Thousands of pagers in Lebanon exploded simultaneously.

That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post.

I'm Hannah Jewel.

It's Wednesday, September 18th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories.

An extraordinary attack has stunned the nation of Lebanon.

At about 3.30 p.m. yesterday, electronic pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah

exploded across the country.

Health officials said that more than 2,800 people were injured, including children, and at least nine people were killed.

It appears to be the latest incident in the nearly year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which is tied to the war in Gaza.

Hezbollah blamed Israel and vowed to retaliate. The Israeli military declined to comment yesterday on whether it was responsible.

But experts say that Israeli operatives probably intercepted the pagers somewhere in the supply chain and rigged them with explosives.

In July, Reuters reported that Hezbollah had turned to pagers in recent months for communication.

They had banned the use of cell phones from the battlefield out of concern that Israel could use them to

them to locate and monitor fighters.

The Biden administration has been unable to broker a truce between Hezbollah and Israel.

And this latest incident fuels fears that their conflict will tip the Middle East into a wider

war.

Number two, violent threats and attacks are escalating tensions in the

presidential race. On Sunday a secret service agent opened fire on a man who

poked a rifle through a fence at a golf course where Donald Trump was playing.

Just two months earlier, a different gunman tried to kill Trump at a campaign rally.

And bomb threats have forced evacuations and lockdowns in Springfield, Ohio.

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