Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08724-6Dynamic cytoskeletal regulation of lymphatic endothelial cell shape, induced by isotropic stretch and crucial for dermal lymphatic capillary function, is identified and found to result from continuous remodelling of cellular overlaps that maintain vessel integrity.

The National Institutes of Health's James Shannon building is seen on the agency's campus in Bethesda, Md., Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)2025-03-20T15:01:16Z A common blood test may miss ovarian cancer in some Black and Native American patients, delaying their treatment, a new study finds. Its the latest example of medical tests that contribute to health care disparities.Researchers have been working to uncover these kinds of biases in medicine. Recently, the Trump administrations crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion has jeopardized such research as universities react to political pressure and federal agencies comb through grants looking for projects that violate the presidents orders.Native American women have the highest rate of ovarian cancer. Black women with ovarian cancer have lower rates of survival compared to white women. Finding ovarian cancer early can lead to better chances of survival.The new study, supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and published Thursday in JAMA Network Open, looked at a test called CA-125. The test measures a tumor marker in the blood, and doctors use it to determine if a woman with a suspicious lump should be referred to a cancer specialist. Doctors depend on the test during early evaluations, so understanding what the results mean for people of different races and ethnicities is critical, said Dr. Shannon Westin of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who was not involved in the research. This is a perfect example of work that absolutely needed to be stratified based on race and ethnicity, Westin said. The findings alert doctors that they shouldnt be totally reassured by a normal test result, she said. So far, its unknown why the test doesnt perform uniformly across groups. The researchers suspect it has something to do with a harmless genetic variation that is more common in people of African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and West Indian descent.Initial studies of the test, published in the 1980s, didnt record peoples races but were in mostly white populations. The test isnt perfect for white women either, said lead author Dr. Anna Jo Smith of the University of Pennsylvanias medical school. But if we have worse performance in certain groups, then we may be further contributing to disparities in referral, disparities in treatment, and ultimately we may be contributing to the lower survival in Black women with ovarian cancer, Smith said.The researchers analyzed data from more than 200,000 women with ovarian cancer from 2004 through 2020 whod had a CA-125 blood test.Black and Native American patients were 23% less likely to have an elevated CA-125 level at ovarian cancer diagnosis compared with white patients, suggesting the current thresholds are set too high.The researchers also found that patients with false negative results started chemotherapy on average nine days later than patients with elevated levels. That could make a difference for some patients, Smith said.Last week, Smith and her colleagues presented work at a Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting proposing a new lower threshold for the blood test that would work better across all populations. The work could lead to changes in guidelines.New thresholds for referral will ensure that all patients get in for rapid care when ovarian cancer is suspected, Smith said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. CARLA K. JOHNSON Johnson covers research in cancer, addiction and more for The Associated Press. She is a member of APs Health and Science team. twitter mailto

This photo provided by the The Crisis and Support Centre of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on Thursday, March 20, 2025 shows France's Olivier Grondeau sitting in a plane after being freed by Iran. (MEAE/CDCS via AP)2025-03-20T06:17:18Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) A French citizen imprisoned in Iran for over 880 days has been freed and is back home, as was another French citizen held under house arrest in Tehran, French officials said Thursday. Their liberation came as France and the rest of Europe are trying to jumpstart talks with Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Irans 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seeking negotiations. Trump is also pressuring Tehran over its support of Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels as the American military carries out an intense new campaign of airstrikes targeting the group.French President Emmanuel Macron announced online that Frenchman Olivier Grondeau had been freed. The French Foreign Ministry said another French citizen who had been under house arrest in Tehran for more than four months was released Wednesday night. He asked to not be publicly identified, the ministry said. The release came ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, when Iran has released prisoners in the past.In January, Grondeau spoke to a French broadcaster from prison, alluding at the time to the politics at play in his imprisonment. You become a human who has been stocked away indefinitely because one government is seeking to exert pressure on another, he said. His lawyer in France, Chirinne Ardakani, said he returned on Monday to Paris. Hes in good hands. Hes recovering, the attorney told The Associated Press. An Iranian court had sentenced Grondeau, a backpacker and world traveler, to five years in prison on espionage charges that he, his family and the French government vigorously denied. French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot said France did not provide anything in exchange for Grondeaus liberation. Barrot told French broadcaster TF1 on Thursday that he had initially discussed the situation with Irans foreign minister but when those discussions failed to secure a release, it was via different means that we obtained this result. He didnt elaborate. Iran isnt acknowledging the releaseReleases of Westerners in Iran typically come in exchange for something. Tehran did not immediately acknowledge Grondeaus release. Earlier this week, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said France had arrested an Iranian woman who supported Palestinians, but said Tehran was still trying to gather more details about her case.An image that circulated of Grondeau on a private jet flying home was a plastic-wrapped T-shirt with a photo of pop star Britney Spears. He put it on before getting off the plane and embracing his family on returning home, in footage aired by TF1.After the family and Grondeau went public about his detention, his mother had described the former youth Scrabble champion as a fan of Beyonc and karaoke in interviews with French media. Arrest came during Mahsa Amini protestsGrondeau was detained by Iranian authorities in October 2022 in the city of Shiraz. Though the exact details of what sparked Irans arrest of Grondeau remain unclear, his detention began in the chaotic aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after being detained over not wearing Irans mandatory headscarf, or hijab, to the liking of authorities.United Nations investigators later said Iran was responsible for the physical violence that led to Aminis death, which sparked months of protests and a bloody security force crackdown in the country. Most of the questions were, Did you take part in a demonstration, List all of the Iranians that you met during your trip, Why did you come to Iran? Youre not a tourist, Grondeau said in the January phone call with French broadcaster France 2.One day you think youre going to be freed very quickly, the next you think youll die here, he added.He described lights being shined on prisoners day and night, as well as being blindfolded each time he was being taken out of his cell while in solitary confinement for 72 days. He later shared a cell with over a dozen prisoners.Asked if he had suffered ill treatment, he said: If you look for bruises on my body you wont find any, because they are not that stupid.Grondeau was held at Tehrans notorious Evin Prison, which holds Westerners, dual nationals and political prisoners often used by Tehran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. France is trying to release others, tooBarrot said that France is keeping up pressure on Iran to release two other French citizens held in Iran, Ccile Kohler and Jacques Paris, imprisoned for more than 1,000 days.Macron also posted about the two, writing: All my thoughts are with them and their families on this day.Grondeaus lawyer said the news about his release was tempered by the continued detention of the two others. Were only half-relieved, she said.___Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; and Lorian Belanger in Bangkok contributed to this report. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto

The first two months of Donald Trumps second term have revealed a dramatic misalignment between the goal of the President to relentlessly attack transgender people, and the needs and wishes of American people, including addressing the overwhelming prices of groceries and the dramatic decline in financial markets and overall health of the economy. For his [...]The post Trumps First Two Months: Attacks on Trans People Outweigh Voters Economic Priorities first appeared on GLAAD.

By Jose Vazquez Freedom has never been a passive gift. It is a fight we carry forward, generation after generation. Living in Alabama, Im aware that every right we enjoy was won by the peoplenot simply granted by lawmakers. Black elders in Montgomery remind us that the Montgomery Bus Boycott wasnt just a symbolic protestit [...]The post LGBTQ Alabamians and Our History Will Not Be Erased first appeared on GLAAD.

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08597-9Long-term studies provide insights into the complex interplay between evolutionary process and pattern across multiple systems and timescales.

Kirsty Coventry gestures as she speaks after she was announced as the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)2025-03-20T06:15:52Z COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) Kirsty Coventry was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday and became the first woman and first African to get perhaps the biggest job in world sports.It is a signal that we are truly global, the Zimbabwe sports minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist said.Hers was a stunning first-round win in the seven-candidate contest after voting by 97 IOC members.She gets an eight-year mandate into 2033 aged just 41 youthful by the historical standards of the IOC.It was the most open and hard-to-call IOC presidential election in decades with Coventry expected to lead the first round short of an absolute majority. Though several rounds of votes were widely predicted, she got the exact majority of 49 needed.Coventrys win also was a victory for outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach, who has long been seen as promoting her as his successor. He did not use his right to vote. I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken, Coventry said in her acceptance speech. Now we have got some work together. Walking to the podium, she was congratulated and kissed on both cheeks by Juan Antonio Samaranch, her expected closest rival who got 28 votes. Also in the race were four presidents of sports governing bodies: Track and fields Sebastian Coe, skiings Johan Eliasch, cyclings David Lappartient, and gymnastics Morinari Watanabe. Also contending was Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan. Coventry will formally replace her mentor Bach on June 23 officially Olympic Day as the 10th IOC president in its 131-year history. Bach reached the maximum 12 years in office.Key challenges for the 41-year-old Auburn University graduate will be steering the Olympic movement through political and sporting issues toward the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, including engaging in diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump. Coventrys IOC will also need to find a host for the 2036 Summer Games which could go to India or the Middle East.The strongest candidates in a five-month campaign with tightly controlled rules drafted by the Bach-led IOC seemed to be Coventry who gave birth to her second child IOC vice president Samaranch and Coe.Coventrys manifesto offered mostly continuity from Bach with little new detail, while her rivals had specifics to benefit Olympic athletes, which she was as recently as 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.Coes World Athletics broke an Olympic taboo by paying $50,000 to track and field gold medalists in Paris last year. Samaranch promised to relax strict IOC commercial rules and give athletes control of footage of their Olympic performances.Samaranch tried to follow his father, also Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was the IOCs seventh president from 1980 to 2001.Coe aimed to add to a remarkable career of Olympic triumphs: A two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500 meters, he led a bidding team for the 2012 London Olympics, then worked for the next seven years to head the organizing team of those widely praised Games. He got just eight votes. It has been a stellar week for Bach, who greeted Coventry and shared warm smiles after her acceptance speech.Bach was feted on Wednesday in an emotional start to the IOC annual meeting, getting lavish praise and the title of honorary president for life. He repeated his wish to offer advice to the next president.His hands-on executive-style presidency will deliver over a financially secure IOC, on track to earn more than $8 billion in revenue through the 2028 LA Olympics, and with a slate of future hosts through 2034: in Italy, the United States, France, Australia and finally the U.S. again, when the Winter Games return to Salt Lake City.A signature Bach policy also has been gender parity, with equal quotas of men and women athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics and giving a better balance of female members of the IOC and the executive board he chairs, which now has seven women among its 15 members, including Coventry. Her win on Thursday will only add to Bachs legacy for promoting women.Coventry won back-to-back titles in 200-meters backstroke at the 2004 Athens Olympics and Beijing four years later. She joined the IOC in 2013, almost one year after a disputed athlete election at the London Olympics. Her place among the four athletes elected was eventually awarded after Court of Arbitration for Sport rulings against two opponents. The next president can oversee the IOC making a statement choice for its host for the 2036 Summer Games.There is one and one only, Samaranch said on Wednesday when asked about challenges ahead. We must concentrate (on) successful and relevant Olympic Games. The rest comes with success in the Games.The voters in the exclusive invited club of IOC members include royal family members, former lawmakers and diplomats, business leaders, sports officials and Olympic athletes. Even an Oscar-winning actress, Michelle Yeoh.Members voted without hearing further presentations from the candidates in an election that swung on a discreet network of friendships and alliances largely forged out of sight. ___AP Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games GRAHAM DUNBAR Dunbar is an Associated Press sports news reporter in Geneva, Switzerland. He focuses on the governing bodies, institutions and politics of international sports. twitter mailto

