By RENATA BRITO and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Thursday Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, saying it amounted to an “insult.” Vance’s scathing remark came as his visit wrapped up Thursday and after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would now be traveling to Israel.

Vance’s words and the intense diplomacy indicate that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was intent on keeping up the momentum on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before departing Israel, Vance said that if the Knesset vote was a “political stunt, then it is a very stupid political stunt.”

“I personally take some insult to it,” Vance said. “The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”

An intense US push toward peace

Earlier this week, Vance announced the opening of a civilian military coordination center in southern Israel where some 200 U.S. troops are working alongside the Israeli military and delegations from other countries planning the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza.

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Rubio told journalists at Joint Base Andrews late Wednesday that he plans to visit the center and appoint a Foreign Service official to work alongside the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper.

The U.S. is seeking support from other allies, especially Gulf Arab nations, to create an international stabilization force to be deployed to Gaza and train a Palestinian force.

“We’d like to see Palestinian police forces in Gaza that are not Hamas and that are going to do a good job, but those still have to be trained and equipped,” he said.

Rubio also criticized efforts by far-right politicians in the Israeli parliament who on Wednesday took the symbolic step of giving preliminary approval to a bill that would give Israel authority to annex the occupied West Bank — a move the U.S. opposes.

Trump “has made clear that’s not something we’d be supportive of right now, and we think it’s potentially threatening to the peace deal,” he said.

The bill passed in a 25-24 vote. It is unclear whether the bill has support to win a majority in the 120-seat parliament, and Netanyahu has tools to delay or defeat it.

Vance visits Holy Sepulcher

Meanwhile, Vance visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the sprawling 12th century basilica where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, died and rose again, in Jerusalem’s Old City.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, center, tours The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)

He is then expected to meet Israel’s Defense Minister, Israeli military leaders and other officials at the army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv.

On Wednesday, Vance sought to ease concerns that the Trump administration was dictating terms to its closest ally in the Middle East.

“We don’t want in Israel a vassal state, and that’s not what Israel is. We want a partnership, we want an ally,” Vance said, speaking beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in response to a reporter’s question about whether Israel was becoming a “protectorate” of the U.S.

Netanyahu, who will meet with Rubio as well, expressed similar sentiments while acknowledging differences of opinion as they push forward the U.S.-proposed ceasefire agreement.

Israeli media referred to the nonstop parade of American officials visiting to ensure Israel holds up its side of the fragile ceasefire as “Bibi-sitting.” The term, utilizing Netanyahu’s nickname of Bibi, refers to an old campaign ad when Netanyahu positioned himself as the “Bibi-sitter” whom voters could trust with their kids.

Palestinians in Gaza in dire need of medical care

In the first medical evacuation since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10, the head of the World Health Organization said Thursday they had evacuated 41 critical patients and 145 companions out of the Gaza strip.

Palestinians walk trough the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

In a statement posted to X, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on nations to show solidarity and help some 15,000 patients who are still waiting for approval to receive medical care outside Gaza.

His calls were echoed by an official with the U.N. Population Fund who, on Wednesday, described the “sheer devastation” that he witnessed on his most recent travel to Gaza, saying that there is no such thing as a “normal birth in Gaza now.”

Andrew Saberton, an executive director at UNFPA, told reporters how difficult the agency’s work has become due to the lack of functioning or even standing health care facilities.

“I was not fully prepared for what I saw. One can’t be. The sheer extent of the devastation looked like the set of a dystopian film. Unfortunately, it is not fiction,” he said.

Saberton added that Palestinian women cannot get access to a hospital. “They often don’t even have access to a private space in a tent. We have stories of women giving birth actually in the rubble, beside the road,” he said.

Court hearing on journalists’ access to Gaza

Separately on Thursday, Israel’s Supreme Court held a hearing into whether to open the Gaza Strip to the international media and gave the state 30 days to present a new position in light of the new situation under the ceasefire.

Israel has blocked reporters from entering Gaza since the war erupted on Oct 7, 2023.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents dozens of international news organizations including The Associated Press, had asked the court to order the government to open the border.

