5 Things podcast: Biden arrives in Israel after Gaza hospital blast, still no Speaker

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: President Joe Biden arrives in Israel after a massive Gaza hospital blast. USA TODAY Wellness Reporter David Oliver talks about how to have the sensitive conversations around the Israel-Hamas war. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan lost the first speaker of the House vote with GOP holdouts. USA TODAY Poverty and Social Services Reporter Claire Thornton explains how tiny home villages can offer one solution to help tackle homelessness. Prosecutors seek to recharge Alec Baldwin in the 'Rust' film set shooting.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right hereHit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is 5 Things you need to know, Wednesday the 18th of October 2023.

Today, Biden arrives in Israel, plus how to approach the sensitive conversations around the war in Israel and Gaza. And we have the latest from Washington as House Republicans work to find a new speaker.

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A blast slammed a Gaza city hospital yesterday. The Hamas run health ministry in Gaza said at least 500 people were killed and blamed an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants, part of a group called Islamic Jihad, a smaller, more radical group that often works with Hamas. Verified video from the hospital explosion showed fire engulfing the building and the hospital grounds covered with dead bodies, many of them young children. The American friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which operates the medical center, said in a statement last night that hundreds of staff, patients, and refugees who were sheltering at Ahli Arab Hospital were killed and wounded. The hospital means the Arab People's Hospital in Arabic and provides care to all people in Gaza, regardless of faith or other affiliations according to the organization.

Meanwhile, president Joe Biden will arrive in Israel today. Even before he left, his trip was hit with a setback. Jordan canceled the four-way summit it was scheduled to host today with Biden and three Arab leaders, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Biden will meet as scheduled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in Tel Aviv today. You can follow along with usatoday.com for live updates throughout the day.

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The conflict in Israel and Gaza is nothing short of tragic with so many innocent lives lost. But vastly different political views, seemingly contradictory truths and heightened emotions are making conversations among family, friends, and colleagues polarizing. Experts say there's no one way to approach these kinds of hypersensitive topics to avoid conflict. But listening and being open to other perspectives while holding true to one's own convictions can be one place to start. I spoke with USA Today Wellness Reporter David Oliver for more.

David, thanks for coming on the show.

David Oliver:

Thanks for having me, Taylor.

Taylor Wilson:

So David, it's a tense time with the conflict in Israel and Gaza. You wrote a piece about balancing some of these strong feelings while working to preserve the relationships in our lives. I want to just start with social media if we could. What do experts recommend when it comes to expressing fears and frustrations on these platforms amid all these tensions?

David Oliver:

Well, people are certainly sharing a lot on these platforms and often doing so not necessarily with the hopes of convincing someone, but because they don't have any other outlet where they feel like they can share all of their feelings. So they're doing so in a sort of echo chamber, which experts are saying is not necessarily a bad thing in theory, but for others in their orbit, these people may not be on the same level specifically. So that's what's causing a lot of strife and chaos right now.

Taylor Wilson:

And when it comes to in-person conversations and group chats with family and friends, for example, what do experts advise about talking heavy politics right now?

David Oliver:

Basically, it's a combination of things and often really it's that people need to really think a lot before they say something. It could be better to say nothing at all than to engage with someone who you know you're going to have a direct conflict with. If you are really trying to broker some kind of dialogue or a peaceful discussion, it would be good to lead with stories that are personal as opposed to starting off with, "I agree with XX Group because of XX problem." It's best to sort of, I guess, go into something by explaining your human emotions on something and kind of trying to find some common ground to begin with and then getting into some other issues if you see fit. But it's also perfectly okay to not engage, or if someone tries to engage you, you can also decline that request for the time being for the foreseeable future because the reality is that if you're not going to agree on this and if there isn't a path forward in a relationship because of that, it might be worth cutting that now before the conflict continues to get worse.

Taylor Wilson:

And you touched on this a bit, but David, how crucial is introspection in all of this?

David Oliver:

It is very crucial. I think that it's important for everyone who is curious about this issue, especially those who want to say something, to really be educated, and that is way easier said than done. There are many, many, many different takes and understandings of this issue that go beyond what one person could possibly sit with. But I think it's important to really think about your own biases, where you've come from, put yourself in the shoes of someone who may feel differently and try and figure out your own opinion from there. Much easier said than done, but educating oneself doesn't ever hurt.

Taylor Wilson:

And no one wants to lose a relationship, whether it's a romantic relationship with a family member, with a friend. David, what can you do if relationships seem irreparable amid these tensions?

