This week, the House was set to continue its work on the twelve annual appropriations bills to ensure the government is responsibly funded. Unfortunately, our legislative work to cut wasteful spending was disrupted when a small handful of Republicans voted with Democrats to remove the Speaker of the House. I voted against vacating the chair because it sets a disruptive precedent and because the House should be focused on delivering results for the American people. 

House Republicans already have a record of success in the 118th&nbsp;Congress, and I believe we should be building on that record as a team united, not fighting amongst ourselves. It’s unfortunate we are in this position, but we must come together, elect a new speaker, and get back to doing the People’s business. I thank former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his service and will continue speaking with my colleagues and Nebraskans as I consider which of my House Republican colleagues would most effectively lead the House as Speaker.

Over the last 275 days, our Republican Majority has delivered meaningful wins for all Americans. We started with reopening the House to the American people, ending proxy voting, and forcing the Biden administration to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. House Republicans have worked hard to return to normalcy and get our country back on track since retaking the majority. With millions of families and small businesses depending on us, we cannot let off the gas.

To push back on the Biden administration’s anti-growth agenda, we passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act which, if enacted, would unleash domestic energy production and restore American energy dominance.

House Republicans also passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. This bill confronts the ongoing gaps in our nation’s border enforcement, boosts manpower at the border, invests in enforcement technology, and mandates resumption of border wall construction. The path we are currently on is unsustainable as fentanyl, national security threats, and unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants exploit border vulnerabilities, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.

In the Fiscal Responsibility Act, we fought for and delivered the largest deficit reduction in our nation’s history, clawed back unspent COVID funds, and passed a version of my bill to repeal IRS funding for its army of agents set to conduct middle-class audits.

By passing H.R. 5, the Parent’s Bill of Rights Act, House Republicans took a strong stand for parents everywhere by recognizing the primary role parents play in their children’s education and reaffirming their rights to be informed of what students experience at school. A bill I have introduced, the Educational Choice for Children Act would further empower families to make their own educational decisions by increasing access to high-quality education regardless of ZIP code or socioeconomic status.

We still have plenty of work to do to put our country on a path towards prosperity. Securing the border, passing the remaining eight appropriations bills through regular order, bringing much-needed accountability to the Biden administration, and tackling major economic challenges like inflation will require House Republicans to work together as a team. The new Speaker of the House must have a plan to build on our successes, and continue our work to reduce deficits, expand economic opportunity, and protect the freedoms of American families. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues who are seeking the role in the coming days.

Adrian SmithThis week, the House was set to continue its work on the twelve annual appropriations bills to ensure the government is responsibly funded. Unfortunately, our legislative work to cut wasteful spending was disrupted when a small handful of Republicans voted with Democrats to remove the Speaker of the House. I voted against vacating the chair because it sets a disruptive precedent and because the House should be focused on delivering results for the American people. House Republicans already have a record of success in the 118th&nbsp;Congress, and I believe we should be building on that record as a team united, not fighting amongst ourselves. It’s unfortunate we are in this position, but we must come together, elect a new speaker, and get back to doing the People’s business. I thank former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his service and will continue speaking with my colleagues and Nebraskans as I consider which of my House Republican colleagues would most effectively lead the House as Speaker.Over the last 275 days, our Republican Majority has delivered meaningful wins for all Americans. We started with reopening the House to the American people, ending proxy voting, and forcing the Biden administration to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. House Republicans have worked hard to return to normalcy and get our country back on track since retaking the majority. With millions of families and small businesses depending on us, we cannot let off the gas.To push back on the Biden administration’s anti-growth agenda, we passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act which, if enacted, would unleash domestic energy production and restore American energy dominance.House Republicans also passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. This bill confronts the ongoing gaps in our nation’s border enforcement, boosts manpower at the border, invests in enforcement technology, and mandates resumption of border wall construction. The path we are currently on is unsustainable as fentanyl, national security threats, and unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants exploit border vulnerabilities, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.In the Fiscal Responsibility Act, we fought for and delivered the largest deficit reduction in our nation’s history, clawed back unspent COVID funds, and passed a version of my bill to repeal IRS funding for its army of agents set to conduct middle-class audits.By passing H.R. 5, the Parent’s Bill of Rights Act, House Republicans took a strong stand for parents everywhere by recognizing the primary role parents play in their children’s education and reaffirming their rights to be informed of what students experience at school. A bill I have introduced, the Educational Choice for Children Act would further empower families to make their own educational decisions by increasing access to high-quality education regardless of ZIP code or socioeconomic status.We still have plenty of work to do to put our country on a path towards prosperity. Securing the border, passing the remaining eight appropriations bills through regular order, bringing much-needed accountability to the Biden administration, and tackling major economic challenges like inflation will require House Republicans to work together as a team. The new Speaker of the House must have a plan to build on our successes, and continue our work to reduce deficits, expand economic opportunity, and protect the freedoms of American families. I look forward to hearing from my colleagues who are seeking the role in the coming days.

Next Steps for the House of Representatives

WASHINGTON (AP) — Updated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccines-coronavirus-234f27c74438fb4812a014dbd98ddbde">COVID-19 vaccines</a>&nbsp;may be getting a little easier for adults to find but they’re still frustratingly scarce for young children. Health officials said Thursday the kid shots have started shipping — and reminded most everyone to get a fall flu shot too.

About 2 million Americans have gotten the new COVID-19 shot in the&nbsp; weeks since its approval despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-delays-cdc-moderna-pfizer-ba66d06cbcc31ba4b22d60e93d3d5024">early barriers from insurance companies</a>&nbsp;and other glitches, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

For the first time, the U.S. has vaccines to fight a trio of viruses that cause fall and winter misery. But health officials worry that shot fatigue and hassles in getting them will leave too many people needlessly unprotected.

“We need to use them,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday. “Right now is the right time.”

A flu vaccination and that updated COVID-19 shot are urged for just about everyone, starting with babies as young as 6 months.

Also this year, a vaccine against another scary virus called RSV is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-vaccine-adults-gsk-pfizer-cdc-virus-592dcd5ae36cdbec8c003511f5fd27f0">recommended for people 60 and older</a>&nbsp;and for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-vaccine-infants-cdc-e30abab0c84ab22ddddc4963dad7c0ad">certain pregnant women</a>. And for babies,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-babies-drug-cdc-astrazeneca-sanofi-shot-c03b72aaa51e59176cfa3feb3ceac06c">a vaccinelike medicine</a>&nbsp;to guard against that respiratory syncytial virus is expected to arrive next month.

“These vaccines may not be perfect in being able to prevent absolutely every infection with these illnesses, but they turn a wild infection into a milder one,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

This year’s vaccine is updated to protect against newer versions of the constantly evolving coronavirus. Already there’s been a late summer jump in infections, hospitalizations and deaths. And so far the new vaccine recipe appears to be a good match to the variants currently circulating.

Protection against COVID-19, whether from vaccination or from an earlier infection, wanes over time — and most Americans haven’t had a vaccine dose in about a year. Everyone 5 and older will need just one shot this fall even if they’ve never had a prior vaccination, while younger children may need additional doses depending on their vaccination and infection history.

The rollout's start has been messy. This time the government isn't buying and distributing shots for free. Now drugstores, doctors' offices and other providers had to place their own orders, and sometimes canceled appointments if supplies didn't arrive in time. Some people had to wait for their insurance companies to update the billing codes needed to cover them or risk paying out of pocket.

Manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna have shipped millions of doses, and say there’s plenty of supply — and in recent days, more appointments have started opening, at least for people 12 and older. In a Wednesday meeting, insurance companies told HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra they've largely resolved the paperwork issues blocking some patients' vaccinations.

The shots are supposed to be provided free in-network to the insured. For the uninsured or underinsured, CDC has opened what it's calling a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html">“bridge”</a>&nbsp;program to provide free shots at certain sites.

WHY CAN’T PARENTS FIND COVID-19 SHOTS FOR YOUNGER KIDS?

Adult doses got shipped first, CDC’s Cohen said. Doses for the under-12 set have begun shipping, and “the supply is filling out,” she said.

Drugstore chain CVS said its doses for ages 5 and older began arriving last week, although supplies vary by location, while its MinuteClinic locations anticipate opening appointments for tots as young as 18 months in the coming days.

As for pediatricians, they’ve had to guess how many doses to buy up-front while waiting to learn how much insurance companies would reimburse them for each shot, said Dr. Jesse Hackell of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He said early parent demand is heartening but that pediatricians expect to spend lots of time this fall explaining to hesitant families how important COVID-19 vaccination is even for healthy children.

In Redmond, Washington, Ania Mitros got herself, her husband and her 13-year-old vaccinated pretty easily but despite calls to multiple pharmacies and clinics can't find anyone to tell her when shots for her 8- and 11-year-old will be available. “There need to be clear expectations,” she said.

Fewer Americans got a flu vaccine last year than before the coronavirus pandemic –- a discouraging gap that CDC hopes to reverse.

