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I'm Tracy Mumford.
Today's Tuesday, May 26th, here's what we're covering.
Yesterday, the U.S. carried out new strikes on Iran. U.S. Central Command called themselves "defence strikes" and said it was targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats trying to place mines, threatening U.S. ships.
“The question of how much of a threat Iran poses has been an open one.”
U.S. intelligence agencies flagged the fact earlier this month that Iran's military is not as diminished as President Trump has repeatedly said, especially along the street of Hormuz. Confidential intelligence assessments showed that Iran had restored operational access to almost all its missile sites along the narrow waterway.
As recently as last week, American military forces were poised to resume an intensive bombing campaign along the street, including those missile sites to try and loosen Iran's grip. All of this has been happening while negotiations to get the street open have also been underway. The new strikes came just as Iranian officials were arriving in Qatar for talks to end the war. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this morning, those talks will continue.
President Trump has said a few times that a deal is close,
but yesterday, both sides downplayed any hopes of a quick breakthrough.
According to Iran's state broadcaster, the country's foreign ministry spokesman said quote, "It is true that we have reached conclusions on a large portion of the issues, but no one can claim that the signing of an agreement is imminent." Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country plans to intensify its attacks on Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon.
Despite an American broker's ceasefire there, Israel and Hezbollah have continued to clash, and Netanyahu said in a video statement last night, quote, "We are not removing our foot from the pedal. On the contrary, I said to press on the pedal even more." In recent days, Israeli air strikes damaged a hospital in southern Lebanon, and killed multiple paramedics. The death toll in Lebanon has now reached more than 3,100 people
since March, according to the country's health ministry, and renewed fighting could add yet another complication to peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. Iran has insisted it wants any agreement to cover Lebanon as well. Now, two quick updates for you from over the weekend in Washington.
First, the Trump administration announced a major change to how people can get green cards.
Green cards give immigrants the right to live in the U.S. permanently, and right now, most people who get them are already in the country, often for school, work, or because they've married a U.S. citizen. Now, though, the administration says most people will have to go back to their home countries to apply. This could potentially affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and split up families for months or even years. The administration said the change is meant
to help stop people whose green card applications are denied from covertly staying in the country illegally. It said some people would still be allowed to apply from the U.S. but only under extraordinary circumstances. The announcement immediately set off confusion and chaos as immigration lawyers scrambled to understand exactly who will be affected, and many expect the change to be met with
“legal challenges. Also in Washington, for the third time in a month, secret service officers”
exchanged fire with a gunman while President Trump or his vice president were nearby. The latest instance happened Saturday when a man approached the White House pulled a gun from a bag and opened fire. Trump was inside at the time. Secret service officers fatally shot the man, a 21-year-old who had been arrested near the White House before. A bystander was also injured, official said on Sunday he was in stable condition. This comes after secret service wounded
a gunman at the national mall near the route of a motorcade for Vice President J.D. Vance, and after agents exchanged fire with a man at the White House correspondent's dinner. Trump seemed to use the incident on Saturday to renew his argument for a new secure ballroom
At the White House, writing on social media that it highlighted the need for ...
"most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington."
“In Texas today, voters are heading to the polls for a highly competitive and very”
bitter runoff race that has divided the state's Republicans. On one side is Senator John Kornin, who has held his seat for more than two decades. But he's now fighting for his political life against Ken Paxton, Texas's controversial attorney general. Paxton has faced one scandal after another, accused of adultery, indicted for fraud, impeached over allegations of bribery, but he's positioned himself as the maga candidate, and so far it's paid off."
And I'll tell you what, I'm so honored to have President Trump's endorsement. His endorsement in my opinion is the most significant endorsement that in my lifetime. The President endorsed Paxton last week, calling him a great candidate, and if Paxton beats Kornin
today, that will be the second sitting Republican Senator, Trump has helped unseat this term
in favor of his own preferred choice. A win for Paxton, though, has the potential to hurt Republicans' chances in November. With all of Paxton's baggage, voters might stay home or even shift toward the Democratic candidate James Talereco. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas in decades, but Talereco has gained national attention and brought in a record amount of money.
“There are a number of other key contests in Texas today, too, including Democratic”
run-offs for congressional seats in Houston and Dallas. You can follow the live results tonight at NYTimes.com. At the Vatican yesterday, Artificial Intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention. The Pope urged the world to be careful with AI, warning that efforts are needed to safeguard humanity from the technology's most disruptive effects. I hear very
troubling a council of algorithms, thinking about access to health care, employment, and security.
Hopefully, you'll made the statements to mark the release of his first encyclical, which is basically
an open letter Popes put out to speak about major moral or social challenges. In the past,
“Popes have written them about war, about inequality, Leo took on AI. He called for, among other things,”
protection for workers whose jobs could be lost to AI. Education to help students think critically about the technology, as well as action to protect kids from the torrent of violent, sexualized, and fake information that AI can generate. And he called for safeguards on how AI is used in war. He presented his encyclical alongside Christopher Ola, a co-founder of Anthropic, a major AI developer. Ola, who is not Catholic, praised the Pope's initiative,
acknowledging that companies like his need moral guidance to avoid being swayed by incentives that, quote, "sometimes conflict with doing the right thing." Whether other tech leaders will embrace the messaging, though, remains to be seen, with one expert on theology and ethics telling the times, quote, "I don't think the tech bros in Silicon Valley will listen not much." And finally, Ferrari has just revealed its first fully electric car,
the luchet, or light, and Italian, and it has some people scratching their heads.
The price tag is still more than half a million dollars, but it doesn't really have the classic
look of a Ferrari. There are four doors for one thing, and there's trunk space, which is not a thing I've ever heard anyone praise a Ferrari for. There's also the question of the sound. Ferrari's have a signature growl, electric vehicles, though, not so much, to try and win over Ferrari die-hards. The company has installed a device at the center of the axles to try and capture the sound of the car's moving parts, and amplify it as it accelerates. TBD, if it's got
the same appeal. Some analysts think Ferrari may have missed judge the market. Years ago, a lot of luxury car makers were talking up EVs and promoting their own designs for new models, but one by one they've dropped away. Companies like Porsche and Lamborghini have all postponed, scaled back, or abandoned, their EV plans. Those are the headlines. Today on the daily, how the US is facing a new epidemic of lab-made synthetic drugs,
Which can be even more addictive and more potent than fentanyl.
New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford, we'll be back tomorrow.