David Oliver:

I think it's a combination of things to people I've talked to. It could mean really hitting pause on that relationship. It could mean really thinking about how, "Okay, in this moment of crisis, people exchanged really heated words." Maybe giving them some grace and recognizing that this does not define that person necessarily in the heat of the moment, what they really feel. So there's room for some forgiveness there, but it's definitely a case by case basis.

Taylor Wilson:

All right. David Oliver covers wellness for USA Today. David, thank you for your perspective and insight here. Really appreciate it.

David Oliver:

Of course. Thank you so much.

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Taylor Wilson:

Republican House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan lost the first round of voting yesterday to choose a new speaker of the House. That means the lower chamber remains in disarray. House Republicans nominated Jordan to the speakership last week, but his chances of earning 217 votes, the number needed to become speaker, got murkier after 20 of his fellow Republicans voted against him. Congressman Patrick McHenry has served as a kind of placeholder speaker since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role earlier this month. But McHenry doesn't have the same powers as an official leader and Democrats aren't lending their GOP colleagues any support, so Republicans must find a way to agree on a new speaker. Congressman Jim Jordan told reporters yesterday that the next speaker vote will be held this morning at 11:00 AM Eastern time.

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Amid high numbers of homelessness around the country, more cities are creating tiny home villages to quickly bring unhoused people indoors and connect them to basic resources. I spoke with USA Today Poverty and Social Services reporter and former 5 Things co-host, Claire Thornton, to learn more.

Claire, welcome back to 5 Things.

Claire Thornton:

Hey, Taylor. It is great to be back on the show.

Taylor Wilson:

It's so good to have you back. So starting here before we get to some of the solutions, just how big of an issue is homelessness nationwide right now, and in particular in California?

Claire Thornton:

Homelessness in the US has increased steadily the past decade. Across the country, more than 580,000 Americans live without adequate shelter. They live outside, in tents, in vehicles, in buildings that are not fit for human habitation and homeless shelters. About a-third of unhoused Americans are in California alone. The problem is so huge because a rising tide of evictions and increases in rent that we've seen in the past couple of years mean that more people are entering into homelessness every day.

Taylor Wilson:

Claire, you wrote about tiny homes as a possible option here. What are tiny home villages and how might they offer a solution on this?

Claire Thornton:

These tiny home villages are government officials' attempt to move people from unsanctioned tent encampments into sanctioned communities where unhoused people can have a little bit more dignity according to city leaders and state leaders. Across the country right now, local governments are trying to clear away tent encampments and get people indoors into better forms of shelter like these tiny homes. It gives people a roof over their head, a door that locks, an electrical outlet and a little bit more dignity.

Taylor Wilson:

And some homeless people in Los Angeles and also Austin, Texas have been in tiny homes for years. What results are we seeing from those projects and what lessons could other places take away?

Claire Thornton:

So if you're unhoused in a city like LA or really any city in the US and government officials get you into a tiny home village or a temporary housing program at a hotel or in a homeless shelter, that's like a waiting room. That is a first step and it's not permanent housing. Once someone is in a tiny home village, it's temporary, it's transitional housing, and the end goal is to get an apartment of your own probably paid for, hopefully paid for with a Section 8 housing voucher or an Emergency Housing Voucher from the federal government. But that's actually very hard to secure. It's not easy. It takes a lot of time, a lot of bureaucracy, and so a lot of people who end up in tiny home villages don't have a clear path out.

Taylor Wilson:

Claire Thornton with some great insight for us on a growing issue nationwide. Thank you, Claire.

Claire Thornton:

Thank you, Taylor.

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Taylor Wilson:

Special prosecutors said yesterday that they're seeking to recharge actor Alec Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021 on the set of the movie Rust. Prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis, based in New Mexico where the shooting took place, said they'll present evidence to grand jury within the next two months noting that additional facts have come to light. Baldwin, a co-producer of the film, was pointing a gun at Hutchins during rehearsal on set outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza. Special prosecutors in April initially dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin saying at the time they were informed the gun might've been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. They later pivoted and began weighing whether to refile a charge against Baldwin after receiving a new analysis of the gun.

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And before we go, are you one of millions of people who struggle with getting a good night's sleep? USA Today National Correspondent Mark Ramirez is talking to folks around the country about why they're losing sleep and what can be done about it. If you're interested in being part of our reporting, please write to us with your name and your best contact at [email protected]. We'll put a link in today's show notes and may be in touch. And thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, or wherever you get your audio. If you have any comments, you can reach us at [email protected]. I'm Taylor Wilson back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA Today.