People need a flu vaccine every fall because influenza also mutates each year. Like with COVID-19, flu is most dangerous to older adults, the very young and people with weak immune systems, lung, heart or other chronic health problems, or who are pregnant.

There are multiple kinds of flu vaccines, including a nasal spray version for certain younger people. More important, three kinds are specifically recommended for seniors because they do a better job revving up an older adult’s immune system.

CAN I GET A FLU SHOT AND COVID-19 SHOT AT THE SAME TIME?

Yes, although one in each arm might be more comfortable.

RSV is a cold-like nuisance for most people, and not as well-known as the flu. But RSV packs hospitals every winter and kills several hundred tots and thousands of seniors. The CDC says already, RSV cases are rising in the Southeast.

RSV vaccines from GSK and Pfizer are approved for adults 60 and older.

Drugstores have adequate supplies but some seniors are reporting hurdles such as requirements to get a prescription. That’s because the CDC recommended that seniors talk with their doctors about the new vaccine. Cohen said it was meant just for education about a virus that people may not know much about.

“We want folks to ... get access to the vaccine as quickly as possible,” she said.

The FDA also has approved Pfizer’s RSV vaccine to be given late in pregnancy so moms-to-be pass virus-fighting antibodies to their fetuses, offering some protection at birth. The CDC is recommending that pregnancy vaccinations be offered between September and January, when RSV tends to be most common.

There's no vaccine for children but babies whose mothers didn't get vaccinated in pregnancy may get&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-babies-drug-cdc-astrazeneca-sanofi-shot-c03b72aaa51e59176cfa3feb3ceac06c">an injection of lab-made antibodies</a>&nbsp;to guard against RSV. Called Beyfortus, the one-dose shot from Sanofi and AstraZeneca is different than a vaccine, which teaches the body to make its own infection-fighting antibodies, but is similarly protective. Cohen said it should be available in October.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1672157207598.jpg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Updated&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccines-coronavirus-234f27c74438fb4812a014dbd98ddbde">COVID-19 vaccines</a>&nbsp;may be getting a little easier for adults to find but they’re still frustratingly scarce for young children. Health officials said Thursday the kid shots have started shipping — and reminded most everyone to get a fall flu shot too.About 2 million Americans have gotten the new COVID-19 shot in the&nbsp; weeks since its approval despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-vaccine-delays-cdc-moderna-pfizer-ba66d06cbcc31ba4b22d60e93d3d5024">early barriers from insurance companies</a>&nbsp;and other glitches, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.For the first time, the U.S. has vaccines to fight a trio of viruses that cause fall and winter misery. But health officials worry that shot fatigue and hassles in getting them will leave too many people needlessly unprotected.“We need to use them,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday. “Right now is the right time.”A flu vaccination and that updated COVID-19 shot are urged for just about everyone, starting with babies as young as 6 months.Also this year, a vaccine against another scary virus called RSV is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-vaccine-adults-gsk-pfizer-cdc-virus-592dcd5ae36cdbec8c003511f5fd27f0">recommended for people 60 and older</a>&nbsp;and for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-vaccine-infants-cdc-e30abab0c84ab22ddddc4963dad7c0ad">certain pregnant women</a>. And for babies,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-babies-drug-cdc-astrazeneca-sanofi-shot-c03b72aaa51e59176cfa3feb3ceac06c">a vaccinelike medicine</a>&nbsp;to guard against that respiratory syncytial virus is expected to arrive next month.“These vaccines may not be perfect in being able to prevent absolutely every infection with these illnesses, but they turn a wild infection into a milder one,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.Some things to know:WHY DO I NEED ANOTHER COVID-19 SHOT?This year’s vaccine is updated to protect against newer versions of the constantly evolving coronavirus. Already there’s been a late summer jump in infections, hospitalizations and deaths. And so far the new vaccine recipe appears to be a good match to the variants currently circulating.Protection against COVID-19, whether from vaccination or from an earlier infection, wanes over time — and most Americans haven’t had a vaccine dose in about a year. Everyone 5 and older will need just one shot this fall even if they’ve never had a prior vaccination, while younger children may need additional doses depending on their vaccination and infection history.HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND COVID-19 SHOTS?The rollout's start has been messy. This time the government isn't buying and distributing shots for free. Now drugstores, doctors' offices and other providers had to place their own orders, and sometimes canceled appointments if supplies didn't arrive in time. Some people had to wait for their insurance companies to update the billing codes needed to cover them or risk paying out of pocket.Manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna have shipped millions of doses, and say there’s plenty of supply — and in recent days, more appointments have started opening, at least for people 12 and older. In a Wednesday meeting, insurance companies told HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra they've largely resolved the paperwork issues blocking some patients' vaccinations.The shots are supposed to be provided free in-network to the insured. For the uninsured or underinsured, CDC has opened what it's calling a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html">“bridge”</a>&nbsp;program to provide free shots at certain sites.WHY CAN’T PARENTS FIND COVID-19 SHOTS FOR YOUNGER KIDS?Adult doses got shipped first, CDC’s Cohen said. Doses for the under-12 set have begun shipping, and “the supply is filling out,” she said.Drugstore chain CVS said its doses for ages 5 and older began arriving last week, although supplies vary by location, while its MinuteClinic locations anticipate opening appointments for tots as young as 18 months in the coming days.As for pediatricians, they’ve had to guess how many doses to buy up-front while waiting to learn how much insurance companies would reimburse them for each shot, said Dr. Jesse Hackell of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He said early parent demand is heartening but that pediatricians expect to spend lots of time this fall explaining to hesitant families how important COVID-19 vaccination is even for healthy children.In Redmond, Washington, Ania Mitros got herself, her husband and her 13-year-old vaccinated pretty easily but despite calls to multiple pharmacies and clinics can't find anyone to tell her when shots for her 8- and 11-year-old will be available. “There need to be clear expectations,” she said.WHAT ABOUT FLU VACCINE?Fewer Americans got a flu vaccine last year than before the coronavirus pandemic –- a discouraging gap that CDC hopes to reverse.People need a flu vaccine every fall because influenza also mutates each year. Like with COVID-19, flu is most dangerous to older adults, the very young and people with weak immune systems, lung, heart or other chronic health problems, or who are pregnant.There are multiple kinds of flu vaccines, including a nasal spray version for certain younger people. More important, three kinds are specifically recommended for seniors because they do a better job revving up an older adult’s immune system.CAN I GET A FLU SHOT AND COVID-19 SHOT AT THE SAME TIME?Yes, although one in each arm might be more comfortable.WHO NEEDS THE NEW RSV VACCINE?RSV is a cold-like nuisance for most people, and not as well-known as the flu. But RSV packs hospitals every winter and kills several hundred tots and thousands of seniors. The CDC says already, RSV cases are rising in the Southeast.RSV vaccines from GSK and Pfizer are approved for adults 60 and older.Drugstores have adequate supplies but some seniors are reporting hurdles such as requirements to get a prescription. That’s because the CDC recommended that seniors talk with their doctors about the new vaccine. Cohen said it was meant just for education about a virus that people may not know much about.“We want folks to ... get access to the vaccine as quickly as possible,” she said.WHAT ABOUT BABIES AND RSV?The FDA also has approved Pfizer’s RSV vaccine to be given late in pregnancy so moms-to-be pass virus-fighting antibodies to their fetuses, offering some protection at birth. The CDC is recommending that pregnancy vaccinations be offered between September and January, when RSV tends to be most common.There's no vaccine for children but babies whose mothers didn't get vaccinated in pregnancy may get&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rsv-babies-drug-cdc-astrazeneca-sanofi-shot-c03b72aaa51e59176cfa3feb3ceac06c">an injection of lab-made antibodies</a>&nbsp;to guard against RSV. Called Beyfortus, the one-dose shot from Sanofi and AstraZeneca is different than a vaccine, which teaches the body to make its own infection-fighting antibodies, but is similarly protective. Cohen said it should be available in October.___

What to know as fall vaccinations against COVID, flu and RSV underway

The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the structure fire and death of an adult at a rural Amherst NE residence.&nbsp; At approximately 3:57 PM on Thursday October 5, 2023 firefighters and law enforcement were called to 13015 Amherst Rd Amherst NE in response to a fire call.&nbsp;

The Amherst Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue and EMS responded to the scene of a trailer home fire.&nbsp; While on scene the body of an adult was found dead inside the trailer home.&nbsp; The investigation into the cause of fire and death of the individual is ongoing.&nbsp; The trailer home was fully engulfed and total loss.&nbsp; Preliminary investigation indication of the death is foul play is not suspected.&nbsp; The identity of the victim has not been confirmed and investigation continues.&nbsp; The Buffalo County Attorney’s Office has ordered an autopsy.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the structure fire and death of an adult at a rural Amherst NE residence.&nbsp; At approximately 3:57 PM on Thursday October 5, 2023 firefighters and law enforcement were called to 13015 Amherst Rd Amherst NE in response to a fire call.&nbsp;The Amherst Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue and EMS responded to the scene of a trailer home fire.&nbsp; While on scene the body of an adult was found dead inside the trailer home.&nbsp; The investigation into the cause of fire and death of the individual is ongoing.&nbsp; The trailer home was fully engulfed and total loss.&nbsp; Preliminary investigation indication of the death is foul play is not suspected.&nbsp; The identity of the victim has not been confirmed and investigation continues.&nbsp; The Buffalo County Attorney’s Office has ordered an autopsy.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Fire Fatality In Rural Amherst 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Preliminary reports indicate at least four American citizens were killed in the attacks against Israel, a United States official told AP on Sunday.