In a statement after Thursday’s decision, the FPA expressed its “disappointment” and called the Israeli government’s position to deny journalists access “unacceptable.”

The court rejected a request from the FPA early in the war, due to objections by the government on security grounds. The group filed a second request for access in September 2024. The government has repeatedly delayed the case.

Palestinian journalists have covered the two-year war for international media. But like all Palestinians, they have been subject to tough restrictions on movement and shortages of food, repeatedly displaced and operated under great danger. Some 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli fire, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“It is time for Israel to lift the closure and let us do our work alongside our Palestinian colleagues,” said Tania Kraemer, chairperson of the FPA.

Lee reported from Washington. Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.

By MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing Broadway’s musicians reached a tentative labor agreement with commercial producers on Thursday, averting a potentially crippling strike that would have silenced nearly two dozen musicals.

The American Federation of Musicians Local 802 — which represents 1,200 musicians — had threatened to strike if they didn’t have a new contract by the morning, after going into mediation Wednesday.

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Early Thursday, the union said it had struck a tentative deal that includes wage increases and contribution increases to the health fund.

“This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway,” AFM Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement.

The 23 shows that could have gone silent ranged from megahits like “Hamilton” and “The Lion King” to newcomers like “Queen of Versailles” and “Chess,” which are still in previews. Plays would not have been automatically impacted.

It was the second Broadway labor deal in less than a week. Labor tensions had already seemed cool after Actors’ Equity Association — which represents over 51,000 members, including singers, actors, dancers and stage managers — announced a new three-year agreement with producers over the weekend.

Members of both unions had been working under expired contracts. The musicians’ contract expired on Aug. 31, and the Equity contract expired Sept. 28.

The health of Broadway — once very much in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic that shut down theaters for some 18 months — is now very good, at least in terms of box office. It has been a long road back from the days when theaters were shuttered and the future looked bleak, but the 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion — the highest-grossing season in recorded history, overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season.

The unions pointed to the financial health of Broadway to argue that producers could afford to up pay and benefits for musicians and actors. Producers, represented by The Broadway League, had countered that the restored health of Broadway could be endangered by potential ticket price increases to accommodate the demands.

The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a 19-day walkout by stagehands dimmed the lights on more than two dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.

On Wednesday, three U.S. senators from New York and New Jersey — Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Andy Kim — wrote to both sides, urging them to “participate in good faith negotiations and continued communication.” The senators noted that Broadway supports nearly 100,000 jobs and is “an essential cornerstone in the economic well-being of surrounding businesses and sectors, including hospitality, retail and transportation.”

Today is Thursday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2025. There are 69 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 23, 2001, Apple released the iPod. An estimated 450 million iPod devices were sold before the line was discontinued in 2022.

Also on this date:

In 1915, an estimated 25,000 women marched on Fifth Avenue in New York City in support of women’s suffrage.

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In 1942, during World War II, Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein (el ah-lah-MAYN’) in Egypt, resulting in an Allied forces victory.

In 1944, the Battle of Leyte (LAY’-tee) Gulf began; the largest naval battle of World War II resulted in a major Allied victory against Japanese forces, paving the way for the retaking of the Philippines.

In 1956, a student-sparked revolt against Hungary’s Communist rule began; as the revolution spread, Soviet forces entered the country, ending the uprising on November 4.

In 1983, 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, were killed in a suicide truck-bombing at the U.S. Marine Corps barracks at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, while a near-simultaneous attack on French barracks in Beirut killed 58 paratroopers.

In 1987, the U.S. Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork, 58-42.

In 1989, 23 people were killed in an explosion at a Phillips Petroleum chemical complex in Pasadena, Texas.

In 1995, a Houston jury convicted Yolanda Saldivar of murdering Tejano singing star Selena; Saldivar was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole and remains in prison.

In 2002, Chechen rebels stormed a Moscow theater and took about 800 hostages, demanding that Russian forces withdraw from Chechnya. Russian special forces raided the theater on Oct. 26; most of the rebels and 120 hostages were killed.

