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Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Monday, October 23rd. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show: The changing battleground in the Middle East; The House Speaker race gets even messier; And how the people of the Osage Nation brought their history to the big screen in "Killers of the Flower Moon."
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Let's start with some of the big developments in the Israel-Hamas war as Israeli troops are massed at the border for a potential invasion, and only a trickle of aid has reached civilians in Gaza.
This conflict is also still an active hostage situation. There are believed to be around 200 people held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. Most are Israelis, but there are also citizens of other countries held captive. There are growing voices inside and outside Israel saying that the military should wait to launch a ground invasion to allow more time for talks on a deal to release hostages.
There was new hope for negotiations over the weekend when two American hostages, Judith Raanan, and her daughter, Natalie, were released. Qatar played a key role in talks that led to that release. Its government has often helped the U.S. in past hostage negotiations.
Ben Raanan, Natalie's older brother, told "NPR" it was a sad and exhausting 13 days of waiting for their release, and even though the family is now relieved, they're very worried about other civilians.
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Ben Raanan: We're grieving for all the families that are still being kept hostage. We are grieving for innocent Israelis and Palestinians who are caught in the middle of this horrid humanitarian crisis.
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Now let’s turn to conditions on the ground in Gaza. For civilians there, it’s a painful wait for food, water, and medicine. Aid trucks were finally allowed into the area. But only a couple dozen arrived over the weekend. That's an alarmingly small shipment for an area with millions of people whose supplies have been depleted by the Israeli blockade. The UN says the volume of aid entering so far is only four percent of what went in before the blockade.
And even though there's been no ground invasion, Israeli aircraft continue to bomb targets in Gaza. The strikes have killed many civilians, who have little hope of evacuating to a safe place.
Israel's military has also launched new attacks in other areas, raising fears of an even wider conflict. It struck several targets in Lebanon. The violence on the Israel-Lebanon border has been the worst since Israel went to war with Hezbollah there in 2006. Israel has also launched some attacks in the West Bank.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told "ABC" that the Pentagon is moving American troops and ships in the area to be prepared.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: What we're seeing is the prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region, and because of that, we're gonna do what's necessary to make sure that our troops are in a good position, and they're protected and that we have the ability to respond.
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The farther the fighting goes beyond Gaza, the more groups and countries it could drag in.
Now, let's take a quick look at some other stories in the news.
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The next phase in the chaotic House Speaker race includes nine new candidates. This comes after Jim Jordan, and Steve Scalise before him, failed to get enough Republican votes to win the role. This week the latest candidates will make their case to GOP House members, followed by more votes to start narrowing the field.
Today, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez is scheduled to enter a plea to charges of conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent for the Egyptian government. He has criticized the prosecution and resisted calls to resign. These new charges come on top of last month's related corruption charges, to which Menendez and his wife Nadine pleaded not guilty
Abroad, a surprise result in Argentina's election over the weekend. The center-left candidate got more votes than the right-wing populist challenger. Polls had pointed to things going the other way around. But the results were still close, which means a second round will be held next month.
In Michigan, people are mourning the loss of Samantha Woll, a synagogue board president. She was found stabbed to death over the weekend. Detroit police say the motive is not yet known and they’re investigating.
And in business news, actors and studios will be restarting talks, beginning tomorrow. Negotiations broke down recently, as the two sides were far apart on compensation and the use of artificial intelligence. The actors strike has put productions on hold for months.
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Staying with entertainment news, Martin Scorsese's new film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," took in 23 million dollars domestically in its opening weekend. That was considered a strong showing given its three-and-a-half-hour runtime, and that stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, couldn't promote the film because of the actors strike. Another of the film's stars, Lily Gladstone, was on the picket line on the film's opening day.
The movie is based on the true story of the murder of dozens of Osage Nation people in Oklahoma in the 1920s. I recently sat down with David Grann, the author of the book the film is based on, and Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, the Principal Chief of the Osage Nation and a consultant on the movie. Chief Standing Bear told me that the Osage people were intimately involved with the making of this film.
Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear: There are a lot of Osages as extras and others in front of the camera. But there are a lot of Osages behind the camera in set design, building. We have people involved very much in the language, our traditional clothes and our ceremonial practices.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" was shot on-location in Oklahoma's Osage County. Chief Standing Bear said this was hugely important. And Grann gave the Chief a lot of the credit for making that happen. He said you can see the impact that it had on the final product.
David Grann: It meant that the people making the film were gonna be immersed in the world of the Osage, in their culture, in their traditions, meeting them, eating with them, seeing them, talking to them. And I think that really helped shape the story in a positive way. And at least for me, when I see the film, I think it has a real authenticity and truth, and it's because of that immersion.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" is out in theaters now. And to hear more of my conversation with Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and David Grann, be sure to check out our episode of "Apple News: In Conversation," coming out later this week.
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And if you're already listening in the Apple News app right now, stick around. We've got a Narrated Article coming up next from "Popular Mechanics." It's about the volunteers trying to save the stones that mark the Mason-Dixon Line. The 18th century mapping of it has been called "cartography's equivalent of a moon landing." If you're listening in the Podcasts app, follow Apple News+ Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
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