Earlier Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that the U.S. could soon be sending additional military assets to Israel after the surprise attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.

We want to make sure that Israel has what it needs,” Blinken told CNN on Sunday.

Blinken said an announcement on additional aid to Israel could be made as soon as Sunday.

The number of dead in Israel following the attack by Hamas on Saturday is likely to be over 500.

Israel formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, portending greater fighting ahead as the toll from the conflict passed 900 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.

More than 24 hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-war-live-updates">Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion</a>&nbsp;out of Gaza, Israeli forces were still trying to crush the last groups of militant fighters holed up in several towns of southern Israel. At least 600 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 300 have been killed in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pound the territory.

Authorities were still trying to determine how many civilians and soldiers were seized by Hamas fighters during the mayhem and taken back to Gaza. From videos and witnesses, the captives are known to include women, children, and the elderly.

As many as 1,000 Hamas fighters were involved in the assault, U.S. Secretary of State Andrew Blinken said on ABC’s “This Week” – a high figure that underscored the extent of planning by the militant group ruling Gaza. The gunmen rampaged for hours, firing on civilians in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival being held in the desert near Gaza.

Civilians on both sides were already paying a high price.

A line of Israelis snaked outside a central Israel police station to supply DNA samples and other means that could help identify missing family members. Israeli TV news aired a stream of accounts from relatives of captive or missing Israelis who wept and begged for assistance and information.

In Gaza, the tiny enclave of 2.3 million people sealed off by an Israeli-Egyptian blockade for 16 years since the Hamas takeover, residents feared an intensified onslaught. Israeli strikes flattened a number of residential buildings. More than 20,000 people who fled their homes crowded into schools run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNWRA, the agency said.

Several Israeli media outlets, citing rescue service officials, said at least 600 people have been killed in Israel, including 44 soldiers. The Gaza Health Ministry said 313 people, including 20 children, were killed in the territory. Some 2,000 people have been wounded on each side. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.

An exchange of fire in northern Israel with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah raised fears of a spread of the conflict. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border, and the Israeli military fired back using armed drones. Two children were lightly wounded by broken glass on the Lebanese side, according to the nearby Marjayoun Hospital.

The Israeli military said the situation since was calm after the exchange.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah is estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal. Since its brutal 2006 war with Israel, Hezbollah has stayed on the sidelines amid previous outbreaks of Israeli-Hamas fighting. But if destruction in Gaza escalates, it may feel pressure to intervene.

A major question was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.

The declaration of war announced by Israel’s Security Cabinet was largely symbolic, said Yohanan Plesner, the head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a local think tank. But it “demonstrates that the government thinks we are entering a more lengthy, intense and significant period of war.”

Israel has carried out major military campaigns over the past four decades in Lebanon and Gaza that it portrayed as wars, but without a formal declaration.

The Security Cabinet also approved “significant military steps.” The steps were not defined, but the declaration appears to give the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a wide mandate.

Speaking on national television Saturday, Netanyahu vowed that Hamas “will pay an unprecedented price.” He further warned: “This war will take time. It will be difficult.”

In a statement, his office said the aim will be the destruction of Hamas’ “military and governing capabilities” to an extent that prevents it from threatening Israelis “for many years.”

Israelis were still reeling from the breadth, ferocity and surprise of the Hamas assault. The group’s fighters broke through Israel’s security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip early Saturday. Using motorcycles and pickup trucks, even paragliders and speedboats on the coast, they moved into nearby Israeli communities — as many as 22 locations.

The high death toll and slow response to the onslaught pointed to a major intelligence failure and undermined the long-held perception that Israel has eyes and ears everywhere in the small, densely populated territory it has controlled for decades.

Hamas said that overnight it continued to send forces and equipment into southern Israel. On Sunday, fighting continued in some parts of the south, and gunmen still held hostages in some locations, Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters. The Israeli military said it was evacuating at least five towns close to Gaza.

“We will go through every community until we kill every terrorist that is in Israeli territory,” Hagari said. In Gaza, “every terrorist located in a house, all the commanders in houses, will be hit by Israeli fire. That will continue escalating in the coming hours.”

Israel struck 426 targets in Gaza so far, its military said Sunday. Much of the territory’s population was thrown into darkness Saturday night as Israel cut off electricity and said it would no longer supply power, fuel or other goods to the territory.

One woman sheltering at an UNWRA school in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood described a panicked flight from her home in the middle of the night. The Israeli military made announcements on loudspeakers telling people to leave.

“We didn’t know where to go,” she said. “It was a miracle we arrived at the schools because there was no transport.”

The presence of hostages in Gaza complicates Israel’s response. Hamas officials have said they will seek the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, and Israel has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges to bring captive Israelis home.

The military has confirmed that a “substantial” number of Israelis were abducted Saturday without giving an exact figure.

An Egyptian official said Israel sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of the hostages, and that Egypt’s intelligence chief contacted Hamas and the smaller but more radical Islamic Jihad group, which also took part in the incursion, to seek information. Egypt has often mediated between the two sides in the past.

The official said Palestinian leaders claimed they don’t yet have a “full picture” of the number of hostages but said those who were brought into Gaza were taken to “secure locations” across the territory.

“It’s clear that they have a big number — several dozens,” said the official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to brief media.

Egypt also spoke with both sides about a potential cease-fire, but the official said Israel was not open to a truce “at this stage.”

In Iran, which has long supported Hamas and other militant groups, senior officials have openly praised the incursion. President Ebrahim Raisi spoke by phone with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhalah, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Sunday.

The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault, named “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, the Israeli occupation and a series of recent incidents that have brought Israeli-Palestinian tensions to a fever pitch.

Over the past year, Israel’s far-right government has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-settlements-west-bank-biden-49c4788ffc5f5ee41d5c48365ac5395b">ramped up settlement construction</a>&nbsp;in the occupied West Bank.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-settler-bedouin-displacement-violence-un-108e11712310b5ea099dbded7be8effb">Israeli settler violence</a>&nbsp;has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around the Al-Aqsa mosque,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-jerusalem-explainer-1a269c8cc748d8e6f5eb9eabb6d9b860">a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site</a>.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel on Sunday and launched retaliation strikes that leveled buildings in Gaza, while in northern Israel a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict.

There was still some fighting underway more than 24 hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-war-live-updates">an unprecedented surprise attack</a>&nbsp;from Gaza, in which Hamas militants, backed by a volley of thousands of rockets, broke through Israel's security barrier and rampaged through nearby communities. They took captives back into the coastal Gaza enclave, including women, children and the elderly, who they will likely try to trade for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hundreds have been killed on both sides.

The high death toll, multiple captives and a slow response to the onslaught pointed to a major intelligence failure and undermined the long-held perception that Israel has eyes and ears everywhere in the small, densely populated territory it has controlled for decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was at war and would exact a heavy price from its enemies. Hamas leaders said they were prepared for further escalation.

A major question now was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties. Netanyahu vowed that Hamas “will pay an unprecedented price.” But, he warned, “This war will take time. It will be difficult.”

Civilians paid a staggering cost for the violence on both sides. Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 300 people were killed in Israel, including 44 soldiers, while officials in Gaza said 313 people had died in the territory. An Israeli official said the military had killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.

Israeli TV news aired a stream of accounts from the relatives of captive or missing Israelis, who wailed and begged for assistance amid a fog of uncertainty surrounding the fate of their loved ones. In Gaza, residents fled homes near the border to escape Israeli strikes, fleeing deeper inside the territory after warnings in Arabic from the Israeli military.

In neighboring Egypt, a policeman shot dead two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian at a tourist site in Alexandria, the Interior Ministry said. Egypt made peace with Israel decades ago, but anti-Israel sentiment runs high in the country, especially during bouts of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

The flare-up on Israel's northern border also threatened to draw into the battle Hezbollah, a fierce enemy of Israel's which is backed by Iran and estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells on Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border and Israel’s military fired back using armed drones. Two children were lightly wounded by broken glass on the Lebanese side, according to the nearby Marjayoun Hospital.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military official, told reporters the situation at the northern border was calm after the exchange. But he said fighting was still underway in the south and that there were still hostage situations there.

He said troops had moved into every community near the Gaza frontier, where they planned to evacuate all civilians and scour the area for militants.

“We will go through every community until we kill every terrorist that is in Israeli territory," he said. In Gaza, “every terrorist located in a house, all the commanders in houses, will be hit by Israeli fire. That will continue escalating in the coming hours.”

