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5 things to know for June 27: US-Iran, Trump threatens media, Planned Parenthood, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Minnesota shooting

5 things to know for June 27: US-Iran, Trump threatens media, Planned Parenthood, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Minnesota shooting

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If you live in the Southeast, you may have seen or heard something unusual on Thursday. A daytime fireball that was possibly dropped by a meteor was clearly visible in the sky — and it created a sonic boom.
Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.
The Pentagon released new details about the US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend, including how the military prepared for the mission, the crews who carried out the raid and how Iran tried to fortify one of the sites in advance of the bombing. However, Thursday's briefing did not provide new intelligence supporting President Donald Trump's assertion that the strikes 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear program. Both Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth referred questions about that to the intelligence agencies. Until all of the intel is gathered, the full extent of damage at the facilities remains unclear.
A lawyer representing President Trump has sent letters to CNN and The New York Times threatening legal action over their reporting on the US attack on Iran. Attorney Alejandro Brito alleged that the stories published on June 24 describing an early US intelligence assessment of the strikes were false and defamatory. Both media outlets rejected that claim. Trump has insisted that Iran's nuclear enrichment sites were 'completely and totally obliterated,' but the preliminary assessment from the Pentagon's intelligence arm suggested the bombings did not destroy the core components of Iran's nuclear program. Administration officials confirmed the existence of the intel and Trump said that anyone who leaked it to the press 'should be prosecuted.' The president also described both media outlets as 'fake news' and called for one of the three CNN reporters who broke the story to be fired. CNN replied: 'We stand 100% behind Natasha Bertrand's journalism and specifically her and her colleagues' reporting' about the assessment.
The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Planned Parenthood from suing South Carolina over the state's decision to pull its Medicaid funding because the organization also provides abortions. At issue was an executive order signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in 2018 that pulled Medicaid funding from the state's two Planned Parenthood clinics because he claimed it would amount to a taxpayer subsidy for abortion. That order also blocked Medicaid patients from receiving other services at Planned Parenthood, including contraception, breast exams and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The high court's decision could prompt other red states to target Planned Parenthood and make it harder for Medicaid beneficiaries to choose their doctor. Today is the final day of the term and the Supreme Court is expected to hand down six rulings, including those dealing with Trump's birthright citizenship order, a challenge from religious parents who want to opt their children out of reading LGBTQ books in school and a First Amendment suit over a Texas law that requires people to verify their age before accessing porn online.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, jailed in the country's notorious CECOT prison and returned to the US months later, is currently being detained in Tennessee. During a court hearing on Thursday, a Justice Department lawyer told the judge that the Trump administration plans to send Abrego Garcia to a 'third country' but wouldn't specify a timeline for the deportation. While the administration's original deportation of Abrego Garcia violated a 2019 order from an immigration judge that said he could not be deported to his home country due to fears that he would face gang violence, that order did not preclude his deportation to another country.
The wife of the man accused of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses on June 14 said she was 'absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided' by the attack. Vance Boelter is accused of killing Melissa Hortman, a member of the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, as well as injuring John Hoffman, a member of the Minnesota Senate, and his wife in a separate shooting. Boelter is facing numerous state and federal charges, including murder, firearms offenses and stalking. In a statement through her lawyer, Jenny Boelter offered her 'deepest sympathies' to the victims' families, and said her family had fully cooperated with authorities. The Hortmans will lie in state at the Minnesota Capitol today.
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If your day doesn't start until you're up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to your new favorite morning fix. Sign up here for the '5 Things' newsletter.No longer 'Made in the USA'?Trump Mobile, the wireless service provider and phone company launched this month by the Trump Organization, has changed the language describing the origins of the T1 8002 phone on its website.
'It's a sad day for us'A foreshadowed death on 'The Simpsons' has freaked out fans of the animated family.
B&E at Brad's placeA Los Angeles home owned by movie star Brad Pitt was reportedly burglarized this week. Pitt was away on a promotional tour for his new film, 'F1: The Movie,' during the incident.
Star-filled nuptialsSeveral A-list celebrities, including Oprah and Mick Jagger, have traveled to Venice for the lavish Bezos wedding this weekend.
From 'Dune' to 007Oscar-winning director Denis Villeneuve has been tapped to helm the next movie in the James Bond franchise. 'This is a massive responsibility, but also, incredibly exciting for me and a huge honor,' he said.
Journalist Bill Moyers dies at 91The former press secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson spent five decades on the air working as a journalist, political commentator and champion of public media. Walter Cronkite once described Moyers as 'the conscience' of the country.
Which team won the NBA championship this week?A. Indiana PacersB. Oklahoma City ThunderC. New York KnicksD. Minnesota Timberwolves
Take me to the quiz!
41,000+​​That's how many retirement-age Americans died from falls in 2023. More than half of those deaths were people 85 and older, the CDC reported.
'This is not a luxury. I do not have my daughter enrolled on Medicaid so we can have fancy things. I have my daughter enrolled in Medicaid so we can keep her alive and keep her at home, which I think is the best option for her.'
— Missouri parent Courtney Leader, on the GOP's proposed cuts to Medicaid.
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So much natural beauty!See why this place was named CNN's best town to visit for 2025.
5 Things AM is edited by CNN's Andrew Torgan.

