Wednesday morning news: October 25, 2023

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KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Israel - UN Cohen v Guterres » Air defenses in Israel continue to intercept incoming rockets …

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… as Israeli airstrikes in turn target Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

With the death toll mounting in Gaza, tempers flared during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel’s counter-offensive following unprecedented Hamas terror attacks.

GUTERRES: Those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen fired back at critics who charge that Israel’s response is not proportionate.

COHEN: Tell me, what is a proportionate response for killing of babies, for rape women and burn them, for beheading of a child.

Cohen asked the secretary-general—quote “In what world do you live?”

U.S. response » And U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken wondered aloud why the outrage seemed to be so one-sided. What of the atrocities committed by Hamas.

BLINKEN: Where is the outrage? Where is the revulsion? Where is the rejection? Where is the explicit condemnation of these horrors?

Meantime, at the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States is doing all it can to help Israel minimize civilian deaths, but…

KIRBY: This is war. It is bloody. It is ugly, and innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward. I wish I could tell you something different. I wish that that wasn’t going to happen.

He also said the United States does not support calls by some world leaders for a cease-fire. Kirby said pausing combat right now would only benefit Hamas, giving it time to regroup and launch more attacks.

Hamas U.S. border » And U.S. border officials are now warning of heightened terror risks on the U.S.-Mexico border. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: September was the last month of the fiscal year with the Border Patrol reporting 270,000 migrant encounters. That brought the total for the year to 2.5 (two-and-a-half) million, the highest in U.S. history.

Agents encountered 169 people on the FBI’s terror watchlist over the past 12 months. That’s more than the last six years combined.

And a new memo from a Customs and Border Protection intelligence office warns that terrorists inspired by the Israel-Hamas war may look to enter the United States from the southern border.

The memo warns agents to watch for military-aged males from the Middle East.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Speaker » House Republicans have nominated another potential speaker of the House just hours after the party’s last nominee dropped out.

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Lawmakers chanted “Mike” in a show of support last night after tapping Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson, who told reporters …

JOHNSON: Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system. This conference that you see, this House Republican majority is united.

Messy indeed. Johnson is the fourth GOP nominee to replace former speaker Kevin McCarthy after his ouster three weeks ago.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer dropped out on Tuesday just hours after he was nominated when he was unable to garner enough support to survive a vote in the full House.

Johnson will likely get an up or down vote on the House floor today.

Jenna Ellis plea » In Fulton County, Georgia, former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has pleaded guilty to a felony charge related to alleged attempts by Donald Trump and others to overturn the 2020 election in the state.

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Judge: Has anyone forced, threatened, promised or coerced you in any way to enter into this guilty plea?

Ellis: No ma'am.

Judge: Is it your decision to waive these rights and enter a guilty plea because you are, in fact, guilty?

Ellis: It is.

Ellis admitted to the charge of aiding and abetting false statements.

She received five years probation and agreed to pay $5,000 in restitution.

She’s the fourth of Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the state to accept a plea deal.

Cohen-Trump » Meantime, in New York, another former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified in a civil case against the Trump Organization. Cohen said he and others manipulated financial statements at the former president’s request.

COHEN: Yes, I pled guilty to a 1001 violation, which was lying to Congress. But I have also requested that people continue the sentence and the sentence is I did it at the direction of and in concert with and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump.

The former president called Cohen a liar.

Trump and his co-defendants deny accusations that they falsified the numbers in business dealings to get more favorable terms.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Defense funds for Israel and Ukraine on Washington Wednesday. Plus, life beyond the prison walls.

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