Survivors of Hamas attacks share stories of harrowing ordeal

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Wednesday 10.11.23

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By Alexandra Meeks

Israeli forces extract the bodies of Israeli residents from a destroyed house as fighting with Hamas militants continues.

Israel

At least 1,200 people were killed in Israel in Hamas' October 7 onslaught when armed militants poured over the border into Israel, raiding homes, rampaging through communities and taking as many as 150 hostages back to Gaza. In retaliation for the atrocities, Israeli jets have been pounding Gaza — the densely inhabited coastal strip that Hamas controls — with hundreds of airstrikes, reducing neighborhoods to rubble. Officials say a "complete siege" has trapped residents, cutting them off from food, electricity and resources. Many survivors are in critical condition and struggling with an overwhelming emotional toll as a humanitarian crisis swiftly unfolds in the region.

CNN's Impact Your World has gathered a list of vetted organizations that are on the ground responding to the crisis. Learn how you can help aid efforts in Israel and Gaza.

House Speaker

House Republicans are hoping to pick their candidate today for a new speaker following Kevin McCarthy's dramatic ousting last week. On Tuesday night, a GOP candidate forum saw Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana giving their pitch as the best choice for the speakership, but some still say it will be difficult for either candidate to get the 217 votes needed to win the gavel. Rep. Mike Garcia of California, for example, said it was "50/50" on whether they would be able to elect a speaker today. House Democrats also held a similar conference to officially nominate their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, for speaker.

Hurricane Lidia

Lidia has weakened into a tropical storm after making landfall in west-central Mexico Tuesday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane. The hurricane's center slammed into the state of Jalisco, near Las Penitas, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and heavy rain, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters say Lidia is expected to dump between 4 to 8 inches of rain — and even up to 12 inches in some areas — likely fueling flash flooding and mudslides in higher terrain.

George Santos

New York Rep. George Santos is facing 10 new federal charges, including allegations of stealing donors' identities and running up fraudulent credit card charges. He is already facing 13 other counts over alleged wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to the US House. Following the new indictment Tuesday, the Republican lawmaker said again that he won't resign from Congress. Santos was part of a class of newly elected New York Republicans who helped the party win a narrow House majority in the 2022 midterms and whose fate will be key to holding that majority in 2024.

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NASA

A sample collected from a near-Earth asteroid will be unveiled during a live NASA broadcast today. The sample's historic landing in the Utah desert on September 24 marked the culmination of a seven-year mission, which traveled to the asteroid known as Bennu some 200 million miles from Earth and then flew back by Earth for the sample drop. The total trip distance was around 3.86 billion miles. Scientists believe that asteroids like Bennu might have delivered necessary elements such as water to Earth early in our planet's formation, and studying the sample could answer lingering questions about the origins of our solar system. NASA's live broadcast will begin at 11 a.m. ET.

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105

That's how many minutes the Titanic-bound Titan submersible was underwater before it suffered a catastrophic implosion in June. The US Coast Guard said Tuesday that the remaining debris from the disaster has been recovered — including presumed human remains.

These are not issues that we can wait and resolve later. As a society, we must act now.

— Dr. Dennis P. Stolle, a senior director for the American Psychiatric Association, commenting on a new report that revealed climate change can have "lifelong impacts" on young people's mental health. The study suggests extreme weather events and poor air quality can increase the risks of anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, aggression, cognitive impairment and more.

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