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In the news today: An Iranian missile has hit the main hospital in southern Israel, causing "extensive damage"; the U.S. resumes visas for foreign students but all applicants must unlock their social media accounts for government review; and a heat dome will blanket much of the U.S. this week. Also, a look at the causes and cures for pet anxiety. |
Smoke rises from a building of the Soroka hospital complex after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran in Be'er Sheva, Israel, Thursday. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Israel threatens Iran's top leader after missiles damage hospital and wound dozens |
Israel's defense minister overtly threatened Iran's supreme leader on Thursday after the latest missile barrage from Iran damaged a major hospital and hit a high-rise and several other residential buildings near Tel Aviv. At least 40 people were wounded in the attacks, according to Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service. Israel, meanwhile, carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, in its latest attack on the country's sprawling nuclear program. Read more. |
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- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack and vowed a response, while Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist."
Iranian state TV said there was "no radiation danger whatsoever" from Israel's attack on the Arak heavy water reactor site. An Iranian state television reporter, speaking live in the nearby town of Khondab, said the facility had been evacuated and there was no damage to civilian areas around the reactor.
- Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. Israel, in conducting its strike, signaled it remained concerned the Arak facility could be used to produce plutonium again one day. Already, Israel's campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran, and a nuclear site in Isfahan.
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US resumes visas for foreign students but demands social media access |
The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions, or founding principles. Read more. |
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Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year. Foreign students make up more than 15% of the total student body at almost 200 U.S. universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023.
International students in the U.S. have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated.
- Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War, when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the U.S. "This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States," Jaffer said.
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Summer will make a dramatic entrance in the US this week with a heat dome
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A heat dome occurs when a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere acts as a reservoir that traps heat and humidity, said Ricky Castro, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Illinois. This stretch is set to bring stifling temperatures and uncomfortable humidity to millions. Read more. |
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Several states in the Midwest could see dangerous temperature impacts over the weekend. The heat will be particularly worrisome this weekend across wide stretches of Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, where forecasters are warning of extreme temperature impacts.
Moisture blown northward from the Gulf Coast is fueling the muggy weather, said Jacob Asherman, a Weather Prediction Center meteorologist. This influx of Gulf moisture is fairly typical during late spring and summer, he said.
- This will be the first stretch of true summertime weather for many from the Midwest to the East Coast, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist at the private weather company AccuWeather. "A lot of those folks have been saying, where's summer? Well, buckle up, because it's coming," said Kines.
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Cookie, an eight-year-old German shepherd mix with anxiety, at a home in Waitsfield, Vermont, June 14. (AP Photo/Carolyn Lessard)
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In stressful times, our anxiety can rub off on pets
In this age of heightened anxiety, many of us turn to our pets for emotional support. But is our behavior increasing our furry friends' fears? Some vets say they're seeing an increase in pet anxiety. But they note there are lots of factors behind that. |
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