News Wrap: Hezbollah picks cleric Naim Kassem as its new leader

In our news wrap Tuesday, Hezbollah has chosen cleric Naim Kassem as its new leader, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s planned use of North Korean troops on the front lines would push the war “beyond the borders” of Ukraine and Russia and President Biden is awarding nearly $3 billion to reduce air pollution from the nation’s ports.
Amna Nawaz:
We start the day’s other headlines in Lebanon.
The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has chosen the cleric Naim Qassem as its new leader. He’s been acting head since the previous longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Israeli airstrike last month. The 71-year-old Qassem has served among the group’s top ranks since the early 1990s.
Today, Israel’s defense minister responded with an apparent threat, writing on social media that he’s a — quote — temporary appointment, not for long.” The announcement comes after Israeli airstrikes killed at least 60 people across Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley. And, today, a Hezbollah rocket struck a neighborhood in Northern Israel, killing one person.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned today that Russia’s planned use of North Korean troops on the front lines would push the war beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy also said he spoke with South Korea’s president, and the two agreed to boost cooperation and intelligence-sharing.
The Pentagon says North Korea sent close to 10,000 troops to train in Eastern Russia with a plan to move them to the front line in the next several weeks.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon Press Secretary:
A portion of those soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine towards Russia’s Kursk oblast near the border with Ukraine, approximately a couple thousand, with a smaller number already present in the Kursk region, the rest at this time, of course, training out in the east, but fully expect that they will move in that direction at some point.
Amna Nawaz:
Russia, meanwhile, raised tensions even further today by launching a massive simulation of the country’s nuclear capabilities. President Vladimir Putin has frequently hinted at the use of nuclear force to deter Western support for Ukraine, and Russia continued its very real air assault on Ukraine. Overnight, bombing killed at least four people and flattened a neighborhood near Kharkiv.
In the U.K., a teenage murder suspect has been charged with producing a poison and a terror offense months after a stabbing rampage that killed three young girls. The alleged attack happened this summer at a children’s dance class at a community center in Northwest England. During a search of the 18-year-old’s home, authorities found an al-Qaida training manual on his computer, resulting in the terrorism charge.
They also discovered one of the deadliest toxins in the world.
Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable, Merseyside Police:
Axel Rudakubana already faces three charges of murder, 10 charges of attempted murder, and one charge of possession of a knife. Searches of Axel Rudakubana’s home address resulted in an unknown substance being found. Testing confirmed the substance as ricin.
Police have resisted classifying the attack itself as a terrorist incident because the suspect’s motive is still unclear.
Back here at home, Steve Bannon was released from federal prison early this morning. Donald Trump’s longtime ally posted on social media the moment he walked free from a correctional facility in Connecticut. Bannon served a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional probe into the January 6 Capitol attack.
Within hours of his release, he was back on his podcast, which has been a platform for 2020 election deniers and conspiracy theories. Bannon also held a news conference in New York, where he said he felt empowered by his time in prison to help Trump win.
Robert F. Kennedy junior’s name will remain on presidential ballots in the critical swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his request for an injunction late today. The independent candidate suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump. The states had argued that removing his name so close to the election and with early voting already under way would be impossible.
The justices did not explain their reasoning for rejecting the appeal.
President Biden is awarding nearly $3 billion to reduce air pollution from the nation’s ports. Speaking from the recently reopened Port of Baltimore, Mr. Biden announced grants that would upgrade port infrastructure with climate-friendly equipment at 55 sites across 27 states and territories. He said it wasn’t just a matter of modernization, but of safety.
Joe Biden, President of the United States: Ports are the linchpin, the linchpin to America’s supply chain. They keep goods moving, keep the economy strong. But, for too long, they have run on fossil fuels and aging infrastructure, putting workers at risk and exposing nearby communities to dangerous pollution.
Amna Nawaz:
Biden also made clear these investments will go toward machinery that’s — quote — “operated and maintained by people, not by robots.” The sites support about 40,000 union jobs in an industry that’s worried about the impact of artificial intelligence and automation.
On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed amid a busy week for corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average slid about 150 points on the day. The Nasdaq went in the other direction, adding nearly 150 points. The S&P 500 tacked on nearly 10 points, so a small gain there.
And we have a passing of note. Actress Teri Garr has died. She starred in some of the best-loved comedies of the 1970s and ’80s, including as the German lab assistant in the Mel Brook classic “Young Frankenstein.”
Teri Garr, Actress:
Would you like to have a roll in the hay?
(Singing)
Amna Nawaz:
She also played Dustin Hoffman’s girlfriend in “Tootsie,” which earned her an Oscar nomination. And Garr took on more serious roles in films such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Lisa Kudrow, Actress:
No. Oh, it’s me. It’s me. I didn’t want to make any noise.
Teri Garr:
Then don’t break in.
Amna Nawaz:
Later in her career, she was known to millions for playing the long lost mother to Lisa Kudrow’s character in “Friends.”
Her publicist says Garr died of multiple sclerosis surrounded by family and friends. Teri Garr was 79 years old.