5 things to know for Sept. 24: Middle East, Hurricane season, Immigration, Boeing strike, School safety

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Preparations are underway for the vice presidential debate on October 1, where candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance will face off for the first and potentially only time during the 2024 race. Vance’s prep sessions include reviewing footage of the governor’s previous speeches and studying binders of research regarding his policies, a person directly involved in the debate prep told CNN. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Israel launched an intense barrage of airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, killing nearly 500 people and wounding 1,600 others. The single-day death toll made it the deadliest 24 hours in Lebanon since 2006. Israel and Hezbollah have been mired in conflict for decades — but the two have ramped up their cross-border attacks on each other since the war in Gaza began. Over the past week, Israel’s escalated attacks on Hezbollah have again heightened fears of a wider war in the Middle East. Hezbollah warned it would continue striking Israeli targets as long as the war in Gaza goes on, and Israel has not ruled out the possibility of a ground invasion. Iran, too, has warned Israel of “dangerous consequences” following the latest wave of strikes. A significant storm threat is developing for the Gulf Coast with just days until life-threatening storm surge and hurricane-force winds impact parts of the Southeast US. The system will pick up pace and is expected to rapidly intensify into Hurricane Helene before making an expected landfall in Florida by Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared an emergency for at least 41 of the state’s 67 counties. Helene would be the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year and the fifth hurricane to slam Florida since 2022. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm John struck Mexico’s southern coast on Monday with “catastrophic rainfall.” Thousands of people have evacuated Oaxaca state and many businesses in tourist areas have paused their operations. Campaign officials for Kamala Harris are weighing a potential visit by the vice president to the US-Mexico border while in Arizona on Friday as the campaign tries to close the gap with former President Donald Trump on the issue of immigration, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. Friday’s visit to Arizona comes at a time when border crossings are the lowest they’ve been since 2020 — and follows new polling that shows Trump leading in the battleground state. US officials have touted back-to-back months of low border crossings, citing recent executive action curbing asylum access at the US southern border, even as Trump levels campaign attacks over the Biden administration’s handling of border security. Boeing said Monday it has raised its offer to the International Association of Machinists union in an effort to end the strike by 33,000 union members that has now entered its second week. The new offer would give members a 30% raise over the four-year life of the contract, including an immediate 12% raise, up from the 25% in overall pay increases and an immediate 11% raise that membership voted almost unanimously against on September 12, just before walking off the job at Boeing plants on the West Coast. The union issued a statement saying it was reviewing the new offer, though some striking employees say they will vote against it until their demands are met.