This week alone, the Harris campaign unveiled a health care ad blitz, including one spot saying that Americans risk losing their coverage and Obamacare protections if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House and another focusing on Harris’ efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs, including insulin. More health care-related spots are forthcoming.

The ads follow the Harris campaign’s release of a 43-page report that seeks to fill out the “concepts” of a health plan that Trump mentioned in September’s debate, slamming him and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, for comments the vice president argues will reduce access to coverage and raise costs.

“Democrats always want to be talking about health care because they have a political advantage over Republicans on the issue with voters,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research organization, told CNN. “Trump and Vance have both opened the door to criticism that they want to once again try to replace the ACA, and the Harris campaign has walked right through that door.”

In an election where neither Harris nor Trump has rolled out detailed policy platforms, voters are hungry for more information on the candidates’ views on health care.

Around two-thirds of US adults say the topic is not receiving enough attention during the 2024 presidential campaign, according to a poll from West Health and Gallup released Monday. Among Democrats, that figure jumps to 78%, but even 53% of Republicans feel that way. Among independents, about two-thirds think health care is not getting enough attention.

“Americans care about health care. They want to know where the candidates stand when it comes to health care,” Sarah Fioroni, a senior researcher at Gallup, told CNN. “It’s always on the front of minds of Americans because it really affects their daily lives and continues to be really important.”

What the candidates have said

Both Harris and Trump have promised on the campaign trail to make health care more affordable – a longstanding complaint of many Americans.

Harris laid out several goals for reducing costs and increasing coverage in her initial economic package in August, as well as in a subsequent policy platform. The proposals, which largely build on the Biden administration’s accomplishments and are not very fleshed out, include making permanent the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies; broadening the $35 monthly cap on insulin and $2,000 annual limit on out-of-pocket costs to all Americans, not just Medicare enrollees; speeding up Medicare drug price negotiations; and working with states to cancel patients’ medical debt.

Early in the campaign, Trump revived talk of wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something better. More recently, he has pivoted to saying that he saved Obamacare, although he continues to criticize it.

Asked at September’s ABC debate whether he has a plan to replace the landmark health reform law, Trump said, “I have concepts of a plan.”

“I would only change it if we come up with something better and less expensive. And there are concepts and options we have to do that. And you’ll be hearing about it in the not-too-distant future,” continued Trump, who has long promised to propose an Obamacare replacement plan.

Vance has since sought to fill out some of the details in interviews, advocating for lifting some of the law’s sweeping regulations and providing people with more choices of health insurance policies. But his comments, particularly on separating healthy and sick enrollees into different risk pools, raised concerns that doing so would weaken Obamacare’s protections for people with preexisting conditions.

Asked about maintaining these protections at Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, Vance said that Americans with preexisting conditions would be covered and referenced the Trump administration’s approval of states’ reinsurance waiver requests for their Affordable Care Act exchanges. This generally lowered Obamacare premiums by providing funding for insurers that enrolled many high-cost patients.

Harris has jumped on her Republican rivals’ comments, using them as an opportunity to draw contrasts between her and her party’s health care measures and Trump’s past efforts – and future intent, she argues – to repeal Obamacare. The report her campaign released Monday says that Trump and Vance would “rip away” coverage from those with preexisting conditions and raise premiums, drug prices and out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans.

The Trump campaign accused the Harris campaign of “lying because they are losing,” Karoline Leavitt, the campaign’s national press secretary, said in an email to CNN.

“President Trump is extremely aware of the healthcare struggles our country is facing from the rise of chronic childhood illnesses to the high price of healthcare and insurance that hardworking families simply cannot afford,” she said. “By increasing transparency, promoting choice and competition, and expanding access to new affordable healthcare and prescription drug options, President Trump will make healthcare affordable again.”

For this ultra-high net worth individual and others like him, it’s a run of the mill commute. And with money no object, it will be curated to his every wish — from the high thread-count bedding on board to the ready-to-eat Big Mac meal he expects upon fastening his seatbelt.

