10 things you need to know today: October 11, 2023

1. Israel hammers Gaza with airstrikes

Israel continued to pound the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Tuesday, reducing parts of the densely populated Palestinian territory to rubble in retaliation for Hamas attacks that have killed 1,200 Israelis. Gaza authorities said 900 people had died in Israel's strikes, and Israel said 1,500 Hamas fighters had been killed in southern Israel. Hamas abducted dozens of hostages from Israel and threatened to start executing them if Israel bombed Gaza civilian homes without warning. Israel is reportedly preparing a ground assault, as the government vows to end the offensive capabilities of Hamas' military wing. President Biden reiterated his promise to fully support Israel, calling Hamas' horrific surprise attack on Saturday "an act of sheer evil." The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post

2. Prosecutors file more charges against Rep. George Santos

Federal prosecutors in New York filed more charges against Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday, accusing him of stealing the identities and credit card data of some of the people who donated to his campaign. The indictment said Santos charged donors' credit cards "repeatedly, without their authorization," and diverted the money to his own bank account and to election campaigns, including his own. In one case, prosecutors said, Santos transferred more than $11,000 from one donor into his own account; in another, he got $50,000 out of two donors through a fake nonprofit. Santos pleaded not guilty to previous corruption charges, claiming he had no direct role in his campaign finances. The New York Times

3. Documents in fraud trial show Trump inflated Manhattan apartment's value

Evidence introduced in Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial in New York on Tuesday showed that the former president signed a document 30 years ago giving the true size of his Trump Tower triplex as 10,996 square feet, but later claimed on financial statements the apartment was 30,000 square feet. The evidence came from an email attachment shown during testimony by Allen Weisselberg, the former finance chief of Trump's company. New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump of inflating the value of his properties to secure favorable loans and insurance. Weisselberg said the asserted footage of Trump's apartment "was not something that was that important to me when looking at a $6 billion, $5 billion net worth." The Associated Press

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4. North Carolina Republicans override governor's veto of oversight change

North Carolina's Republican-controlled General Assembly on Tuesday overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that strips some of the governor's power to appoint members of election oversight boards. The new law gives appointment power to the legislature and other statewide elected officials, ensuring bipartisan boards that could deadlock on the establishment of early voting locations or certifying election results in a state that may play a key role in next year's presidential election. Cooper called the law "a blatantly unconstitutional legislative power grab" that would empower Republican lawmakers or courts "to change the results of an election if they don't like the winner." Republicans say the overhaul ensures fairness by creating bipartisan election boards. The Charlotte Observer, The Washington Post

5. Erdogan says US warships will cause Gaza 'massacres'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday criticized the U.S. for moving warships toward Israel, saying they would be used for "serious massacres" in the Gaza Strip. "What will the aircraft carrier of the U.S. do near Israel, why do they come? What will boats around and aircraft on it will do? They will hit Gaza and around," Erdogan claimed during a press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Ankara. The Pentagon announced Sunday that the U.S. was sending an aircraft carrier strike group in the Mediterranean closer to Israel to warn Iran and other Israeli antagonists to stay out of the conflict, started when Hamas fighters from Gaza launched brutal surprise attacks in southern Israel. The U.S. and Turkey are both members of NATO. Reuters, Bloomberg

6. Scalise, Jordan make final pitches ahead of House GOP's speaker vote

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) made their final pitches to fellow Republicans late Tuesday in their bids to become the next House speaker, replacing ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Several far-right and moderate Republicans said after a two-hour candidate forum they still hadn't decided which candidate to back in a vote scheduled to start Wednesday, suggesting deliberations could be long and contentious. "I can't say that I'll automatically join whoever pulls out the most of them at first vote, but I might," Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), one of the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy last week, told The Washington Post. Many moderates are still livid over McCarthy's removal. The Washington Post 

7. Ex-LA Dodgers star Steve Garvey, a Republican, runs for Feinstein's Senate seat

Former Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey announced Tuesday that he is running for the late Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat, hoping to become the first Republican elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate since 1988. Garvey is a political newcomer, but he's betting his baseball fame and clean reputation will give him an edge. He played 14 seasons for the Dodgers, helping the team take a 1981 World Series championship and winning the 1974 National League Most Valuable Player award. He then joined the San Diego Padres for five seasons. "I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents," Garvey told the Los Angeles Times. "I played for all the fans, and I'm running for all the people." Los Angeles Times, CNN

8. Gun seizures in schools rise sharply

The number of guns seized in America's schools has soared in recent years, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Last school year, news outlets reported confiscations of more than 1,150 guns brought to K-12 campuses before anyone fired them, and a slightly greater number were believed to have gone unreported in the media, according to the Post. The seized weapons were found in book bags, lockers, trash cans, bathrooms and cars, among other places. Some of those who brought them to school did so accidentally. Others wanted to show off. Some intended to shoot people, the Post reported. "In many ways, these scares at schools are no longer newsworthy," said University of Missouri journalism professor Nick Mathews. "And that's rather terrifying." The Washington Post

9. Caroline Ellison testifies that Bankman-Fried ordered others to commit crimes

Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, testified at his fraud trial Tuesday that he directed her and others to take money from customers of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, without their knowledge. Ellison said Bankman-Fried, whom she once dated, had them take $10 billion in FTX customer funds from the hedge fund, Alameda Research, to finance its own investments and repay debts. Ellison said the hedge fund accessed the money through a $65 billion line of credit on the exchange, and from FTX customer deposits into an Alameda bank account at a time when FTX didn't have its own account. "He was the one who directed us to take customer money to repay our loans," Ellison said. She testifies again Wednesday. Reuters

10. Engineers salvage final debris, human remains from Titan submersible

The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday it had recovered the remaining debris and presumed human remains from the Titan submersible, which imploded while descending to the wreck of the Titanic, killing all five people on board. The Coast Guard said engineers collected the parts, including the intact aft titanium endcap of the 22-foot vessel, last Wednesday about 1,600 feet from the Titanic in water 12,500 feet deep. Investigators believe the Titan imploded during its descent, shortly after going silent and prompting a frantic, days-long search. Stockton Rush, CEO of Titan-operator OceanGate, was killed along with four passengers: British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48; his son Suleman, 19; British businessman Hamish Harding, 58; and former French navy diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77. The Associated Press, BBC News