This Feb. 8, 2023 photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Wendell Grissom. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)2025-03-20T04:03:39Z McALESTER, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma executed a man on Thursday for fatally shooting a woman during a home invasion and robbery 20 years ago.Wendell Grissom, 56, was declared dead by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester at 10:13 a.m. It was Oklahomas first execution of 2025.Grissom and a co-defendant, Jessie Floyd Johns, were convicted of killing of Amber Matthews, 23, and wounding her friend, Dreu Kopf, at Kopfs Blaine County residence. Johns was sentenced to life in prison without parole.I apologize to all of you that Ive hurt, Grissom said while strapped to the gurney, an IV line affixed to his right arm. I regret so much that Ive put that hatred in your heart for me.A minister prayed at Grissoms feet as the lethal drugs began to flow. He exhaled forcefully several times and could be heard snoring when a doctor entered the execution chamber and declared him unconscious about five minutes later. He appeared to stop breathing at 10:09 a.m. and the color started to drain from his face. More than two dozen of Matthews friends and family witnessed Grissoms execution. Three other executions were scheduled this week around the United States. Louisiana put a man to death Tuesday using nitrogen gas for the first time as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus. A man who kidnapped and murdered his girlfriends ex-husband in Arizona was executed Wednesday by lethal injection. Another lethal injection is scheduled Thursday in Florida. Prosecutors said Grissom, who had a lengthy criminal record, picked up Johns, who was hitchhiking, and the two men were driving west on Interstate 40 when they decided to commit robberies. They randomly selected Kopfs home near Watonga, where Matthews was visiting Kopf and her two young daughters.Matthews was shot twice in the head and left clinging to life on the floor as Kopf, also shot twice and seriously wounded, managed to flee in Grissoms truck to get help, prosecutors said. Grissom and Johns also fled, on a stolen four-wheeler, but quickly ran out of gas and were captured after hitching a ride to a cafe in a nearby county. Authorities found Kopfs daughters still inside the home, physically unhurt. Matthews died after being flown by helicopter to an Oklahoma City hospital.Kopf and her daughters, now 19 and 20, also witnessed Grissoms execution. Kopf said she believed Grissoms apology was sincere but Its too late.It took him a total of 13 minutes to die, and it took him a total of two minutes to kill my best friend, Kopf said.Grissoms attorneys did not dispute his guilt but argued at a clemency hearing that he suffered from brain damage that was never presented to a jury. The states Pardon and Parole Board denied Grissoms request to recommend clemency.Grissoms attorneys told the board he always accepted responsibility and wrote an apology to Matthews family during his first interview with police.He cannot change the past, but he is now and always has been deeply ashamed and remorseful, said Kristi Christopher, an attorney with the federal public defenders office. Christopher said his legal team did not pursue a last-minute appeal, per Grissoms request.Kopf told the board that she still carries deep mental and physical scars from the attack, including bullet fragments still in her body. In the years since the attack, she said, she has called 911 when the doorbell rings unexpectedly or a stranger appears in her neighborhood.I lived in a heightened state of fear at all times, she said tearfully.Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has called Matthews killing a textbook death penalty case.The crimes committed by Grissom, random, brutal attacks on innocent strangers in the sanctity of their own home, are the very kind that keep people awake at night, Drummond said during last months hearing.Grissoms lethal injection is the 128th execution by the state of Oklahoma since the U.S. reinstated the death penalty in 1976, state prison records show. It was the first since Kevin Underwood was executed in December. SEAN MURPHY Murphy is the statehouse reporter for The Associated Press in Oklahoma City. He has covered Oklahoma news and politics since 1996. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Throughout the country the GLAAD Media Institute the organizations training, consulting, and research leg met thousands of LGBTQ change agents working together to bring representation, accuracy, and truth to journalism that covers the at-large LGBTQ community. Eight stories featuring GLAAD Media Institute alumni those that have partnered with GLAADs Going Local programming [...]The post Get to Know These Eight Shining GLAAD Media Institute Alumni Included #GLAADaward-Nominated Projects This Year first appeared on GLAAD.

Happy 15th Anniversary, The Runaways!Dripping in all its '70s rock glory, The Runaways premiered in theaters 15 years ago this week. Starring Kristin Stewart and Dakota Fanning, the film depicts the origins of two rebellious teens, Joan Jett (Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Fanning), who would eventually become the frontwomen for the Runaways. The bands success is partly due to producer Kim Fowley (played by Michael Shannon), who would go on to make the band a huge success. But with fame comes the fury, as Jett and Curries relationship tests the bands future.There are no spoilers here, but the Runaways would go on to make their mark in mid-70s rock, forever a legendary band that would pave the way for future female rockers. In honor of the 15th anniversary, lets look back at the lead actresses and actors who made this film #Queerconic. Kristen Stewart (Joan Jett)On the wave of her Twilight success, Stewart took on more diverse roles in both box and indie films. In addition to The Yellow Handkerchief, also released in 2010, she worked on Welcome to the Plays. Stewart, who took vocal lessons and learned to play instruments, received praise for embodying the iconic rocker's tough-but-cool girl swagger.Stewart began dating her Twilight co-star, Robert Pattinson, the year prior. Several years later, in 2017, she came out as bisexual. As of 2025, she is currently engaged to screenwriter Dylan Meyer and remains a queer icon and acclaimed actor, portraying real and fictional characters from the late Princess Diana (Spencer, 2020) to a reclusive gym lesbian gym manager (Love Lies Bleeding, 2024). This year, Stewart will make her directorial debut with The Chronology of Water, based on a memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch.Dakota Fanning (Cherie Currie)In addition to lending her voice to the animated film Coraline and starring in the sci-fi thriller Push, she joined her co-star by taking a role in the Twilight series in New Moon, with all three films released in 2009. Named one of the Most Valuable Young Stars by Forbes that same year, Dakota also prepared for her role with vocal lessons and learning instruments. As part of her research, she also took to the stage with punk rock band Living Things, telling The New York Times at the time, I had never sung with a band before and felt the power of something like that behind me. Dakota graduated from New York University in 2014 with a major in womens studies, specializing in the intersectionality of women's portrayals in film and culture. She would launch a production company, Lewellen Pictures, with her sister Elle in 2021. Two years prior, Dakota and Elle starred in the 2019 film The Nightingale, based on the historical fiction novel by Kristin Hannah. Fanning continues to star in indie and blockbuster films, including a role in The Equalizer 3 (2023) and Netflixs The Perfect Couple and Ripley, both released in 2024.Riley Keough (Marie Currie)Keogh made her film debut in The Runaways as Marie Currie, the twin sister of Cherie (Fanning). She has taken on leading and supporting roles in various films over the years, from The Good Doctor (2011) to Magic Mike (2012) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). In 2016, she starred in the lesbian drama Lovesong and made her breakthrough role in the first season of The Girlfriend Experience, garnering praise and award buzz.The daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley, who passed in 2023, Keough finished her mothers memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which was published last year. Shes been married to Australian stuntman Ben Smith-Peterson, whom she met on the set of Fury Road, and has a daughter born in 2022 via surrogate.Alia Shawkat (Robin Robins)Alia Shawkats character in the film is fictional, based on the actual bassist, Jacqueline Fuchs, who chose not to release her rights. Shawkat was already a well-known name. She was best known for her role as Maeby Fnke in the television series Arrested Development. Alia continued to build her career in both television and film. She starred in the critically acclaimed series Search Party (2016-2022), where her portrayal of Dory Sief received widespread praise. Shawkey has also appeared in films such as Whip It (2009) and Being the Ricardos (2021), showcasing her versatility as an actress.The bisexual actress is also a lover of music. She occasionally sings jazz songs her grandfather taught her. She has one child, a son, born in 2023. Stella Maeve (Sandy West)With her first feature role in 2005s Transamerica and 2008s Harold, Stella Maeve played Sandy West in the band. Following the film, shes gone on to play several guest and recurring roles on television. She portrayed Nadia Decotis in Chicago P.D. and Julia Wicker in The Magicians, which garnered her critical acclaim and solidified her presence in the fantasy genre.In 2020, she gave birth to a daughter, fellow actor Benjamin Wadsworth. Scout Taylor-Compton (Lita Ford)Before the film, Scout Taylor-Compton was best known for her work in horror films, notably in Rob Zombies Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). After The Runaways, she continued acting in independent films and television series. She appeared in 2005s Nashville and 2016s Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.In 2024, she married actor Tom OConnell. Floria Sigismondi, DirectorFloria made her feature directorial debut with The Runaways. Before this, she directed music videos for artists from Marilyn Manson and David Bowie to Sarah McLachlan and The White Stripes. Following the film, Sigismondi continued her work in both film and television. Shes directed episodes of acclaimed series such as The Handmaids Tale and American Gods and directed the 2020 horror film The Turning, based on Henry Jamess 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. Shes been married since 2004 to Lawrence Rothman of the band Living Things.Like the iconic artists they portrayed, these women collectively continue to make significant contributions to the entertainment industry. From film to television, horror to comedy, each forges a unique and impactful path in their careers. Stay Tuned for More Queerconic Moments Throughout the Year!