“Everywhere in the world, wherever he flies from … McDonald’s and KFC have to be on board … it has to be both,” said Lilit Avetikyan, CEO and founder of recently launched private jet company Voyex.

For the Dubai-based private aviation industry veteran, catering to the unique requests of multi-millionaire clients is just part of the “360-degree” luxury lifestyle service she offers, whether that’s fast-food favourites, tickets to the Oscars, or a customized mystery holiday.

It’s an elite club that enjoys private jet travel, which can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000-plus for a single leg.

As a broker for premium private charter flights, Voyex boasts access to a network of more than 20,000 aircraft around the world that can be called on and ready for take-off in hours.

“There are actually two very exclusive aircraft that we have very special access to, for only ultra-high net worth individuals (like) royal families or governments … those are like small villas in the air,” said Avetikyan.

While a cost-of-living crisis bites large swathes of the global economy, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the millionaire’s club is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, and with it the demand for corporate and luxury private aviation.

“It’s an abundance mindset,” says Vanessa Budah, Voyex vice president of Communications and Lifestyle, describing Dubai, where the company is currently based.

“Ultimately, we are appealing to delegates, government officials, celebrities,” she said.  “Clients who are top tier, who we have to keep private about.”

In May, California’s “Metropolitan Oakland International” changed its name to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” – despite the fact that San Francisco International Airport is just 30 miles (48 kilometers) away. There’s been rancor ever since.

The Port of Oakland said the rebrand’s goal is to remind tourists that Oakland is an access point for visiting the Bay Area, but some people seem to have found themselves more confused than helped.

Some travelers have shown up at the wrong airport, according to San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. Meanwhile, San Francisco has filed a trademark lawsuit against its neighbor, saying that the new Oakland airport name was part of a plan to “intentionally and knowingly capitalize off of confusion.”

In addition, San Francisco is asking for an injunction and for Oakland to pay its legal fees. The Port of Oakland has rebuffed the motion. Its attorney, Mary Richardson, accused Chiu’s office of “tactics rooted in publicity and anti-competitive bullying.”

Whichever way the lawsuit goes, consider it a useful reminder to always triple-check the airport name and location before your flight, lest you end up in Bucharest when you meant to fly to Budapest.

The researchers involved in the project say they believe the tree species, which is thought to be extinct today, could have been the source of a healing balm mentioned in the Bible and other ancient texts.

Unearthed during an archaeological dig in the lower Wadi el-Makkuk region north of Jerusalem, the ancient seed was determined to be in pristine condition. But the scientists conducting the new research weren’t able to identify the type of tree from the seed alone. The team, led by Dr. Sarah Sallon, a physician who founded the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, planted the seed to further investigate more than a dozen years ago.

Sallon said it was possible that the tree could be the source of the biblical “tsori,” a medicinal plant extract associated with the historical region of Gilead north of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley, a mountainous and forested area that was intensely cultivated and is now part of Jordan.

The team’s findings, described in a study published September 10 in the journal Communications Biology, unlock some of the secrets surrounding the origins of this enigmatic specimen, which Sallon nicknamed “Sheba.”

John McGinty and Georgia McGinty were sitting in the back seat of an Uber ride in March 2022 when the driver sped through a red light and was T-boned by another car resulting in “serious physical, psychological, and financial damages,” a filing said.

Georgia sustained several fractures throughout her body, including cervical, lumbar, spine and rib fractures and other physical injuries that required surgeries and other procedures. Meanwhile, John has diminished use of his left wrist and a fractured sternum.

They tried taking Uber to court for a jury trial, but an appellate court recently ruled they can’t because they previously agreed to Uber’s updated terms and conditions requiring arbitration, which are the same in the Uber Eats and Uber ride app.

The couple said it was their minor daughter using Georgia’s phone who agreed to Uber Eats’ terms of service clicking a button that verified she was 18 years old, but an appellate court said that the company’s terms are “valid and enforceable” and that they include an acknowledgement that “disputes concerning auto accidents or personal injuries, will be resolved through binding arbitration ‘and not in a court of law.’”

