Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah and Helene devastation in Southeast: Morning Rundown

Israel’s recent attacks on Hezbollah expose weaknesses in Iran’s proxy strategy. Communities from Florida to North Carolina grapple with the devastation from Helene. And the Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry delivers a standout performance in Week 4 of the NFL season.

Here’s what to know today.

Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah exposes weaknesses in Iran’s ‘axis of resistance’

In a matter of weeks, Israel has dealt devastating blows to Iran’s most important proxy, Hezbollah. Airstrikes continued over the weekend, destroying multiple weapons depots. And on Saturday, Israel announced that its forces killed Hezbollah’s powerful and longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Earlier this month, Israel also sabotaged the group’s communications and took out multiple senior figures.

For Iran, Hezbollah was supposed to be the cornerstone of its strategy to outflank superior adversaries, such as Israel, with armed proxies. In addition to Hezbollah, Iran equipped groups in Gaza, Iraq, Syria and Yemen with an arsenal of rockets and missiles in hopes of steadily weakening Israel and the U.S. 

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But Iran’s strategy, dubbed the “axis of resistance,” underestimated how Israel would respond to the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7 and subsequent cross-border rocket fire from Hezbollah. Tehran also overestimated the strength of its proxy network, former intelligence officers and counterterrorism analysts said. 

“Basically, their whole calculation has been torn to shreds,” terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman said. “For Israel, this is a stunning turnaround from the events of almost a year ago.”

Not only have Israel’s recent attacks exposed the weaknesses in Iran’s proxy strategy; it also has presented Tehran and Hezbollah with a vexing question. How — and when — should they retaliate, as they’ve promised to do, without suffering more setbacks? 

Read the full story here.

More coverage of Middle East conflict: 

• Who is the “Palestinian Nelson Mandela”? What to know Marwan Barghouti, the imprisoned figure who many hope can unify a physically and politically divided people.

Helene leaves a trail of destruction in the Southeast

The devastation from Helene came into clearer view over the weekend, with residents in the Southeast reeling from the storm’s impact. Flooding, road closures and power outages remain in hard-hit areas.

In North Carolina, at least 30 people died in Buncombe County, Sheriff Quentin Miller said. Many residents of Asheville were without water, power and gas and said they expect to remain that way for weeks. In Tennessee, efforts are underway to find people who remained unaccounted for amid cellphone and other communications outages. More than 150 people were unaccounted for, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Sunday. In Florida, at least 190 people had been rescued in the hurricane’s aftermath, according to a Sunday update from the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit hard-hit Valdosta, Georgia, today, where at least 17 people have died in the storm.

NBC News reporters are on the ground and talking to officials and residents about what comes next. Follow our live blog for updates.

Highlights from Week 4 of the NFL

Baltimore running back Derrick Henry set the tone for the Ravens’ “Sunday Night Football” match against the Buffalo Bills, capping an exciting day of nail-biters and standout performances. NBC News’ sports team reviews highlights from Week 4 of the 2024 season.

The previously undefeated Buffalo Bills never led in a prime-time loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Now, only the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks remain unbeaten one month into the NFL season. Kansas City moved to 4-0 by rallying from 10 points down to beat Los Angeles. Minnesota (4-0) jumped out to a 28-0 lead, and then barely hung on to outlast Green Bay, 31-29. Seattle (3-0) will fight to stay undefeated in tonight’s game against the Detroit Lions.

🙌 Kansas City won its fourth consecutive game to start the season in a fourth-consecutive nail-biter, winning 17-10 against the Charges in Los Angeles. All four of the Chiefs’ wins have come within seven points or fewer. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 19 passes to seven different receivers for 345 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Tight end Travis Kelce caught seven passes for 89 yards. All this without wide receiver Rashee Rice, who left the game in the first half with a leg injury.

👑 The Washington Commanders are a surprising division leader in the NFC East at 3-1 after Sunday’s 42-14 win against the Arizona Cardinals. All credit goes to rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who continued what has been a record-setting start to his pro career. 

⚡ Derrick Henry ran untouched for 87 yards on the first play for the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. Henry set a new franchise record for longest run and set the tone for the entire game where the Ravens were in complete control against the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills.

Politics in Brief 

On the campaign trail: After a slow start this summer, former President Donald Trump is “double-timing” his campaign schedule. At a rally yesterday in Pennsylvania, he lobbed personal attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her “mentally impaired” and suggesting she should be “prosecuted” for her actions related to the southern border. Harris, at a speech in Las Vegas hours after Trump falsely claimed she wanted to legalize fentanyl, said she would “double” Justice Department resources to crack down on cartels and cut the flow of the drug into the country.

Reparations: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a handful of bills last week tied to efforts to issue race-based reparations to the state’s Black residents and their descendants. Advocates hoping for a more substantial investment were sorely disappointed.

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Read All About It 

• Kris Kristofferson, the country music star and actor who starred in “A Star Is Born,” has died at the age of 88.
• A far-right party founded by former Nazis claimed first place in Austria’s election on Sunday, but faces a tough path to form a governing coalition.
• A chilling last message and a foreboding incident days before the ill-fated journey were among the key revelations from two weeks of testimony in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Titan submersible investigation. 
• Residents of an entire Georgia county, population 93,570, were asked to shelter in place after a fire and ongoing chemical release at a plant Atlanta.

Staff Pick: She dreamed of a career in politics at 11. Now she’s poised to make history in Congress.

Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride is, in a word, a nerd. She spouts random trivia. Within the first 60 seconds of meeting her, she told me that the ballroom of the downtown Wilmington hotel I was staying in, the Hotel Du Pont, was the site of Joe Biden’s election night celebration when he won his first Senate race in 1972. She has a poster of the cartoon alter ego of Lizzie McGuire in her campaign headquarters because the movie’s theme song, “What Dreams Are Made Of” has been “stuck in my head perpetually for 20 years.”

She’s heavily favored to win Delaware’s only House seat in November, and, if she does, she will become the country’s first openly transgender member of Congress. However, McBride doesn’t talk much about her potential historic first. Rather, she wants to create real change in a “dysfunctional” Congress. Those closest to her think she can. — Jo Yurcaba, NBC OUT reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Not all common household messes are easy to clean — but they’re definitely not impossible. Here’s how to clean pet stains, according to cleaning company owners. And this is the best way to clean (and season) a cast iron skillet, according to culinary professionals.

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