA » We’ll take a much closer look at Iran’s potential response very shortly.

Meantime, the Biden administration is not happy with the Israeli government after parliament passed two laws to severely restrict the U.N. Palestinian relief agency known as UNRWA.

State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller:

MILLER:  They really play an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza, where they are on the front lines getting humanitarian assistance to, uh, the people they need. There's nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis.

But UNRWA was also at the center of a massive scandal after the Hamas terror attacks against Israel last year.

Israel has alleged that some UNRWA staff members actively participated in those attacks and that Israeli forces found Hamas military assets in or under the agency’s facilities. UNRWA fired nine employees after an internal investigation but denied it knowingly aids terrorist groups.

Miller would not say whether the White House will consider punitive action against Israel over the new legislation. He told reporters before the bills passed

MILLER: We will consider next steps based on what happens in the days ahead.

The first bill passed Monday bans UNRWA, from conducting “any activity” inside Israel. The second cuts ties with the agency and designates it as a terror organization.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the Israeli military finally retaliates against Iran. Plus, one Russian family’s hopes of finding freedom in America.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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