Uber, in response, told CNN that Georgia McGinty “agreed to Uber’s terms of use, including the arbitration agreement, on multiple occasions,” including in early 2021 and took Uber rides after agreeing to those terms.

“While the plaintiffs continue to tell the press that it was their daughter who ordered Uber Eats and accepted the terms of use, it’s worth noting that in court they could only ‘surmise’ that that was the case but could not recall whether ‘their daughter ordered food independently or if Georgia assisted,’” an Uber spokesperson said.

The McGintys said in a statement to CNN that they’re “surprised and heartbroken” and that the appellate court’s decision has “exacerbated the pain and suffering we’ve experienced since the collision.”

“We are horrified at what the court’s decision suggests: A large corporation like Uber can avoid being sued in a court of law by injured consumers because of contractual language buried in a dozen-page-long user agreement concerning services unrelated to the one that caused the consumers’ injuries,” the McGintys said.

Prior to this most recent ruling in September, a lower court said Uber’s arbitration clause wasn’t enforceable because the pop-up with the terms of service “fail[ed] to clearly and unambiguously inform plaintiff of her waiver of the right to pursue her claims in a judicial forum.”

Uber appealed that decision, and the judges agreed with the company that its terms of services were enforceable.

The McGinty’s attorneys told CNN they’re reviewing the decision and will “likely” petition the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Seven people were killed and 16 wounded in the attack on Jerusalem Boulevard in Jaffa, a port neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, according to Israeli Police.

The incident happened just minutes before Iran launched a barrage of about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, its largest-ever such attack, sending sirens blaring across the country and residents running to bomb shelters.

Video posted online showed Lev Kreitman, who served six months as a reservist with the Israeli military in Gaza, firing a gun at an unknown target before running away. The footage was filmed from a nearby building in Jaffa and appears to show Kreitman wearing a pink shirt, white shorts and flip flops.

In another video, Kreitman was seen walking in the background among Israeli soldiers who were at the scene of the attack.

Speaking to CNN affiliate Channel 11, Kreitman said he had been carrying his personal handgun after his time with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Recalling Tuesday’s incident, he said how he spotted what he described as “two terrorists,” one moving toward him.

“The other goes somewhere else, runs somewhere else, and I’m here, right where we’re standing, I surprised him from the side, shoot,” Kreitman said, adding he understood straight away it was an attack.

“I tried to do my best in the very crazy situation, amid alarms, missiles, and interceptions in the sky,” he said.

Kreitman survived the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on October 7. The trance festival in southern Israel’s Negev Desert was one target of the militant group’s rampage in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 others kidnapped and taken to Gaza.

Israel’s ensuing war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 people, created a humanitarian catastrophe and left much of the Palestinian enclave in ruins.

Police said Wednesday that two gunmen had begun their “killing spree” by opening fire on passengers aboard a light rail car that had stopped at a station in Jaffa. They had then continued their attack on foot on Jerusalem Boulevard, according to police.

The attackers were stopped by security forces and civilians who used personal guns, police added. “They had an M-16 type weapon, cartridges and a knife in their possession,” police said in a statement.

Medics said they treated victims at several sites on Jerusalem Boulevard, including near train tracks, in the street, at a synagogue and in a butcher’s shop. The injured were taken to hospitals while air-raid alarms sounded in the region and throughout Israel.

Israeli authorities identified the gunmen as Muhammad Mask, 19, who was killed at the scene, and Ahmed Himoni, 25, who was severely injured. Police said the pair were residents of Hebron, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the incident, the Israel Security Agency and IDF forces arrested a number of suspects accused of being involved in assisting the gunmen in purchasing weapons and entering Israel, according to police.

In a post on X, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called Kreitman a “hero who neutralized the attack” in Jaffa and acted “bravely” in the October 7 attack as he “saved many people.” Ben-Gvir called for more Israelis to arm themselves.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Tuesday’s attack and sent condolences to the families of those who were killed.

“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said hours after the unprecedented attack.

Iran launched a salvo of about 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli military targets, its largest ever such attack, sending sirens blaring across Israel and activating the country’s sophisticated defensive systems.

