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At least three senior commanders and four officers overseeing Iran's covert operations in the Middle East were killed Monday when Israeli warplanes struck a building in Damascus that is part of the Iranian embassy compound, according to Iranian and Syrian officials.The attack on Damascus, the Syrian capital, appears to be among the deadliest attacks in a years-long shadow war between Israel and Iran that has included the assassination of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists.That secret war has become public as tensions between the countries have escalated over Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, the Iran-backed militia that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.Four Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence ...

At least one person in Texas has been diagnosed with bird flu after coming into contact with presumably infected dairy cows, state officials said Monday.The announcement adds a worrying dimension to an epidemic that has affected millions of birds and marine mammals around the world and, more recently, cows in the United States.So far, there are no signs that the virus has evolved in ways that would help it spread more easily among people, federal officials said.The patient worked directly with sick dairy cows, said Lara M. Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. “We have tested about a dozen symptomatic people who work on dairies and only one person tested positive” for the virus, she said in an email.The patient's main symptom was conjunctivitis; the ...

President Mike Johnson has begun publicly outlining potential conditions for extending a new round of American military assistance to Ukraine, the strongest indication yet that he intends to push through the House a package that many Republicans view as toxic and have tried to block.Its conditions could include tying aid for Kiev to a measure that would force President Biden to lift a moratorium on new permits for liquefied natural gas export facilities, something Republicans would see as a political victory against the climate agenda of the Democratic president. The move would also give Johnson a powerful parochial victory, unlocking a proposed export terminal in his home state of Louisiana that would be located along a shipping channel connecting the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Charles.“When...

ezra kleinI’m Ezra Klein, and this is “The Ezra Klein Show.”[MUSIC PLAYING]So before we get started today, we’re going to be doing an Ask Me Anything episode. So if you’ve got questions you would like to hear me answer on the show, send them to [email protected]. Again, that is [email protected] guests today need little introduction. Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative journalist for the New York Times Magazine, where she led the 1619 Project. She won a Pulitzer Prize for the lead essay in that. She’s also done amazing work over the years on racial inequality and segregation in the American education system. Ta-Nehisi Coates, of course, is the author of the National Book Award winner, “Between the World and Me,” the Oprah Book Club pick, “The Water Danc...

Secret Chinese accounts are masquerading online as American supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, promoting conspiracy theories, stoking internal divisions and attacking President Biden ahead of the November election, according to researchers and government officials.The reports signal a potential tactical shift in how Beijing aims to influence American politics, with a greater willingness to target specific candidates and parties, including Biden.Echoing Russia's influence campaign before the 2016 election, China appears to be seeking to exploit partisan divisions to undermine the Biden administration's policies, despite the two countries' recent efforts to lower the temperature in their relations.Some Chinese accounts pose as fervent Trump fans, including one on Th...

The only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip held sombre Easter celebrations on Sunday for hundreds of displaced Palestinian Christians who have taken refuge in its compound since the war began nearly six months ago.The Church of the Holy Family is located in Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip, an area that has suffered some of the heaviest Israeli bombardment since October and where the global watchdog on food security says a large-scale famine is imminent.The families who have taken refuge in the church have been "scrabbling to survive" for months with limited food and "almost non-existent" medical supplies - the same as all Palestinians in northern Gaza, including Muslims celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, he said. said Father Davide Meli, chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate...

The recent cyberattack on billing and payments giant Change Healthcare revealed how severe vulnerabilities are across the U.S. healthcare system and alerted industry leaders and policymakers to the urgent need for better digital security.Hospitals, health insurers, medical clinics and other industry players have increasingly been the targets of significant cyber attacks, culminating in the assault on Change, a unit of giant UnitedHealth Group, on February 21.The ransomware attack on the country's largest clearinghouse, which handles a third of all medical records, has had widespread effects. Fixes and workarounds have alleviated some challenges, but vendors are still unable to collect billions of dollars in payments. Many smaller hospitals and medical practices are still struggling t...

Protests against Netanyahu intensifyThousands of people gathered outside the Israeli Parliament yesterday in one of the largest demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the start of the war in Gaza.He has faced growing pressure, abroad and at home, over Israel's handling of the war, with many Israelis calling for him to step down. Close allies such as the United States have criticized the war's heavy civilian toll and urged Israel to allow more aid to Gaza. And many Israelis have called on Netanyahu to prioritize the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire agreement. Thousands of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday against Netanyahu's government.The protests in Jerusalem, which were expected to continue into Wednesday, came as i...

BRIAN REED I didn't feel great after I gave Hamza a hard time for going off on Richy Thompson, the British humanist. And truth is, it wasn't the first time I'd done something like that, where I called him out for crossing lines I thought he shouldn't be crossing as a journalist. The first time was early on in our working together. [PHONE RINGING] HAMZA SYED Hey. BRIAN REED Hey, Hamza. How's it going? HAMZA SYED It was my last week of journalism school, as I cramming to get my final project done, when Brian got in touch saying we needed to talk. HAMZA SYED I'm good. What's good? BRIAN REED Well, it's not great, honestly. HAMZA SYED Oh, God. BRIAN REED So I just got this email. HAMZA SYED This was when we were looking into Adderley Primary school, trying to find information about the he...