Axios

Paramount Global and former CBS chief Leslie Moonves agreed to make additional payments to settle an investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office over sexual assault allegations.

Driving the news: A report on the investigation released Wednesday revealed that CBS, now under Paramount, and its senior leadership knew about allegations of sexual assault against Moonves and "intentionally concealed" them from regulators, shareholders and the public, per a news release from the AG.

Ethiopia's government and Tigray forces have agreed to a "cessation of hostilities" in the nearly two-year war that has killed thousands of people and led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the African Union said Wednesday.

The big picture: UN leaders and aid groups recently issued dire warnings about the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Tigray, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying there was a "very narrow window" to "prevent genocide" the region.

The victory of Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc and the rise of a Jewish supremacist party in Tuesday's Israeli elections could lead to an even more hardline Israeli policy toward the Palestinians and a significant increase in settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

State of play: The Palestinian Authority will wait to see the formation and policy of the new Israeli government before deciding how to react, Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary-general of the PLO executive committee and minister for civilian affairs, told me.

One of the key factors that led to the victory of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc in Tuesday's Israeli elections was the unprecedented rise of the extreme right.

Why it matters: The next Israeli government will include a large number of politicians known for their racist, misogynistic, ultra-religious, anti-Arab or anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

Two Chinese veterinary experts arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday to help treat a giant panda at the Taipei Zoo that has fallen ill, AP reported.

Why it matters: Taiwanese officials invited the Chinese experts amid concerns the panda, named Tuan Tuan, may have a brain tumor, per the BBC. Tuan Tuan's illness offers a rare point of coordination between China and Taiwan as tensions between the two have soared this year.

North Korea has been secretly supplying Russia with a "significant number" of artillery shells to support its war in Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a press briefing Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Driving the news: North Korea is “trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa," Kirby added, per AP.

The Biden administration is unlikely to engage with Jewish supremacist politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is expected to be a senior minister in a future Israeli government formed by Benjamin Netanyahu, two U.S. officials told Axios.

Why it matters: No official decision has been made yet, but if the Biden administration does boycott Ben-Gvir, it will mark an unprecedented development that would likely have negative consequences for the U.S.-Israeli relationship.

Russia said on Wednesday that it would resume participation in an agreement allowing grain exports to leave Ukrainian ports, days after suspending its involvement over an alleged attack on its Black Sea fleet.

Why it matters: The grain deal, signed in July, was a crucial step to help alleviate the deepening food crisis around the world.

North Korea's military fired a missile Wednesday that crossed the disputed maritime border with South Korea for the first time since the countries' division in 1948, officials in Seoul said.

The big picture: The short-range ballistic missile, one of at least 10 that Pyongyang fired, landed some 37 miles from the South Korean city of Sokcho — causing air-raid sirens to sound on Ulleungdo island and Seoul's military to respond by firing three missiles, per the BBC.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Brendan Carr, one of five commissioners at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, has arrived in Taiwan to attend meetings with Taiwanese government counterparts, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Carr is the first sitting FCC commissioner to visit Taiwan in an official capacity. His trip comes as a steady stream of government officials from democratic nations have visited the self-governing island amid growing pressure from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its sovereign territory.

The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, after breaking into the couple's San Francisco home pleaded not guilty to all state charges on Tuesday, per CNN.

Driving the news: In his first court appearance since the early Friday attack, David Wayne DePape, 42, was ordered to be held without bail by a San Francisco judge, AP reports.

Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday finally broke his silence after losing Sunday's presidential runoff against leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Driving the news: During a brief press conference in Brasilia, Bolsonaro thanked Brazilians who voted for him, and while he did not explicitly concede or recognize Lula or his victory, he vowed to respect the constitution.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday called for an investigation into the national security implications of a company partially owned by Saudi Arabia maintaining its stake in Twitter following Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the platform.

What they're saying: "Today I am requesting the Committee on Foreign Investment — which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign buyers — to conduct an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia's purchase of Twitter," Murphy said on the social media platform.

Russian attacks have "seriously damaged" about 40% of Ukraine's entire energy infrastructure, according to a press release from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office Tuesday.

Driving the news: In a meeting, Zelensky told EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson that the damaged infrastructure includes "thermal power plants, combined heat and power plants and hydroelectric power plants," according to the press release.

Research shows Latino adults are the least likely of any racial or ethnic group to seek dental care, but dental hygienist Amber Lovatos is on a mission to change that

Driving the news: Lovatos, who is also an author, has partnered with Crest and Oral-B's "Closing America's Smile Gap" campaign to address the oral health crisis among Hispanics in the U.S.

An examination of Latinos' lives over a 20-year span found increasing diversity and major educational and economic gains, though some inequalities remain, according to a new report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.

The big picture: The report, which compared U.S. Census data from 2000 and 2o20, paints a picture of just how much Latinos have changed the American landscape — and how it's changed them, too.

Workers in China fled the world's largest iPhone factory over the weekend after days of partial COVID restrictions had forced workers into a "closed loop" inside the facility.

Why it matters: The incident highlights the ongoing economic disruptions and human cost caused by China's extreme measures to fight COVID. The loss of workers could put iPhone production back several months.

The Council on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) should take action to ban TikTok, Brendan Carr, one of five commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, told Axios in an interview.

Why it matters: It's the strongest language Carr has used to date to urge action on TikTok. With more than 200 million downloads in the U.S. alone, the popular app is becoming a form of critical information infrastructure — making the app's ownership by a Chinese parent company a target of growing national security concern.

If Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) gets his way on Twitter, it could open the oversight floodgates for a Biden administration that's been much cooler toward MBS and company than was its Saudi slobbering predecessor.

Why it matters: This is one to watch for any U.S. tech company that's taken Saudi money, or any company thinking about doing so.

A number of South Korean officials offered public apologies on Tuesday for the tragic Halloween crowd surge in Seoul's Itaewon district that killed more than 150 people.

Driving the news: In the face of growing public criticism that the tragedy could have been prevented, National police chief Yoon Hee Keun apologized and admitted that police had failed to adequately respond calls from citizens warning them of the dangers of the large crowd gathering, the Korea Times reported.

Israelis began voting on Tuesday in the country's election amid a tight race between Prime Minister Yair Lapid and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Why it matters: It is Israel's fifth election in less than four years and another attempt to break the political deadlock and return political stability to the country.

Oleg Tinkov, one of the first Russian tycoons to criticize Putin's war on Ukraine, announced Monday he's renouncing his citizenship.

Driving the news: "I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship," wrote Tinkov, who's a citizen of Cyprus, Monday in an Instagram post. "I can't and won't be associated with a fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbor."