Hello, from CNN, I'm a FOMA DK with the five things you need to know for Wednesday, October 18. The U.S. government currently believes Israel quote, is not responsible for an explosion that killed hundreds of Palestinians at a hospital in Gaza Tuesday. That's according to the National Security Council.
The NCS says their current assessments is based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts, and open source information, but evidence is still being gathered. Officials told CNN separately that the initial evidence gathered by the U.S. intelligence community suggests the strike came from a rocket launched by Islamic Jihad, which matches Israel's claim. Islamic Jihad has denied responsibility, while leaders in Gaza have blamed Israeli airstrikes.
CNN cannot independently verify what caused the explosion, nor the extent of the casualties. Earlier today, President al-Vaidin reiterated his support for Israel after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders. But he urged Israelis not to be consumed by rage and again expressed his support for a two-state solution. Let's keep pursuing a path so that Israel and the Palestinian people can both live safely, in security, in dignity, in peace.
We need to let that diplomacy play out. That's U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas Greenfield, after vetoing a resolution that proposed the humanitarian pause in Gaza to allow critical aid to be delivered to Palestinian civilians.
Twelve of the U.N. Security Council's 15 members approved the draft, and the U.K. and Russia abstained. Thomas Greenfield criticized the resolution for failing to mention Israel's right to defend itself.
Since Hamas launched its terror attacks on October 7, Israel has been bombarding Gaza with airstrikes and cut off basic necessities, like food, water, and electricity to the population. Negotiations are underway over the opening of a corridor that would bring aid through the Rafa border crossing, which connects Gaza to Egypt. Israel says it won't block aid from going through the Rafa crossing, as long as it goes to civilians and doesn't reach Hamas. But the Prime Minister's office says Israel won't allow supplies in Gaza from its own territory, until Hamas releases all the hostages.
It's starting to feel like we've seen the show before. Congressman Jim Jordan failed to get enough votes from members of his on-party to become House Speaker again today. Twenty-two Republicans voted against him this time, two more than Tuesday. Jordan's now even further away from getting the speakers gaveled with the House in a total state of turmoil.
Some are now pushing to extend the powers of the interim Speaker, Republican Representative Patrick McHenry. The former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy thinks Jordan should keep fighting. They picked up a couple of lost a couple, so somebody had voted for them before they could always vote for them again. But after 18 years, Natalie's case, it's solved.
As far as I'm concerned, it's over. The man long suspected in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalie Holloway has confessed to her murder. Your hand, Vandersloot, said he beat the teen to death with a cinder lock. After she rejected his sexual advances, then pushed her into the ocean.
The 18-year-old was on a high school graduation trip to Aruba when she vanished in 2005. Her body has never been found. Court documents show Vandersloot admitted to her murder in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence in connection with a severed case. The 36-year-old Dutchman pleaded guilty to extorting and defrauding Holloway's mother Beth.
We have finally reached the end of our never-ending nightmare. Natalie would be 36 years old today. I still miss her every day. Vandersloot is currently serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of Stephanie Flores.
But Wednesday's clear agreement specifies that his U.S. federal sentence will be served concurrently with the sentence in Peru. Looking back, Americans' net worth got a pretty big bump. I'll explain next.
Hey, welcome back. Americans' net worth between 2019 and 2022 increased. The Federal Reserve reports the real median net worth of Americans increased by 37 percent in that timeframe, primarily due to rising home values and stock market gains. This search happened after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the economy obviously saw a lot of fluctuation.
But the data also revealed increased income inequality and growing housing unaffordability. That's all for now. We'll be back at 10 PM Eastern.