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Today's top stories
Israeli forces launched strikes in Lebanon and Iran, and Iran has attacked Israel in retaliation. The violence is threatening to plunge the Middle East back into an all-out war. This morning, sirens sounded across Israel after Iran and its allies, Yemen's Houthi rebels, launched missiles. Iran said it targeted two Israeli military bases in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iranian radar sites. Israel struck central and western Iran early today after attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
- 🎧 Iran has warned that any strikes by Israel on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital would be considered a red line, NPR's Jane Arraf tells Up First. Iran has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of a broader Iran-U.S. deal. Last night, Israel targeted an apartment building, killing two people. Arraf, who is in Beirut, says that apartment buildings in the areas of Lebanon still under threat by Israel have been leveled by airstrikes. Despite the destruction, some residents, including the elderly and disabled, are still trying to live in these neighborhoods. Tyre was once a thriving coastal city, similar to Miami, but after the new strikes, displaced families began setting up tents on the beach near shuttered restaurants, with some individuals simply sleeping on the sand.
President Trump walked out of an interview with NBC's Meet the Press after he was confronted about his "anti-weaponization" fund and his persistent false claims about the elections. In the interview, which aired on Sunday, the president defended his Iran policy and mentioned a potential peace agreement, but he offered no details.
- 🎧 Trump made it clear during the interview that he hasn't given up on his administration's nearly $1.8 billion fund, despite acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's assurances that it's been phased out. NPR's Franco Ordoñez says he anticipates the anti-weaponization fund will continue to dominate discussions in Washington. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are concerned that the fund, which the president says would support people who have been unjustly targeted by the government, could be used to pay Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Trump also said during the interview that he deserves more leniency and patience regarding the war in Iran. He mentioned again that a deal would be reached soon, or that military action might resume. Ordoñez points out that the president has made similar statements on the war for weeks now without providing specifics.
Health officials in Africa are warning that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is spreading more rapidly than any other Ebola outbreak in history. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says that the rate of transmission is exceeding the early trajectory of the 2014 West Africa epidemic. Health workers are operating with limited resources as they struggle to bring the outbreak under control. Over the weekend, 71 new cases were confirmed in three provinces of eastern Congo. Congolese health authorities say that the jump in cases demonstrates "rapid and ongoing community transmission." The Congolese government has stopped publishing the total number of suspected cases, but aid officials estimate that the numbers could be in the thousands.
- 🎧 Health authorities in the Congo announced over the weekend that three new patients have recovered, bringing the total number healed to 12. This suggests that the virus is not necessarily a death sentence, according to Emmet Livingstone, who is reporting from Congo's capital, Kinshasa. Livingstone says that while the situation is still extremely dangerous, the Ebola strain that's currently circulating appears to have a slightly lower mortality rate than other common variants. Experts say the chances of recovery increase significantly when patients seek medical care early, but Livingston says access to adequate medical care is the biggest challenge.
Picture show
The Obama Presidential Center is opening its doors later this month on the South Side of Chicago. During a press preview, NPR and other media toured the building and grounds, which highlighted the legacy of the Obama presidency. The center is a vibrant campus featuring basketball courts, gardens, ball fields, a children's playground, a branch of the Chicago Public Library and an eight-story museum that rises over it all. Inside the museum, visitors will find numerous exhibits that not only recount the lives of the former president and first lady but also reflect the broader narrative of the nation, starting with the Declaration of Independence. The museum illustrates America's ongoing journey toward becoming a more perfect union, a theme that Obama often returned to in his speeches. Take a look inside with these photos.
Behind the story
by Omkar Khandekar, producer at NPR's South Asia bureau
This week, NPR published a lengthy report on India's controversial Great Nicobar project.
Over the past few years, there's been a debate in India over the future of an island that hosts less than than 0.0007% of its population.
The Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi wants to turn the sleepy Great Nicobar island into a trading center and a bustling township — "The Singapore of India," as some call it.
The mega-project is estimated to cost more than a billion dollars and nearly a million trees. Critics say this would be an environmental disaster. They say the project could also endanger the Shompen, one of the last hunter-gatherer communities in the world that remain isolated from the modern world.
India's ruling party, which sees the project as a "strategic gateway" to counter China in the Indian Ocean, has bristled at the criticism. Journalists visiting Great Nicobar have reported being under police surveillance. When NPR made a low-profile visit to the island early this year, residents were eager to talk, although some requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. That fear was palpable: after our return, the local police started a formal inquiry into the reasons for our visit. Those we spoke to reported being questioned by the police. Local authorities also barred free access to areas marked for a contentious transshipment port.
The tussle in Great Nicobar is emblematic of many state-backed infrastructure projects across India. While the Modi government is eager to push ahead with such ambitious projects in the name of the economy or national security, the clamor to protect nature has grown sharper as India sees a rise in heatwaves, glacial floods, and extreme rainfall in recent years.
3 things to know before you go
- A group of workers at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has voted to authorize a strike, just days before the venue is set to host its first U.S. match in the World Cup. Some of the workers' demands include higher pay and security on the job.
- New research indicates that bumblebees, despite having tiny brains, may spontaneously solve problems in ways similar to animals with larger brains.
- Researchers have installed a thermal camera system on an island in San Francisco Bay to help spot heat from whales' exhalations. The changing climate has driven the animals into areas where ship strikes have been deadly.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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