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Few thought airstrikes could ‘obliterate' Iran's nuclear program. Then Trump said they did.
Few thought airstrikes could ‘obliterate' Iran's nuclear program. Then Trump said they did.

USA Today

time30 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Few thought airstrikes could ‘obliterate' Iran's nuclear program. Then Trump said they did.

Experts long argued that airstrikes alone would not be capable of permanently ending Iran's nuclear program absent negotiations. WASHINGTON — A highly politicized debate is unfolding over the impact of June 21 U.S. airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, raising questions over the attack's goal and projected impact. President Donald Trump quickly claimed total victory in the strikes' wake, claiming that Iran's 'key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.' Subsequent scrutiny of that claim amid early assessments from intelligence agencies has led Trump and his allies to double down on and even expand on his declarations of success. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed to CNN that the strikes 'obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons.' Iran itself has acknowledged the impact of the U.S. and Israeli attacks. But in the years since Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, experts and analysts have emphasized that airstrikes alone would merely delay Iran's nuclear ambitions rather than permanently derail them. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, reiterated that long-held understanding in a June 26 interview. 'The targets are hard targets, deep targets, mobile targets. So it was never meant to eliminate the program,' Quigley told USA TODAY. 'It was never meant to do anything but slow the program.' The congressman, who is on the House's intelligence committee and has regularly received briefings on Iran, added, 'We've always been told . . . the only way to end this (nuclear) program is with a lot of troops on the ground for a long time. A war.' The former head of the National Nuclear Security Agency's nonproliferation programs, Corey Hinderstein, struck a similar tone. 'The conventional wisdom that you can't destroy the Iranian (nuclear) program through air attack alone has actually held,' said Hinderstein, now a vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'While some are saying that the airstrikes were tactically and strategically successful, I think that the jury is still out on that, and we don't actually have the information that we need to believe that this program is gone.' Third nuclear site, hidden centrifuges, missing uranium Iran may have another nuclear site that, if equipped with enrichment centrifuges and conversion equipment, could continue the process of preparing uranium for use in a nuclear bomb, if the regime wishes to pursue one. Shortly before Israel began its air campaign against Iran, the regime told the International Atomic Energy Agency that it had a third nuclear enrichment site but did not reveal details. Analysts believe an undisclosed underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain near the Natanz nuclear plant may be even deeper under the surface than the Fordow enrichment plant that was severely damaged in the U.S. strikes. The Pickaxe Mountain facility was first publicly revealed in 2023 by experts who spoke with the Associated Press. And it's unclear how much of Tehran's approximately 880 pounds of highly enriched uranium was destroyed or buried during the strikes — satellite images show cargo trucks parked outside the Fordow enrichment plant in the days before the U.S. attack. U.S. lawmakers briefed June 26 and June 27 on intelligence assessments of the strikes acknowledged the missing uranium and called for a full accounting of the material, according to CNN. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told the news agency that the question of the uranium's whereabouts underscores the importance of Iran negotiating 'directly with us, so the (IAEA) can account for every ounce of enriched uranium that's there.' More: Where is Iran's enriched uranium? Questions loom after Trump claims victory. But whether Iran wants to negotiate is another question. Despite the country's obligations as a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Iran's Guardian Council approved a law June 25 halting the country's cooperation with the IAEA and its inspections of Tehran's nuclear sites 'until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed,' the country's foreign minister said on social media. Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook and Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY Davis Winkie's role covering nuclear threats and national security at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

