GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.

US midterms

1. In today’s lead story, Rónán Duffy charts the focus on abortion in the US midterm elections, which are taking place in ten days’ time.

The emphasis on the issue is clear from conversations with people on the ground about their priorities – and the political ads clogging up TV-time.

In five states, various questions relating to abortion are being specifically asked, though it’s a motivating factor behind voting decisions across the country.

Attack on Nancy Pelosi’s home

2. The man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have shared conspiracy theories online.

His posts also denied the results of the 2020 election and defended former president Donald Trump.

The suspect is David DePape, 42, who grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, before leaving about 20 years ago to follow an older girlfriend to San Francisco. 

Cost of living

3. Irish consumers are turning to cheaper cuts of meat and own-brand labels in the face of the cost of living crisis.

Tesco and Lidl confirmed increases in cheaper meat items such as mince, while Aldi said people are “shopping more but buying less”.

In the 12 weeks to 3 October, Kantar found that grocery price inflation hit 12.4%, the highest level seen since Kantar started tracking the data.

Ireland’s mission in Haiti

4. Irish diplomats have said that Haitian society has collapsed as hunger and gang violence drive the Caribbean state towards famine.

The streets of the capital are plagued by systematic sexual violence and murder by heavily armed gangs.

Irish diplomats based at the UN Security Council have found themselves at the centre of a major push towards a military intervention on the ground.

The Journal spoke this week to a source working on the ground in Haiti and to multiple sources with a knowledge of the behind the scenes work at the United Nations mission in New York.

Housing for Ukrainian refugees

5. Plans are growing around the country to increase accommodation options for Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland during the winter.

It comes as the Government is to introduce a refusal policy for refugees who are offered alternative accommodation but refuse to vacate their hotels, with the new measures indicating that there has been a shift in policy.

A statement yesterday evening said that the current measures in place were “designed as a crisis response on a short-term emergency basis”, when it is becoming increasingly likely many refugees will need to stay in Ireland for a longer period. 

Birth information 

6. Campaigners have criticised “long delays” facing people who have requested their birth information after agencies confirmed the waiting period is set to be triple the wait previously planned.

Instead of 30 days, many people now face a wait of 90 days or more through the new Birth Information and Tracing system, affecting people who were adopted, boarded out or subject to an illegal birth registration who have recently been granted rights to request their information.

Campaigners said they are “deeply disappointed” and “incredulous” at the new delay.

Inflation

7. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has said the “energy crisis is causing massive inflation”, leading to the ECB raising interest rates “because we want to tame inflation, bring it back to a reasonable level so that the cost of living is not as high as it is for people”.

The ECB has applied another interest rate hike aimed at controlling spiraling inflation, increasing rates at the fastest pace in the euro currency’s history.

Speaking on the Late Late Show on RTÉ, Lagarde also described Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “terrifying man”.   

Twitter

8. New Twitter owner Elon Musk announced a plan to form a “content moderation council” to assess future policy on posting and on reinstating banned accounts.

“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” he tweeted.

“No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.” 

Philippines

9. Flash floods and landslides set off by torrential rains have killed least 47 people in the Philippines.

At least 42 people were swept away by rampaging floodwaters and drowned or were hit by debris-filled mudslides in three towns in Maguindanao province from Thursday night to early yesterday.

Five other people died elsewhere from the onslaught of Tropical Storm Nalgae, which slammed into the eastern province of Camarines Sur early today.