Palestinians flee as Gaza braces for attack, GOP nominates Jim Jordan

On Saturday’s episode of the 5 Things podcast: Palestinians flee in Gaza amid an evacuation order from Israel. USA TODAY Breaking News Reporter Cybele Mayes-Osterman has the latest. A blockade on Gaza is further complicating this month’s conflict. House Republicans nominate House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan as speaker. How much money can remote work save workers? USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes gets you ready for a solar eclipse.

♦Palestinians under threat of a looming Israeli ground invasion hunkered down in Gaza or tried to flee yesterday As airstrikes pounded the region and US citizens trapped in the conflict are pleading for help. I spoke with USA today breaking news reporter Cybele Mayes-Osterman for the latest. Cybele, welcome back to the show.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman:Thank you.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman:What Israel has pointed to is that all citizens in Gaza need to evacuate within 24 hours because there’s an expected ground attack that Israel is planning. Although we don’t have that certain for sure right now, there’s been a suggestion that that’s what’s going to happen. And so people in Gaza are preparing accordingly and the Israeli government has told people to evacuate.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman:Yeah, so it’s an incredibly catastrophic scene. The UN has said that it’s essentially impossible for all of these people that are being asked to evacuate to actually get out in 24 hours. Some people are trying to make this very dangerous trek to the south to get out, but then at the same time, you have these continual airstrikes going on that have killed 1,500 people already. And so there’s a big fear that leaving your house is actually going to put you at risk of being struck by one of these. And so you have some people that have just decided they’re going to stay in their homes and hunker down and kind of brace for whatever might come next.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman:Yeah, well, I’ve heard from some US citizens in Gaza saying that they have just not received the communication that they’ve been asking for from the US consulate and the US Embassy. I heard from one person that said her mother and sister sent their contact information to US officials in the hopes of getting some kind of details about how they could possibly get out. And so far that kind of information has really not come.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman:Yeah, so I don’t know about any progress on that front specifically and so for that reason, I think a lot of people who are being asked to evacuate in Gaza feel as though they’re kind of stuck. People’s cell phone batteries are running out in the midst of this blockade, people don’t have internet access, and so there may be kind of a communication blackout where it will become more and more difficult to reach the people that are inside Gaza still.

Taylor Wilson:Cybele Mays Osterman, thank you for your time on this. Really appreciate it.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman:Thank you.

♦Taylor Wilson:The UN says that Israel’s evacuation orders will affect more than a million people, and Cybele outlined where Gaza’s go next is up in the air. Gaza is surrounded by blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt restricting movement in and out. Egypt’s Rafah Crossing is the main exit point from Gaza, not under Israeli control, but it’s been closed since Tuesday after being hit by Israeli strikes. Egypt is discussing plans with the US to provide humanitarian aid through the border, but will not take in refugees fleeing Gaza according to an Al Jazeera report. A 16-year blockade began after Hamas seized control of Gaza.

Israel says the blockade is necessary to isolate Hamas, but human rights groups have pointed to civilians who suffer under it with a starved economy, high unemployment, and a buckling hospital system. Israel’s latest ambush on Gaza comes after a shocking attack by Hamas militants in Israel nearly a week ago, in which Hamas also took some Israelis hostage. Hamas has also fired thousands of rockets since. As of yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces said more than 1,300 Israelis have died in the recent conflict, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health said just under 1800 Palestinians have died.

♦House Republicans nominated Congressman Jim Jordan for speaker yesterday after an internal secret ballot vote behind closed doors. The move came as the lower chamber passed its 10th day without a speaker. Jordan, the house judiciary chair defeated Congressman Austin Scott, who made a surprise entrance into the speaker’s race hours earlier as an anti Jordan alternative. But the conference’s nomination of Jordan is just a formal endorsement from the majority of GOP lawmakers. For Jordan to become speaker, he’ll need to rally an overwhelming majority of house Republicans behind him to win a vote on the floor with 217 votes. That’s the number needed to get the job.

Jordan previously lost the house majority leader Steve Scalise for the nomination this week, but Scalise on Thursday withdrew from the race.

♦Remote work can save workers money. Owl Labs, which it should be noted as a video conferencing service that can benefit from remote work, has released its 2023 state of work report. Its survey found that 66% of US employees who returned to the office to work five days a week or full-time spend an average of $51 every workday. Major daily costs include the commute, parking and food costs. And working in the office costs pet owners an extra $20 a day on average according to the report.

The report also states that 49% of workers feel it’s easier to maintain a work-life balance with a remote job. Well, 31% believe it’s easier with a hybrid and only 20% at the office.

♦A solar eclipse will darken the sky today as the moon passes in front of the sun, but it may just be a warmup act for an even better eclipse coming next year. I caught up with USA today national correspondent Trevor Hughes for more. Trevor, good to have you back on the show.

Trevor Hughes:Hi there.

Trevor Hughes:A lot of people, when they think about a solar eclipse, they would think about the moon totally covering up the sun. And in this case, what we’re going to see is the moon on top of the sun, but with this beautiful ring of fire around the edges where it is not completely covered. I’m super excited to see it myself. It should be really a striking series of images for us.

Trevor Hughes:So for those of us who are in the west or the southwest like me down in New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, there’s this big swath of the country that will see the eclipse and it’s sort of this diagonal line that starts up near Oregon and goes all the way down through Texas. And if you’re on the…

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Olivia Carter

Olivia Carter revs up excitement in the world of NASCAR. As a dedicated motorsports enthusiast, she covers race results, driver profiles, and the latest developments in the NASCAR world, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.