Ella Osama Abu Dagga, 25 days old, lies in a van after being pulled from the rubble following an Israeli army airstrike that killed her parents and brother in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)2025-03-20T12:52:13Z KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) As rescuers dug through the remains of a collapsed apartment building in Gazas Khan Younis on Thursday, they could hear the cries of a baby from underneath the rubble.Suddenly, calls of God is great rang out. A man sprinted away from the wreckage carrying a living infant swaddled in a blanket and handed her to a waiting ambulance crew. The baby girl stirred fitfully as paramedics checked her over.Her parents and brother were dead in the overnight Israeli airstrike.When we asked people, they said she is a month old and she has been under the rubble, since dawn, said Hazen Attar, a civil defense first responder. She had been screaming and then falling silent from time to time until we were able to get her out a short while ago, and thank God she is safe.The girl was identified as Ella Osama Abu Dagga. She had been born 25 days earlier, in the midst of a tenuous ceasefire that many Palestinians in Gaza had hoped would mark the end of a war that has devastated the enclave, killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly its entire population. Only the girls grandparents survived the attack. Killed were her brother, mother and father, along with another family that included a father and his seven children. Rescuers digging through the rubble could be seen pulling out the small body of a child sprawled on the mattress where he had been sleeping. It was not immediately clear who would take the rescued infant girl in. Israel resumed heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday, shattering the truce that had facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. Israel blamed the renewed fighting on Hamas because the militant group rejected a new proposal for the second phase of the ceasefire that departed from their signed agreement, which was mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.Nearly 600 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including more than 400 on Tuesday alone, according to Gazas Health Ministry. Health officials said most of the victims were women and children. The strike that destroyed the infant girls home hit Abasan al-Kabira, a village just outside of Khan Younis near the border with Israel, killing at least 16 people, mostly women and children, according to the nearby European Hospital, which received the dead.It was inside an area the Israeli military ordered evacuated earlier this week, encompassing most of eastern Gaza.The Israel military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it is deeply embedded in residential areas. The military did not immediately comment on the overnight strikes.Hours later, the Israeli military restored a blockade on northern Gaza, including Gaza City, that it had maintained for most of the war, but which had been lifted under the ceasefire deal.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had returned to what remains of their homes in the north after a ceasefire took hold in January.The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Israels blistering retaliatory air and ground offensive has killed nearly 49,000 Palestinians since then, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many were militants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.Associated Press staff writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A woman enjoys a sunny and frosty day on the embankment of the South Harbour in Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)2025-03-20T00:38:14Z HELSINKI (AP) Finland is the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday. People walk past a monument to poet and writer Johan Ludvig Runeberg in Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) People walk past a monument to poet and writer Johan Ludvig Runeberg in Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order.Aino Virolainen, a digital commerce director, has lived abroad but always wants to return home to Finland.This is where I always want to come back to and where I want to, you know, grow my kids and grow old myself, Virolainen said Thursday. And I think its because, you know, the peace and the quietness and the trustworthiness. You know, how we speak directly and the nature, of course. Its clean and the air is fresh and whats there not to love? Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network.Happiness isnt just about wealth or growth its about trust, connection and knowing people have your back, said Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup. If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other. Finnish final-year high school students paraded through downtown as part of the traditional annual Penkkarit in the center of Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Finnish final-year high school students paraded through downtown as part of the traditional annual Penkkarit in the center of Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Sharing meals and having somebody to count onResearchers say that beyond health and wealth, some factors that influence happiness sound deceptively simple: sharing meals with others, having somebody to count on for social support, and household size. In Mexico and Europe, for example, a household size of four to five people predicts the highest levels of happiness, the study said. People enjoy a sunny and frosty day after sweating in the sauna of the public bath in Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) People enjoy a sunny and frosty day after sweating in the sauna of the public bath in Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the latest findings.As an example, the report suggests that people who believe that others are willing to return their lost wallet is a strong predictor of the overall happiness of a population. A man trying on a knitted hat with Finnish pattern on the Market Square in the center of Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) A man trying on a knitted hat with Finnish pattern on the Market Square in the center of Helsinki, Finland, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nordic nations rank among the top places for expected and actual return of lost wallets, the study found.Alexandra Peth, a managing director, said Finnish culture prioritizes trust and connection.People trust each other in Finland and I think on many levels in the society, we try to support each other, Peth said. So I think the system makes it kind of that you can trust it somehow.Overall, researchers said that global evidence on the perceived and actual return of lost wallets shows that people are much too pessimistic about the kindness of their communities compared to reality actual rates of wallet return are around twice as high as people expect. The U.S. falls to its lowest-ever position in the happiness rankingWhile European countries dominate the top 20 in the ranking, there were some exceptions. Despite the war with Hamas, Israel came in at eighth. Costa Rica and Mexico entered the top 10 for the first time, ranking at sixth and 10th respectively.When it comes to decreasing happiness or growing unhappiness the United States has dropped to its lowest-ever position at 24, having previously peaked at 11th place in 2012. The report states that the number of people dining alone in the United States has increased 53% over the past two decades.The United Kingdom, at position 23, is reporting its lowest average life evaluation since the 2017 report.Afghanistan is again ranked as the unhappiest country in the world, with Afghan women saying their lives are especially difficult.Sierra Leone in western Africa is the second unhappiest, followed by Lebanon, ranking third from the bottom. Almost one-fifth of young adults globally have no social supportIn a concerning development, the study said that 19% of young adults across the world reported in 2023 that they have no one they could count on for social support. That is a 39% increase compared to 2006.All countries are ranked according to their self-assessed life evaluations averaged over 2022 to 2024. Experts in economics, psychology, sociology and beyond then seek to explain the variations across countries and over time using factors such as gross domestic product per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, a sense of freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption. Jouni Purhonen, a Helsinki resident, called Finns really calm.So we have the time to think about things like live our life really peacefully and I guess easily, if you will, Purhonen said.___Kirsten Grieshaber reported from Berlin. KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Grieshaber is a Berlin-based reporter covering Germany and Austria for The Associated Press. She covers general news as well as migration, populism and religion. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Vivian Jenna Wilson came out swinging in a new interview where she talked about her trans identity and her pathetic manchild father, Elon Musk.In an interview with Teen Vogue for her first-ever cover story, Wilson opened up about her estranged relationship with the Tesla and Space X CEO and railed against people who think her transition had anything to do with Musk jumping head-first into right-wing politics. Its such a convenient narrative, that the reason he turned right is because Im a fucking trnny, and thats just not the case. Thats not what that does to people, Wilson told the publication. Him going further on the right, and Im going to use the word further make sure you put further in there is not because of me. Thats insane.Wilson has made a name for herself by roasting Musk on Threads and Bluesky, where she has called him out for deadnaming her and saying she was killed by the woke mind virus in an interview with conspiracy theorist Jordan Peterson, slammed him for speaking at a racist bigoted Trump rally in New York last year, lambasted him for anti-LGBTQ+ comments he has made, and criticized him for not getting what he bought and paid for when using IVF didnt guarantee her gender.When Teen Vogue writer Ella Yurma pointed out that her father is the richest man in the world, Wilson said she wasnt intimidated by Musk, responding in her signature snarky style. He's a pathetic man-child. Why would I feel scared of him? Ohhh, he has so much power. Nah, nah, nah. I don't give a f**k, Wilson said. "Why should I be scared of this man? Because he's rich? Oh, no, I'm trembling. Ooh, shivering in my boots here. I don't give a f**k how much money anyone has. I don't. I really don't. He owns Twitter. Okay. Congratulations.The 20-year-old self-proclaimed Queen of Threads didnt pull her punches when talking about Musk going viral for doing a Nazi salute at Trumps inauguration event, calling it what it was despite conservatives trying to hand wave it away and members of the press shying away from labeling the hand gesture correctly.The Nazi salute sht was insane, she said. Honey, we're going to call a fig a fig, and we're going to call a Nazi salute what it was. That sh*t was definitely a Nazi salute. The crowd is equally to blame, and I feel like people are not talking about that. That crowd should be denounced.Wilson explained that not only is she estranged from her polarizing father, but she doesnt even think about him anymore. I'm not giving anyone that space in my mind. The only thing that gets to live free in my mind is drag queens, she quipped.Wilson is so disconnected from her father or hes having children at too rapid a pace that she admitted to not knowing how many siblings she has. Musk has 14 children in part because of his concern about population decline and the snarky social media maven said that she only knows about her two most recent siblings because of Reddit and social media.I will say I do not actually know how many siblings I have, if you include half-siblings. That's just a fun fact. It's really good for two truths and a lie. I found out about the Shivon Zilis thing the same time everyone else did. I had no idea before that, Wilson said, referencing the announcement that Musk had a fourth child with Zilis earlier this year.Not one to take her own privilege lightly, Wilson also spent time in the interview talking about why no one should have the kind of obscene wealth her father has accumulated when there are people starving and living on the streets.Seeing that kind of wealth extravagant wealth firsthand, while living in Los Angeles and seeing the [huge] homelessness problem, the wealth gap You start to wonder, How is this fair? You have to inevitably come to the conclusion it's not, she said. There is no world in which people should be owning multiple private planes, private islands, private whatever, while other people are sleeping on the street.Despite her fathers refusal to accept her trans identity and the criticism she faced online, Wilson is looking forward to a bright future where shes hoping that one day she can star on a reality show and dive head first into the world of drag.Im really interested in drag. I love drag. I have such an appreciation for the art form, and I would love to participate in the LA scene sometime. It's on my bucket list to win a drag pageant.

