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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Death toll: “As of today, the Israel-Hamas conflict has led to more than 2,700 fatalities.”
* A closely watched element of a larger story: “The U.S. and Qatari governments have agreed to block Iran from accessing any of the $6 billion it gained access to as part of a prisoner swap deal between the Biden administration and Tehran last month, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats on Thursday, according to three sources familiar with his remarks, two of whom were in the room.”
* In related news: “There is no ‘direct evidence’ that Iran was involved in Hamas’ brutal assault on Israel last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with NBC News on Thursday.”
* Speaking of the Cabinet: “U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin plans to travel to Israel tomorrow, according to a senior Defense official. He will meet with Netanyahu, Israel’s minister of defense and the Israeli War Cabinet.”
* Intelligence: “Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters today that Egypt had warned Israel of a possible attack from Hamas before the assault.”
* Social media: “The enforcement arm of the E.U. has escalated its confrontation with X, formerly known as Twitter, over terrorist content on the site. Many accounts on X, including verified accounts viewed by NBC News, have posted official Hamas videos that went viral on the platform since Hamas attacked Israel. The E.U. has designated Hamas a terror organization.”
* New inflation data: “Inflation leveled off to 3.7% in September compared to a year ago, extending a gradual slowdown in consumer prices, even as it slowed to 0.4% from 0.6% in August.”
* Sweden kept its promises, now it’s Turkey’s turn: “NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday pressed Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden’s membership in the military organization, three months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would help hasten the process in the Turkish parliament.”
* Claudia Goldin’s breakthrough: “Goldin is only the third woman to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and the first to do so solo — that is, not sharing with a male colleague. But her achievement is a milestone primarily because of why she won: for providing ‘the first comprehensive account of women’s earnings and labour market participation through the centuries.’ The award represents formal (and overdue) recognition that gender equity is key to understanding how economies can flourish.”
* A real-world case study in what happens after a major, independent news organization gives up on a social media platform: “Six months later, we can see that the effects of leaving Twitter have been negligible. A memo circulated to NPR staff says traffic has dropped by only a single percentage point as a result of leaving Twitter, now officially renamed X, though traffic from the platform was small already and accounted for just under two percent of traffic before the posting stopped.”
See you tomorrow.