US blocks Iranian missile barrage as pause in fighting falters | First Thing

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The US military has claimed it knocked down an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days. In what Washington cast ⁠as “an attempted surprise ⁠attack” by Tehran, Iran had launched ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting. US Central Command (Centcom) said all Iranian missiles launched on Tuesday were intercepted.

Iran’s attack came as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited Washington. Netanyahu said he had an “excellent” meeting with Donald Trump. The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half and was “positive and productive,” the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said.

• Why is the US-Iran war a threat to biodiversity? The closure of the strait of Hormuz has created conditions for an extreme global biodiversity threat, with scientists warning that thousands of stranded ships could spread invasive marine species across the world’s oceans once they begin sailing again.

• Who else did Trump meet yesterday? Trump hosted back-to-back White House meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Netanyahu on Tuesday. The Ukrainian leader was seeking more firepower for his air defenses and said: “We also spoke about diplomacy – it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated.”

Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missing

At least ۱۳ people were killed and hundreds injured when a ۶.۸-magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday. The prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said on Wednesday: “There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time.”

The Japanese military mobilised ۳,۶۰۰ personnel for disaster relief operations and sent ۲۰ aircraft to assess the damage from the air, the defence minister said. Hundreds of first responders from neighbouring prefectures arrived in the affected areas on Tuesday evening. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned that areas with the biggest tremors would remain at risk of further strong quakes and landslides for about a week.

Trump reportedly pushing RFK Jr to cut vaccines more aggressively

Donald Trump is pushing the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine opponent, to be more aggressive on cutting vaccines in the US, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. Kennedy recently cut the routine childhood immunization schedule in an unprecedented move.

Trump has a long record of anti-vaccine statements. As senior leaders have downplayed the safety and importance of vaccines, measles in the US has surged to its highest rate in ۳۰ years, and there has been a rise in deaths from whooping cough, flu and tetanus in recent years.

US bans humanoid robots from China, citing ‘unacceptable risks’

The Federal Communications Commission has announced a ban on humanoid robots from China, saying the technology poses “unacceptable risks” to the country’s national security. The FCC defines the banned robots as “advanced robotic devices”, which include humanoids and animal-like quadrupeds.

“Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots,” FCC officials wrote. In addition, the FCC barred connected power inverters, which enable renewable energy sources and batteries to connect to grids and datacenter equipment.

In other news …

• Several schools across the US are set to install pepper-spraying drones as part of a new effort to respond to school shooting attacks.

• The US Senate voted to confirm Jay Clayton as the director of national intelligence, giving Donald Trump another key ally directing the nation’s intelligence apparatus.

• US diplomats walked out of a United Nations meeting after France criticized the country’s human rights record under Trump.

• The former US president Joe Biden appeared to discuss sensitive information and describe possessing classified documents in audio recordings released by the Oversight Project, a conservative activist group.

• Officials in Kenya are investigating the unexpected deaths of ۱۵ elephants in Amboseli national park. Ten of the elephants showed signs of partial paralysis before dying within two days.

Stat of the day: Ebay and ex-executives to pay $۵۵.۷m to settle case brought by couple sent cockroaches in harassment campaign

The bloggers David and Ina Steiner fell victim ⁠to a bizarre stalking and ⁠harassment campaign by eBay executives over their critical coverage of the company. Their attorney, Christopher Murphy, said: “We believe this resolution ‌sends a clear message that corporations and ‌their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences.”

Well Actually: You might think you know the classic symptoms of a heart attack – but they can vary for men and women

As Julie Charnet explains, there are differences between how women and men experience heart attacks – and that knowledge could prove vital in an emergency. One thing we all have in common, though, is a need to wake up with enough energy for the day ahead. Laura Potter has ۱۳ surprising reasons you’re always dog tired – and what to do about it.

Don’t miss this: From ۴۰۰ hives to ۳۵: the Gaza beekeeper refusing to let war end his life’s work

Lina Abu Zayed speaks to Ibrahim al-Dabba, who continues to care for his colonies despite losing his home and most of his hives and equipment.

… or this: The professor facing prison in ‘antifa’ case – ‘They want to scare all who oppose ICE’

Erik Davis is accused by the government of a conspiracy to obstruct ICE, while experts say it’s part of a pattern to criminalize lawful organizing and ruin activists’ lives. Sam Levin reports.

Climate check: Almost ۴,۰۰۰ people evacuated from tourist sites near Bordeaux as wildfires rage in France and Spain

Nearly ۴,۰۰۰ people have been evacuated from tourist sites on France’s Atlantic coast as the return of winds and extreme heat jeopardises firefighters’ battles to contain wildfires raging in France and Spain. European wildfires have struck at the same time as ferocious North American ones, with hundreds of blazes continuing to devastate the western US and swathes of Canada. Meanwhile, torrential rains have flooded parts of countries across Asia. “The climate alarm is blaring, from every direction,” Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of UN Climate Change, said on Tuesday.

Last Thing: The asthma clinic buried ۲۵۰ metres into an Armenian salt mine

Every morning, a handful of Armenians descend ۲۵۰ metres beneath the earth into an active salt mine where they spend six hours in cavernous chambers carved from rock salt, hoping the air below ground will help them breathe more easily. Pjotr Sauer went to Yerevan to find out why.

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