2025-03-20T18:19:56Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) During a call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, the U.S. leader apparently suggested Volodymyr Zelenskyy consider transferring ownership of Ukraines power plants to the U.S. for long-term security, according to a U.S. statement.Briefing the media later, Zelenskyy said the discussion with Trump had focused specifically on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, ZNPP, in southern Ukraine.While the facility remains connected to Ukraines energy grid without producing electricity, it has been under Russian control since the early days of the war, making it unclear what future U.S. involvement could look like.Who controls the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant? The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is one of the worlds 10 largest and Europes biggest. Located in Ukraines southern Zaporizhzhia region, Russian forces occupied it shortly after Moscows February 2022 invasion. While Russia declared the region annexed in fall 2022, its largest city, Zaporizhzhia, remains under Ukrainian control.Ukraine has accused Russia of stationing troops and weapons at the plant and using it as a launchpad for attacks across the Dnipro River. Russia denies this, accusing Ukraine of shelling the facility. How many nuclear power plants does Ukraine have?Besides Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine operates three active nuclear power plants, which generate the majority of the countrys electricity following sustained Russian attacks on thermal and hydroelectric plants.These facilities are located in southern, western and northwestern Ukraine, away from frontline areas. What did Trump and Zelenskyy discuss and are there negotiations over Zaporizhzhias fate? During their call on Wednesday, Trump suggested that Zelenskyy should consider giving the U.S. ownership of Ukraines power plants to ensure their long-term security, according to a White House statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure, Trump suggested, according to the statement.Zelenskyy later told journalists their conversation focused on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and the following day, made it clear that the issue of ownership of the other three plants was never discussed.All nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukraine, he said.Zelenskyy said that when they discussed Zaporizhzhia, the U.S. leader had inquired about the facilitys future. Trump asked my thoughts on the plant, Zelenskyy said. I told him that if it is not Ukrainian, it will not operate. It is illegal.Even though ZNPP is a state-owned plant, Zelenskyy acknowledged that if the U.S. were to claim it from Russian control, invest in it and modernize it, Ukraine might consider it. That is a separate question, an open one, he said.What is the current state of Zaporizhzhias nuclear plant?Since falling under Russian control, the plants conditions have deteriorated. While its six reactors have been shut down for years, they still require power and qualified staff to maintain cooling systems and safety features.Energoatom, Ukraines state nuclear operator, said that after Russian forces took over, Ukrainian personnel were forced to sign contracts with Russian authorities and take Russian citizenship. Those who refused faced abduction or threats, forcing thousands to flee, leaving the facility understaffed and harder to manage. The collapse of a dam in June 2023 further jeopardized the plants cooling systems, which relied on water from the reservoir. In response, plant administrators dug wells, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Zelenskyy said extensive repairs would be needed before the plant could operate again, estimating the process could take at least two years.The IAEA has repeatedly warned the war could cause a radiation leak. While the plant no longer produces electricity, it still holds large amounts of nuclear fuel, requiring constant cooling.Regular blackouts caused by the fighting have disrupted the facility, though power has been quickly restored each time.IAEA experts permanently stationed there still face restricted access, with Russian authorities blocking some inspection requests, according to IAEA head Rafael Grossi. Is any kind of deal imminent? Zelenskyy said the discussions with Trump on restoring Zaporizhzhia were a positive step, but cautioned that no one would work at the plant if Russian forces remained stationed nearby.Control over the plant is likely to remain a legal and logistical challenge, intertwined with a highly divisive issue for both warring sides: control over the land itself. Russian troops hold the area, while Ukrainian forces are separated from it by the Dnipro River and more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) of terrain.Simply handing over the plant while everything within a meter of it remains occupied or armed by Russia no one will work under such conditions, Zelenskyy said after the call with Trump. Its impossible.He said there would be no way to operate securely in such a scenario. That would mean that the plant could start operating tomorrow, only to be blown up by the Russians the following day. ____Follow APs coverage of Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/ukraine and coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine HANNA ARHIROVA Arhirova is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine. She is based in Kyiv. twitter instagram mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Federal law enforcement agencies have turned to a variety of techniques and surveillance capabilities to identify people who have allegedly set fire to Tesla vehicles and property, including automatic license plate readers and social media crawling, according to newly unsealed court records obtained by 404 Media.The documents come from cases that Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced on Thursday. The charges also come as sentiment towards Tesla and Elon Musk is at an all time low. People have participated in regular, and largely non-violent, Tesla Takedown protests, and there have been multiple acts of vandalism around the country, which has captured the attention of Musk, Bondi, and Donald Trump, who are now all claiming that vandalizing Teslas will be treated as an act of domestic terrorism. On Monday 404 Media reported that a website called Dogequest had doxed some Tesla owners, and that the website included a Molotov cocktail as its cursor.Each of the arrests announced by Bondi happened earlier this month or last month, and new details about them are now available in court documents obtained by 404 Media. Details about the surveillance techniques used to identify the alleged vandals show that police used a combination of automatic license plate readers and social media monitoring to investigate two of the crimes. In the third, the suspect was identified based on a combination of license plate records and fingerprints left on a Molotov cocktail bottle.The first case relates to a March 7 arson of a set of Tesla charging stations in South Carolina. Witnesses said that a man used red spray to write Fuck Trump and Long Live Ukraine in a Tesla charging station parking spot, according to court records. The male then lit beer bottles on fire and threw them at the charging stations, with some setting on fire, the documents say.The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) collected evidence from the scene, including a charred piece of fabric suspected to be a wick and shards of glass bottle, the documents continue. Investigators reviewed surveillance video from a nearby restaurant and saw a white male in a grey sweater, black facemask, black shorts, and black shoes. During the footage, the man was carrying a green item, the documents say.ATF investigators then reviewed more footage from the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD). In that clip, the man was not holding the green item. Investigators then found it: a cardboard bottle carrier for Holland 1839 beer. More footage showed the man getting into a white van and leaving the area, a Tanger Outlet mall, the court documents say.Investigators then contacted the outlet malls security who said they had access to license plate reader (LPR) technology. LPR cameras are typically set up in a fixed area which continuously monitor which vehicles drive by and record their license plates. These systems are run by both government agencies and private businesses, and some surveillance contractors sell access to such data. The LPR footage identified the vehicle as a white 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van with South Carolina license plate 331ANL, according to the court documents.Investigators then queried the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to find who the vehicle was registered to. That led to the name Clarke-Pounder. The Tanger Outlet mall security consultants were then also able to pull a photograph of the man without his mask from their surveillance cameras, the documents say.Authorities then performed open source research, including social media posts and app usage. The ATF says it obtained a phone number for Clarke-Pounder and found it was registered to a mobile payment application. That query provided the name Daniel Clarke-Pounder.Do you know anything else about these cases or others? We would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message Jason securely on Signal at jason.404. You can Signal Joseph at +44 20 8133 5190Investigators then searched for that name on another mobile payment app and reviewed the payments in that account. Some of those mentioned the user paying their rent, the document says. That led to an apartment address. To confirm it, authorities reviewed Clarke-Pounders Instagram and found a post in which he said Havent posted in 3 years whoops. Well Im a mechanic now, I live on James island with two of the best roommates and Im enjoying life see yall in another 5 years.Authorities then obtained search warrants for Clarke-Pounders home and vehicle. They found what appears to be the same sweatshirt worn by the man in the surveillance footage and a receipt for Holland Lager 1839.A screenshot of one of the court records.Within the bedroom, SAs located a purple composition notebook on a desk next to the bed. The notebook contained a three (3) page handwritten statement, which asserted anti-government believes [sic] and statements opposed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the documents say.In another case in Oregon, police identified Adam Lansky through a mix of license plate lookups and fingerprints left on wine bottles used for Molotov cocktails. Lansky allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at Cybertrucks at a Tesla dealership in Salem on January 20 and allegedly shot at the same dealership on February 19 with a suppressed semi-automatic rifle.The federal affidavit claims that Lansky caused $500,000 worth of damage at the Tesla dealership by damaging a total of seven Teslas, with one vehicle destroyed. Screenshots of surveillance footage included in the affidavit shows a person wearing all black, a hood, and a mask holding a lit Molotov cocktail and an AR-15 style rifle with a suppressor.A section of the document reads:A review of the security footage showed the Subject traveling on foot from the east of the Tesla Center along Mission Street Southeast, pulling a black collapsible wagon. The Subject stopped behind the Tesla sign in front of the Tesla Center before moving toward the building. From there, the Subject can be seen lighting a Molotov Cocktail-style device and throwing it at a Tesla Cybertruck parked in front of the Tesla Center. The device bounces off the truck and does not ignite. The Subject then moves toward the showroom building. The Subject then lights two devices, throws one at the building and another at a red Tesla SUV parked in front of the showroom. The device bounces off the vehicle and breaks on the sidewalk. The Subject moves in between the Tesla SUV and showroom and lights another device and throws it to the north of the Subjects position. At this point in the security footage, the Subject sees the eyewitness driving away, and the Subject drops the ignited device in the Subjects hands and brandishes what appears to be an AR-15 style rifle with a suppressor and points it toward the eyewitness as the eyewitness drives away. The dropped device breaks near the Subject and ignites, and the Subject then takes his wagon and moves north to the front of the showroom. The Subject then throws a rock at the showroom window, shattering the glass and then throws an ignited device into the showroom. The Subject then throws two more ignited devices at two vehicles and takes off running toward the fence located to the west of the Tesla Center.In a third case, an agent with the ATF investigated a widely-reported case in Loveland, Colorado, where a woman named Lucy Nelson is accused of spray painting NAZI and FUCK MUSK on a Tesla dealership sign, vandalizing several vehicles, and throwing a Molotov cocktail at a cybertruck over the course of several days in late January and early February. An affidavit includes screen grabs of surveillance footage of a person wearing all black, a hoot, and a mask walking through the Tesla dealership parking lot, and screen grabs of fires in the lot. The affidavit states that Nelson was identified because surveillance footage captured a Toyota Prius leaving a nearby parking lot, and a Flock automated LPR captured its license plate and showed it was registered to Nelson. Flock is a particular brand of LPR that has spread across the U.S., and is often purchased by individual communities.Nelsons Prius was later flagged by a license plate reader as being mobile, and police followed her to the Tesla dealership.On February 24, 2025, Loveland Police Department advised that a license plate reader alerted investigators that the Toyota Prius registered to [Lucy] Nelson was mobile, and surveillance was established. Nelson was followed by investigators to the area of the Tesla dealership in Loveland, Colorado where Nelson was observed parking the Prius and walking toward the business wearing the same clothing as was seen on the suspect during the February 7th incident. Nelson was observed by law enforcement wearing a satchel similar to the incident on February 7th. After walking around near the Tesla dealership, Nelson walked back to the Prius vehicle. Before departing in the vehicle, LPD officers arrested Nelson after investigators observed the described activity, the document says.Tesla claimed to investigators that Nelson allegedly caused $5 million worth of damage to vehicles at the dealership.The Department of Justices announcement about the cases said that each defendant, if convicted, faces a minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison.

In 2024, brat summer took over pop culture, especially when we turned our favorite presidential candidate into some of our favorite pop divas. However, theres a lot more to being a brat than listening to the most recent Charli XCX album, and there are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be a brat in the bedroom.Brats arent just mischievous troublemakerstheyre an essential part of the BDSM and kink community. While some submissives thrive on obedience, brats challenge their dominant partners in playful and provocative ways, adding an extra layer of tension, teasing, and mutual enjoyment. But what exactly does it mean to be a brat in the bedroom? And how can partners navigate brat dynamics in a healthy and consensual way?To break it down, we spoke with BDSM and relationship experts, who explained what sets bratting apart from other submissive roles, why its so appealing, and how both brats and their dominant partnersoften called brat tamerscan create a safe and fulfilling dynamic.What is a brat in BDSM?A brat is a type of submissive who enjoys pushing boundaries in a playful, teasing, or defiant way. Rather than simply obeying commands, brats might talk back, playfully resist, or disobey on purpose to elicit a reaction from their dominant.In kink, a brat is typically a type of submissive who gets pleasure from testing boundaries in playful, often teasing ways, Kira Hayes, a licensed independent marriage and family therapist and clinical director at Affirming Pathways Psychotherapy, tells PRIDE. Bratting can be a way of inviting the dominant into a deeper exchange of control, but done with humor, flirtation, and mischief.Bratting can take many forms, from lighthearted teasing to physical resistance during a scene. But at its core, its about creating a push-and-pull dynamic that makes the power exchange feel more exciting and engaging.How is a brat different from other submissives?While many submissives find satisfaction in following orders and pleasing their dominant, brats get their enjoyment from making their partner work for that submission.Many, though not all, submissives get enjoyment, pleasure, and satisfaction from following the orders and requests of dominants and those bringing top energy to spaces, says Shanna K. Kattari, PhD, MEd, CSE, associate professor at the University of Michigan. Conversely, for brats, they get that same feeling of pleasure from being made to do whatever it is, rather than from the obeying component.A brats playful defiance adds an extra layer of tension and interaction to the dynamic, which can be thrilling for both partners. They often prefer more back and forth between themselves and their dominant partner(s), where they might mouth off or sass back or even have to be wrestled into submission, Kattari explains. Their enjoyment often comes from the thrill of the chase, and then eventually being caught and/or forced (within pre-negotiated boundaries) into what their top wants to do to them.Why do people enjoy bratting?For brats, the appeal often lies in the attention, challenge, and playfulness of the dynamic.For the brat, its often about attention, connection, and a playful test of the dominants control, says Hayes. There can be a thrill in seeing how far they can push and how the dominant will respond. It can also be about trust, knowing they can act out and still be wanted, loved, and contained.On the other side of the equation, brat tamersdominants who enjoy engaging with bratsfind satisfaction in the challenge. For the dominant, taming a brat can be incredibly satisfying, Hayes explains. It calls on their confidence, creativity, and ability to stay grounded in control. Theres often a sense of pride and fulfillment in knowing theyve won the brats submission in a way thats dynamic and earned, not just given freely.What are common brat behaviors?Brats use a variety of tactics to provoke and challenge their dominant partners, all in the name of playful power exchange. Some common brat behaviors include:Topping from the bottom: Brats might make cheeky suggestions to their dominant, such as, You could tie me up and spank me with my favorite paddle, but only if youre feeling brave enough.Egging on their dominant: A brat might push limits by saying things like, Really? I thought you could hit harder than that, or Is that all youve got?Malicious compliance: Brats love finding loopholes in instructions. As Kattari explains, this could look like, You told me to get ON the bedyou didnt say which direction I should lie down! or You said to choose three toys to use on me. I have chosen three stuffed animals. What? You didnt say they had to be MEAN toys!Teasing and distracting: Whether its dressing seductively while their partner is on a work call or pushing limits outside of scenes, brats enjoy keeping their dynamic playful and unpredictable.What makes someone a good brat tamer?Not all dominants enjoy bratting. For those who do, patience and adaptability are key.Patience and a sense of humor are non-negotiable! says Hayes. A good brat tamer doesnt take the brats behavior personally; they understand its an invitation to engage. They stay steady, confident, and responsive, never reactive.Kattari adds that brat tamers must also be strategic. They might enjoy the takedown of having to hold someone and tie them up while they struggle, or the cerebral bit of having to think through orders before they make them to close any loopholes.How can partners ensure brat play stays consensual?Since bratting involves testing boundaries, clear communication and consent are essential.Partners should talk about what types of behavior are on the table, what feels fun versus what crosses a line, and how to check in during scenes, Hayes advises. Having safe words (or signals) is essential, and brats and tamers should have agreements on how to handle things if one person needs to pause or stop.Aftercare is also crucial, as brat play can push emotional edges. Bratting can feel vulnerable on both sides, so go slow, stay curious about each other, and keep the focus on mutual enjoyment, Hayes says.When does bratting become unhealthy?Theres a difference between playful defiance and outright disrespect. Healthy bratting is consensual, lighthearted, and rooted in mutual enjoyment. When it crosses into manipulation, lack of respect, or boundary-pushing outside of agreed-upon scenes, it becomes a problem.Harmful behavior usually shows up when boundaries arent respected, when the brats behavior feels more like emotional manipulation or disrespect outside of scene dynamics, or when communication breaks down, says Hayes.Kattari adds that not everyone enjoys bratting, and its important to ensure all parties are comfortable. For some folks, brat taming can feel extra tiring, or it can feel hurtful to have someone push back during play, they note. If you try it and it doesnt work for one or more of the folks involved, thats okaynot everything works for everyone.Go forth and bratBratting is about more than just being rebelliousits a dynamic, engaging, and often deeply fulfilling form of power exchange. When done with mutual respect, clear communication, and consent, it can add excitement and depth to BDSM dynamics.If youre both/all on board, then talking about where/when bratting might happen, what you both/all are excited about, and setting clear expectations can really help set you up for success, Kattari says.Whether youre an experienced brat, a curious newbie, or a dominant wondering if brat taming is for you, the key is to approach it with openness, communication, and a willingness to play. After all, in the world of brats, a little bit of defiance can go a long way.