WhatsApp just got banned on Capitol Hill. Here's how you can make the Meta messaging platform more secure
WhatsApp just got banned on Capitol Hill. Here's how you can make the Meta messaging platform more secure

Fast Company

time35 minutes ago

  • Fast Company

WhatsApp just got banned on Capitol Hill. Here's how you can make the Meta messaging platform more secure

The U.S. House of Representatives' Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Catherine Szpindor, informed congressional staffers this week that WhatsApp is now banned from government phones. The move came after the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity deemed the Meta-owned app to be 'high-risk to users'—a claim that WhatsApp quickly rebutted. But the CAO is correct. While WhatsApp is one of the more secure messaging apps out there, it does have some privacy and security risks. Users can mitigate some of these risks, but others are beyond their control. Here's why WhatsApp is now banned in the U.S. House of Representatives and how you can make the app more secure on your phone. What the Office of Cybersecurity said, exactly The news that the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity had announced a ban on WhatsApp this week came from Axios. On Tuesday, the publication published parts of an internal CAO memo it received, which was sent to congressional staffers on Monday, announcing that WhatsApp was now verboten on government phones. The memo stipulated that 'House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device, including any mobile, desktop, or web browser versions of its products.' It went on to add: 'If you have a WhatsApp application on your House-managed device, you will be contacted to remove it.' The reason? According to the memo, 'The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use.' The CAO didn't provide further details in the memo regarding the above risks. Still, it's easy to interpret some of the things that may have made the CAO leery about the continued use of WhatsApp by Congressional staffers. WhatsApp's transparency issue WhatsApp, like competing secure messaging apps including Apple's iMessages and Signal, is end-to-end encrypted, meaning that no parties other than the ones in the chat, even including Meta, can read the chat messages. But WhatsApp collects a lot more metadata from each chat than other secure messaging apps do, and it sends this info to Meta A chat's metadata includes information such as the identities of the chat participants, IP addresses, phone numbers, and the timestamps of messages. No one knows exactly what Meta does with this metadata. Still, it is shared with Meta's other platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. It is likely used to help the company build social graphs of users, leveraged for advertising purposes, and analyzed by the company to understand who is using their apps, and when and where. This opaqueness is likely some of the 'lack of transparency' risk that the CAO was referring to. As for the 'absence of stored data encryption,' the CAO may have been referring to the default method by which WhatsApp backs up a user's chats. While WhatsApp chats are end-to-end encrypted, if a user backs up those chats to the cloud, the backup itself is not end-to-end encrypted by default. This means that if a bad actor gains access to a WhatsApp user's cloud backup, they could read all of that user's messages. It's no wonder the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity finds this worrying. WhatsApp also doesn't have other privacy and security features on by default, including the ability to lock the app behind biometrics and requiring two-step verification when a WhatsApp account is installed on another phone. If you don't work in the House of Representatives, you can still keep WhatsApp on your phone. But you might want to mitigate its privacy and security risks. Here's how. How to make WhatsApp more secure on your phone Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about WhatsApp's metadata problem. Meta designs WhatsApp so that the metadata of your chats is sent directly to the company. There's no way you can turn this data collection off. But you can make the app more secure on your phone by following some simple steps, including: End-to-end encrypt your WhatsApp backups: In WhatsApp, go to Settings>Chats>Chat Backup>End-to-End Encrypted Backup and turn this option on. Now your chat backups saved in the cloud will be end-to-end encrypted. Lock WhatsApp: You can set WhatsApp to refuse to open without further authentication by locking the app. This means that even if someone has access to your unlocked phone, they won't be able to open WhatsApp unless they know your phone's PIN, or have your face or fingerprint. To lock WhatsApp, go to WhatsApp's Settings>Privacy>App Lock and toggle the feature on. Enable two-step verification: If someone logs into your WhatsApp account on their phone, they'll be able to see your messages. That's why you should set up two-step verification for your account. This will require a PIN that you set to be entered whenever an attempt is made to log into your WhatsApp account on a new device. If the PIN isn't entered correctly, the new device won't have access to your account. To enable two-step verification, go to WhatsApp's Settings>Account>Two-Step Verification and toggle the feature on. Apps the CAO suggests using instead When reached for comment on the CAO's decision to ban WhatsApp, the organization's chief administrative officer, Catherine Szpindor, told Fast Company, 'Protecting the People's House is our topmost priority, and we are always monitoring and analyzing for potential cybersecurity risks that could endanger the data of House Members and staff. We routinely review the list of House-authorized apps and will amend the list as deemed appropriate.' In the past, the CAO has banned or imposed partial bans on various foreign apps, including those from ByteDance, such as TikTok. But the CAO has also previously announced bans or restrictions on apps made by American companies, including Microsoft Copilot and the free versions of ChatGPT. As for Meta, a company spokesperson told Fast Company that it disagrees with the CAO's characterization of WhatsApp 'in the strongest possible terms.' The spokesperson also asserted that, when it comes to end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp offers 'a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO's approved list that do not offer that protection.' In the Office of Cybersecurity's memo, the agency provided guidance on alternative secure messaging apps that House staffers could use now that WhatsApp had been banned. 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At least 34 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza as ceasefire prospects inch closer
At least 34 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza as ceasefire prospects inch closer

