Since last weekend, Israel has hammered the Palestinian territory with airstrikes aimed at Hamas, the militant group that launched a historic terrorist attack against Israel.

As that country builds up military forces near its Gaza border, observers say it's all but certain that Israel will launch a ground operation there in the days ahead.

So finding ways to get civilians out of Gaza first, possibly through its border with Egypt is one of many challenges this troubled region is facing.

We'll keep you updated as events unfold in the war in the Middle East.

I'm Carl Azuz, and this is the world from A to Z.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans who control the chamber have nominated a new

House speaker.

His name is Steve Scalise.

The politician from Louisiana currently serves as House Majority Leader, and it will take a majority vote to confirm him as the replacement for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the job earlier this month.

It was the first time that ever happened.

It wasn't clear Wednesday when the House vote would take place, but the chamber's under pressure to confirm a new speaker soon so it can get back to legislative business.

A word of knowledge.

Which of these elements is also known as quicksilver, copper, nickel, platinum, mercury?

The element whose atomic number is 80, mercury is also called quicksilver.

It's found in air, soil and water, and health officials say mercury is toxic if you're exposed to too much of it.

But in the West African nation of Senegal, where almost half the population lives in poverty, mercury has found a role, albeit an illegal one, in helping extract another element from the soil.

Senegal is the site of a modern day gold rush.

Here in eastern Senegal, deep down this mineshaft, this man is in search of buried treasure and a better future.

He hopes to find a gold nugget, which could mean the difference between a life of poverty or a chance at prosperity.

It's by chance.

You try your luck.

Sometimes you dig deep here and you don't find any gold.

You go back up and you go somewhere else to look.

For the past two decades, gold fever has swept through this part of Senegal, in the region of Cadougou, bordering Mali and Guinea.

People come from all over West Africa to try and make their fortune.

Near the village of Bantako, so-called artisanal gold pits stretch out as far as the eye can see.

Since 2014, the huge site has been legally hosting gold miners in an attempt by the state to control the industry.

But illegal practices persist, even here.

One example is the use of mercury, which is mixed with the rock debris to extract gold.

It's an effective method, but also damaging to the environment.

For some fortune hunters, like Mamadou, an entire day's effort will be worth only around twenty dollars.

It's mercury and gold that come out together at the same time.

And then you can take a handkerchief and remove the gold with it.

So the mercury will sink, the gold will stay in your hand, like this.

In the early 2000s, Bantako was home to around 30 huts.

Today a whole economy has developed around gold panning.

It's a trade that has brought prosperity, but also criminality, for this once sleepy village.

So at the moment, people have come to pan for gold, and there are a lot of drugs that have come too.

In this makeshift shack, this Malian man buys gold from the gold panners.

For a gram of gold, he pays about 40 dollars, a little more than the official Senegalese counters would pay.

So most of the gold from the Bantako mine is smuggled into Mali for resale.

Well, I'm going to sell in Mali, in Bamako.

If we sell this, we will send it to Bamako to sell to the big office there.

Some observers say it's a worrying situation.

The Timbuktu Institute, a Dakar-based think tank, has raised concerns about the potentially dangerous mix of factors at play in the region, namely unemployment, migration flows generated by the gold trade, and proximity to Mali's ongoing security crisis.

World Mental Health Day was observed earlier this week, and the U.S. government says there may be a link between our mental health and the time we spend on social media.

The U.S. government's top doctor warned earlier this year that social media could harm the well-being of young people.

How?

Researchers don't really know yet.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says there's evidence that social media might have benefits for some kids and adolescents.

For instance, many young people say these sites and apps can bring them feelings of support, connection to their friends, and a place to show off their creativity.

But the government report also suggests social media could carry a, quote, profound risk of harm to young people, and that not enough is known about it yet to say whether it's safe for adolescents to be on it.

Either way, they are on it.

The Pew Research Center released a survey last year that said 95 percent of American teenagers have access to a smartphone, and 95 percent of American teenagers say they've used YouTube.

A majority of them have also used TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, and the U.S. government says eighth and 10th graders use social media for three and a half hours per day on average.

This could put them at a higher risk for depression.

At least, that's what research on college students has found, so experts say that could also apply to teenagers.

Health officials are concerned that as their brains develop, young people may be emotionally influenced by frequent social media use in a way that could decrease their happiness.

So, what can be done about this?

Simply put, according to researchers, encourage young people to spend less time looking at screens and more time with in-person interactions.

Discourage them from sharing private information online.

The Surgeon General's report urged parents to set an example by limiting their own social media use, and it suggested that tech companies do more to set and enforce age limits and better help protect kids' privacy.

All of this, like our recent report on loneliness, suggests people might benefit by moving away from social media and toward getting out and interacting with others as ways to feel more fulfilled.

On this date in world history.

On October 12, 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus reached what was called the New World, arriving at the Bahamas, though he thought he was in Eastern Asia.

Columbus claimed the land for Spain, whose rulers Ferdinand and Isabella paid for his voyage.

Over the centuries, this event gave rise to Columbus Day, Italian American Heritage Day, and also Indigenous Peoples Day in recognition of the European impact on Native Americans.

And in 1928, what was known as the Iron Lung was used for the first time, and it saved the life of a girl in Boston with polio.

In severe cases, polio can cause muscle paralysis and affect victim's ability to breathe.

The Iron Lung, a predecessor of modern ventilators, was essentially a metal chamber, a bed and electric bellows, think large vacuum cleaners that forced air in and out of the lungs.

Versions of this device were used widely until a polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s.

It's been a little while, but this isn't the first time I've said, go Chiefs!

McIntosh High School is in Peachtree City of the Peach State of Georgia.

And Coach Beal, thank you for using our show.

Over to the Buckeye State of Ohio, we've got Mrs. Torbert's class with us today.

The Cardinals of Brookside Middle School are in Sheffield Village.

The U.S. is in full-on pumpkin season, y'all.

And one man just got crowned the Pump King again.

In this year's Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off, the winner came in at a whopping 2,749 pounds.

The pumpkin, not the dude who grew it.

It's likely a new world record.

And Travis Ginger, who's won twice before, says the gigantic gourd is the goat.

He named it Michael Jordan.

Ginger got some pumpkin prizes, a championship ring, a winner's jacket, and $30,000, which would buy a lot of pumpkin spice lattes.

Of course, it's a tradition to try to squash the competition with a farm-fresh edition of A Fruit of the Vine.

And those who buy the prize of pumpkin pies can recognize a pump-kindred spirit upon which you can dine.

But who could afford or save toward a gourd that breaks the door and leaves you floored at $30,000?

My gourdness, me, it's such a sight to see, and a deed that could feed pie-faces making them holler.

Maybe not my best, but it's baked fresh for you, and it's because you mean the world to us.

Thank you for watching The World from A to Z.

I'm Carl Azuz.