B star Khalid is set to take the stage at the WorldPride festival in Washington, D.C., joining a star-studded lineup that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Pride in the nations capital. The singer, alongside 2AM Ricky and Brooke Eden Hoover, was recently announced as one of the performers for the free WorldPride DC Street Festival + Closing Concert with Doechii on Sunday, June 8.Source

Nature, Published online: 20 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00855-0MRI scans show that the brains of infants and toddlers can encode memories, even if we dont remember them as adults.

The Trevor Project has unveiled a new public awareness campaign aimed at addressing the critical issue of suicide among LGBTQ+ youth living in rural communities. The campaign, which launched Tuesday, features a poignant documentary short film highlighting the experiences of a mother and daughter in Iowa. The 10-minute film, part of The Trevor Projects Learn with Love seriesSource

Demonstrators gather outside of the Edward A. Garmatz United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, March 14, 2025, before a hearing regarding the Department of Government Efficiency's access to Social Security data. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-03-20T20:00:32Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his administration WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Elon Musk s Department of Government Efficiency from Social Security Administration systems that hold personal data on millions of Americans.The decision from U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland also requires the team to delete any personally identifiable data they may have. It comes after labor unions and retirees asked for an emergency order limiting DOGE access to the agency and its vast troves of personal data. They said DOGEs nearly unlimited access violates privacy laws and presents massive information security risks. A recently departed Social Security official who saw the DOGE team sweep into the agency said she is deeply worried about sensitive information being exposed.The Trump administration says DOGE has a 10-person team of federal employees at the Social Security Administration, seven of whom have been granted read-only access to agency systems or personally identifiable information. The administration has said DOGE is targeting waste and fraud in the federal government. Hollander, though, found that the ends may not justify the means. The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion, she wrote. Attorneys for the government argued the DOGE access doesnt deviate significantly from normal practices inside the agency, where employees are routinely allowed to search its databases. But attorneys for the plaintiffs called the access unprecedented. DOGE has gotten at least some access to other government databases, including at the Treasury Department and IRS. At SSA, DOGE staffers swept into the agency days after Trumps inauguration and pressed for a software engineer to quickly get access to data systems that are normally carefully restricted even within the government, a former official said in court documents. The team appeared to be searching for fraud based on inaccuracies and misunderstandings, according to Tiffany Flick, the former acting chief of staff to the acting commissioner. Hollander, who is based in Baltimore and was nominated by President Barack Obama, is the latest judge to consider a DOGE related case. The team has drawn nearly two dozen lawsuits, some of which have shed light on staffing and operations that have largely been kept under wraps. Several judges have raised questions about DOGEs sweeping cost-cutting efforts, but they have not always agreed that the risks are imminent enough to block the team from government systems.___Associated Press writer Lea Skene in Baltimore contributed reporting. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto

Duke forward Cooper Flagg celebrates after their win against Louisville after an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)2025-03-20T17:28:28Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg says hell be ready to play fully in Fridays NCAA Tournament opener against Mount St. Marys as he recovers from a sprained ankle.I feel very good, he said Thursday. Im very confident moving forward.The unanimous Associated Press first-team All-American rolled his left ankle during the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals and missed the Blue Devils wins in the semifinals and title game. That sent Duke into March Madness with the No. 1 seed in the East Region bracket.The school posted on social media Thursday that Flagg would be active for Fridays game. After that, Flagg attended a players news conference and said he been able to return to full practice Wednesday.Flagg said he hated every second of not being able to play during the ACC Tournament after the injury, but X-rays and an MRI both came back with encouraging results to indicate his absence wouldnt be long. Ive rolled my ankle a good amount of times growing up playing basketball, Flagg said. Usually Im able to just tie my shoe and walk it off. It was definitely a little bit of a different feeling as soon as I rolled my ankle this time, I knew it was a little bit more severe and a little more serious. The Blue Devils first-round game in their home state is one of six games in the East bracket on Friday. The list includes No. 8 seed Mississippi State facing Baylor, also in Raleigh, North Carolina. In Cleveland, No. 2 seed Alabama will face 15-seed Robert Morris, while 7-seed Saint Marys will meet 10-seed Vanderbilt.And in Seattle, No. 4 seed Alabama meets 13-seed Akron, while No. 5 seed Oregon meets 12th-seeded Liberty.___This story has been corrected to show Dukes first game is Friday, not Thursday.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AARON BEARD Beard covers sports in North Carolina for The Associated Press with an emphasis on college basketball. His coverage includes ACC sports and the NHLs Carolina Hurricanes. twitter mailto

Nonbinary The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey just opened up for the first time about being autistic in a new interview with British Vogue.I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming season one of The Last of Us, Ramsey revealed. But Ramsey isnt the only LGBTQ+ who is neurodiverse. There are plenty of other queer celebrities who are also autistic or have ADHD or OCD.One thing these queer stars seem to agree on is that being neurodiverse has helped them in different ways despite living in a neurotypical world that can often be judgmental.Bella RamseySee on InstagramThe label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because thats helped me to understand myself, but gender and sexuality-wise, labels do not feel comfy for me in any capacity, because I feel like Im putting myself into a box. I feel trapped, nonbinary The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey told British Vogue in their first interview talking about their diagnosis.Ramsey went on to say that being autistic is actually a gift when it comes to acting, Ive always been watching and learning from people. Having to learn more manually how to socialize and interact with the people around me has helped me with acting. Being on set, too, offers a routine: I have a call time, and Im told what to wear, how to stand, where to stand and what to eat. They describe the diagnosis as freeing It enables me to walk through the world with more grace towards myself about not being able to do the easy everyday tasks that everyone else seems to be able to do.Janelle MoneSee on InstagramMost people dont understand whats going on in my brain, nonbinary singer Janelle Mone told Ms. Magazine about their OCD diagnosis. Its beautiful that I have a title called The Age of Pleasure because it actually re-centers me. Its not about an album anymore. Ive changed my whole fucking lifestyle. Wentworth MillerSee on Instagram"This isn't something I'd change immediately being autistic is central to who I am. To everything I've achieved/articulated," actor Wentworth Miller wrote on Instagram, People reported back in 2021.He continued, "This fall marks 1 year since I received my informal autism diagnosis. Preceded by a self-diagnosis. Followed by a formal diagnosis. It was a long, flawed process in need of updating. IMO. I'm a middle-aged man. Not a 5-year-old."Bradley RichesSee on Instagram"Acting is an escapism for me. I feel free and understood when playing characters when, most of the time, I felt misunderstood as Bradley. I am so happy that I can show autistic people that they arent alone and that they arent invisible they are beautiful and magical, gay and autistic Heartstopper star Bradley Riches who was diagnosed when he was 9 years old told Metro after landing a role on the queer Netflix teen drama.Hannah GadsbySee on InstagramFor a long time, I worried that Id been misdiagnosed. It was difficult to believe that I wasnt entirely to blame for my life being such a painful struggle, because I was so used to assuming I was a bad person. It took me a long time to get brave enough to simply share my diagnosis. My experience did not match the popular understanding of autism, and I knew I had to become an expert in neurobiology in order to untangle the myriad myths surrounding autism just to beg permission to claim that piece of my identity, genderqueer comedian Hannah Gadsby wrote in an essay for The Guardian about being autistic. Michelle RodriguezSee on Instagram"I want to write and direct but its not easy with ADHD. I have a hard time focusing when Im alone, bisexual Girlfight star Michelle Rodriguez told Cosmopolitan back in 2013. But she also admitted to being nervous to try medication. "Im a scatterbrain, she added. "But I'm nervous of taking medication. I don't really want to depend on anything to control my brain."Cara DelevingneSee on Instagram"Im not in hell now. The things that stick with all of us the most are the darker times, the more traumatic times, queer model and actress Cara Delevingne said on This Morning discussing her challenges with ADHD . Those are some of the points I remember the most. I didnt know how to communicate my emotions. I was very ashamed of the way I felt. I had a very privileged upbringing, I was very lucky, I went to an amazing school.She continued, "And then the guilt of feeling that way and not being able to tell anyone because I shouldnt feel that way and I shouldnt feel bad. Its the guilt."Josh ThomasSee on InstagramAutistic comedian and actor Josh Thomas wasnt diagnosed until he was adult, but he think it helped him when making his podcast How To Be Gay. I was more aware of the fact that [Im] bad at some stuff getting people to feel comfortable and talk about themselves I wouldnt say Im the frontrunner for that job. Which I think got us interesting interviews because Im so direct, and nobody sounds like theyre bullshitting or being performative, he told The Guardian.Rene RappSee on InstagramI didnt know I had ADHD as a kid, I just thought I was really dramatic! I am, but thats a separate thing, queer singer and actress Rene Rapp said in an interview with Official Charts to talk about her album Snow Angel. "I didnt know or understand what it was, but now I do and I really love it. I think it helps me a lot. When Im writing a song, ten songs are coming out of that concept. My brain is in ten different places. I actually really enjoy it. Its exhausting, dont get me wrong, but its really fun. If its somebody elses story and a different creative process, I dont do as well and I might panic. When its my thing, though, Im like wow, I have so many ideas!Ellen DegeneresSee on InstagramMy ADD makes it really hard to sit down and focus on anything at all, Ellen Degeneres said in her Netflix stand-up special, Additude reported. I mean, do you know how hard it was for me to put this together? Of course you don't. Why would I ask that question?Degeneres continued, So, I have ADD, I have OCD, I'm losing my memory. But I think I'm well-adjusted because I obsess on things, but I don't have the attention span to stick with it, and I quickly forget what I was obsessing about in the first place, she added. So, it takes me all the way around to being well adjusted, I think.Hormona LisaSee on InstagramI briefly mentioned this after my elimination, but I want to officially share that I have been diagnosed with autism, Drag Race star Hormona Lisa revealed on Reddit. I received my diagnosis nearly 7 years ago, and it really helped explain a lot of my life experiences, like never quite fitting in, no matter how much I wanted to, or people not quite understanding me. It can be frustrating at times, especially when I feel like Im expressing something one way, but others dont see it the same way. Still, its a part of who I am, and I wouldnt change it!I really hope that by sharing my story, I can give others with autism the courage to embrace who they are, even when it feels like the world doesnt quite get them, Hormona previously told PRIDE. Sharing my diagnosis has always been something Ive been hesitant about, but Ive come to realize that being open about it is important not just for me, but for others who might feel alone in their own struggles." Bex Taylor-KlausSee on Instagram"Embrace it. It may be a nuisance, it may be hard to deal with sometimes, but you can learn to manage it. Don't ever try to get rid of it entirely. Attention deficit makes you special, nonbinary actor Bex Taylor-Klaus said of their ADHD diagnosis, Additude reported. Since then Taylor-Klaus has been open about being AuDHD, meaning that they are both autistic and have ADHD.

