🎧 Rather than discuss unconditional surrender or regime change, Trump compared the situation in Iran to Venezuela, where the regime stays in place, but the leader changes, NPR's Mara Liasson tells Up First. But Liasson says Iran is very different from Venezuela, which is a small, weak country in the U.S.' backyard. She adds that the president didn't give answers when pressed about whether not pushing for regime change meant he was betraying his promise to give Iranians their freedom. Iran’s biggest objective is currently survival, Liasson says. They want to make it uncomfortable for the U.S and Israel to continue the war. Iran wants the price of staying in the region to be high, and Liasson says this means they want to keep gas prices high. With U.S. oil prices nearing $4 per gallon, continuing the war could become increasingly more challenging for Trump. 🎧 Iranian health officials report that the U.S. and Israeli campaign has killed 1,200, while Lebanese authorities count 500 deaths. In Lebanon, President Joseph Aoun is pushing for direct negotiations with Israel and an end to the bombings, NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi says. Aoun is seeking international support to equip the Lebanese Armed Forces in their efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group. Last week, Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into this war after it launched rockets into Israel. An Israeli official, speaking anonymously, told NPR that Israel views the Lebanese government's approach to Hezbollah positively, but the war will continue.
Federal authorities have charged two Pennsylvania men, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, with terrorism related crimes. The charges come after an attempted bomb attack during an anti-Muslim protest this weekend outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's official residence. Balat and Kayumi allegedly targeted the right-wing protesters with explosives. Federal investigators say the suspects were motivated by ISIS, a group that radicalizes young Muslim men globally.🎧 Balat and Kayumi started talking to authorities after their arrestand allegedly waived their Miranda rights, according to court documents filed yesterday. The documents say the two men told police that they watched ISIS material on their phones. Balat reportedly wrote that he had "pledged allegiance to the Islamic state" and expressed a desire to execute an attack "bigger than the Boston Marathon bombing" that killed three in 2013, according to NPR’s Brian Mann. Police believe the men’s alleged actions are part of the Islamic State’s pattern of mobilizing young Muslim men using social media.
A new lawsuit filed yesterday accuses the Trump administration of violating the First Amendment by threatening to deny visas or deport noncitizens who work on or research social media platforms, fact-checking or other activities the government deems "censorship" of American speech. The suit alleges that these noncitizen academics and independent researchers are living in “pervasive fear” of immigration enforcement, which has "chilling effects" on their work. It argues that the administration's actions amount to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
As with politics and the arts, the fallout from the Epstein files release has been dramatic in the science world. NPR interviewed scientists and reviewed Department of Justice documents on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to uncover how he established a network of prominent scientists. Epstein showed interest in theoretical physics, evolutionary biology and computer science. He funded conferences, research programs and individual researchers. A 2006 conference for physicists in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which included a trip to Epstein's private island, illustrates how he used philanthropy to build relationships with scientists and academic institutions. | 
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