Hamas said that overnight it had continued to send forces and equipment into “a number of locations inside our occupied territories,” referring to Israel. Hamas-linked media reported that the son of Nizar Awadallah, a senior political official, was killed. The Islamic militant group has not reported any senior members being captured, killed or wounded.

The surprise attack Saturday was the deadliest on Israel in decades. In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-militants-conflict-war-b6ea877aa1ee96303aa0870d741da777">an assault of startling breadth</a>, Hamas gunmen used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.

They rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip early Saturday morning, including towns and other communities as far as 24 kilometers (15 miles) from the Gaza border, while Hamas launched thousands of rockets at Israeli cities.

“Israel is waking up this morning to a terrible morning,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman. “There are a lot of people killed ... children, grandmothers, families, bodies.”

Israeli media said at least 300 people were killed and 1,500 wounded in Saturday’s attack. Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza, and a line of Israelis with missing relatives snaked outside a police station in central Israel to supply investigators with DNA samples and other means that could help identify their family members.

Israel struck 426 targets in Gaza, its military said, flattening residential buildings in giant explosions.

Among the 313 killed in Gaza were 20 children, and close to 2,000 people were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinians, said more than 20,000 Palestinians left Gaza's border region to head further inside the territory and take refuge in U.N. schools.

In a televised address Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities.

“Get out of there now,” he told Gaza residents, who have no way to leave the tiny, overcrowded Mediterranean territory. Gaza’s 2.3 million people have endured a border blockade, enforced to varying degrees by Israel and Egypt, since Hamas militants seized control in 2007.

In Gaza, much of the population was thrown into darkness Saturday night as Israel cut off electricity and said it would no longer supply power, fuel or other goods to the territory.

Hamas said it had planned for a long fight. “We are prepared for all options, including all-out war,” the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, told Al-Jazeera TV.

Israel has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges to bring captive Israelis home. The military has confirmed that a “substantial” number of Israelis were abducted Saturday without giving an exact figure.

An Egyptian official said Israel has sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of the hostages, and that Egypt’s intelligence chief had contacted Hamas and the smaller but more radical Islamic Jihad group, which also took part in the incursion, to seek information. Egypt has often mediated between the two sides in the past.

The official said Palestinian leaders claimed that they don’t yet have a “full picture” of hostages, but said those who were brought into Gaza were taken to “secure locations” across the territory.

The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault, named “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, and a series of recent incidents that have brought Israeli-Palestinian tensions to a fever pitch.

Over the past year, Israel’s far-right government has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-settlements-west-bank-biden-49c4788ffc5f5ee41d5c48365ac5395b">ramped up settlement construction</a>&nbsp;in the occupied West Bank,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-settler-bedouin-displacement-violence-un-108e11712310b5ea099dbded7be8effb">Israeli settler violence</a>&nbsp;has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around the Al-Aqsa mosque,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-jerusalem-explainer-1a269c8cc748d8e6f5eb9eabb6d9b860">a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site</a>.