Dylan Efron, fresh from his successful run on The Traitors, is navigating his newfound public spotlight with authenticity and a touch of humor. On these talk shows Im going on, I dont have to put on an act, Efron told PAPER. I dont have to be anything but who I am. Efrons appearance on the reality competition show has propelled him into the public eye, drawing attention both for hisSource

Bella Ramsey, known for their role in The Last of Us, opened up about how their autism diagnosis has brought a sense of relief but also how they feel trapped by gender labels. In an interview, the 19-year-old actor, who portrays Ellie in the hit HBO series, shared their thoughts on being neurodivergent and how it has shaped their identity. Ive spoken a bit about neurodivergence beforeSource

Cyndi Lauper, the Grammy-winning singer, is extending her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour with additional North American dates, promising fans more opportunities to celebrate her iconic career. The tour, which initially launched last year, will now include shows from July 15 through Aug. 20, featuring outdoor amphitheater performances. Lauper, 71, spoke with People about the upcomingSource

Comedian Joel Kim Booster, fresh off a successful stand-up tour, sat down with drag icon Katya Zamolodchikova for a candid conversation that spanned the complexities of modern relationships, the nuances of friendship, and the ever-evolving landscape of personal boundaries. Their discussion, peppered with humor and sharp observations, offered a glimpse into their perspectives on love, marriageSource

Nature, Published online: 20 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08886-3Author Correction: Spatially resolved multiomics of human cardiac niches

Nature, Published online: 20 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08897-0End-to-end data-driven weather prediction

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, stands for a portrait at E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, March 16, 2023. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via AP, File)2025-03-20T21:31:30Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge instructed the Trump administration on Thursday to explain why its failure to turn around flights carrying deportees to El Salvador did not violate his court order in a growing showdown between the judicial and executive branches. U.S. District Judge Jeb Boasberg demanded answers after flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants alleged by the Trump administration to be gang members landed in El Salvador after the judge temporarily blocked deportations under an 18th century wartime law. Boasberg had directed the administration to return to the U.S. planes that were already in the air when he ordered the halt.Boasberg had given the administration until noon Thursday to either provide more details about the flights or make a claim that it must be withheld because it would harm state secrets. The administration resisted the judges request, calling it an unnecessary judicial fishing expedition. In a written order, Boasberg called Trump officials latest response woefully insufficient. The judge said the administration again evaded its obligations by merely repeating the same general information about the flights. And he ordered the administration to show cause, as to why it didnt violate his court order to turn around the planes, increasing the prospect that he may consider holding administration officials in contempt of court. The Justice Department has said the judges verbal directions did not count, that only his written order needed to be followed and that it couldnt apply to flights that had already left the U.S. A Justice Department spokesperson said Thursday that it continues to believe that the courts superfluous questioning of sensitive national security information is inappropriate judicial overreach. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official told the judge Thursday the administration needed more time to decide whether it would invoke the state secrets privilege in an effort to block the informations release. Boasberg ordered Trump officials by Friday to submit a sworn declaration by a person with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions about the state secrets privilege and to tell the court by next Tuesday whether the administration will invoke it. In a deepening conflict between the judicial and executive branch, Trump and many of his allies have called for impeaching Boasberg, who was nominated to the federal bench by Democratic President Barack Obama. In a rare statement earlier this week, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected such calls, saying impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. ___ ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

McNeese State head coach Will Wade calls to his players during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)2025-03-20T21:57:34Z Follow APs full coverage of March Madness.Get the AP Top 25 mens college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) McNeese coach Will Wade and his boombox-toting manager are moving on in March Madness after the 12th-seeded Cowboys held off late-charging No. 5 seed Clemson 69-67 on Friday in the first bracket buster of the NCAA Tournament.Brandon Murray scored 14 of his 21 points in a stifling first half, when the Southland Conference school from Lake Charles, Louisiana, held Clemson to 13 points. After falling behind by as many as 24 in the second, the Tigers rallied, erasing most of a 12-point deficit in the final minute before running out of time. With its first NCAA Tournament victory, McNeese earned a second-round matchup on Saturday with fourth-seeded Purdue, a 75-63 winner over High Point.Chris Shumate added 13 points and 11 rebounds for McNeese, which has been best-known this March for its viral, rapping manager and a renegade coach who has reportedly already lined up his next job at NC State. The Wolfpack will have to wait at least another 48 hours, because Wade is still needed in Providence.A 7-point underdog, McNeese (28-6) held the Tigers to one basket over almost eight minutes during a 17-2 first-half run that turned a tie game into a 23-8 lead. After Clemson (27-7) scored the first three points of the second, the Cowboys ran off nine in a row and led by as many as 24 points.Jaeden Zackery scored 24 points, Chase Hunter had 21 and Viktor Lakhin grabbed 10 rebounds for Clemson before fouling out with six minutes left in the game. TakeawaysThe once-feared Atlantic Coast Conference is down to two teams: No. 1 seed Duke and North Carolina, one of the last teams in. No. 8 seed Louisville lost to ninth-seeded Creighton in another of the tournaments first games. ComebacksWith 70 seconds left, Javohn Garcia blocked Zackery twice on the same shot and Shumate streaked toward the basket for the long pass and reverse dunk that gave the Cowboys a 12-point lead.But Zackery hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to make it a nine-point game, Jake Heidbreder hit one to cut the deficit to six, and then, after Sincere Parkers reverse dunk brought the crowd to its feet, Zackery hit another 3 to make it 67-62.After McNeese missed a free throw one of six missed foul shots in the final six minutes -- Chauncey Wiggins hit a long 3 to make it a 3-point game. Another missed free throw gave Clemson the ball with 10 seconds left, down four.Hunter drove to the basket, but scored as time expired.Coaching carouselWade was fired from LSU amid an investigation into recruiting violations, and he took a year off before returning to Louisiana at McNeese. In two seasons, he has led the Cowboys to their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.Gone coldTeams have gone cold before 11 of them have been held to a bakers dozen or fewer points in the first half but Clemson is just the second one to do it when seeded fifth or better since the shot clock era began in 1986.Clemson was 1 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and made just five baskets before the break.Up nextThe Cowboys head into the Purdue game with a 9-5 record in nonconference games this year, including two losses to SEC teams in the regular season. Under Wade, they are 1-0 against the Big Ten, beating Michigan in Ann Arbor last year.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. JIMMY GOLEN Golen covers Boston sports for The Associated Press, with a little bit of sports law and Olympic beach volleyball and curling mixed in. twitter mailto

Lesbian singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile doesnt just have Sapphics crushing on her; straight women are obsessed, too!On an episode of Today, host Jenna Bush Hagar and guest co-host and actress Brooke Shields discovered they both have a thing for the 43-year-old Highwomen singer. The two women bonded over having the same taste in women after Bush Hagar admitted that she became obsessed with Carlile when she announced her plans to create a new album with legend Elton John, Decider reports.Im obsessed with both of them, but I think we both would leave our husbands for her, Shields revealed.The co-hosts both admitted they told their husbands they would leave them to shoot their shot with Carlile. Hes like, Wait, wait. Do I have to worry?' Shields said of her husband Chris Henchy, who she married back in 2001, just a year before Carlile came out as a lesbian.So close!We have the same type in women! Bush Hager said before Shields laughed and agreed with her, Yeah, we do. We have the same taste.Bush Hagar, who isnt a Republican, despite coming from a famously conservative dynasty, said that she once almost had her own meet-cute with the 11-time Grammy winner, but fate intervened.I saw her in Madison Square Garden and I was texting her PR person and then I got in the taxi and I went home, she told Shields. And on the way home shes like, Brandi wants you to come backstage, and I was like aw, Im already on my way home because maybe that shes married, but in my mind Im like, That could have been the moment!Hagar-Bush continued, I mean Im married too, were both married, were all married! Why is she such a dream?Shields' answer to that question: Carliles beautiful feminine, masculine energy.

Nature, Published online: 20 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08893-4Bulk superconductivity near 40 K in hole-doped SmNiO2 at ambient pressure

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08727-3Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of cells and matrix along the fibrotic trajectory in mouse lung identified PI16 as an anti-fibrotic factor with potential for therapeutic application in humans.