Today’s Birthdays:

Film director Philip Kaufman is 89.
Advocate and humanitarian Graça Machel is 80.
Film director Ang Lee is 71.
Jazz singer Dianne Reeves is 69.
Country singer Dwight Yoakam is 69.
Activist and philanthropist Martin Luther King III is 68.
Author and commentator Michael Eric Dyson is 67.
Film director Sam Raimi is 66.
Comedic musician “Weird Al” Yankovic is 66.
Rock musician Robert Trujillo (Metallica) is 61.
Racing driver and paracyclist Alex Zanardi is 59.
CNN medical reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta is 56.
TV personality Cat Deeley is 49.
Actor Ryan Reynolds is 49.
TV personality, author and political commentator Meghan McCain is 41.
R&B singer Miguel is 40.
Actor Emilia Clarke is 39.
Actor Margaret Qualley is 31.
Actor Amandla Stenberg is 27.

Minnesota’s point guard position is its biggest question mark this season.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte Divincenzo (0) and Portland Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley (1) during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Molly J. Smith)

Which means Timberwolves coach Chris Finch may have decisions to make at that spot on a nightly basis.

He showed his first cards in a 116-112 victory Wednesday in Minnesota’s season opener in Portland, both with who started at the spot, and who came in late.

Donte DiVincenzo was Minnesota’s starting point guard in a bit of a surprising move. Mike Conley was the Timberwolves starting floor general for most of last season and throughout the playoffs. In both preseason games he played, Conley was on the floor for tip off.

Finch said he’d been thinking about the lineup change “for a little while,” adding the move was made “in consultation with everybody, Mike included.”

“Mike was all for it, as you’d expect him to be,” Finch told reporters. “He’s a team-first guy.”

That’s exactly how Conley handled the same move when Finch made it in the middle of last season for a six-game stretch before DiVincenzo went down with a toe injury.

Included in that stint was a game against Memphis in which DiVincenzo tallied 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and a game against Golden State where DiVincenzo finished with 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

That, Finch felt, was DiVincenzo’s best basketball of the season.

“We’re fortunate to have a guy of Donte’s caliber to be able to slot into the starting lineup. Certainly a starting-caliber player,” Finch said.

DiVincenzo is Minnesota’s most prolific 3-point shooter outside of Anthony Edwards. And Finch said he also injects pace into the game.

Finch said the move was in no way an indicator of Conley’s training camp or who the Wolves think the 38-year-old is as a player at this point in his career. Finch said bringing Conley in off the bench is “the best way to maximize his minutes.”

Finch said it’s now easier to play Conley for longer stints, have him finish quarters and even get him more time on the floor alongside DiVincenzo.

“It’s a lot easier to manage Mike’s impact and minutes of the game over a 36-minute span than it is over a 48-minute span,” Finch said. “It allows us to get to different lineup combinations, maybe maximize things around him and Rudy (Gobert) and other lineups.”

Both DiVincenzo and Conley struggled with Portland’s high-pressure defense in Wednesday’s opener. Minnesota finished with 19 turnovers, six of which belonged to DiVincenzo.

So, to open the finale frame, Finch went to another reserve guard. No, not second-year point guard Rob Dillingham. It was Bones Hyland who checked into the contest.

Hyland, who re-signed with Minnesota in September, played eight minutes in the fourth quarter, tallying two points, two rebounds and an assist while aiding in the Wolves’ comeback.

Finch called Hyland’s number because “that’s someone I felt could handle (the ball) out there and could stand up to some of the (Blazers) drives.”

Asked if the decision to not turn to Dillingham — the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft who played ahead of Hyland throughout the preseason — was matchup related, Finch merely cited his flexibility of rotations and substitutions.

“It’s early on still. As you see, I’m going to leave myself the license to go anywhere I want with the guys,” Finch told reporters. “That includes who we might start, who we might finish with, who we play along the way. Everybody has to stay ready. Everyone is going to contribute to winning here. We’re not going to single anyone out … individually for reasons that they didn’t play.”

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