First: Hezbollah drone strike kills four IDF soldiers as US prepares to send missile system to Israel | US News

Good morning

Hezbollah has carried out its deadliest attack since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon nearly two weeks ago. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), four soldiers were killed in Sunday's attack at an army base in central Israel.

Hezbollah described the attack, which Israeli emergency services said injured a total of 61 people, as retaliation for Israel killing 22 people in an attack on Beirut on Thursday.

This followed reports that the US was increasing its involvement in the region by sending a terminal high-altitude defense (Thaad) missile battery to Israel, reportedly along with around 100 US troops. Israel is expected to retaliate against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 rockets at Israel on October 1.

• How did Iran react to the news of American troops? Its foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, warned that the US was putting the lives of its soldiers “at risk by using them to operate US missile systems in Israel” and that Tehran had “no red lines in defending our people and our interests.”

Man arrested nearby Trump rally in California with loaded guns, police say

A man who was on his way to a Donald Trump campaign rally armed with loaded guns and a fake ID was arrested by authorities in California on Saturday.

The suspect, named Vem Miller of Las Vegas, was arrested by police shortly before the event began at a checkpoint about a half-mile from the event's entrance in the Coachella Valley, police said Sunday.

Miller, believed to be a member of a right-wing anti-government organization, was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm and a high-capacity magazine and was released after posting $5,000 bail, according to police records emerges. Miller denied any wrongdoing and said the weapons were for his own safety.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said at a news conference that he believed Miller planned to kill Trump but acknowledged that was “speculation.” “What we know is that he showed up with multiple passports with different names, an unregistered vehicle with a fake license plate and loaded firearms,” he said.

Trees and land absorbed almost no CO₂ last year

The Earth's oceans, forests, soils, and other natural carbon sinks collectively absorb about Half of all human emissions – but last year, in an unexpected and alarming development, land and trees emitted almost as much CO₂ how they moved away from the atmosphere, scientists said.

Preliminary results from a global team of researchers found that in 2023 – the hottest year on record – the amount of carbon absorbed by land temporarily collapsed. Only one large tropical rainforest, the Congo Basin, remained a strong sink, removing more carbon than it released, as deforestation and global warming degraded the carbon storage capacity of other rainforests.

“We are seeing cracks in the resilience of Earth systems,” said Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, at an event at New York Climate Week in September.

• What could this mean for global warming? A rapid collapse of carbon sinks has not been taken into account in most climate models. If things continue like this, global warming could occur rapidly, even beyond forecasts.

In other news…

• The race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is getting tighter, An NBC News poll found both candidates have 48% support, while a New York Times poll suggested Harris is underperforming among Latino voters.

• China has started major military exercises around Taiwan's main island It said it was a warning against “separatist acts” after a recent speech by the Taiwanese president.

• The family of a US citizen killed by the IDF calls for an investigation. Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was killed by an Israeli sniper during an anti-settler protest in the West Bank in September.

Statistics of the day: In the Netherlands, the number of prison inmates has fallen by more than 40% in 20 years

The prison population in the Netherlands has fallen by more than 40% in the last 20 years as violent crime has plummeted. The Dutch are more likely to believe that prisons do more harm than good, says criminologist Francis Pakes.

Don't miss: Maria Bakalova on playing Ivana in The Apprentice and the treatment of Eastern European actors

The release of the Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” faced countless hurdles, including the actors' strike and the fact that the director was affected by Trump's Muslim travel ban. As the premiere approaches this week, the actress who plays Ivana, Maria Bakalova, spoke to the Guardian about the limited roles offered to Eastern Europeans, the ultra-secret casting process for Borat and why she considers Trump “one of the most evil People” holds our century”.

Climate check: Europe's medical faculties are increasingly focusing on climate-related diseases

As the climate emergency worsens existing diseases, including mosquito-borne ones, the crisis will become a larger part of the training of future doctors across Europe. Medical students at 25 universities are receiving more training on recognizing and treating heat stroke and worsening antimicrobial resistance caused by global warming.

Last thing: Edith Pritchett's Week in Venn Diagrams

What do the planet's natural resources and a glass of water on your bedside table when you're hungover have in common? Edith Pritchett answers this profound question and a few more in this week's Venn diagram.

Sign in

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you're not already signed up, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters, please email [email protected]