Monday Briefing: Israel escalates its war in Lebanon

Plus, a pivotal vote in Moldova

View in browser|nytimes.com October 21, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering Israeli strikes across Lebanon and Donald Trump's decades of scandal. Plus: A Nigerian dramedy about having too many children. Donald Trump's campaign turned his Georgia mug shot into a piece of promotional material, putting it on posters, T-shirts and buttons. Doug Mills/The New York Times Donald Trump's lifetime of scandals Donald Trump has survived more scandals than any major presidential candidate, much less president, often turning them on their head and casting himself as a serial victim rather than a serial violator. Any one of those scandals, by itself, would typically have been enough to derail another politician. Peter Baker, our chief White House correspondent, recalls the decades of allegations against Trump: "Whether in his personal life or his public life, he has been accused of so many acts of wrongdoing, investigated by so many prosecutors and agencies, sued by so many plaintiffs and claimants that it requires a scorecard just to remember them all," he writes. Related: With polls tightening, Vice President Kamala Harris has stepped up attempts to paint Trump as dangerous and unfit to lead. Your questions: We asked Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent, this question from a reader. (Send us your questions here.) Where do voters living in the nonswing states find the motivation to vote? The way I understand the U.S. system, their votes barely matter. And as a follow-up: Why don't they protest more against this? — Marcel Schutte, the Netherlands Lisa: Voters living in nonswing states are still casting ballots for a list of other statewide and local offices, so their votes do matter in those races. There's also a sense of sending a political message. While New York or Texas is unlikely to change the outcome of the presidential race, shifts in party support in those states can impact the political mandate a new president has to lead. Scrapping the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment, which would face an extraordinarily — if not nearly impossible — bar to passage. With no clear way to change the system, most Americans focus on more pressing concerns, like the economy, immigration, abortion rights or even foreign policy. More on the U.S. election Americans head to the polls in less than three weeks. At a rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump spewed vulgar remarks, including a coarse insult about Vice President Kamala Harris and a reference to a famous golfer's penis size. Harris, in response, said Americans "deserve so much better." Trump made a cameo at a McDonald's in Philadelphia, a move meant to attack his opponent and give the billionaire candidate more credibility with working-class voters. Catch up on the candidates' most recent appearances. In a Fox News interview, Trump defended some recent falsehoods about migration and the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol by claiming that he did not know or had "not heard" the truth. Elon Musk said he would give $1 million "randomly" once a day to a registered Pennsylvania voter who has signed his super PAC's conservative petition, raising legal questions. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we'll find the answers. Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut. Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times Israel escalates its war against Hezbollah Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes across Lebanon yesterday, targeting branches of Al-Qard al-Hasan, a financial association associated with Hezbollah. It operates as a financial services provider for civilians, with Lebanon's traditional banking sector in shambles. Many branches are situated in residential buildings. Here are the latest updates. The Israeli military has been trying to show that it is taking measures to protect civilians, saying it had warned people to evacuate in advance. Lloyd Austin, the U.S. defense secretary, has called for Israel to scale back its strikes in and around Beirut, saying on Saturday that the number of civilian casualties was "far too high." The attacks came as Israel continued its renewed assault in northern Gaza against Hamas. A major overnight airstrike on Saturday in the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza left at least 87 people dead or missing, according to the Gazan Health Ministry, with dozens more wounded and many people still trapped under the rubble. Context: The killing of the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, last week raised some hopes that negotiations to end the war might gain new momentum — but the Israeli government, Hamas and its ally Hezbollah have all signaled that they will not back down. And the violence instead appears to be ramping up. Shaaban al-Dalou: A beloved 19-year-old son wanted to escape Gaza and become a doctor. Video of him burning to death at a hospital has been viewed around the world. Voters in Moldova decided on their president and on a pivotal referendum yesterday. Daniel