President Joe Biden said from the White House that the U.S. “stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults," and said Israel has the right to defend itself.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696679013332.png" alt="Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. (AP Photo/Yousef Masoud)" />
 <figcaption>Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday. (AP Photo/Yousef Masoud)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) - Preliminary reports indicate at least four American citizens were killed in the attacks against Israel, a United States official told AP on Sunday.Earlier Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that the U.S. could soon be sending additional military assets to Israel after the surprise attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.We want to make sure that Israel has what it needs,” Blinken told CNN on Sunday.Blinken said an announcement on additional aid to Israel could be made as soon as Sunday.The number of dead in Israel following the attack by Hamas on Saturday is likely to be over 500.Israel formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday.-------------TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas for its surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, portending greater fighting ahead as the toll from the conflict passed 900 dead and thousands wounded on both sides.More than 24 hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-war-live-updates">Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion</a>&nbsp;out of Gaza, Israeli forces were still trying to crush the last groups of militant fighters holed up in several towns of southern Israel. At least 600 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 300 have been killed in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pound the territory.Authorities were still trying to determine how many civilians and soldiers were seized by Hamas fighters during the mayhem and taken back to Gaza. From videos and witnesses, the captives are known to include women, children, and the elderly.As many as 1,000 Hamas fighters were involved in the assault, U.S. Secretary of State Andrew Blinken said on ABC’s “This Week” – a high figure that underscored the extent of planning by the militant group ruling Gaza. The gunmen rampaged for hours, firing on civilians in towns, along highways and at a techno music festival being held in the desert near Gaza.Civilians on both sides were already paying a high price.A line of Israelis snaked outside a central Israel police station to supply DNA samples and other means that could help identify missing family members. Israeli TV news aired a stream of accounts from relatives of captive or missing Israelis who wept and begged for assistance and information.In Gaza, the tiny enclave of 2.3 million people sealed off by an Israeli-Egyptian blockade for 16 years since the Hamas takeover, residents feared an intensified onslaught. Israeli strikes flattened a number of residential buildings. More than 20,000 people who fled their homes crowded into schools run by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNWRA, the agency said.Several Israeli media outlets, citing rescue service officials, said at least 600 people have been killed in Israel, including 44 soldiers. The Gaza Health Ministry said 313 people, including 20 children, were killed in the territory. Some 2,000 people have been wounded on each side. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.An exchange of fire in northern Israel with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah raised fears of a spread of the conflict. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border, and the Israeli military fired back using armed drones. Two children were lightly wounded by broken glass on the Lebanese side, according to the nearby Marjayoun Hospital.The Israeli military said the situation since was calm after the exchange.Iranian-backed Hezbollah is estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal. Since its brutal 2006 war with Israel, Hezbollah has stayed on the sidelines amid previous outbreaks of Israeli-Hamas fighting. But if destruction in Gaza escalates, it may feel pressure to intervene.A major question was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.The declaration of war announced by Israel’s Security Cabinet was largely symbolic, said Yohanan Plesner, the head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a local think tank. But it “demonstrates that the government thinks we are entering a more lengthy, intense and significant period of war.”Israel has carried out major military campaigns over the past four decades in Lebanon and Gaza that it portrayed as wars, but without a formal declaration.The Security Cabinet also approved “significant military steps.” The steps were not defined, but the declaration appears to give the military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a wide mandate.Speaking on national television Saturday, Netanyahu vowed that Hamas “will pay an unprecedented price.” He further warned: “This war will take time. It will be difficult.”In a statement, his office said the aim will be the destruction of Hamas’ “military and governing capabilities” to an extent that prevents it from threatening Israelis “for many years.”Israelis were still reeling from the breadth, ferocity and surprise of the Hamas assault. The group’s fighters broke through Israel’s security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip early Saturday. Using motorcycles and pickup trucks, even paragliders and speedboats on the coast, they moved into nearby Israeli communities — as many as 22 locations.The high death toll and slow response to the onslaught pointed to a major intelligence failure and undermined the long-held perception that Israel has eyes and ears everywhere in the small, densely populated territory it has controlled for decades.Hamas said that overnight it continued to send forces and equipment into southern Israel. On Sunday, fighting continued in some parts of the south, and gunmen still held hostages in some locations, Israeli Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters. The Israeli military said it was evacuating at least five towns close to Gaza.“We will go through every community until we kill every terrorist that is in Israeli territory,” Hagari said. In Gaza, “every terrorist located in a house, all the commanders in houses, will be hit by Israeli fire. That will continue escalating in the coming hours.”Israel struck 426 targets in Gaza so far, its military said Sunday. Much of the territory’s population was thrown into darkness Saturday night as Israel cut off electricity and said it would no longer supply power, fuel or other goods to the territory.One woman sheltering at an UNWRA school in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood described a panicked flight from her home in the middle of the night. The Israeli military made announcements on loudspeakers telling people to leave.“We didn’t know where to go,” she said. “It was a miracle we arrived at the schools because there was no transport.”The presence of hostages in Gaza complicates Israel’s response. Hamas officials have said they will seek the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, and Israel has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges to bring captive Israelis home.The military has confirmed that a “substantial” number of Israelis were abducted Saturday without giving an exact figure.An Egyptian official said Israel sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of the hostages, and that Egypt’s intelligence chief contacted Hamas and the smaller but more radical Islamic Jihad group, which also took part in the incursion, to seek information. Egypt has often mediated between the two sides in the past.The official said Palestinian leaders claimed they don’t yet have a “full picture” of the number of hostages but said those who were brought into Gaza were taken to “secure locations” across the territory.“It’s clear that they have a big number — several dozens,” said the official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to brief media.Egypt also spoke with both sides about a potential cease-fire, but the official said Israel was not open to a truce “at this stage.”In Iran, which has long supported Hamas and other militant groups, senior officials have openly praised the incursion. President Ebrahim Raisi spoke by phone with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhalah, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Sunday.The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault, named “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, the Israeli occupation and a series of recent incidents that have brought Israeli-Palestinian tensions to a fever pitch.Over the past year, Israel’s far-right government has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-settlements-west-bank-biden-49c4788ffc5f5ee41d5c48365ac5395b">ramped up settlement construction</a>&nbsp;in the occupied West Bank.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-settler-bedouin-displacement-violence-un-108e11712310b5ea099dbded7be8effb">Israeli settler violence</a>&nbsp;has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around the Al-Aqsa mosque,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-jerusalem-explainer-1a269c8cc748d8e6f5eb9eabb6d9b860">a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site</a>.TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel on Sunday and launched retaliation strikes that leveled buildings in Gaza, while in northern Israel a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict.There was still some fighting underway more than 24 hours after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-war-live-updates">an unprecedented surprise attack</a>&nbsp;from Gaza, in which Hamas militants, backed by a volley of thousands of rockets, broke through Israel's security barrier and rampaged through nearby communities. They took captives back into the coastal Gaza enclave, including women, children and the elderly, who they will likely try to trade for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hundreds have been killed on both sides.The high death toll, multiple captives and a slow response to the onslaught pointed to a major intelligence failure and undermined the long-held perception that Israel has eyes and ears everywhere in the small, densely populated territory it has controlled for decades.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was at war and would exact a heavy price from its enemies. Hamas leaders said they were prepared for further escalation.A major question now was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties. Netanyahu vowed that Hamas “will pay an unprecedented price.” But, he warned, “This war will take time. It will be difficult.”Civilians paid a staggering cost for the violence on both sides. Israeli media, citing rescue service officials, said at least 300 people were killed in Israel, including 44 soldiers, while officials in Gaza said 313 people had died in the territory. An Israeli official said the military had killed 400 militants and captured dozens more.Israeli TV news aired a stream of accounts from the relatives of captive or missing Israelis, who wailed and begged for assistance amid a fog of uncertainty surrounding the fate of their loved ones. In Gaza, residents fled homes near the border to escape Israeli strikes, fleeing deeper inside the territory after warnings in Arabic from the Israeli military.In neighboring Egypt, a policeman shot dead two Israeli tourists and an Egyptian at a tourist site in Alexandria, the Interior Ministry said. Egypt made peace with Israel decades ago, but anti-Israel sentiment runs high in the country, especially during bouts of Israeli-Palestinian violence.The flare-up on Israel's northern border also threatened to draw into the battle Hezbollah, a fierce enemy of Israel's which is backed by Iran and estimated to have tens of thousands of rockets at its disposal. Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and shells on Sunday at three Israeli positions in a disputed area along the border and Israel’s military fired back using armed drones. Two children were lightly wounded by broken glass on the Lebanese side, according to the nearby Marjayoun Hospital.Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military official, told reporters the situation at the northern border was calm after the exchange. But he said fighting was still underway in the south and that there were still hostage situations there.He said troops had moved into every community near the Gaza frontier, where they planned to evacuate all civilians and scour the area for militants.“We will go through every community until we kill every terrorist that is in Israeli territory," he said. In Gaza, “every terrorist located in a house, all the commanders in houses, will be hit by Israeli fire. That will continue escalating in the coming hours.”Hamas said that overnight it had continued to send forces and equipment into “a number of locations inside our occupied territories,” referring to Israel. Hamas-linked media reported that the son of Nizar Awadallah, a senior political official, was killed. The Islamic militant group has not reported any senior members being captured, killed or wounded.The surprise attack Saturday was the deadliest on Israel in decades. In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-militants-conflict-war-b6ea877aa1ee96303aa0870d741da777">an assault of startling breadth</a>, Hamas gunmen used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing Gaza, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.They rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip early Saturday morning, including towns and other communities as far as 24 kilometers (15 miles) from the Gaza border, while Hamas launched thousands of rockets at Israeli cities.“Israel is waking up this morning to a terrible morning,” said Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman. “There are a lot of people killed ... children, grandmothers, families, bodies.”Israeli media said at least 300 people were killed and 1,500 wounded in Saturday’s attack. Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers captive into Gaza, and a line of Israelis with missing relatives snaked outside a police station in central Israel to supply investigators with DNA samples and other means that could help identify their family members.Israel struck 426 targets in Gaza, its military said, flattening residential buildings in giant explosions.Among the 313 killed in Gaza were 20 children, and close to 2,000 people were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinians, said more than 20,000 Palestinians left Gaza's border region to head further inside the territory and take refuge in U.N. schools.In a televised address Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities.“Get out of there now,” he told Gaza residents, who have no way to leave the tiny, overcrowded Mediterranean territory. Gaza’s 2.3 million people have endured a border blockade, enforced to varying degrees by Israel and Egypt, since Hamas militants seized control in 2007.In Gaza, much of the population was thrown into darkness Saturday night as Israel cut off electricity and said it would no longer supply power, fuel or other goods to the territory.Hamas said it had planned for a long fight. “We are prepared for all options, including all-out war,” the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, told Al-Jazeera TV.Israel has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges to bring captive Israelis home. The military has confirmed that a “substantial” number of Israelis were abducted Saturday without giving an exact figure.An Egyptian official said Israel has sought help from Cairo to ensure the safety of the hostages, and that Egypt’s intelligence chief had contacted Hamas and the smaller but more radical Islamic Jihad group, which also took part in the incursion, to seek information. Egypt has often mediated between the two sides in the past.The official said Palestinian leaders claimed that they don’t yet have a “full picture” of hostages, but said those who were brought into Gaza were taken to “secure locations” across the territory.“It’s clear that they have a big number — several dozens,” said the official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to brief media.Egypt also spoke with both sides about a potential cease-fire, but the official said Israel was not open to a truce “at this stage.”The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault, named “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, and a series of recent incidents that have brought Israeli-Palestinian tensions to a fever pitch.Over the past year, Israel’s far-right government has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-settlements-west-bank-biden-49c4788ffc5f5ee41d5c48365ac5395b">ramped up settlement construction</a>&nbsp;in the occupied West Bank,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-settler-bedouin-displacement-violence-un-108e11712310b5ea099dbded7be8effb">Israeli settler violence</a>&nbsp;has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around the Al-Aqsa mosque,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-violence-jerusalem-explainer-1a269c8cc748d8e6f5eb9eabb6d9b860">a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site</a>.President Joe Biden said from the White House that the U.S. “stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults," and said Israel has the right to defend itself.___

U.S. officials: Americans killed in the attacks against Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jill-biden" target="_blank">Jill Biden</a>&nbsp;is urging women to consult their doctors about getting mammograms or other cancer screenings, saying in a new public service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month that early detection saves lives.

“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I’m asking you to put your health first,” the first lady says in the 30-second spot recorded amid flower blooms in the White House Rose Garden.

“Take a moment to talk to your doctor about whether it’s time for your mammogram or other cancer screenings,” she says in the announcement airing this week on the Lifetime cable network. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but we know that early detection of cancer saves lives.”

Biden’s ad is part of an annual breast cancer awareness campaign by Lifetime, according to the cable network. A separate public service announcement featuring similar messages from actor Keshia Knight Pulliam and TV correspondent Rachel Lindsay will also be broadcast by the network.

The first lady is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-cancer-skin-brain-5a441b53e825895d029d0255c10816d3" target="_blank">a longtime advocate for breast cancer education</a>&nbsp;and prevention dating to 1993, when four of her friends were diagnosed with the disease. Shortly afterward, she launched the Biden Breast Health Initiative to teach high school girls in Delaware about the importance of early detection.

In the White House, she and her husband, President Joe Biden, are driving&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cancermoonshot/" target="_blank">efforts to prevent more than 4 million cancer deaths by 2047</a>&nbsp;and improve the experience for people who are touched by cancer, including patients, their families and their caregivers.

<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/" target="_blank">Breast cancer is the most common cancer in U.S. women</a>&nbsp;after skin cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breast cancer deaths have declined over time but remain the second leading cause of cancer death among women overall, the CDC said.

One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

The first lady is among the millions of people in the U.S. who have been touched by cancer.