This Nov. 22, 1963 file photo shows President John F. Kennedy riding in motorcade with first lady Jacqueline Kenndy in Dallas, Texas. (AP Photo, file)2025-03-20T22:54:57Z A key adviser warned President John F. Kennedy after the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 that the agency behind it, the CIA, had grown too powerful. He proposed giving the State Department control of all clandestine activities and breaking up the CIA.The page of Special Assistant Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s memo outlining the proposal was among the newly public material in documents related to Kennedys assassination released this week by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. So, too was Schlesingers statement that 47% of the political officers in U.S. embassies were controlled by the CIA. Some readers of the previously withheld material in Schlesingers 15-page memo view it as evidence of both mistrust between Kennedy and the CIA and a reason the CIA at least would not make Kennedys security a high priority ahead of his assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. That gave fresh attention Thursday to a decades-old theory about who killed JFK that the CIA had a hand in it. Some Kennedy scholars, historians and writers said they havent yet seen anything in the 63,000 pages of material released under an order from President Donald Trump that undercuts the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old Marine and onetime defector to the Soviet Union, was a lone gunman. But they also say they understand why doubters gravitate toward the theory. You have this young, charismatic president with so much potential for the future, and on the other side of the scale, you have this 24-year-old waif, Oswald, and it doesnt balance. You want to put something weightier on the Oswald side, said Gerald Posner, whose book, Case Closed, details the evidence that Oswald was a lone gunman. The first big event in the US to spawn conspiracy theoriesBut Jefferson Morley said the newly released material is important to the JFK case. Morely is vice president of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, a repository for files related to the assassination, and editor of the JFK Facts blog, and he rejects the conclusion that Oswald was a lone nut. Morley said that even with the release of 63,000 pages this week, there is still more unreleased material, including 2,400 files that the FBI said it discovered after Trump issued his order in January and material held by the Kennedy family.Kennedy was killed on a visit to Dallas, when his motorcade was finishing its parade route downtown and shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested Oswald, who had positioned himself from a snipers perch on the sixth floor. Two days later Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer broadcast live on television. It was the first big event that led to a series of events involving conspiracy theories that have left Americans believing, almost permanently, that their government lies to them so often they shouldnt pay close attention, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of The Kennedy Half-Century The Bay of Pigs fiasco prompts an aides memoMorley said Schlesingers memo provides the origin story of mutual mistrust between Kennedy and the CIA.Kennedy had inherited the Bay of Pigs plan from his predecessor, President Dwight Eisenhower, and had been in office less than three months when the operation launched in April 1961 as a covert invasion to topple Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Schlesingers memo was dated June 30, 1961, a little more than two months later.Schlesinger told Kennedy that covert all operations should be cleared with the U.S. State Department instead of allowing the CIA to largely present proposed operations almost as accomplished tasks. He also said in some places, such as Austria and Chile, far more than half the embassies political officers were CIA-controlled.Ronald Neumann, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria and Bahrain, said most American diplomats now are non-CIA, and in most places, ambassadors do not automatically defer to the CIA.CIA station chiefs also have an important function for ambassadors, because the station chief is usually the senior intelligence officer at a post, Neumann said, adding that ambassadors see a CIA station chiefs as providing valuable information. But he noted: If you get into the areas where we were involved in covert operations in supporting wars, youre going to have a different picture. Youre going to have a picture which will differ from a normal embassy and normal operations. A proposal to break up the CIA that didnt come to fruitionSchlesingers memo ends with a previously redacted page that spells out a proposal to give control of covert activities to the State Department and to split the CIA into two agencies reporting to separate undersecretaries of state. Morley sees it as a response to Kennedys anger over the Bay of Pigs and something Kennedy was seriously contemplating.The plan never came to fruition. Sabato said that Kennedy simply needed the CIA in the Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union and its allies like Cuba, and a huge reorganization would have hindered intelligence operations. He also said the president and his brother, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, wanted to oust Castro before JFK ran for reelection in 1964.Lets remember that a good percentage of the covert operations were aimed at Fidel Castro in Cuba, Sabato said.Timothy Naftali, an adjunct professor at Columbia University who is writing a book about JFKs presidency, discounts the idea of tensions between the president and the CIA lasting until Kennedys death. For one thing, he said, the president used covert operations avidly.I find that the more details we get on that period, the more it appears likely that the Kennedy brothers were in control of the intelligence community, Naftali said. You can you can see his imprint. You can see that there is a system by which he is directing the intelligence community. Its not always direct, but hes directing it.___Associated Press writer David Collins in Hartford Connecticut, contributed to this report. JOHN HANNA Hanna covers politics and state government in Kansas for The Associated Press. Hes worked for the AP in Topeka since 1986. twitter mailto

Now is not the time to be afraid.LGBTQ+ rights are under attack in the United States, but the queens of RuPaul's Drag Race are standing up at a time it's needed most.While celebrating the 1000th show of RuPaul's Drag Race Live, the top six competitors from Drag Race season 17 including Suzie Toot, Lana Ja'Rae, Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, Jewels Sparkles, and Sam Star took some pictures at a popular Las Vegas attraction and faced a hate crime."We were taking photos in front of the Las Vegas sign and we had to cut everybody because we're famous and we have things to do. As we were taking pictures, someone went, 'Boo! Not in front of the children,'" Toot tells PRIDE. See on Instagram In typical and brave drag fashion, the queens didn't just listen to the hatred and move along. Nurve and Ja'Rae stood up for themselves and their Drag Race sisters against the attack."Onya and Lana went right up to them and said, 'What did you say?' It was really good. Speak up when something f***ed up is going on!"Although it's very unfortunate that hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community is still in full effect, Toot is reminding everyone to stay strong and keep fighting despite all of the negativity."During political unrest, arts and culture thrive because it is more necessary than ever. People need not only an escape, but also a mirror and reflection of what is happening. What we can do besides calling our lawmakers and voting if you're not voting, you're not a Tooter is make art and support art. It's going to keep us sane and focused on the mission."RuPaul's Drag Race airs Friday nights on MTV. To see the full interview with Suzie Toot, check out the video at the top of the page.

The seventeenth season of RuPauls Drag Race hasnt even wrapped up yet, but one queen from the current season is already rumored to have filmed for the next season of All Stars. If true, this would mark a significant moment in the shows history. Warning: Spoilers for RuPauls Drag Race Season 17 and All Stars 10 follow. The Drag Race franchise, which has been a mainstay on television forSource

Nature, Published online: 20 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00850-5The document asks US-funded scientists in Australia, the UK and the EU to declare links to China or projects on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08708-6Whole-gene sequencing of microdissected gastric glands from individuals with and without gastric cancer reveals distinct patterns of somatic mutations and provides insights into influences on the somatic evolution of the gastric epithelium.

Disneys Snow White, directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man), aims to bring a fresh perspective to the 1937 classic. While it succeeds in some areasparticularly the music, romance, and magical visualsit struggles to balance nostalgia with reinvention fully. Heres what worked and what didnt. The music, for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by most of the newSource

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00748-2A description of the terminology and methodology used in this supplement, and a guide to the functionality that is available free online at natureindex.com.

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00710-2Through the subscribe to open model, libraries annual subscriptions ensure that paywalled journals become freely accessible, benefiting researchers and the public alike.

The fifth season of Spill, the popular talk show hosted by Johnny Sibilly, is heading to the Big Apple. Known for his roles in Hacks, Pose, and Queer as Folk, Sibilly is bringing his signature style to New York City, living out his Carrie Bradshaw fantasy. The move marks a significant shift for the show, which has previously been filmed in Los Angeles. Spill, the YouTube series from Logo TVSource

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00845-2Laser-based system allows quantum-encrypted information to be beamed across the globe, plus an AI that can improve other AIs via written feedback, and an update on science in the US in the wake of Trump teams cuts.

Nature, Published online: 19 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08703-xPair density modulation, an unusual superconducting state whose superconducting gap is modulated by the wavelength corresponding to the lattice periodicity, is described and observed in exfoliated thin flakes of the iron-based superconductor FeTe0.55Se0.45.

Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-03-20T23:57:07Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) Freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, who was beaten, chained and starved while held for 491 days by Hamas, expressed his anger during an appearance at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday for having to suffer for so long and worry every day about being killed.Where was the United Nations? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world? Sharabi asked.He challenged the U.N.s most powerful body: If you stand for humanity prove it by bringing home the 59 hostages still in Gaza, many of whom are believed to be dead. The fate of the remaining hostages became more uncertain after Israel on Tuesday ended a six-week break in the fighting that had allowed for the return of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Sharabi said the council talked about the need to get humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, but he saw Hamas militants eating stolen food from dozens of boxes marked with U.N. emblems while the hostages starved. They were given maybe a piece of pita and a sip of tea a day, and an occasional dry date, he said. When he was released on Feb. 8, Sharabi said he weighed 44 kilos (about 97 pounds) less than the weight of his youngest daughter, who was killed along with his wife and older daughter in Hamas surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with about 1,200 others. He was among 251 people taken hostage. The United States in November vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza because it was not linked to an immediate release of the hostages. The Palestinians and their supporters then went to the 193-member General Assembly, which adopted a resolution in December demanding a ceasefire and reiterating its demand for the release of the hostages. Unlike Security Council resolutions, though, those passed by the General Assembly are nonbinding. The ceasefire that went into effect in January was shattered on Tuesday with surprise airstrikes on Gaza that killed more than 400 Palestinians, one of the highest death tolls in the nearly 18-month war. Gazas Health Ministry said most victims were women and children.Sharabis appearance before the council, the second by a freed hostage, followed an Israeli request last week for a meeting on the plight of the hostages.Britains deputy ambassador James Kariuki called Sharabis suffering beyond the imagination and said Hamas must be held accountable for their despicable actions.But Kariuki also said the U.K. condemns Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katzs warning of the total destruction of Gaza. Britain calls for the rapid resurgence of aid to Gaza, an investigation into allegations of sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces, and an urgent return to the ceasefire deal, he said.Frances new U.N. ambassador, Jrme Bonnafont, expressed his countrys deepest condolences to Sharabi but also condemned the resumption of Israels bombing, saying it will not ensure the release of hostages, and demanded an end to Israels humanitarian blockade of Gaza. Russias deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the council, Our hearts were filled with sorrow as we listened to the tragic story of Mr. Eli Sharabi, adding such brutality can have no justification.Polyansky criticized Israels leaders for not moving to phase 2 of the ceasefire deal, which calls for the release of all hostages and a permanent end to the fighting. He said its difficult to discuss the future when Israels military and political leaders appear to have made the choice in favor of war.Algerias U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, representing the Arab world on the council, called Sharabi a representative of civil society, and said no civilian, irrespective of their background, should endure suffering.He then accused Israel of cherry-picking international law. He pointed to Israels ban on humanitarian aid, fuel and electricity entering Gaza since March 2, its killing of civilians, and the cutoff of the International Committee of the Red Cross access to over 9,500 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons since Oct. 7. After all council members spoke, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, sent our condolences to Sharabi over the killing of his loved ones and his prolonged captivity. He said Palestinians understand this pain because we live it.Sharabi made no mention of Israeli actions, except to say that on the morning of Oct. 7, when he heard that militants were inside Kibbutz Beeri where he lived, he reassured his wife not to worry: The army will come, they always come. That morning, they never came.He told the council he came to speak for 24-year-old Alon Ohel, a fellow hostage whom he left behind in the tunnel, and all others, including his older brother, Yossi, who was killed but whose body remains in Gaza.Bring them all home. Now! Sharabi said.

