Good morning. It's Monday, April 12, and we're covering a blackout at one of Iran's key nuclear facilities, Prince Philip, and an eruption in the Caribbean. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

Blackout at Natanz

An explosion reportedly rocked Iran's Natanz nuclear facility yesterday, knocking out power and possibly compromising a number of centrifuges. The once-secret underground complex is the country's central location for enriching uranium and has long been a target of clandestine attacks by rival powers. Reports suggest the facility's ability to enrich uranium may be delayed for up to nine months.

No country took responsibility, though Israeli media claimed the operation was carried out by the country's Mossad intelligence service. It follows the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist in November and a mysterious fire at Natanz last summer. A joint US-Israeli operation destroyed a number of centrifuges in 2010 using the Stuxnet virus ($$, WIRED). 

The attack came just days after the US and Iran began indirect talks around the US possibly rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal, and three days ahead of Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. Iran called the attack an act of "nuclear terrorism."

Royal Funeral Planned

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, will be laid to rest in a small, televised ceremony Saturday. Philip, married to Queen Elizabeth II, died from undisclosed causes at age 99, two months shy of his 100th birthday. 

Born into Greek and Danish royal families—his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, has her own fascinating story—Philip served in the British navy during World War II. He renounced his titles in 1947 upon becoming engaged to then-Princess Elizabeth, ultimately becoming the longest-serving royal spouse and the third-longest-lived member in the history of the royal family. 

Prince Harry will attend the ceremony, though his wife, Meghan Markle, will not. The couple, who stepped away from royal duties last year, cited medical reasons—Markle is pregnant with the couple's second child. It will be the first meeting between Harry and the royal family since a high-profile interview in which the couple made allegations of a racist atmosphere at Buckingham Palace. 

See Philip's life in photos here.

La Soufrière Erupts

A Caribbean volcano dormant for more than four decades erupted over the weekend, including a Friday blast that spewed an ash cloud 6 miles into the air above the island of St. Vincent. A second eruption yesterday knocked out power across the island. Geologists first noticed an uptick in seismic activity in December after the formation of a new lava dome—a feature arising from cooled magma accumulating around the volcano's vent. 

It's the fifth major eruption on record for the volcano, named La Soufrière, in four hundred years, and its behavior can be difficult to predict. Its magma is sticky and viscous, making it easier to trap gas and increasing the chances of an explosive event. Scientists say the activity could last for weeks; no deaths have been reported. 

See video of the ash plume here.

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Rapper DMX, who had five No. 1 albums, dies at 50 after suffering heart attack brought on by alleged drug overdose (More) | See reactions from the music world (More)

> "Nomadland" wins Best Film at British Academy Film Awards (More) | See full list of BAFTA winners (More)

> Hideki Matsuyama wins the 2021 Masters and becomes the first Japanese male golfer to win a major championship (More) | Alex Rodriguez and ex-Walmart CEO Marc Lore to buy NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx for $1.5B (More)

Science & Technology

> Elon Musk's The Boring Company reveals underground mile-long transportation tunnels underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (More) | Musk's Neuralink demonstrates a monkey playing a video game via brain-computer interface (More)

> NASA delays first flight of its Martian Ingenuity helicopter until at least Wednesday (More) | Odyssey orbiter snaps photo of dunes on Mars' northern polar ice caps (More)

> Study suggests relationship between aluminum and Alzheimer's disease, finding the element is colocated with tau proteins, molecules that interfere with neuronal function; origin or specific role of aluminum in the development of the disease is still unknown (More)

Business & Markets

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> Amazon warehouse employees in Bessemer, Alabama, voted against forming a union by more than a 2-1 decision; effort viewed as a bellwether for the broader labor movement in the US (More)

> Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba fined $2.75B for antitrust violations by Chinese regulators (More)

> US airlines grounded more than 60 737 MAX jets after Boeing asked to address a potential electrical power system issue (More)

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Politics & World Affairs

> Protests sparked in Minneapolis suburb after man is killed by police; 20-year-old Daunte Wright was reportedly shot as he tried to flee as officers attempted to detain him on an outstanding warrant (More) | Prosecution in Derek Chauvin murder trial expected to rest case early this week (More)

> Biden administration submits its first budget to Congress; separate from the stimulus proposal, the $1.5T package bumps domestic spending by almost 16% and defense spending by 1.7% (More) | Federal budget process 101—the president proposes, Congress disposes (More) | Administration to study expanding the Supreme Court (More)

> India passes Brazil for second-most COVID-19 infections, notching almost 169,000 new cases in 24 hours (More) | US death toll at 562,066 as of this morning; 46% of adults have received at least one vaccination dose (More)

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ETCETERA

A brutally honest dog adoption ad.

Ramadan begins today—here's a rundown of the holiday.

A huge rockslide closes Lake Tahoe's Route 50. (w/photos)

Baby brain cells top the month's best science images.

That didn't take long: Boston Dynamics' Spot is now a combat canine. 

RIP Yahoo! Answers, here's how we'll remember you.

An eight-month pregnant athlete takes a Taekwondo gold.

Clickbait: ... and a British woman gives birth to separately conceived miracle twins.

Historybook RIP American Red Cross founder Clara Barton (1912); RIP Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945); HBD David Letterman (1947); Yuri Gagarin becomes first person in space (1961); RIP boxing great Joe Louis (1981).

"There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still."

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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