10.10.2023

Israel-Gaza Conflict 

Israel announced a full siege of the Gaza Strip yesterday as the conflict between the two regions entered a third day, with Israel drafting 300,000 reservists and cutting off food, electricity, and fuel to the Gaza Strip, which was already under a 16-year blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt. Israel's full blockade comes after Hamas, which runs Gaza internally, took at least 150 civilians and soldiers hostage following a wide-ranging surprise attack on Israel over the weekend (see previous write-up). 

Hamas has threatened to execute an Israeli hostage each time an airstrike hits civilian homes in Gaza without warning. The US and the EU designate Hamas as a terrorist group due to its history of armed opposition against Israel (see overview). At least 900 people have died so far in Israel, including at least 11 Americans, and at least 687 Palestinians have died in Gaza. More than 6,000 have been injured from both sides since Saturday. 

Israel also exchanged fire yesterday with neighboring Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah after Palestinian militants had infiltrated Israel's northern border. The US is among governments designating Hezbollah as a terrorist group (see overview).  

See a visual timeline of the decadeslong Israel-Palestine conflict here. 

Nobel Economics Prize

Harvard University's Claudia Goldin won the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences yesterday for her pioneering work in women's labor history. She is the third woman to receive the honor in the award's 54-year history and the first to do so individually. 

The 77-year-old labor economist and economic historian has led the field for decades with positions at Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard—where she became the first woman in the economics department to receive tenure. For decades, she has directed groups at the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research, a private nonprofit think tank, and has held stints as president of both the American Economic Association and the Economic History Association. 

Her research has focused on the historical wage disparities between men and women (listen here). Previously, differences in education and occupation explained the gap, but Goldin found that in recent decades, pay differences emerged in the years after a woman had her first child. Today, women in the US earn roughly 80% of what men make.

Mack Trucks Strike

United Auto Workers members at Volvo Group-owned Mack Trucks facilities in three states went on strike yesterday after rejecting a proposed five-year contract. The tentative deal was downvoted by 73% of 4,000 workers in Florida, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

The deal would have included a 19% pay raise over five years, a $3,500 ratification bonus, and improved retirement and health benefits. UAW President Shawn Fain said the two sides remain apart on issues such as wage increases, cost-of-living allowances, and work schedules.

Mack Trucks workers are not part of the original UAW strike, which began Sept. 15 against the Big Three: General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler). Observers say the Mack deal may have fallen apart due to higher expectations from bargaining with the Big Three; Ford has so far offered a 23% pay raise, while GM and Stellantis are at 20%. More than 30,000 workers are now striking across 22 states (see map). 

Science & Technology

Business & Markets

Politics & World Affairs

In-Depth

> The Daguerreotypes

ProPublica | Jennifer Berry Hawes. A look at Tamara Lanier's fight to obtain photos of her ancestors from Harvard, which holds some of the oldest known photographs of enslaved people in America. (Read)

> The Historical Genius of Hollywood

NY Times | Noah Gallagher Shannon. A profile on the career of Hollywood production designer Jack Fisk, highlighting his contributions to films like Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and his ability to recreate the past. (Read)

Rover captures blue sunset on Mars. 

... and Prada will design NASA's suits for 2025 moon mission.

California becomes first state to ban four food additives. 

Our sense of smell changes how we see color. 

The ultimate guide to 85 varieties of apples.  

Woman lives on floating island she built with her late husband. 

Newly discovered snail named after Jimmy Buffett song.

Dozens of cows invade Wisconsin neighborhood.

Clickbait: When Will Ferrell DJs your college tailgate party.

Historybook: United States Naval Academy opens (1845); American actress Helen Hayes born (1900); Filmmaker Orson Welles dies (1985); Hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship ends (1985); "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve dies (2004).