Iran Fires Nearly 200 Missiles At Israel: What Happens Now?
Plus: A civilized debate: The VP candidates show their Midwest-nice roots
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Good morning,
Need a quick coffee on your way to work? Well, those of you driving by a Wawa are in luck: It was ranked the best convenience store in the US.
The Philadelphia chain topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s first-ever convenience store study.
Categories included store hours, locations, coffee freshness, food quality, wait times, and speed of checkout.
The secret: Stores that focus on making food! And of course, make it well. We recommend the Wawa hoagies and milkshakes. They also have a full breakfast menu, smoothies, baked goods and fresh fruit.
Robust loyalty programs also helped.
Up next: QuikTrip scored the second spot. The Oklahoma-based stores feature tacos, BBQ sandwiches, and wraps. Then, Buc-ee’s (#3), Murphy USA (#4), and Casey’s General Stores (#5).
We’re ready for ☕️ Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
📌 ESCALATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST: IRAN FIRES 180 BALLISTIC MISSILES AT ISRAEL; NETANYAHU VOWS “CONSEQUENCES”
After vowing revenge for the killing of several top terrorist leaders, Iran launched approximately 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday. Sirens rang over the entire country, sending millions of Israelis into bomb shelters. No Israelis were killed or seriously injured, while one Palestinian man in the West Bank was killed by Iranian missile shrapnel that fell on him.
President Biden said the attack appeared “to have been defeated and ineffective” adding that “the United States is fully, fully, fully, supportive of Israel." Israeli officials have now vowed to retaliate for the attack.
WHAT HAPPENED
US and Israeli intelligence flagged the attack hours before, however Iran used their most advanced missiles and launched them in a barrage, appearing to try to overwhelm Israeli air defense systems.
Israel’s defense system, which includes the “Iron Dome” anti-projectile system, as well as Arrow defense units, intercepted many of the incoming missiles. Some landed in central and southern Israel, however.
President Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said there was “meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack.”
The US Navy helped take down about a dozen Iranian missiles.
US officials said Jordan allowed American forces to fly over its airspace to shoot down Iranian missiles.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said the assault was in retaliation for recent Israeli killings of terrorist group leaders like Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah. Iran is falsely claiming to have hit 90% of its targets. It appears they actually didn’t hit any of the Israeli military sites they claimed to have targeted.
FLASHBACK: Back on April 13, Iran launched about 300 drones and cruise missiles at Israel. Israel, the US and other allies shot them down before they could do damage.
Iran said the drone attack was retaliation for an Israeli strike near the Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals and five officers.
Israel’s counterattack— striking limited targets in Iran— was mostly symbolic.
Most analysts say Israel’s response will be more consequential this time around. Why? Yesterday’s missile attack from Iran was more severe, with Iran using ballistic missiles that could inflict serious damage. It’s also now the second time Iran has attacked Israel directly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his security cabinet meeting after the attack said that Iran made a “big mistake… and it will pay for it.” Here’s more of what he said:
“The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”
“They will understand” that “whoever attacks us, we will attack him… We will do everything necessary to continue this trend, to achieve all the goals of the war, primarily the return of all our hostages, and to ensure our existence and our future.”
What’s next: The US is still trying to urge restraint and prevent a wider war, but at this point, Americans have been pretty ineffective. Iran, up until now, has been trying to play both sides: Be the big player in the Middle East with its terrorist proxies (Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas), but also not start a full-fledged war.
It’s not clear how Israel will respond. Some possibilities: Given that no Israelis were killed, Israel could, like in April, respond with a target strike that’s more symbolic. Israel could also take military action against an Iranian oil facility or military installation. Or, Israel could go even further, potentially striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
📌 VP DEBATE RECAP: CANDIDATES ENGAGE IN CIVIL DEBATE; WATCHERS FAVOR VANCE IN POLLS
Vice presidential candidates Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) faced off Tuesday in an overwhelmingly civilized debate (how vintage!) that got to some key issues.
The Midwesterners even took turns complimenting each other, all the while focusing their criticism on the #1 of the opposing tickets: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS
Abortion: “This is about health care,” Walz said, and that the abortion should be up to women and their doctor rather than states.
