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Today’s top stories

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and Israel’s most wanted man in Gaza, is dead, the Israeli military confirmed. According to the Israeli government, he was considered the mastermind of the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed. The attack sparked a war that killed over 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza health authorities. The Israeli military reported that he was killed in Rafah, in the south.

Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City on April 13, 2022.

Adel Hana/AP

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Adel Hana/AP

• 🎧 Sinwar’s death – the latest high-profile killing of a Hamas leader after two other key leaders were killed over the summer – has raised questions about who will take over the group’s leadershiptells NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi First up. Sinwar’s right-hand man is his brother Mohamed Sinwar, but there are others outside Gaza who have represented Hamas in Qatar and Turkey for years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last night that his first duty was to ensure the release of the remaining hostages. According to former Israeli intelligence officer Michael Milshtein, the US and Israel have long argued that Sinwar was the main obstacle to reaching a hostage deal. President Biden has stressed the need to move forward, suggesting it is time to revive stalled ceasefire talks.
• ➡️ Who was Yahya Sinwar? Here’s everything you need to know about the obsessively secretive man described as a psychopath by Israeli politicians and security officials.

NPR put together two focus groups with “double haters” in May. Voters who disapproved of both former President Donald Trump and Biden. This was supposed to help understand how they decided on the candidates, but a lot has changed since then. This week, NPR reached out to those same voters again to find out which way they’re leaning now in the tougher-than-ever race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump.

• 🎧 NPR’s Mara Liasson says that of the 10 spring double-haters, four stuck or leaned toward Trump, five stuck and leaned toward Harris, and one was certain he wouldn’t vote for either of them. The turn to Harris appears to be driven by anti-Trump rather than pro-Harris sentiment. “She still doesn’t get as much support as Biden did in 2020 at the same point in the race with key Democratic groups like African Americans, Hispanics and young people,” Liasson said. These voters appeared to be less concerned about Harris’ result because they did not believe she would jeopardize the election. Trump and the threat of political violence are even more worrisome given his repeated refusal to accept the results of elections he did not win.

Biden is in Berlin, Germany today to meet with European leaders for the final time during his presidency. It is a farewell trip to a region that has been the focus since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine. The meeting is of great political importance, especially as the US is about to elect a new president while the outcome of the war in Ukraine remains uncertain. Here is an insight into the significance of this meeting.

• 🎧 “America’s relationship with Europe is stronger than ever, and that’s largely because of the work President Biden has done over the last four years.” NPR’s Rob Schmitz says. According to a recent survey by the German think tank Körber-Stiftung, 80% of Germans surveyed believe that another Trump presidency would damage transatlantic relations. Trump’s uncertainty about continued support for Ukraine could force Europe to step in to fill the gap in U.S. support for the country if he is re-elected. This could put pressure on Germany in particular to strengthen its own security. Furthermore, a Trump presidency could contribute to the growing popularity of right-wing extremist parties in Germany and across Europe.

Picture show

Abrar Saleh Ali, 17, arrived in the Milé refugee camp in eastern Chad two weeks ago after Sudan’s civil war destroyed her home and she was separated from her family. It took months for her to walk across the country and reach the camp. On the way she was robbed of all her belongings. When she arrived at the camp, she learned that her sister had been killed.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

NPR’s Claire Harbage and Fatma Tanis spent a week in September talking to more than two dozen women in several refugee camps in ChadToday, over 600,000 people who have fled Sudan live here. The women said the adult men in their families – their husbands, fathers, adult sons and brothers – were almost always missing. Some men had disappeared, been killed by the Rapid Support Forces to prevent them from defending themselves and their families, or had been conscripted by the Sudanese army. The conflict has displaced over 13 million people and led to what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Weekend tips

Florence Pugh in We live in time.

A24

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A24

Look at what NPR watch, read and listen this weekend:

🍿Movies: We live in time The film stars Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, who laugh and cry as a couple and try to make the most of their time together. The story jumps from their first meeting to their later crisis and several critical points in between.

📺 Television: Disclaimer Cate Blanchett plays a successful documentary filmmaker who is confronted with a secret from her past. Each of the seven episodes advances the story, provides new clues, raises bigger questions and leaves the audience wanting more.

📚 Books: Clean is narrated by Estela, a clever woman who works as a maid for a wealthy family. She becomes the prime suspect in the death of a seven-year-old who was found dead in the pool at the house where she works.

🎵 Music: Renowned guitarist and composer John Scofield celebrates his 50th anniversary in November. To commemorate this milestone Jazz night in America presented him with a special challenge: select 10 key tracks from his extensive discography and reveal the stories behind them. Listen to the full setlist here.

🎮 Games: Super Mario Party Jamboree is full of variety, including 112 mini-games, 22 playable characters, seven game boards, five multiplayer modes and an exclusive single-player adventure.

❓Quiz: If you’ve been paying attention to the presidential candidates and the new pandas, you can pass at least half of this week’s quiz. But if you’re like me, you’ll be able to do anything. Are you ready to accept it?

3 things you should know before you go

In September 2023, people protested outside the White House to raise awareness of opioid-related deaths. A year later, the number of fentanyl-related deaths in the United States has fallen sharply.

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

1. Drug overdose deaths decreased 12.7%according to CDC data released this week. If that trend continues, this year could be the first year since 2020 that overdose deaths fall below 100,000.
2. Vikash Yadav, a former Indian intelligence official, is facing federal chargess for allegedly planning to murder an American citizen in New York City. The intended victim is a leader of the movement for an independent Sikh homeland.
3. Recently released body camera footage shows Tyron McAlpin, a deaf black man with cerebral palsy, allegedly being beaten and verbally abused by Phoenix police officers in August 2024. This came after a Justice Department report found evidence of discrimination against Black, Hispanic and Native American people by Phoenix police.

This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.