Iran’s leadership said the attack was intended as a warning to Israel not to enter a direct war with its longtime enemy, and any Israeli response to the barrage would be met with “stronger and more painful” blows.

The escalation came about 24 hours after Israel launched a ground war in Lebanon to go after Hezbollah, a powerful militant group that is backed by Iran, and days after Israel killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut.

Iran gave 72 hours notice ahead of that attack, which was widely seen as designed to minimize casualties while maximizing spectacle with almost all of the 300 projectiles knocked out of the sky by Israel’s defense systems.

Israel responded a week later with a limited strike on Iran.

This time, Israel learned about the imminent threat just hours before Tehran launched the strikes, with targets including the headquarters of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, in Tel Aviv, Israel’s second largest city, Nevatim Air Base and Tel Nof Air Base.

Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Iran’s Tuesday barrage was twice as large as the April attack. It also included many more ballistic missiles, which are harder to shoot down, posing a real threat to Israeli citizens – many of whom evacuated to shelters during the attack.

While the Israeli military said most of the missiles were intercepted, some landed on Israeli soil and appeared to cause damage. Shock waves caused by the attack also damaged homes in central Israel, authorities in the country said.

Deadly floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season in South Asia but experts are warning that climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of these disasters.

This weekend, entire neighbourhoods in Kathmandu were submerged, with flash floods tearing through the city and causing extensive damage to major highways.

Kumar Tamang, a 40-year-old resident from a slum near the riverbank, shared his harrowing experience. “We had to flee at midnight as water rushed into our home. Today, everything looks different, with mud blocking our doors,” he told AFP.

Nepal’s home ministry confirmed that 104 people had died nationwide, with another 64 still missing.

Rishi Ram Tiwari, a ministry spokesman, said efforts were ongoing to clear highways blocked by landslides, which have cut off Kathmandu from the rest of the country. “More than 3,000 people have been rescued,” he said.

In one of the worst incidents, 14 people aboard two buses were killed when a landslide buried the vehicles in the Dhading district, south of Kathmandu.

The Nepalese capital recorded 240 millimetres (9.4 inches) of rainfall over 24 hours, the heaviest in more than 50 years, according to the country’s weather bureau.

As rivers like the Bagmati broke their banks, residents waded through chest-deep water to seek refuge on higher ground.

Emergency teams, including over 3,000 security personnel, have been deployed with helicopters, motorboats, and rafts to assist in rescue operations.

cancelled
By Sunday morning, domestic flights had resumed after being grounded by adverse weather conditions, with more than 150 departures canceled.

The summer monsoon, responsible for 70-80% of South Asia’s annual rainfall, regularly brings death and destruction to the region.

However, scientists warn that the increasing frequency of extreme weather events is linked to climate change. Over 260 people in Nepal have lost their lives to rain-related disasters this year alone.

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry revealed this on Sunday, with regional governors reporting some damage but no casualties from the attack.

In a post on its Telegram, the ministry said 125 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs were destroyed and intercepted by air defence systems on duty.

It said that sixty-seven were destroyed over the Volgograd region in southern Russia, where governor Andrey Bocharov said falling debris from the drones sparked grass fires but no casualties or damage.

The ministry added that another 17 were downed over the Belgorod region and 17 over the Voronezh region, where governor Aleksandr Gusev said several fell on Voronezh city and its suburbs causing fires in two residential buildings but no casualties.

Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram that another 18 drones were destroyed over the Rostov region.

According to operational information, there are no casualties or damage on the ground.

Russia has recently announced shooting down Ukrainian drones almost daily in response to what Kyiv says are retaliatory strikes for Russian attacks during its offensive launched in February 2022

At the Meta Connect 2024 developer conference in Menlo Park, founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed that users of Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Facebook can now engage in real-time conversations using a variety of voices, including those of celebrities like Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, and Kristen Bell.While this new voice feature aims to enhance user interaction, it differs from OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT, which is celebrated for its expressive and emotive tones. In contrast, Meta’s offering resembles Google’s Gemini Live, which transcribes speech and reads responses aloud with synthetic voices.