Tuesday Briefing

Netanyahu refuses a cease-fire in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel rebuffed calls from allies, protesters and the families of hostages for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza that would facilitate the return of hostages, doubling down on his refusal to agree to a truce that would involve Israel’s withdrawal from the territory.

At a news conference defending his plans, Netanyahu asked what message it would send to Hamas if Israel were to cede under pressure after the deaths of more hostages: “Slay hostages, and you’ll get concessions?” He added that the end of the war would come only “when Hamas no longer rules Gaza.”

His comments came after work stoppages and protests at thousands of primary schools and at several municipalities, transport networks and hospitals across the country. A court ordered union leaders to halt the labor strike in the afternoon.

Biden and Harris courted unions in Pennsylvania

At a union event in Pittsburgh, President Biden made his first appearance on the campaign trail since ceding the nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris, rallying the labor movement in support of his second in command. “I’ll be on the sidelines,” he said, “but I’ll do everything I can to help.” Here’s the latest.

Harris’s team plans to deploy the president judiciously on the campaign trail as the vice president seeks to establish her own independent political identity. Biden will travel mostly to the important swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, where he still appeals to white working-class voters and union members.

The stop in Pittsburgh capped a Labor Day spent by Harris making her pitch to union voters. All told, she and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, managed to visit each of the so-called blue wall states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, appealing to union voters as the ground troops of a campaign that has barely two months left.

Here’s what else to know:

• In Venice, the actor George Clooney praised President Biden for doing “the most selfless thing” by stepping aside.

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A rape case shocks France

Fifty-one men went on trial yesterday in Avignon, France, in a case that has appalled the nation and cast a spotlight on the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.

Dominique Pelicot, 71, is accused of repeatedly drugging his wife and then raping her over a period of years, as well as inviting other men to rape her, in some cases on camera. He has pleaded guilty.

Dozens of other men are also charged with her rape. Some have denied the charges, including a number who argued that they had the husband’s permission and thought that was sufficient. Others claimed they had believed the victim had agreed to be drugged.

Some facts about the American penny: Each one costs about three cents to produce. The U.S. Mint produces billions each year that virtually no one uses. And if even a modest share of those collecting in people’s homes suddenly returned to circulation, the result would be a “logistically unmanageable” dilemma for the world’s wealthiest nation.

For The Times Magazine, Caity Weaver makes the case for retiring the American 1-cent coin. America, she writes, must free itself from the tyranny of the penny.

Lives lived: Virginia Ogilvy, the Countess of Airlie, who served Queen Elizabeth II for nearly 50 years as the only American-born member of the monarch’s circle of advisers known as the ladies-in-waiting, died last month at 91.

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ARTS AND IDEAS

Europe’s ‘out of control’ tourism

Hunger strikes against tourism developments. Threats of water being cut off to illegal vacation rentals. Water pistol warfare.

In European hot spots, tourists have become the targets of a major backlash. While final visitor numbers for this summer aren’t in yet, they are expected to surpass 2019 levels. And climate change has only increased the burden.

Read about how this backlash has played out in destinations like Athens, Amsterdam and Barcelona.

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