Earlier this year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-maryland-mexico-city-surgery-545cac7c3ddca1f095e84383fdf8cd2d" target="_blank">she had cancerous lesions removed</a>&nbsp;from above her right eye and her chest. In 2015, she and the president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-d8f69eb645d74b7886387f713981b739" target="_blank">lost their 46-year-old son, Beau, to brain cancer</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696431702577.png" alt="Image from the public service announcement courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>Image from the public service announcement courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jill-biden" target="_blank">Jill Biden</a>&nbsp;is urging women to consult their doctors about getting mammograms or other cancer screenings, saying in a new public service announcement for Breast Cancer Awareness Month that early detection saves lives.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Right now, I know you’re busy taking care of everyone else, but when was the last time you took care of yourself? This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, <a href="https://twitter.com/lifetimetv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lifetimetv</a> and I are encouraging you to talk to a doctor about whether it’s time for your mammogram or other cancer screenings. <a href="https://t.co/pKtNLp7IRe">pic.twitter.com/pKtNLp7IRe</a>&mdash; Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/1709600221016076643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I’m asking you to put your health first,” the first lady says in the 30-second spot recorded amid flower blooms in the White House Rose Garden.“Take a moment to talk to your doctor about whether it’s time for your mammogram or other cancer screenings,” she says in the announcement airing this week on the Lifetime cable network. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but we know that early detection of cancer saves lives.”Biden’s ad is part of an annual breast cancer awareness campaign by Lifetime, according to the cable network. A separate public service announcement featuring similar messages from actor Keshia Knight Pulliam and TV correspondent Rachel Lindsay will also be broadcast by the network.The first lady is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-cancer-skin-brain-5a441b53e825895d029d0255c10816d3" target="_blank">a longtime advocate for breast cancer education</a>&nbsp;and prevention dating to 1993, when four of her friends were diagnosed with the disease. Shortly afterward, she launched the Biden Breast Health Initiative to teach high school girls in Delaware about the importance of early detection.In the White House, she and her husband, President Joe Biden, are driving&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cancermoonshot/" target="_blank">efforts to prevent more than 4 million cancer deaths by 2047</a>&nbsp;and improve the experience for people who are touched by cancer, including patients, their families and their caregivers.<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/" target="_blank">Breast cancer is the most common cancer in U.S. women</a>&nbsp;after skin cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Breast cancer deaths have declined over time but remain the second leading cause of cancer death among women overall, the CDC said.One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.The first lady is among the millions of people in the U.S. who have been touched by cancer.Earlier this year,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-health-maryland-mexico-city-surgery-545cac7c3ddca1f095e84383fdf8cd2d" target="_blank">she had cancerous lesions removed</a>&nbsp;from above her right eye and her chest. In 2015, she and the president&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-d8f69eb645d74b7886387f713981b739" target="_blank">lost their 46-year-old son, Beau, to brain cancer</a>.

🎥 First lady urges breast cancer screenings: Put your health first

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Saturday and won the giant prize.

The numbers drawn Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19.

The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing Monday night would be an estimated $679.8 million.

The jackpot is now the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-mega-millions-powerball-b77dd9c7de3f0ab09545a01113b1f111">fourth-largest lottery prize</a>&nbsp;after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">top prize on July 19</a>. That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022.

The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers Saturday and won the giant prize.The numbers drawn Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19.The $1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing Monday night would be an estimated $679.8 million.The jackpot is now the world’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lottery-jackpot-mega-millions-powerball-b77dd9c7de3f0ab09545a01113b1f111">fourth-largest lottery prize</a>&nbsp;after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings, since the last time someone won the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/powerball-jackpot-winner-california-9f0e98a47c96c2b3087a68b33195dd50">top prize on July 19</a>. That streak trails the record of 41 draws set in 2021 and 2022.The scarcity of Powerball jackpot winners reflects the game’s daunting odds of 1 in 292.2 million.Powerball is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Powerball jackpot up to $1.55 billion as lottery losing streak continues

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

WASHINGTON — Additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine was on shaky ground earlier this week, before U.S. House Republicans evicted Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office.

The revolt by eight members of the House GOP Conference, largely spurred by bipartisan deals McCarthy struck on the debt limit and a short-term government funding bill, complicated prospects for moving additional aid to Ukraine through Congress.

Future relief dollars are now closely tied to who House Republicans elect as their next speaker. The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/louisianas-steve-scalise-and-ohios-jim-jordan-jump-race-us-house-speaker">mid-session contest for the gavel</a>&nbsp;currently pits Louisiana’s Steve Scalise against Ohio’s Jim Jordan, though more GOP lawmakers are mulling campaigns to lead their party. An election could be as soon as next week though that’s not certain.

The two lawmakers have slightly different records on Ukraine, with Scalise having supported relief funding in the beginning, while Jordan voted against all the bills that included military and humanitarian assistance.

In the U.S. Senate, both Republicans and Democrats say they’re looking for a path to keep Ukraine in Ukrainian hands and resist the Russian military onslaught to end democracy in the Eastern European country.

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, chair of the Defense spending panel, said there is likely a path forward for Ukraine aid, despite House GOP infighting.

“I think you’ve got to continue to work in a positive way in the Senate,” Tester said. “And I think, as I told people in the caucus this morning, it’ll always be a s- – – show over there, so let’s do our job.”

Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun said any aid for Ukraine will likely be tied to additional funding for border security.

“I think that would unite our conference for the ones that have been lukewarm on Ukraine — thinking that the top priority should be the border. And I think that’s the way it gets through,” Braun said.

“And then the next issue would be for any of us that are fiscal conservatives — are you going to actually pay for it?” he added.

The change in House Republican leadership shouldn’t impact those discussions, Braun said.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said there are enough votes to pass Ukraine aid in the House if the next GOP speaker puts a bipartisan bill on the floor.

“My hope is that we’ll do something significant and bipartisan in the Senate and we may be able to act first to sort of lead the way,” Kaine said.

The next Ukraine aid bill to go to the Senate floor, Kaine said, will likely be structured to provide longer term aid to the country, saying there’s a “logic” to that proposal.

“Rather than try to do this in small bites that make it harder and harder and harder. Let’s just be candid with people about what the longer term need is and see if we could do it,” Kaine said. “And we do think we’ve got the votes in both houses.”

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday there were no updates on negotiations over military aid to Ukraine.

“We’re going to have to work it with the House obviously, so we’ll see,” Ernst said, deferring to House lawmakers on how a change in leadership could impact prospects in that chamber.

Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior appropriator, said discussions about providing aid for Ukraine and approving additional money for border security are moving on a separate track from conversations about getting all dozen of the full-year spending bills approved.

The deadline for funding the government or passing a second stopgap spending bill is Nov. 17, though that timeline wouldn’t impact negotiations on Ukraine and border security — unless party leaders decide to roll them into one package as they have in the past.

The typical conference process, where House and Senate lawmakers meet to reconcile the differences on legislation, cannot begin until the House GOP decides who leads the party, Moran said.

Conferencing bills, he said, “suggests that someone has the ability to negotiate and work on behalf of the House, which yet has to be determined.”

“It’s a huge challenge but we can compromise on numbers. That’s among the easiest things to do,” Moran said of the full-year government spending bills. “It’s the policy kinds of things that make conference more difficult.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, have pledged to provide more relief funding to Ukraine, though those plans were&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/next-battle-congress-over-ukraine-aid-biden-presses-house-speaker-vote">already in trouble</a>&nbsp;before McCarthy’s removal as speaker.

Congress has approved four relief packages for Ukraine so far, totaling more than $110 billion in military, economic and humanitarian support. The funding has gone to departments and agencies run by the U.S. government, including the Defense and State departments.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-reaches-deal-massive-spending-package-billions-covid-aid-ukraine">first aid bill</a>, enacted in March 2022, included $13.6 billion. The funding was added to a $1.5 trillion spending package that included all 12 of the annual government spending measures, but the House used a procedural tool, called “dividing the question,” to take two votes on the package.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202265">vote</a>&nbsp;on the portions that included military aid to Ukraine as well as other items, got Scalise’s vote, but not Jordan’s support. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202266">voted</a>&nbsp;against passing the sections of the package that provided non-military assistance to Ukraine and held numerous other bills.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-clears-40b-ukraine-aid-bidens-signature-some-gop-balk">second assistance package</a>, passed in May 2022, appropriated $40 billion. Scalise&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022145">voted</a>&nbsp;for aid while Jordan voted against the bill.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/hours-ahead-shutdown-deadline-us-house-sends-biden-stopgap-spending-bill">third relief package</a>, cleared in September 2022, provided more than $12 billion. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022476">voted</a>&nbsp;against the legislation, which included a stopgap spending bill, billions in natural disaster relief and increased funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-approves-17-trillion-funding-package-and-sends-it-biden">fourth supplemental package</a>, enacted in December 2022, included $45 billion. Both Scalise and Jordan&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022549?Date=12%2F23%2F2022">voted</a>&nbsp;against approving the package, which also included all of the full-year government spending bills and other provisions.

Scalise, unlike Jordan, originally backed funding for Ukraine and wrote in a statement alongside other House GOP leaders in February 2022 that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “reprehensible.”

“We stand in complete solidarity with the innocent Ukrainian people and vow to continue to support them as they defend themselves from Putin’s unprovoked onslaught,” they&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://scalise.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-republican-leadership-s-statement-russia-s-invasion-ukraine">wrote</a>.

