Thursday Briefing: Strikes leave 6 dead in Beirut

Plus, new evidence in the Trump election case.

View in browser|nytimes.com October 3, 2024 By Justin Porter Good morning. We're covering strikes in Lebanon and new evidence in the Trump election case. Plus, what we learned from fashion month. Destroyed buildings in Dahiya, a densely populated area south of Beirut. Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times Strikes killed 6 in Beirut, the health ministry said After a day in which Israeli and Hezbollah troops fought at close range in southern Lebanon, Israel kept up its bombing campaign. Three massive explosions were heard in Beirut around midnight local time, shortly after Israel announced that it was conducting "a precise strike." State media reported that a health authority building in the Bachoura neighborhood was hit by an Israeli strike, and officials said that six people were killed and seven others injured. Israel said eight of its soldiers had been killed in the first day and a half of combat in Lebanon, a relatively high toll compared with the daily losses the military has taken in the war in Gaza. Here's a map of the invasion. Several officials said Israel had yet to make a decision about how to respond to Iran's missile attack on Tuesday. The exact nature of its response may not become clear until after Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, which runs until sundown tomorrow. President Biden said yesterday that he would not support an attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear sites and that he believed Israel's response had to be proportional. Beirut dispatch: Hezbollah gave media outlets, including The Times, a tour of southern Beirut suburbs where it is the dominant power. Airstrikes targeting members of Hezbollah have brought the Dahiya neighborhoods to a standstill, with residents fleeing and businesses shuttering. At the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Jason Andrew for The New York Times New evidence was unsealed in the election case against Trump A federal judge in Washington made public portions of a sprawling legal brief in which prosecutors provided the fullest picture yet of what they found in their investigation of Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election. In the brief, the special counsel, Jack Smith, depicted scenes in which Trump minimized concerns for the safety of Vice President Mike Pence during the Jan. 6 riots — "So what?" Trump said, according to the filing — and dismissed attempts to convince him that he lost the election. Smith argued that Trump was not immune from prosecution because his actions at the center of the criminal charges were the unofficial acts of a desperate losing candidate, rather than the official acts of a president. Read the newly unsealed evidence here. We took a look at the decisions now facing the judge presiding over the case. More on the U.S. election Americans head to the polls in less than 40 days. Courting young voters is a real challenge for both the Trump and Harris campaigns. The debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz didn't make that any easier. Dozens of Vance's former classmates at Yale Law School spent debate night donating money to a fund for Haitian immigrants who have been targeted by Republicans. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we'll find the answers. Stay up to date: See our poll tracker. Listen to "The Run-Up" podcast. Sign up for the On Politics newsletter. Explosions from Russian strikes on Ukrainian positions were seen in the distance along the road toward Vuhledar, Ukraine, last week. Nicole Tung for The New York Times Ukraine withdrew from an eastern mining town The Ukrainian military ordered the last of its forces to retreat from Vuhledar, a mining town in the country's east, after it was stormed by Russian troops. Losing the town will complicate Ukraine's defense of the southwestern part of the Donetsk region, allowing Russia to step up attacks in the direction of Pokrovsk, a key rail and road hub. It took more than three years for Russia to capture Vuhledar. After years of fighting, there are signs both armies are exhausted, raising questions about Russia's capacity to exploit its gains as well as Ukraine's ability to continue fending off relentless attacks. Russia's priorities: President Vladimir Putin has increased resources toward recruiting more soldiers and encouraging bigger families. Though the two campaigns are separate, they display the Kremlin's increasingly aggressive attempt to enlist regular Russians in reshaping their country to prevail over the West. MORE TOP NEWS Waves crashing onto the coastline in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Wednesday. Ritchie B Tongo/EPA, via Shutterstock Taiwan: The authorities shut down schools and offices and grounded all domestic flights as Typhoon Krathon barreled toward the island. H.I.V.: Gilead Sciences will allow six generic pharmaceutical companies in Asia and North Africa to make and sell its groundbreaking H.I.V. drug at a lower price. Britain: At its annual convention, the Conservative Party was energized by a leadership contest and seemed largely undisturbed by broader questions over its electability. Electric vehicles: Tesla said its global sales of cars and trucks rose 6.4 percent in the third quarter, suggesting demand for electric vehicles is rebounding. Nigeria: At least 60 people drowned when a boat carrying hundreds, mostly women and children, capsized on the Niger River. U.S.: President Biden ordered the Pentagon to deploy up to 1,000 active-duty troops to assist with aid efforts after Hurricane Helene. New York City: Federal prosecutors told a judge that they might bring additional charges against the mayor, Eric Adams. SPORTS NEWS Corbin Burnes bumps fists with catcher Adley Rutschman during a pitching change in game one of the Wild Card round. Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports, via Reuters Baseball: The Athletic looked at all of the drama from the first day of the M.L.B. postseason. College football: In the span of a few days, the best and worst parts of collegiate athletics descended upon a university in Las Vegas. Soccer: A writer argues that video refereeing has failed in English soccer and must be abolished. MORNING READ Keighley Cougars, the pride of their northern English town. Mary Turner for The New York Times Kaue Garcia and Ryan O'Neill, a gay couple, bought an English rugby team in an old textile town. After a few months, they decided the time was right to shake things up by employing a drag queen for pregame entertainment and designing Pride jerseys for the team. To their surprise, the changes proved to be a hit. CONVERSATION STARTERS Fan outrage: Thirteen million people clamored for tickets to Coldplay's concerts in Mumbai last month. Many who came up short cried foul, both online and to the police. A step up from Siri: Apple's new A.I. tools, landing soon on iPhones, focus on helping you with words and photos. Prepare to be impressed and unnerved. Reading body language: As the latest season of "Love Is Blind" begins, we spoke to a body language expert to help decode the motivations of the love seekers. ARTS AND IDEAS Miu Miu, spring 2025 Simbarashe Cha/The New York Times Fashion month just ended. Here's what we learned. Fashion Month was big, glamorous and stuffed to the brim with celebrities. But there were few satisfying answers about what's next in style, our chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, wrote. Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton closed out Paris Fashion Week with a revelation. They didn't worry about the confusion, they embraced it, combining fancy fabrics with athleisure or pouffy 16th-century jackets with biker shorts. And that idea, Vanessa said, was the best of the month — a takeaway you can actually replicate at home, whether you wear the designers' clothing or not. Another striking look: A performance artist used prosthetics to create a lifelike Jack Nicholson costume to attend Balenciaga's show in Paris. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Armando Rafael for The New York Times Cook: This caramel-scented noodle kugel is the perfect addition to a Rosh Hashana menu. Travel: Dublin is "perhaps the most literature-soaked city in the world," says Dwight Garner, a Times book critic, who explored the city's soulful bookstores, libraries and pubs. Upgrade: We sat for more than 175 hours to find quality office chairs that will support your body. 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. — Justin Reach Justin 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. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. 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