Yahoo

time36 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

At least 34 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza as ceasefire prospects inch closer

At least 34 people were killed across Gaza by Israeli strikes, health staff say, as Palestinians face a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ceasefire prospects inch closer. The strikes began late on Friday and continued into Saturday morning, among others killing 12 people at the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more living in apartments, according to staff at Shifa hospital where the bodies were brought. Six others were killed in southern Gaza when a strike hit their tent in Muwasi, according to the hospital. The strikes come as US President Donald Trump said there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week. Taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, the president said: 'We're working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.' An official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that Israel's minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, will arrive in Washington next week for talks on Gaza's ceasefire, Iran and other subjects. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. Talks have been on and since Israel broke the latest ceasefire in March, continuing its military campaign in Gaza and furthering the dire humanitarian crisis. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, fewer than half of them believed to be still alive. They were among some 250 hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 2023, sparking the 21-month-long war. The war has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It says more than half of the dead were women and children. There is hope among hostage families that Mr Trump's involvement in securing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran might exert more pressure for a deal in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is riding a wave of public support for the Iran war and its achievements, and he could feel he has more space to move toward ending the war in Gaza, something his far-right governing partners oppose. Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza. Mr Netanyahu says he will end the war only once Hamas is disarmed and exiled, something the group has rejected. Meanwhile, hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation in Gaza. After blocking all food for more than two months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies into the territory since mid-May. Efforts by the United Nations to distribute the food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys. Palestinians have also been shot and wounded while on their way to get food at newly formed aid sites, run by the American and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to Gaza's health officials and witnesses. Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds on the roads heading toward the sites. Israel's military said it was investigating incidents in which civilians had been harmed while approaching the sites.

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