Wednesday morning news: October 11, 2023

BIDEN: Good afternoon.

Israel » Speaking from the White House, President Biden addressed the nation Tuesday about the war between Israel and Hamas.

BIDEN: You know there are moments in this life when pure unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. The people of Israel lived through one such moment this weekend.

Hamas terrorists killed more than a thousand people in a series of attacks against Israel, including Americans.

And the president confirmed that militants are holding at least 14 U.S. citizens hostage … among the many people they kidnapped from Israel.

Biden expressed his horror about what he called “sickening” reports of Hamas torturing innocent civilians. And he declared once more …

BIDEN: We stand with Israel.

He said he has directed his team to share intelligence assets and military expertise with the Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday shared part of a phone call with the president.

NETANYAHU: President Joe, I want to thank you for your continued and unequivocal support and the work of your entire administration to support us.

Israel/Iran » But Hamas isn’t finished. Militants have continued to fire rockets from Gaza into Israeli cities as Israel responds, raining bombs on terrorist targets.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Iran is at a minimum complicit in the attacks against Israel.

SULLIVAN: They have provided the lion’s share of the funding for the military wing of Hamas. They have provided training. They have provided capabilities. They have provided support. And they have had engagement and contact with Hamas for years and years.

Right now, it’s unclear if Iran had any direct involvement in the latest attacks by Hamas.

Republicans have been highly critical of a recent prisoner swap in which the Biden administration agreed to give Iran access to $6 billion dollars of cash that had been frozen under sanctions.

Border traffic, FBI wanted » Meantime, newly leaked data from the U.S. southern border reveals an alarming record-high number of people with potential ties to terrorism trying to cross the border since 2021.

Border patrol officers have arrested more than 150 people on the FBI’s terrorist watch list over the past couple of years.

By contrast, under the Trump administration, border agents averaged six terror list arrests per year.

San Diego migrants » In Southern California, San Diego County officials say they are facing “an unprecedented humanitarian crisis” with migrants overwhelming shelters. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher reports:

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Over the past month alone, border agents have released 13,000 migrants at transit stations in San Diego with notices to appear later in an immigration court.

95% of migrants who arrive in San Diego quickly move on to other parts of the country. Still, the crush of migrants arriving each day is exhausting local government resources and shelters operated by charities.

A growing chorus of Democratic mayors and governors are calling on President Biden to tighten the border.

The administration last week announced plans to build 20 more miles of border wall in south Texas.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

House speaker » On Capitol Hill, GOP lawmakers still can’t agree on a new House speaker.

One of the top candidates for the job, Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he expects a vote today to elect the next speaker. And he believes he has enough support to win.

SCALISE: There are things happening in the world that need to be addressed right now. We need to get back to work. The Senate needs to work too. But we’re putting a strong coalition together. We’re going to go get this done tomorrow.

But some inside the Capitol say House Republicans are pretty evenly split between Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.

Congressional campaigns » Former big league all-star Steve Garvey is running for U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein.

GARVEY: It's really a common sense campaign with compassion, building a consensus among people, running for all the people.

Garvey’s running as a Republican and is trying to become California’s first GOP senator in more than 30 years.

And in Arizona, Republican Kari Lake has also announced a Senate bid. The Trump-endorsed candidate lost a race for governor in Arizona last year, though she continues to dispute the results.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Raising the stakes for the Speaker race on Washington Wednesday. Plus, prison ministry in Haiti.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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