Wednesday, September 18, 2024 Top Stories
It is Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Here are today’s top stories.
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Israel attacks Hezbollah again with walkie-talkie explosions
Today there was another massive attack against Hezbollah members in Lebanon when many walkie-talkies exploded. It is like a second round of attacks after yesterday’s pager blasts.
The walkie-talkie explosions killed at least nine people and injured over 300 people. Yesterday’s pager attacks killed at least 12 and injured over 2,700.
A witness said they saw a man’s hands blown off by an exploding walkie-talkie.
A report from the New York Times said Israel’s military and intelligence hid explosive material within a new batch of pagers that Hezbollah had ordered. It was placed near the batteries. A message was sent to the pagers at 3:30 pm yesterday and it detonated the explosives. I assume that today’s walkie-talkie explosions used a similar method.
The Israeli government said a “new era” has begun in its war against Hezbollah.
I read that Hezbollah usually uses pagers for communication because they believed cellphones were vulnerable to Israeli surveillance and now Israel has surprised them with the attacks.
The U.S. said it did not know about Israel’s plan to use pager explosives and was not involved.
The Lebanese government said two children were tragically killed and that they may have been playing with the devices at home.
Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel. Iran accused Israel of carrying out a terrorist act.
Hezbollah and Israel has been exchanging rockets and airstrikes along the Lebanese/Israeli border for almost a year now and this conflict has clearly escalated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-pagers-explosives.html
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/lebanon-pagers-explode-hezbollah-israel-09-18-24-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/lebanon-pagers-explode-hezbollah-israel-09-18-24-intl-hnk/index.html
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Frenchman on trial for mass rape of wife
There is a disturbing case in France where a 71-year-old man named Dominique Pelicot is on trial in a mass rape case. Dominique is accused of repeatedly drugging his wife, Gisele, to make her unconscious as he recruited male strangers to come to their bedroom to rape her. The sexual assaults were filmed and when law enforcement started investigating this case, they identified 50 other men that allegedly participated in the rapes. Almost all of the identified suspects are on trial as defendants, but there could be 25 more suspects that are not yet identified. Dominique testified yesterday that he is “a rapist like the others in this room. They all knew…” French newspaper “Le Monde” explained that Gisele said she discovered the abuses in 2020 after experiencing memory lapses and wants the trial to be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse. The trial is scheduled to last through December.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/09/17/i-am-a-rapist-says-main-accused-in-french-mass-rape-trial_6726343_7.html
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/17/europe/dominique-pelicot-france-rape-charges-intl/index.html
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Pipeline fire impacts Houston-area neighborhood
On Monday, a SUV accidentally struck an above-ground pipeline valve that had liquid natural gas in it and caused it to ignite into a huge column of fire that burned over over 24 hours right by a neighborhood near Houston. The heat causes a few nearby homes to catch fire. A nearby resident said the heat was so intense they felt like they were in an oven and that their home’s garage door had melted, as well as their vehicle’s back lights. About 100 homes were evacuated. Firefighters have sprayed water on the roofs of homes. The pipeline owner said the impacted lines has been isolated and they are allowing the residual product to burn itself out.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/16/us/texas-pipeline-fire/index.html
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Suspicious mail with powder sent to election offices
ABC News said suspicious mail with white powder in it was sent to various election offices in at least 16 states this week and that the FBI and Postal Service are investigating. ABC News said election offices in Kansas and Wyoming were evacuated and other states had to take safety measures. Fortunately, none of the mail actually has hazardous material. One of the mail had flour in it. The FBI said they are trying to find out who has been sending these letters and what their motive is. Some of the letters were signed with the words, “United States Traitor Elimination Army.” It seems like the sender believes that election offices are committing some form of fraud. ABC News said the National Association of Secretaries of State released a statement urging an end to intimidating actions towards election officials.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/suspicious-mail-white-powder-election-offices-16-states/story
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Tupperware files for bankruptcy
Tupperware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Reuters said the company has succumbed to mounting losses amid poor demand for its food storage containers as it struggles with rivals who make cheaper and more environmentally friendly containers. Tupperware rose in popularity in the 1950s with its products sold through “Tupperware parties.” The company started to really struggle during the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased costs of labor, freight and raw materials. Tupperware said it hopes to get court approval to continue selling its products.
https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/tupperware-brands-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-2024-09-18/
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.