Vance said it is a complicated issue that should be state-by-state.
Guns: Acknowledging there’s a “violence epidemic” in the US, Vance focused on illegal guns coming across the border. His solution for school shootings included stronger security.
Walz characterized Vance’s ideas as too weak and proposed stronger laws regarding gun safety similar to some European countries with high gun ownership.
Healthcare:
Vance declined to lay out a detailed plan for improving Obamacare (Trump has said he has “concepts of a plan”). He falsely claimed that Trump tried to rescue Obamacare during his presidency, when he actually tried to eliminate it.
Vance also signaled that he supports changes to the way the health insurance marketplace works. Walz warned that they could increase costs, and cause some people to lose their coverage.
Foreign policy: Walz and Vance agreed that the US should stand by Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran.
Walz painted Trump as too unstable on the world stage. In reply, Vance argued that Trump is an intimidating figure on the international stage that is a deterrent to countries like Iran.
Walz appeared very shaky and out of his depth on this answer, including appearing to confuse Iran and Israel.
Immigration: A heated back-and-forth over each ticket's plans for immigration policy ended with the debate moderator appearing to fact-check Vance— despite saying CBS would not— and muting microphones.
CBS's Margaret Brennan noted that many Haitians in Springfield, Ohio do have legal status, temporary protected status. Vance called it a fact-check, then delved into a discussion of the CBP One app, created by the Biden administration to allow migrants seeking asylum to register for a hearing ahead of time.
So what’s the actual deal? When an immigrant's parole expires, they are left with no legal status unless they have applied for asylum or another immigration program in the meantime.
Biden has argued that this deters migrants from entering illegally and the government can better track them. Trump and Vance would counter that the migrants are illegal still, since the temporary protected status eventually expires.
Bottom line: Vance and Walz stayed on topic, mostly answered all the questions, and turned their answers into attacks on the opposing party’s presidential nominees. At times, they even appeared to search for a middle ground on the issue. And both passed the stress test: Neither did harm to their running mate.
REACTION
Going into the debate, Vance was underwater on net favorability. He was viewed unfavorably by 48% of voters compared to Walz’s 41%. Some Democrats told Mo News that they concerned that Walz’s debate approach made Vance appear more likable and help his campaign.
DEBATE WATCHERS WEIGH IN
A CBS News flash poll among debate watchers (who happened to lean Democrat last night) found 42% of voters said Vance won, 41% said Walz.
A Frank Luntz focus group of undecideds found that Vance won by a 12-2 margin.
A Washington Post group of swing state voters found Vance won 14-8.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
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📌 Sean "Diddy" Combs slammed with 120 new sexual assault allegations (AXIOS)
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🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Six killed and 10 wounded in shooting/knife terror attack in Israeli city of Jaffa (GUARDIAN)
📌 Claudia Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first female president (CBS NEWS)
📌 WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed (AP)
📌 More than 20 students and teachers are feared dead in Thailand school trip bus fire (NPR)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Microsoft’s AI boss wants Copilot to bring ‘emotional support’ to Windows and Office (WIRED)
📌 Online scammers duping 20% of the U.S. adults they encounter (AXIOS)
📌 Black-colored plastic used for kitchen utensils and toys linked to banned toxic flame retardants (CNN)
📌 Reuters, CNN add website paywalls as revenue declines (AXIOS)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Dana Carvey breaks down how he developed perfect Biden impression (VARIETY)
📌 Louisiana governor wants live tiger back at LSU football games (NBC NEWS)
📌 Daniel Day-Lewis ends retirement from acting after seven years (GUARDIAN)
📌 Olivia Nuzzi accuses ex-fiance of orchestrating blackmail campaign amid RFK relationship (CNN)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: OCTOBER 2
1950: The first Peanuts comic strip was published; Snoopy made his debut two days later.
1967: Lawyer and civil rights activist Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court, becoming its first African American member. He would retire in 1991.
1985: American actor Rock Hudson died, becoming one of the first Hollywood celebrities known to succumb to AIDS-related complications; the extensive publicity surrounding his death drew attention to the disease.
2001: The TV show ‘Scrubs’ premiered on NBC.