10 things you need to know today: November 1, 2023

Israeli airstrikes hit the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Israel said the attack killed a Hamas commander and "dozens" of other militants and destroyed a command center in a "vast underground tunnel complex" beneath the destroyed buildings. Gaza's Health Ministry said "hundreds" of people were killed or injured in the strike.

The Italian military news agency ANSA quoted an Israeli army spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, as saying that Hamas militants were "hiding, as they usually do, among civilians." Israel said the commander targeted had helped plan Hamas' Oct. 7 message in the southern''Israel. Hamas denies the presence of commander Ibrahim Biari in the refugee camp. Videos after the bombing show people digging up debris around a huge crater among destroyed buildings. Reuters, The New York Times

The authorities detained Cornell University student Patrick Dye on Tuesday and accused him of posting threats against Jewish students.

Dye, a fourth-year student at this prestigious institution in upstate New York, allegedly posted messages in the Cornell University section of an unaffiliated online forum for fraternities and groups where he promised to 'stab' and 'slit the throats' of any Jewish men at the university, as well as rape and throw rocks off Jewish women. The message also''contains a threat to behead Jewish babies and "bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you Jewish pigs."' The reports prompted increased security on campus, including in front of the dining hall that serves kashrut diets. The Associated Press, NBC News

The Senate confirmed Jack Lew as the new U.S. ambassador to Israel on Tuesday by a 53-43 score.

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) were the only Republicans to vote with Democrats to confirm Lew, who previously served as finance secretary under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Democrats are rushing to appoint Lew to the post amid an escalating armed conflict between Israel and Hamas.'''Lew faced opposition from Republicans during the acrimonious hearing because of his work in previous Democratic administrations, including his support for Obama's deal on Iran's nuclear program. The ambassador post has been vacant since Thomas Nides left last summer. USA Today

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the war between Israel and Hamas has led to increased terrorist threats against the U.S., a key ally of Israel.

"The threat of terrorism remains at a high level in 2023," Wray said in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. "But the current war in the Middle East raises the threat level of attacks on Americans within the United States."'''International terrorist groups are not the only source of threats. Reports of domestic anti-Semitism are also on the rise. A man named John Anthony Miller was recently arrested in Nevada and held on charges against Sen. Jacky Rosen (Democrat, Nevada), who is Jewish, following Hamas' Oct. 7 reported attack on Israel. NPR, Las Vegas Review-Journal

President Biden will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in talks the White House hopes will be "constructive" on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco next month.

The confirmation of the meeting followed a rare visit by the Chinese foreign minister to''Washington, which said over the weekend that preparations for the talks were "not going smoothly". The leaders of the world's two largest economies have not spoken to each other since 2022, when they met in Bali.

The Michigan attorney general's office announced Tuesday that it has closed a seven-year criminal investigation into involvement in Flint's drinking water crisis without a single indictment.

Prosecutors said the Michigan Supreme Court's rejection of an attempt to reopen charges against former Republican''State Governor Rick Snyder was the "nail in the coffin" of their efforts. The Flint-based prosecution team expressed disappointment with the court's decision. "To deny the opportunity to present evidence and allow victims to tell their story is truly sad," the prosecution team said. Snyder said he would fight "political persecution" by selecting prosecutors with a "moral compass." The Detroit News, The Hill

Senator Tommy Tuberville (Republican, Alabama), who has blocked hundreds of military appointments due to his fight against the Pentagon's abortion policy, proposed a confirmation vote Tuesday on U.S. Marine Corps deputy commander Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney after''Gen. Eric Smith, commander of the Marine Corps, went to the hospital after fainting during a run two days ago.

Mahoney was nominated in July, but his advancement was blocked by Tuberville. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat, N.Y.) is trying to schedule a vote to advance Mahoney and obstructed nominees for Navy chief and Air Force commander, Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Gen. David Allvin. Schumer said Tuberville "needs to remove its blockages." The Wall Street Journal

The founder of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, denies knowledge that his company stole billions from customers during his criminal trial on fraud charges.

Attorney Daniel Sassoon''The drug was developed jointly by Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Boston and CRISPR Therapeutics of Switzerland. The Food and Drug Agency previously found it effective against the disease, which affects more than 100,000 Americans, most of whom are of African descent. The agency will also decide by Dec. 20 on a second potential cure for Sickle's disease, a gene therapy developed by Bluebird Bio. Sickle's disease is caused by a gene mutation that causes red blood cells to take on a distorted shape and can cause strokes, organ damage and unbearable pain. The New York Times, NBC News

Homeschooling is the fastest-growing form of education in the United States, The Washington Post reported Tuesday from''citing an analysis of data from thousands of school districts.

In the past six years, the number of families educating their children outside of regular academics has increased 51%, compared to a 7% increase for private schools and a 4% decrease for public schools in states with accurate statistics in all three categories. Homeschooling increased strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic began and continued to hold steady through the end of the 2022-23 school year, despite predictions of its disappearance with the end of masked school mandates and remote learning. The Washington Post