The group of six GOP leaders said that China, Iran and North Korea were watching how the United States would respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine. “They must see us respond firmly to this Russian aggression.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1695327062140.png" alt="Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a September visit with President Biden-photo White House" />
 <figcaption>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a September visit with President Biden-photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jennifer-shutt/">JENNIFER SHUTT</a>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>WASHINGTON — Additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine was on shaky ground earlier this week, before U.S. House Republicans evicted Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office.The revolt by eight members of the House GOP Conference, largely spurred by bipartisan deals McCarthy struck on the debt limit and a short-term government funding bill, complicated prospects for moving additional aid to Ukraine through Congress.Future relief dollars are now closely tied to who House Republicans elect as their next speaker. The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/louisianas-steve-scalise-and-ohios-jim-jordan-jump-race-us-house-speaker">mid-session contest for the gavel</a>&nbsp;currently pits Louisiana’s Steve Scalise against Ohio’s Jim Jordan, though more GOP lawmakers are mulling campaigns to lead their party. An election could be as soon as next week though that’s not certain.The two lawmakers have slightly different records on Ukraine, with Scalise having supported relief funding in the beginning, while Jordan voted against all the bills that included military and humanitarian assistance.<h2>Senate backing continues</h2>In the U.S. Senate, both Republicans and Democrats say they’re looking for a path to keep Ukraine in Ukrainian hands and resist the Russian military onslaught to end democracy in the Eastern European country.Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, chair of the Defense spending panel, said there is likely a path forward for Ukraine aid, despite House GOP infighting.“I think you’ve got to continue to work in a positive way in the Senate,” Tester said. “And I think, as I told people in the caucus this morning, it’ll always be a s- – – show over there, so let’s do our job.”Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun said any aid for Ukraine will likely be tied to additional funding for border security.“I think that would unite our conference for the ones that have been lukewarm on Ukraine — thinking that the top priority should be the border. And I think that’s the way it gets through,” Braun said.“And then the next issue would be for any of us that are fiscal conservatives — are you going to actually pay for it?” he added.The change in House Republican leadership shouldn’t impact those discussions, Braun said.Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said there are enough votes to pass Ukraine aid in the House if the next GOP speaker puts a bipartisan bill on the floor.“My hope is that we’ll do something significant and bipartisan in the Senate and we may be able to act first to sort of lead the way,” Kaine said.The next Ukraine aid bill to go to the Senate floor, Kaine said, will likely be structured to provide longer term aid to the country, saying there’s a “logic” to that proposal.“Rather than try to do this in small bites that make it harder and harder and harder. Let’s just be candid with people about what the longer term need is and see if we could do it,” Kaine said. “And we do think we’ve got the votes in both houses.”Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday there were no updates on negotiations over military aid to Ukraine.“We’re going to have to work it with the House obviously, so we’ll see,” Ernst said, deferring to House lawmakers on how a change in leadership could impact prospects in that chamber.Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior appropriator, said discussions about providing aid for Ukraine and approving additional money for border security are moving on a separate track from conversations about getting all dozen of the full-year spending bills approved.<h2>Deadline for new spending bill</h2>The deadline for funding the government or passing a second stopgap spending bill is Nov. 17, though that timeline wouldn’t impact negotiations on Ukraine and border security — unless party leaders decide to roll them into one package as they have in the past.The typical conference process, where House and Senate lawmakers meet to reconcile the differences on legislation, cannot begin until the House GOP decides who leads the party, Moran said.Conferencing bills, he said, “suggests that someone has the ability to negotiate and work on behalf of the House, which yet has to be determined.”“It’s a huge challenge but we can compromise on numbers. That’s among the easiest things to do,” Moran said of the full-year government spending bills. “It’s the policy kinds of things that make conference more difficult.”Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, have pledged to provide more relief funding to Ukraine, though those plans were&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/next-battle-congress-over-ukraine-aid-biden-presses-house-speaker-vote">already in trouble</a>&nbsp;before McCarthy’s removal as speaker.<h2>Scalise and Jordan’s records</h2>Congress has approved four relief packages for Ukraine so far, totaling more than $110 billion in military, economic and humanitarian support. The funding has gone to departments and agencies run by the U.S. government, including the Defense and State departments.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-reaches-deal-massive-spending-package-billions-covid-aid-ukraine">first aid bill</a>, enacted in March 2022, included $13.6 billion. The funding was added to a $1.5 trillion spending package that included all 12 of the annual government spending measures, but the House used a procedural tool, called “dividing the question,” to take two votes on the package.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202265">vote</a>&nbsp;on the portions that included military aid to Ukraine as well as other items, got Scalise’s vote, but not Jordan’s support. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202266">voted</a>&nbsp;against passing the sections of the package that provided non-military assistance to Ukraine and held numerous other bills.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/congress-clears-40b-ukraine-aid-bidens-signature-some-gop-balk">second assistance package</a>, passed in May 2022, appropriated $40 billion. Scalise&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022145">voted</a>&nbsp;for aid while Jordan voted against the bill.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/hours-ahead-shutdown-deadline-us-house-sends-biden-stopgap-spending-bill">third relief package</a>, cleared in September 2022, provided more than $12 billion. Both men&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022476">voted</a>&nbsp;against the legislation, which included a stopgap spending bill, billions in natural disaster relief and increased funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.The&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-house-approves-17-trillion-funding-package-and-sends-it-biden">fourth supplemental package</a>, enacted in December 2022, included $45 billion. Both Scalise and Jordan&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022549?Date=12%2F23%2F2022">voted</a>&nbsp;against approving the package, which also included all of the full-year government spending bills and other provisions.Scalise, unlike Jordan, originally backed funding for Ukraine and wrote in a statement alongside other House GOP leaders in February 2022 that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “reprehensible.”“We stand in complete solidarity with the innocent Ukrainian people and vow to continue to support them as they defend themselves from Putin’s unprovoked onslaught,” they&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://scalise.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-republican-leadership-s-statement-russia-s-invasion-ukraine">wrote</a>.The group of six GOP leaders said that China, Iran and North Korea were watching how the United States would respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine. “They must see us respond firmly to this Russian aggression.”

A murky outlook for Ukraine aid with U.S. House leadership in turmoil

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/07/statement-from-president-joe-biden-condemning-terrorist-attacks-in-israel/">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on Saturday decried the “appalling assault" by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas militants</a>&nbsp;and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-militants-conflict-war-b6ea877aa1ee96303aa0870d741da777">surprise attack</a>&nbsp;that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel's allies.

(click below to watch comments from President Biden)

Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support," according to the White House. He also called Jordan's King Abdullah II. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the White House for meetings and was phoning foreign counterparts, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister.

“Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people,” Biden said in a statement that also warned “any other party hostile to Israel” against “seeking advantage in this situation.” Washington's support for “Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” the president said. His Pentagon chief said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel to “protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism” and with its defense needs.

Hamas' unprecedented incursion, coming on a major Jewish holiday, was the deadliest attack in Israel in years and was threatening to spiral into a broader conflict. Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. “We are at war,” Netanyahu said.

The hostilities dealt a significant blow to U.S. efforts&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-israel-netanyahu-politics-4d07d9fd0413c6893d1ddfb944919ae0">to expand</a>&nbsp;the Arab-Israeli&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bahrain-israel-united-arab-emirates-middle-east-elections-7544b322a254ebea1693e387d83d9d8b">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;normalization agreements, not only with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-saudi-arabia-normalization-jake-sullivan-mbs-peace-deal-377e3c1e4b4732124b565ed968c5f0c8">Saudi Arabia</a>, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-prince-us-politics-fox-a65f1e4c39ee2d83667aa433f59b59c8">commanded most of the public attention</a>, but also with smaller Arab states.

U.S. officials say they intend to press ahead but acknowledge efforts are unlikely to bear fruit while there is an active conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Blinken had been planning a trip to the Middle East, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia, later this month, but those plans are now on hold, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.

In the immediate term, these officials said the U.S. would work Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among Arab partners in the region, to try to deescalate the situation. But given the scale of the Hamas attacks and Israel's military response, the officials said they were not optimistic about any short-term solution.

Like Biden, who said the U.S. “unequivocally condemns this appalling assault,” many world leaders stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself and they pledged solidarity.

“We believe that order will be restored and the terrorists will be destroyed,” Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a post on his official Telegram channel. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and had relatives who died in the Holocaust, said “Israel’s right to self-defense cannot be questioned."

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen denounced the “senseless attack” by Hamas and said, “This violence is neither a political solution nor an act of bravery. It is purely terrorism.”

German Chancellor OIaf Scholz said his country stands beside Israel, a sentiment echoed by the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that he was shocked by the attacks and that “Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.”

In Vienna, the Israeli flag was raised at the Austrian chancellor’s office and Foreign Ministry in a gesture of solidarity. "There is no excuse for terror,” Nehammer said in a post on X.

Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, told the state Tass agency that Moscow was in touch with “all parties (of the conflict), including Arab countries” and urged “an immediate cease-fire and peace” between Hamas and Israel.

Bogdanov did not specify the Arab nations with which Russian diplomats were speaking.

Saudi Arabia called for an immediate halt to the fighting, urging both sides to protect civilians and exercise restraint.

“The kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation, the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights and the repetition of system provocations against” them by Israel, a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said.

But in Iran, Israel’s regional archenemy, members of parliament opened their session Saturday by chanting “Death to Israel” and “Israel will be doomed, Palestine will be the conqueror.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said “today’s operation created a new page in the field of resistance and armed operation against occupiers,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

In Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate the operation by Hamas. In the Bourj al-Barajneh camp south of Beirut, residents danced in the streets, while young men in the northern city of Tripoli distributed celebratory sweets to passersby in the streets.

