Congress reaches deal to avoid government shutdown, Israel urges southern Lebanon residents to evacuate homes, Zelenskyy thanks Pennsylvania ammunition factory for its production of munitions, asks for more
1. Congress has reached a deal to extend government funding through Dec. 20, leaders announced on Sunday, kicking the can down the road as lawmakers try to dodge a devastating shutdown. The agreement avoids the shutdown that was slated to begin at midnight on Sept. 30, ensuring Americans retain access to crucial government services and sidestepping an embarrassing political blunder with just weeks until the presidential election. The House is expected to vote on the funding extension, known as a continuing resolution or CR, on Wednesday. The Senate will take it up shortly thereafter in time to avoid a shutdown. It is expected to pass both chambers and be signed by President Joe Biden.
2. Israel on Monday urged residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate from homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah has stored weapons, saying the military would conduct “extensive strikes” against the militant group. It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters.
3. The Israeli military said it struck 300 targets Monday in Lebanon in one of the most intense barrages of airstrikes in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in what would be the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October. Before the escalation beginning with the wave of pager explosions last Tuesday, around 600 people had been killed in Lebanon since October, mostly fighters, but also more than 100 civilians.
4. Under tight security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday visited a Pennsylvania ammunition factory to thank the workers who are producing one of the most critically needed munitions for his country’s fight to fend off Russian ground forces. Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Democrat who was among those who met with Zelenskyy at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, said the president had a simple message: “Thank you. And we need more.” The Scranton plant is one of the few facilities in the country to manufacture 155 mm artillery shells and has increased production over the past year. Ukraine has already received more than 3 million of them from the U.S.
5. President Joe Biden told Indo-Pacific allies on Saturday that he believes China’s increasing military assertiveness is an effort to test the region at a turbulent moment for Beijing. Biden's comments were caught by a hot mic after he and fellow leaders of the so-called Quad delivered opening remarks before the press at a summit he’s hosting near his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. He said his administration sees Beijing’s actions as a “change in tactic, not a change in strategy.” “China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region, and it’s true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits," Biden told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He added, “At least from our perspective, we believe (Chinese President) Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimize the turbulence in China's diplomatic relationships, and he’s also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China’s interest."
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