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IMPORTANT | | | Saber Rattling | Russia Tests New ICBM to Make Foes ‘Think Twice’ As Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol held their ground and ignored another Russian deadline to surrender, the Kremlin announced a successful test of a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. President Vladimir Putin said the RS-28 Sarmat would make those who “try to threaten our country think twice.” While Russian space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin described it as “a present to NATO,” the Pentagon waved it off, saying the test was no threat to the U.S. or its allies. Nonetheless, U.S. officials postponed a Minuteman III ICBM test launch over concerns that Russia could use it to justify renewed attacks in Ukraine. (Sources: WaPo, DW) |
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| | Tit for Tat | Israel, Palestinian Militants Exchange Fire as Gaza Tension Mounts Cross-border violence erupted early Thursday as Israeli aircraft hit Hamas targets in Gaza and Palestinian militants fired rockets into southern Israel. Confrontations have surged in recent weeks after Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank killed at least 29 Palestinians and a series of deadly street attacks killed 14 people in Israel. Tensions are particularly high this year as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover, making Jerusalem’s Old City — with holy sites for both religions — a flashpoint for conflict. Yesterday it saw a demonstration by hundreds of flag-waving Israeli ultra-nationalists, who clashed with police. (Sources: Reuters, AP) |
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| | Gloves Off | Macron and Le Pen Spar Before Close French Election France’s centrist incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen faced off in a fiery three-hour debate last night before Sunday’s election. Macron repeatedly accused Le Pen of being beholden to Russia for a $12.2 million loan from Putin and for her reaffirmation last week that she’d leave NATO to form stronger alliances with Moscow. Le Pen stuck to the economy, a stance that has won her support among Macron skeptics. Left-wing Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who came third in the first round of voting, refused to endorse either candidate, but did admonish: “Not one vote for Marine Le Pen.” (Sources: NYT, Le Monde, Al Jazeera) |
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| | Justice Denied | UN Investigators Blocked From Site of Mali Massacre The United Nations is “extremely concerned” that the West African nation is preventing investigators from visiting the scene of an attack in the town of Moura, where local troops and suspected Russian mercenaries allegedly killed hundreds of civilians in late March. Mali’s military denied the allegations, calling the attack a professional operation against insurgents. U.N. spokesperson Seif Magango noted that other human rights abuses, including rape and summary executions, had been reported by witnesses, saying the civilian death toll could be as high as 500. Magango added, “Time is of essence to ensure accountability and prompt, effective justice for victims.” (Sources: France24, Al Jazeera) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: False alarm. The U.S. Capitol was evacuated Wednesday evening for an “aircraft that poses a probable threat” — though it was just a plane carrying Army parachutists to a pregame show at a Nationals baseball game. (Source: NYT) Out ASAP. Rapper A$AP Rocky was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday in connection to a November 2021 shooting, but he’s been released on a $550,000 bond. (Source: CNN) A royal celebration. Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's oldest and longest-reigning monarch, celebrates her 96th birthday today. (Source: BBC) |
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INTRIGUING | | | Out of Sight, Out of Mind | Scientists Can Measure Visual Imagination by Looking You in the Eye Aphantasia, a rare condition that makes people unable to form mental images, is tricky to study. For one thing, it depends on someone visualizing and describing something they can’t picture. But scientists in Sydney say they’ve found the first physiological evidence of aphantasia by measuring pupil dilation. Test subjects studied light and dark objects and were asked to imagine the same shapes. Those who were able to vividly imagine them showed a strong pupillary response, while participants with aphantasia showed zero pupil dilation. Researchers hope the test “could be scaled up to run online for millions of people everywhere.” (Sources: IFLScience, Medical Xpress) |
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| | Forever Young | Everyone in South Korea May Be Getting Younger In South Korea there are three ways to calculate age: The international system, counting from someone’s birth date, for official documents. Another method ages everyone up on New Year’s Day, making December babies nearly a year older than they seem. Standard “Korean age” considers everyone a 1-year-old at birth and adds a year on Jan. 1, so babies born Dec. 31 are 2-year-olds the next day. Thus BTS’s Kim Tae-hyung, aka V, is simultaneously 26, 27 and 28 years old. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol hopes to standardize the country’s counting system — and shave off some years — to end the “persistent confusion.” (Source: BBC) |
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| | Let It Go | Florida Wants to End Disney’s ‘Special District’ Over LGBTQ Support Florida’s Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would strip Walt Disney World of its self-governing status, a move with potentially huge tax consequences for the theme park. Disney, one of Florida’s biggest private employers, was granted control of the 27,000-acre Reedy Creek Improvement District in the 1960s, and has since transformed Orlando into a wildly popular tourist destination. But Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has targeted the company over its opposition to the new state law, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics, which limits education about sexual orientation and gender identity. Florida’s House of Representatives will take up the bill today. (Sources: AP, Politico) |
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| | Penalty Box | World’s Largest Hockey Stick Endangered by Woodpeckers North Cowichan, British Columbia, boasts the world’s largest hockey stick — a 61,000-pound behemoth mounted on the local community center. But in recent weeks that massive hunk of Douglas fir has become home to an unwelcome new resident: a northern flicker woodpecker that’s determined to drill holes in the wood. Staff have tried plugging the holes with steel wool and attaching a plastic owl, but the persistent bird seems set on moving in. While community center staff want to protect the landmark, they say if the woodpecker has established a nest, its family can call the hockey stick home for the season. (Sources: CTV News, Times Colonist) |
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| | Missteps | Sexual Misconduct Scandal Deepens for Celebrity Dance Company When allegations of sexual harassment and predatory behavior struck the California-based Break the Floor dance company last fall, CEO and former dancer Gil Stroming insisted he’d make it a safe place for the 300,000 aspiring dancers it hosts each year. But Stroming, a former dancer who founded the company 22 years ago, stepped down and sold the company in January. Now interviews with dozens of former and current staff and students have revealed that the allegations go back to Break the Floor’s early days and involve its famous teachers and choreographers — as well as Stroming himself. (Sources: AP, Toronto Star) |
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