In the Bekaa Valley, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the roads. The country’s highest Sunni religious authority called for mosques to broadcast “God is great” over loudspeakers following afternoon prayers “in solidarity with our people in Palestine.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/07/statement-from-president-joe-biden-condemning-terrorist-attacks-in-israel/">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on Saturday decried the “appalling assault" by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-rockets-airstrikes-tel-aviv-11fb98655c256d54ecb5329284fc37d2">Hamas militants</a>&nbsp;and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-hamas-militants-conflict-war-b6ea877aa1ee96303aa0870d741da777">surprise attack</a>&nbsp;that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel's allies.(click below to watch comments from President Biden)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gixYhd8pjhw?si=4K0HnG4r2VbRUc_z&amp;start=3" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>Biden made clear in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support," according to the White House. He also called Jordan's King Abdullah II. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rushed to the White House for meetings and was phoning foreign counterparts, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Our hearts go out to Israel in their fight for their lives right now against the barbaric attacks on civilians at the hands of Hamas terrorist. America stands with Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Israeli people, and our unwavering commitment to their safety and security.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1710667132088828188?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The United States stands with Israel. I fully support Israel’s right to defend themselves from these ruthless, unprovoked Hamas terrorist attacks. Join me in praying for the people of Israel as they fight to defend their freedom. 🇺🇸🇮🇱 <a href="https://t.co/Kui5ZKASx7">pic.twitter.com/Kui5ZKASx7</a>&mdash; Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLaTurner/status/1710658653110382634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The world is seeing appalling images. Thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli cities. Hamas terrorists killing not only Israeli soldiers, but civilians on the streets and in their homes. It’s unconscionable. Israel has a right to defend itself – full stop.&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1710761931399709074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“Terrorism is never justified. Israel has a right to defend itself and its people,” Biden said in a statement that also warned “any other party hostile to Israel” against “seeking advantage in this situation.” Washington's support for “Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” the president said. His Pentagon chief said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel to “protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism” and with its defense needs.Hamas' unprecedented incursion, coming on a major Jewish holiday, was the deadliest attack in Israel in years and was threatening to spiral into a broader conflict. Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. “We are at war,” Netanyahu said.The hostilities dealt a significant blow to U.S. efforts&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/un-israel-netanyahu-politics-4d07d9fd0413c6893d1ddfb944919ae0">to expand</a>&nbsp;the Arab-Israeli&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bahrain-israel-united-arab-emirates-middle-east-elections-7544b322a254ebea1693e387d83d9d8b">Abraham Accords</a>&nbsp;normalization agreements, not only with&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-saudi-arabia-normalization-jake-sullivan-mbs-peace-deal-377e3c1e4b4732124b565ed968c5f0c8">Saudi Arabia</a>, which has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/saudi-prince-us-politics-fox-a65f1e4c39ee2d83667aa433f59b59c8">commanded most of the public attention</a>, but also with smaller Arab states.U.S. officials say they intend to press ahead but acknowledge efforts are unlikely to bear fruit while there is an active conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.Blinken had been planning a trip to the Middle East, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia, later this month, but those plans are now on hold, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.In the immediate term, these officials said the U.S. would work Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among Arab partners in the region, to try to deescalate the situation. But given the scale of the Hamas attacks and Israel's military response, the officials said they were not optimistic about any short-term solution.Like Biden, who said the U.S. “unequivocally condemns this appalling assault,” many world leaders stressed that Israel has a right to defend itself and they pledged solidarity.“We believe that order will be restored and the terrorists will be destroyed,” Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a post on his official Telegram channel. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and had relatives who died in the Holocaust, said “Israel’s right to self-defense cannot be questioned."European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen denounced the “senseless attack” by Hamas and said, “This violence is neither a political solution nor an act of bravery. It is purely terrorism.”German Chancellor OIaf Scholz said his country stands beside Israel, a sentiment echoed by the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that he was shocked by the attacks and that “Israel has an absolute right to defend itself.”In Vienna, the Israeli flag was raised at the Austrian chancellor’s office and Foreign Ministry in a gesture of solidarity. "There is no excuse for terror,” Nehammer said in a post on X.Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a former ambassador to Israel and Egypt, told the state Tass agency that Moscow was in touch with “all parties (of the conflict), including Arab countries” and urged “an immediate cease-fire and peace” between Hamas and Israel.Bogdanov did not specify the Arab nations with which Russian diplomats were speaking.Saudi Arabia called for an immediate halt to the fighting, urging both sides to protect civilians and exercise restraint.“The kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation, the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights and the repetition of system provocations against” them by Israel, a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said.But in Iran, Israel’s regional archenemy, members of parliament opened their session Saturday by chanting “Death to Israel” and “Israel will be doomed, Palestine will be the conqueror.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said “today’s operation created a new page in the field of resistance and armed operation against occupiers,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.In Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate the operation by Hamas. In the Bourj al-Barajneh camp south of Beirut, residents danced in the streets, while young men in the northern city of Tripoli distributed celebratory sweets to passersby in the streets.In the Bekaa Valley, pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the roads. The country’s highest Sunni religious authority called for mosques to broadcast “God is great” over loudspeakers following afternoon prayers “in solidarity with our people in Palestine.”___

🎥Biden, Kan. lawmakers condemn “appalling assault" on Israel 

By Paul Hammel,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/08/29/did-state-treasurer-meet-the-qualifications-to-run-nebraskas-public-employees-retirement-agency/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A 27-year-old inmate at Nebraska’s state prison in Tecumseh is dead following what officials said were fires intentionally set by prisoners Thursday evening.

Jesse Spencer, who was serving a 12- to 20-year sentence for various assault and theft convictions, was found unresponsive inside his cell after prison staff responded to the fires.

A press release from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Spencer was one of five inmates who intentionally set fires inside their cells at about 6 p.m. Thursday.

When staff responded, the inmates initially refused staff directives to come out of their cells.

Eventually, the agency said, three inmates complied, but two others, including Spencer, continued to refuse.

When staff members went in to get Spencer, he was found unresponsive in his cell. Efforts to revive him were not successful.

Staff members extinguished the fires before local fire crews arrived at the prison just north of Tecumseh.

No other housing units at the prison were impacted. Two staff members were examined at the Tecumseh hospital following the incident.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/10/1696767801172.png" alt="Spencer photo Neb. Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Spencer photo Neb. Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>By Paul Hammel,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/08/29/did-state-treasurer-meet-the-qualifications-to-run-nebraskas-public-employees-retirement-agency/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A 27-year-old inmate at Nebraska’s state prison in Tecumseh is dead following what officials said were fires intentionally set by prisoners Thursday evening.Jesse Spencer, who was serving a 12- to 20-year sentence for various assault and theft convictions, was found unresponsive inside his cell after prison staff responded to the fires.A press release from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Spencer was one of five inmates who intentionally set fires inside their cells at about 6 p.m. Thursday.<h2>Inmates refused orders</h2>When staff responded, the inmates initially refused staff directives to come out of their cells.Eventually, the agency said, three inmates complied, but two others, including Spencer, continued to refuse.When staff members went in to get Spencer, he was found unresponsive in his cell. Efforts to revive him were not successful.Staff members extinguished the fires before local fire crews arrived at the prison just north of Tecumseh.No other housing units at the prison were impacted. Two staff members were examined at the Tecumseh hospital following the incident.<h2>Assaults in same housing unit</h2>The death and fires follow an incident Sept. 30 in which an inmate allegedly assaulted multiple staff members. Two staffers were seriously injured and required medical treatment.The fires were set in another gallery of the same housing unit where the assaults occurred but involved different inmates, a corrections spokeswoman said.The Tecumseh prison, a 960-bed facility for medium- and maximum-security inmates, has been the site of two deadly incidents in recent years.In 2017, two inmates were killed when inmates went on a rampage in one housing unit after refusing staff directives.In 2015, a riot broke out when a staff member unsuccessfully tried to break up a gathering of inmates in the exercise yard.&nbsp; Two inmates were killed, four were injured, and a housing unit was burned and ransacked during a disturbance that took several hours to bring under control.<h2>Staffing problems at Tecumseh</h2>Nebraska has one of the most overcrowded prison systems in the country, housing about 1,600 more inmates than the system was designed to house.But at Tecumseh, overcrowding has not been the issue. A lack of staff has plagued the rural institution since it opened in 2001.About 80 corrections officers are bused in daily from Omaha to ensure that the prison posts are filled. A<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/staffing-emergency-soon-to-end-at-nebraska-state-penitentiary/">&nbsp;“staffing emergency”</a>&nbsp;has been in effect at Tecumseh for several months, which resulted in cutbacks on inmate activities and visits from relatives and friends.Spencer’ began his prison sentence in September 2014. He was serving just over 12 years to 20 years on charges out of Gage, Johnson and Lancaster Counties that included second-degree assault, assault by a confined person, theft, terroristic threats and criminal mischief.The agency said a modified lockdown at Tecumseh is in effect after the fires Thursday. State law requires a grand jury investigation any time someone dies in police, jail or prison custody.