Israel expands operations into southwestern Lebanon

CNN,

Israel’s military has announced the expansion of its “limited, localized, targeted operations” into southwestern Lebanon. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the 146th Division, which has previously served as a defensive regional brigade, targeted Hezbollah positions and infrastructure in the area. This marks the first time the 146th Division, a reserve unit that has operated in northern Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the occupied West Bank, is engaged in operations in southern Lebanon. The division will work alongside the 213th Artillery Brigade as part of the ongoing efforts against Hezbollah in the northern arena. Israel’s ground incursion in southern Lebanon began a week ago, focusing initially on the eastern part of the border area.

Harris and DeSantis clash over hurricane relief response
Politico,

Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday, accusing him of “playing political games” after he reportedly did not take her calls to discuss hurricane relief efforts. Harris expressed frustration over DeSantis’ alleged refusal to communicate during a time of crisis, labeling his actions as “utterly irresponsible” and driven by “political gamesmanship.” Harris emphasized that moments of crisis should be when leaders set aside politics to focus on the people. DeSantis, however, denied the reports, stating he was unaware of Harris’ attempts to reach him. He claimed that no one in his office intentionally ignored the vice president’s calls. The clash comes as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, following the devastation left by Hurricane Helene. DeSantis later appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, accusing Harris of politicizing the storm for her own campaign purposes.

Chinese stock market rally fades after initial surge
Bloomberg,

Chinese stocks began Tuesday’s trading session with a dramatic surge, as an onshore benchmark jumped 11% immediately after reopening following a weeklong holiday. However, the rally soon lost momentum as the day progressed, with investor enthusiasm dampened by the lack of major stimulus announcements from a key policy meeting. By the end of the session, the CSI 300 Index closed 5.9% higher, while a gauge of Chinese shares in Hong Kong plummeted by more than 10%, erasing nearly all of the gains made while onshore markets were closed for the Golden Week holiday. Anticipation had been building for the session’s opening, fueled by a rally in Hong Kong-listed shares and reports of record account openings at major Chinese brokerages in preparation for Tuesday’s trading. Investors had hoped for more positive catalysts from the nation’s top economic planner, but no significant new policies were unveiled, leading to the cooling of the initial stock euphoria.

Nick Szabo emerges as frontrunner in HBO’s Satoshi Nakamoto reveal

Cointelegraph,

Nick Szabo, an American computer scientist and inventor of the failed crypto network Bit Gold, has overtaken cryptographer Len Sassaman as the frontrunner to be identified as Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in an upcoming HBO documentary. Betting platform Polymarket showed Szabo leading with 27.9% odds, followed by Sassaman at 14% and Blockstream CEO Adam Back at 4.3%. Sassaman had initially led the betting odds, with as much as 68% after the market opened on October 4. However, the documentary’s producer, Cullen Hoback, revealed in an interview with CNN that he confronted the person he believes is Nakamoto, ruling out Sassaman, who died in 2011. This revelation led to a sharp decline in Sassaman’s odds. Hoback stated that the reaction of the person he confronted was more telling than the evidence itself and that it is important for the public to have a sense of who Nakamoto might be, especially if they are still involved in Bitcoin. While Szabo has been linked to Bitcoin’s creation due to his work on Bit Gold, he has repeatedly denied being Nakamoto. The HBO documentary is expected to focus on a specific individual as the creator of Bitcoin.

US urges caution for UN peacekeepers amid Israel-Lebanon conflict

Reuters, 

The United States has expressed concern over the safety of United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon as Israel continues its ground operations in the region. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasized the importance of ensuring that UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) forces are not put in danger and play a crucial role in maintaining security in Lebanon. Miller added that the U.S. has assessed that Israel’s operations in Lebanon remain limited but that Washington has made it clear to Israel that roads to Beirut’s airport must continue to operate. The U.N. peacekeeping mission has expressed deep concern over Israel’s recent activities near its positions in southern Lebanon. The U.N. peacekeeping chief stated that UNIFIL forces remain in place and continue to provide the only communications link between the Israeli and Lebanese militaries. Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group that controls southern Lebanon, since Hezbollah launched a barrage of missiles in support of Hamas on October 8.

Spacecraft launches to study asteroid knocked off course by NASA

Space.com,

A spacecraft has launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of the European Space Agency’s Hera mission, which aims to study the asteroid Dimorphos that NASA knocked off course in 2022. The spacecraft is expected to reach Dimorphos, located around seven million miles from Earth, in December 2026. The Hera mission follows NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which successfully altered Dimorphos’ trajectory by crashing a probe into it in 2022. Although Dimorphos was not a threat to Earth, the mission served as a test to determine if space agencies could divert potentially dangerous asteroids. The Hera spacecraft will examine the size and depth of the crater created by NASA’s probe and will be accompanied by two cube-shaped probes that will study the asteroid’s composition and mass. The mission is seen as a critical step in planetary defense and could provide valuable insights into how humanity might prevent future asteroid collisions with Earth.