Tuesday, October 1, 2024

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1/ Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel launched a ground invasion into Lebanon to pursue Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese militia. The strikes also follow Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah last week. Most of the missiles were intercepted — including with help from U.S. naval destroyers — and there are no reports of deaths inside Israel. The Biden administration described Iran’s attack as “defeated and ineffective,” but acknowledged that “this is a significant escalation” and “there will be severe consequences.” Iran, nevertheless, warned that Israel would face “a crushing defeat” if it responds with force. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, saying “Iran made a big mistake this evening, and it will pay for it.” He added: “Whoever attacks us, we will attack them.” Israel is at war with two of Iran’s allied militias – Hamas and Hezbollah – and the airstrikes risks a wider war in the Middle East. The U.N. Security Council, meanwhile, will hold an emergency meeting to discuss Iran’s attacks on Israel and the threat of a widening war in the region. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / Politico / Associated Press / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / NBC News / ABC News / CNN)

2/ Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association are on strike over wages and guarantees that automated technology won’t be used to replace human workers. The strike – the first by the union since 1977 – affects 36 ports from Maine to Texas, and is expected to cause an immediate disruption to global supply chains that connect the U.S. to the global economy. The ports account for more than half of the nation’s imports, and the economic loss from the shutdown is expected to be between $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion a day. Biden called on the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port employers, “to come to the table and present a fair offer” and “to negotiate a fair contract with the longshoremen that reflects the substantial contribution they’ve been making to our economic comeback.” As of Monday, USMX had offered the union raises of “nearly 50%” over six years and the same limits on automation that was in the last contract. The union wants a complete ban on automation and a 61.5% raise over six years – down from the 77% the union had asked for earlier in negotiations. (...

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