Mihailescu/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images In Moldova, a pivotal choice hangs on a knife-edge A pivotal referendum in Moldova that would declare E.U. membership a "strategic objective" was too close to call early this morning, with nearly 98 percent of ballots counted. Votes were almost evenly divided between those who want to lock in their country's exit from Moscow's sphere of influence and their pro-Russian opponents. Moldova has been tugged between East and West for decades, and its pro-Western president, Maia Sandu, had hoped that the referendum would finally settle the matter. What's next: Sandu was well ahead in the presidential election, which was also held yesterday, but she did not have an outright majority. Her closest rival is a former prosecutor general who is under investigation for corruption. A runoff between the top two candidates is set to take place in two weeks. THE LATEST NEWS Around the World Norlys Perez/Reuters Cuba: Oscar made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. The country faces an ongoing electricity crisis, having lurched in and out of total blackout for days. Indonesia: Joko Widodo, the country's president, stepped down, leaving a mixed legacy. War in Ukraine: To draw attention to the exhaustion faced by Ukrainian soldiers after years of war, Serhii Hnezdilov took a radical step: He deserted and publicly announced it. England: Thirty-eight people are in the running to be the next chancellor of the University of Oxford, including a clergyman, a Zumba teacher and a left-wing activist. China: U.S. zoos that accept pandas are agreeing to increasingly strict terms governing webcams and public statements, contracts that are normally confidential show. New York City: The number of people under 18 accused of major crimes has increased sharply in the past seven years. France: A high-profile rape trial has rattled the country, especially the Provençal village of Mazan. "It feels a bit like it's in our family," one resident said. Climate change: A record-breaking drought in the Amazon has hit nearly every country on the continent. Pop music: Hundreds of fans gathered in London yesterday afternoon to mourn Liam Payne, a member of the British group One Direction, who died in Buenos Aires last week. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Cher, A Tribe Called Quest and Dave Matthews Band were among the honorees at the 39th induction ceremony in Cleveland. A Morning Read Yagazie Emezi for The New York Times "Gidan Badamasi," a dramedy about the consequences of having too many children, has struck a chord in Nigeria, where women, on average, have more than five. Yet as lifestyles change, the economic and social calculations around family size are also shifting. Birthrates are plummeting in richer regions, but in Africa a protracted baby boom has fueled the youngest, fastest-growing population on the planet. The trend comes with enormous opportunities — and significant challenges for societies that need to educate and employ all of these people. Lives Lived: Sister Sally Butler was a nun, social worker and activist who blew the whistle on the sexual abuse of children in the parish where she once worked in Brooklyn. She died at 93. SPORTS NEWS Cycling: Sir Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic champion, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he said. N.F.L.: The league is trying to build a fan base for the sport in Ireland before committing to playing a game there. Soccer: How England hired Thomas Tuchel. Formula 1: Charles Leclerc won the U.S. Grand Prix, and Carlos Sainz finished second. Read our recap. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. ARTS AND IDEAS Photo illustration by Ben Denzer The grandchildren of the Holocaust Three generations on, Jewish filmmakers, writers and artists are making new meaning from ancestral trauma. "A Real Pain," a forthcoming movie about two American cousins who travel to Poland, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, is one such example. "I'm telling the story of the third generation with all of its contradictions," Eisenberg said, "with its distance, its privileged remove, its grotesque fascination, as well as all the reverence that should be applied." "The third-generation perspective on the Holocaust is carefully hedged, defiantly distanced, explicitly filtered, supremely self-aware," my colleague Marc Tracy writes in this essay. "These stories fundamentally do not belong to the writers or artists, who are always reminding you and themselves of that fact." RECOMMENDATIONS Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling) Cook: This warm sweet potato salad has as much texture as flavor. Shop: Searching for loafers? Start here. Soothe: Experts explain what causes eczema and how to deal with it. Watch: These are the nine new movies our critics think are worth knowing about. Read: Evan Rail's "The Absinthe Forger" pursues a fraudster through the world of vintage alcohol collectors. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha You can reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. 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