Drake head coach Ben McCollum talks to his players during the first half of the first round against Missouri of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Wichita, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)2025-03-21T02:19:31Z WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points and No. 11 seed Drake, a team relying heavily on Division II transfers, held on after blowing most of a 15-point lead to beat sixth-seeded Missouri 67-57 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.Tavion Banks added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (31-3), who along with first-year coach Ben McCollum advanced to a second-round matchup with third-seeded Texas Tech or No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington on Saturday.Caleb Grill had 14 points for Missouri (22-12). Tamar Bates had 10 before fouling out.As expected, the game was a stylistic clash: Drake and its nation-leading scoring defense trying to force a rock fight, and Missouri with its top-10 scoring offense trying to push the tempo whenever it had the chance.There were very few until the second half.The Bulldogs made every shot a chore, and at the other end, they patiently probed for openings. Usually it was Stirtz one of the Northwest Missouri State quartet who followed McCollum to Drake who was knocking down a 3 or driving to the rim. The Missouri Valley champs forged a 30-23 halftime lead. And it appeared as if the small school from Des Moines, Iowa with an enrollment of 4,774 would be able to put the game away, extending the advantage to 43-28 with 12:40 to go. Thats when Missouri began to press in an attempt to push the pace, and the Bulldogs struggled to deal with it. At one point, the Tigers ripped off 10 consecutive points, closing within 52-51 on Mark Mitchells free throw with 4:28 remaining.Drake answered with six consecutive points to restore its cushion, and the Tigers were unable to finish their comeback. TakeawaysDrake went 12 of 24 from the foul line but survived to snap a four-game losing streak in first-round NCAA Tournament games.Missouri had lost four of its last five entering the tournament, and the Tigers sure looked like a slumping team in the first half. The result was a deficit that they were simply unable to overcome.Up nextThe Bulldogs will play Saturday for a spot in their first Sweet 16 since 1971.___AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. DAVE SKRETTA Skretta is a Kansas City-based sports writer for The Associated Press. He covers the Royals, the Chiefs and college sports along with auto racing, the Olympics and other sports.

Nature, Published online: 21 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00769-xA crackdown on sulfur in ship fuel are linked to a steep drop in thunderclouds in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Mariah Carey performs during a concert celebrating Dubai Expo 2020 One Year to Go in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Oct. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)2025-03-20T20:25:14Z A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that Mariah Carey did not steal her perennial megahit All I Want for Christmas Is You from other songwriters. Judge Mnica Ramrez Almadani granted Careys request for summary judgment on Wednesday, giving her and co-writer and co-defendant Walter Afanasieff a victory without going to trial. In 2023, songwriters Andy Stone of Louisiana who goes by the stage name Vince Vance and Troy Powers of Tennessee filed the $20 million lawsuit alleging that Careys 1994 song, which has since become a holiday standard and annual streaming sensation, infringed the copyright of their country 1989 song with the same title. Their lawyer Gerard P. Fox said hes disappointed in an email to The Associated Press. Fox said it is his experience that judges at this level nearly always now dismiss a music copyright case and that one must appeal to reverse and get the case to the jury. My client will make a decision shortly on whether to appeal. We filed based on the opinions of two esteemed musicologists who teach at great colleges. Stone and Powers suit said their All I Want For Christmas Is You contains a unique linguistic structure where a person, disillusioned with expensive gifts and seasonal comforts, wants to be with their loved one, and accordingly writes a letter to Santa Claus. They said there was an overwhelming likelihood Carey and Afanasieff had heard their song which at one point reached No. 31 on Billboards Hot Country chart and infringed their copyright by taking significant elements from it. After hearing from two experts for each side, Ramrez Almadani agreed with those from the defense, who said the writers employed common Christmas cliches that existed prior to both songs, and that Careys song used them differently. She said the plaintiffs had not met the burden of showing that the songs are substantially similar. Ramrez Almadani also ordered sanctions against the plaintiffs and their lawyers, saying their suit and subsequent filings were frivolous and that the plaintiffs attorneys made no reasonable effort to ensure that the factual contentions asserted have evidentiary support.She said they must pay at least part of the defendants attorney fees. Defense attorneys and publicists for Carey did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Careys Christmas colossus has become an even bigger hit in recent years than it was in the 1990s. It has reached No. 1 on Billboards Hot 100 chart the past six years in a row measuring the most popular songs each week not just the holiday-themed by airplay, sales and streaming. Carey and Afanasieff have had their own public disagreement though not one thats gone to court over who wrote how much of the song. But the case made them at least temporary allies. ANDREW DALTON Dalton covers entertainment for The Associated Press, with an emphasis on crime, courts and obituaries. He has worked for the AP for 20 years and is based in Los Angeles. mailto

Nature, Published online: 21 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00849-yFurloughs and more staff reductions loom as academic institutions contend with the prospect of even deeper cuts to federal funding.

The bodies of victims of an Israeli army airstrike are prepared for burial at Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-03-21T04:59:31Z Israels renewed military offensive in the Gaza Strip threatens to be even deadlier and more destructive than the last, as it pursues wider aims with far fewer constraints.Israel resumed the war with a surprise bombardment early Tuesday that killed hundreds of Palestinians, ending the ceasefire and vowing even more devastation if Hamas doesnt release its remaining hostages and leave the territory. The bodies of victims of an Israeli army airstrike are prepared for burial at Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) The bodies of victims of an Israeli army airstrike are prepared for burial at Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More President Donald Trump has expressed full support for the renewed offensive and suggested last month that Gazas 2 million Palestinians be resettled in other countries. Iran-backed militant groups allied with Hamas are in disarray.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus coalition is stronger than ever, and there are fewer hostages inside Gaza than at any point since Hamas ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which gives Israels military more freedom to act.It all suggests that the wars next phase could be more brutal than the last, in which tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, the vast majority of the population was displaced and much of Gaza was bombed to rubble.If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not expelled from Gaza. Israel will act with an intensity that you have not seen, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. Return the hostages and expel Hamas, and other options will open up for you, including going to other places in the world for those who wish. The alternative is complete destruction and devastation. Displaced Palestinians, carrying their belongings, move away from the areas where the Israeli army is operating after Israels renewed offensive in the Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of Beit Lahia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Displaced Palestinians, carrying their belongings, move away from the areas where the Israeli army is operating after Israels renewed offensive in the Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of Beit Lahia, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Even less US pressure to spare civiliansThe Biden administration provided crucial military and diplomatic support to Israel throughout the first 15 months of the war.But it also tried to limit civilian casualties. In the early days of the war, Biden persuaded Israel to lift a complete siege on Gaza and repeatedly urged it to allow in more humanitarian aid, with mixed results. He opposed Israels offensive in southern Gaza last May and suspended a weapons shipment in protest, only to see Israel proceed anyway. Biden also worked with Egypt and Qatar to broker the ceasefire through more than a year of negotiations, with Trumps team pushing it over the finish line. Ella Osama Abu Dagga, 25 days old, is held by her great-aunt Suad Abu Dagga, after she was pulled from the rubble earlier following an Israeli army airstrike that killed her parents and brother, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana ) Ella Osama Abu Dagga, 25 days old, is held by her great-aunt Suad Abu Dagga, after she was pulled from the rubble earlier following an Israeli army airstrike that killed her parents and brother, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana ) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The Trump administration appears to have set no restrictions. It hasnt criticized Israels decision to once again seal off Gaza, to unilaterally withdrawal from the ceasefire agreement that Trump took credit for, or to carry out strikes that have killed hundreds of men, women and children.Israel says it only targets fighters and must dismantle Hamas to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7 attack, when Palestinian militants killed roughly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages.The Biden administration voiced doubt about those aims, saying months ago that Hamas was no longer able to carry out such an attack.The offensive killed more than 48,000 Palestinians before the January ceasefire, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead were women and children. Trump has suggested Gaza be depopulatedTrump appeared to lose interest in the ceasefire weeks ago, when he said it should be canceled if Hamas didnt immediately release all the hostages.A short-lived White House attempt to negotiate directly with Hamas was abandoned after it angered Israel. Trumps Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, then blamed Hamas for the demise of the truce because it didnt accept proposals to immediately release hostages.Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages its only bargaining chip in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as called for in the ceasefire agreement.Trump, meanwhile, has suggested that Gazas entire population be transferred to other countries so that the U.S. can take ownership of the territory and rebuild it for others.Palestinians say they dont want to leave their homeland, and Arab countries roundly rejected the proposal. Human rights experts said it would likely violate international law.Israel has embraced the proposal and said it is drawing up plans to implement it. Netanyahus government is stronger than everNetanyahu came under heavy pressure from families and supporters of the hostages to stick with the truce in order to bring their loved ones home. For months, thousands of protesters have regularly gathered in downtown Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, blocked major highways and scuffled with police.In restarting the war, though, Netanyahu brushed them aside and strengthened his hard-line coalition.Israels far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who resigned to protest the ceasefire, returned to the government shortly after Tuesdays strikes. He and Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right ally of Netanyahu, want to continue the war, depopulate Gaza through what they refer to as voluntary migration, and rebuild Jewish settlements there that Israel removed two decades ago.Netanyahu has also fired or forced out several top officials who had appeared more open to a hostage deal. Hamas and its allies are in disarrayHamas still rules Gaza, but most of its top leaders have been killed and its military capabilities have been vastly depleted. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants without providing evidence.In its first attack since Israel ended the ceasefire, Hamas fired three rockets on Thursday that set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, without causing casualties.Lebanons Hezbollah, which traded fire with Israel throughout much of the war, was forced to accept a truce last fall after Israels air and ground war killed most of its top leadership and left much of southern Lebanon in ruins. The overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad removed a key ally and further diminished the militant group.Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, and which directly traded fire with Israel twice last year, appears unlikely to intervene. Israel said it inflicted heavy damage on Irans air defenses in a wave of retaliatory strikes last fall, and Trump has threatened U.S. military action if Iran doesnt negotiate a new agreement on its nuclear program.The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have resumed long-range missile fire against Israel, which has rarely caused casualties or serious damage. The U.S., meanwhile, launched a new wave of strikes on the Houthis, which could further limit their capabilities.International criticism could be more mutedThe first phase of the war sparked worldwide protests, some criticism from European leaders and action at the United Nations. Israel was accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanayahu.This time could be different.The Trump administration has detained foreign-born pro-Palestinian student activists and others, and threatened to pull billions of dollars in federal funding from universities accused of tolerating antisemitism, making a repeat of last years U.S. campus protests unlikely. Europe is already locked in high-stakes disputes with Trump over aid to Ukraine and American tariffs, and appears unlikely to push back on the Middle East.The U.S. and Israel have adamantly rejected the actions by both international courts, accusing them of bias. Trump signed an executive order in early February imposing sanctions on the ICC, of which neither the United States nor Israel are members.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war