Good morning. It's Tuesday, Aug. 13, and we're covering warnings of a looming attack in the Middle East, a first-of-its-kind discovery on the red planet, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.8 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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A potential Iranian attack on Israel is expected as soon as this week, US and Israeli intelligence reported yesterday. The attack would come in retaliation for the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Iran attributes to Israel.
Iran's missile and drone units are especially active, according to US and Israeli assessments, similar to activity seen before Iran launched over 300 projectiles into Israel in April. In response to the heightened threat, the Pentagon has deployed a guided missile submarine to the region and is working to expedite the arrival of an aircraft carrier to help defend Israel. Israel says it has put its military on high alert and has begun offensive and defensive military preparations.
France, Germany, Italy, and the UK have issued a joint statement calling on Iran to refrain from attacks and for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Those talks are scheduled for Thursday, though it is unclear if Hamas will participate.
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An ocean's worth of water may be hidden underneath the surface of Mars, according to research published yesterday. The findings alter hypotheses about Mars' geological evolution and offer a new place to search for possible signs of microbial life, if the reservoir can be accessed.
The research is based on seismic measurements captured by NASA's Mars InSight lander in 2018-22, which suggest the underground reservoir is trapped roughly 7 to 13 miles beneath the red planet's outer crust (see illustration). Geophysicists estimate the amount of possible groundwater could cover all of Mars to a depth of roughly a mile. However, accessing the liquid water could be challenging, as drilling a hole even half a mile deep on Earth is difficult.
Mars was wet roughly 3 billion years ago—as evidenced by ancient lakes and river channels—until its atmosphere thinned. Scientists previously believed the thinning atmosphere caused much of the water to freeze, escape into space, or be absorbed into minerals. Watch an overview of Mars here.
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Athens Wildfire Evacuations
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A wildfire near Athens, Greece, has forced thousands to evacuate, including patients and staff from a children’s hospital, a military hospital, and two monasteries. At least one person has died from the fire, which ignited Sunday about 20 miles northeast of the capital and remains largely uncontained. The fire has expanded to nearly 20 miles across, with some flames reaching over 80 feet in height. Strong winds, extreme heat, and drought, combined with challenging terrain, have fueled the fire’s spread.
The fire is the most severe so far this year in Greece, which has seen dozens of fires this summer amid the country's hottest June and July on record. As of yesterday, over 700 firefighters, supported by aerial units and volunteers, have been deployed to combat the blaze. Several EU countries have also offered assistance in tackling the fire. See photos here.
In the US, firefighters continued to battle the massive Park Fire, which is currently more than 429,000 acres in size and is 39% contained as of this writing.
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
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> Georgia, Ohio State, and Oregon are Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in college football's AP Top 25 preseason poll; the 2024 season kicks off Aug. 24 (More)
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> Rachael Lillis, "Pokémon" voice acting star, dies at age 46 of breast cancer (More) | Ángel Salazar, actor best known for role in "Scarface," dies at age 68 (More)
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> Universal Music Group and Meta sign multiyear agreement to expand licensing and monetization opportunities for Universal artists on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp (More)
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> High levels of an enzyme associated with lipid production correlated with higher risk of severe illness and death from flu, COVID-19, and RSV, per new study; may be indicative of overactive immune response (More)
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> New mechanism for bacterial cell division discovered; when filaments in the center of a cell bump into obstacles, they begin to dissolve, forming a ring-like structure to kick-start the division process (More)
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> Psychopharmacology journal retracts three papers on MDMA's potential for post-traumatic stress disorder following the Food and Drug Administration's rejection of drug application; retraction is attributed to unethical conduct during clinical trial (More)
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In partnership with Infinity
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.0%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq +0.2%) ahead of latest batch of inflation data this week, including July's consumer price index report (More)
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> KeyCorp shares close up 9% after the Cleveland-based regional bank announces $2.8B minority stake sale to Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia (More)
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> Equinox-owned Blink Fitness files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; the low-cost gym has over 100 locations across seven US states, which will remain open (More)
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> Former President Donald Trump interviewed live by Elon Musk on X platform after 40-minute delay; see key takeaways (More) | Trump seeks $100M in damages over 2022 Justice Department raid of his Palm Beach, Florida, residence (More) | New York judge rules Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can't appear on state's ballot because he falsely claimed New York residency (More)
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> Ukraine reportedly seizes at least 386 square miles of Russian territory and at least 28 settlements, following Ukrainian force's incursion last week into Russia's southwestern Kursk Oblast (More) | See maps (More) | See war updates (More)
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> Trial begins for former Las Vegas, Nevada, official Robert Telles, accused of murdering a local journalist in 2022 who was investigating alleged mismanagement in Telles' office (More) | See previous write-up (More)
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> The Rise of Granfluencers
The Walrus | Nicole Schmidt. What the success of 94-year-old TikTok influencer Lillian Droniak can teach us about embracing aging and addressing taboo issues like death head-on—and with humor. (Read)
> Lee Maxwell's Charming, Eccentric Life
5280 | Robert Sanchez. A profile on the life of a 94-year-old man who owns a Guinness World Record-holding washing machine museum on his property in Eaton, Colorado. (Read)
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