Castle Captured, 'Backrooms' Prevails, and Fog Is Alive

 Need To Know 

Israel Seizes Medieval Castle

Israel has seized control of Beaufort, a medieval castle in Lebanon, several miles from the Israeli border. The capture marks the farthest Israeli soldiers have ventured into the country since their 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon ended in 2000.

The news comes as Israel and Lebanon continue negotiations to end the weekslong hostilities. Lebanon agreed in 2024 to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group based largely in southern Lebanon. However, violence broke out again between Hezbollah and Israel in March, with Hezbollah launching rockets in response to Israeli attacks on Iran. Israel has since carried out airstrikes and invaded southern Lebanon, killing more than 3,300 people and displacing more than 1.2 million, according to the latest estimates. (See background on the conflict here.)

The war between Israel and Hezbollah could have implications for the US war with Iran; Iran has said any peace deal with the US must also end the war in Lebanon.

Spur(s) of the Moment

The San Antonio Spurs will meet the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals (Game 1, Wednesday at 8:30 pm ET, ABC) after upsetting the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 Saturday night. The Spurs will face the New York Knicks, who are in their first finals since 1999, when they lost to the Tim Duncan-led Spurs. 

San Antonio is led by 22-year-old French phenom Victor Wembanyama, widely regarded as the top player of the NBA’s next generation. The fluid 7-foot-4 center had 22 points, including going 3-of-5 from the three-point line. The Thunder entered the game shorthanded, with guard Jalen Williams out with a hamstring injury, while 7-foot-1 center Chet Holmgren was held to four points while only taking two shots.

Watch Wembanyama dunk on Holmgren in the first quarter and see his emotional postgame presser. 

'Backrooms' Takes Center Stage

Horror film “Backrooms” is projected to have grossed more than $81M domestically and $118M worldwide in its opening weekend. The haul marks the best debut in A24’s history. Watch the trailer here.

The movie's concept dates back to a message board on 4chan. In 2019, an anonymous user posted an image of empty, yellow-wallpapered rooms and encouraged others to upload similarly disquieting images. (The photo was taken at a former Wisconsin furniture store in the early 2000s; see the post.) One user characterized the images as “Backrooms,” with the concept inspiring a YouTube series by then-16-year-old director Kane Parsons (watch series). A24 tapped Parsons to adapt his series into a feature-length film; at age 20, he is the youngest director in the company’s history.

A24 began as a film distribution company in 2012 and expanded to production as its films gained accolades and cult followings. Explore the history of the company, now valued at $3.5B, here (via YouTube).

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Paris Saint-Germain defeats Arsenal to win the Champions League for the second consecutive year; French police arrest more than 700 people amid violent clashes  (More) | Why does violence often break out after sports games?(More)

> Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Montreal Canadiens to win the NHL Eastern Conference finals; will compete against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 tomorrow at 8 pm ET (More) 

> President Donald Trump says he will headline Great American State Fair, set to take place June 24, after several musical acts back out (More) 

Science & Technology

> Meta to develop an AI pendant—a clip-on Bluetooth microphone that records and interacts with users throughout the day—over the next year, according to reports (More) 

> Analysis of child remains at ancient Spanish burial site reveals tuberculosis and respiratory diseases were widespread among the population roughly 5,000 years ago (More) 

> Dutch officials dismantle cybercrime network composed of bots on more than 17 million devices; operation linked to Russian group (More) | What is a residential proxy network? (More, scroll down for infographic)

Business & Finance

> US stock markets close up Friday (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +0.7%, Nasdaq +0.2%), driven by gains in tech stocks; all three indexes hit record highs during intraday trading (More) | US average gas price at $4.3 per gallon; see state-by-state breakdown (More)

> SoftBank to invest more than $87B building five gigawatts of data center capacity; will be Europe's largest AI facility (More) 

> Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley agrees to speak with House Oversight subcommittee over his ties to deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Meteor measuring roughly three feet wide and traveling at over 75,000 miles per hour explodes off the coast of Massachusetts, releasing the equivalent of 300 tons of TNT in energy (More) | Hear the boom (More)

> Death toll rises to 11 in last week's chemical tank explosion in Washington state, as authorities recover the bodies of nine missing workers at the paper facility (More) 

> Colombian presidential election heads to June 21 runoff, as 14-candidate race narrows down to left-wing senator Iván Cepeda and right-wing lawyer Abelardo De La Espriella (More) 

Fog is alive with bacteria.

The most misspelled word in each state.

"The Daily Show" host tells Harvard graduates to destroy AI.

One-armed gorilla gives birth in the wild.

... and a Seattle gorilla undergoes emergency C-section.

Coastal communities clash over controversial beach shade.

Collection of 40,000 wine bottles owned by Joseph Stalin heads to auction.

Why do humans have whites in our eyes?

Clickbait: What were Roman vomitoria?

Historybook: Anne Boleyn crowned queen of England (1533); Actress Marilyn Monroe born (1926); Actor Morgan Freeman born (1937); Activist Helen Keller dies (1968); Heimlich maneuver first introduced (1974); CNN launches as first 24-hour cable news network (1980)