Wednesday morning news: October 23, 2024

SOUND: [Lebanon building collapses]

Blinken in Israel » Israeli airstrikes bringing down a 7-story building just outside of Beirut, which reportedly housed Hezbollah facilities. Israeli forces ordered evacuations of that and other buildings shortly before the strike.

Also on Tuesday, Secretary of State Tony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, just days after the Israeli military killed terrorist Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Blinken told reporters:

BLINKEN: I believe very much that the death of Sinwar does create an important opportunity to bring the hostages home, to bring the war to an end, and to ensure Israel's security.

And on that point, Blinken and Herzog were in lockstep.

HERZOG: There is a unique opportunity to make a special effort to employ all tools necessary and possible to move forward and bring the hostages back home.

But it’s unclear exactly how that might play out. Following Sinwar’s death, Hamas would not release any more hostages until Israel ends all military operations.

South Korea warns it could send arms to Ukraine » South Korea is warning it is sending a warning to Russia that it may consider supplying weapons to Ukraine. That in response to North Korea reportedly deploying troops to Russia to bolster Moscow’s forces.

South Korea is concerned about what Pyongyang might be getting from Moscow in return. Officials in Seoul worry that Russia could be giving North Korea high tech assistance with its nuclear and missile programs.

Campaign politics » Former President Donald Trump campaigned in Miami on Tuesday, holding a roundtable discussion with Latino voters and business leaders where he took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris about the border crisis.

TRUMP: She was the border czar for three and half years, and now she said — now, whether she is or not, she was in charge of the border. That’s loud and clear. She never once called the Border Patrol.

Trump has been working to make inroads with Latino voters. Fox News polling shows Trump is only down five points in that demographic which President Biden won 4 years ago by 30 points.

Meantime, campaigning in Wisconsin, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took a jab over Trump over his recent campaign stop at a McDonald’s franchise in Pennsylvania.

WALZ: Being at McDonalds, he looks much more like Ronald McDonald than the clown that he actually is.

Former President Barack Obama also campaigned for Harris as early voting kicks off in Wisconsin.

Texas doctor lawsuit » A doctor in Texas is suing the Biden administration over a change to HIPPA privacy rules which she says will bar doctors from reporting child abuse. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Dr. Carmen Purl filed the federal suit, taking issue with a new health-related privacy rule from the Biden administration.

The change would block doctors from reporting signs of potential abuse, like minors contracting a sexually transmitted disease or seeking abortions.

The new rule would also bar physicians from alerting authorities of minors receiving transgender procedures, like sex-change surgeries or cross-sex hormones, which are illegal under Texas state law.

Purl wants the courts to declare the federal rule change unlawful and to reinforce the rights of states to balance privacy with protecting minors.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Former Abercrombie CEO charged » Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner, and a third man have been arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace told reporters:

PEACE:  While Jeffries was the CEO of one of the most recognizable clothing retailers in the world, he was using his power, his wealth, and his influence to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure and that of his romantic partner, Matthew Smith.

The indictment accuses them of luring men into sex parties held around the world, sometimes by dangling the promise of modeling jobs.

The charges follow allegations from young people who say Jeffries pressed them into sex acts.

Attorneys for Jeffries and his partner, Matthew Smith, say they will respond to the allegations in court.

Denny’s closures » An iconic chain of American diners is shuttering 150 stores nationwide.

AUDIO: That’s why we always went to Lenny’s. Denny’s. Denny’s. Try our chicken fried steak specials for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, only at Denny’s.

The more than 70 year old chain is struggling to turn around flagging sales. And now Denny’s says it’s closing about 10 percent of its locations.

About half of the closures will happen this year and the rest in 2025. The company made the announcement during a meeting with investors Tuesday.

Denny’s says in some locations, sales that dropped off during the pandemic, never returned to normal.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: the balance of power is up for grabs in the US Senate. More on that in a moment on Washington Wednesday. And, WORLD Tour.

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