The IDF said it had killed Izadi in a strike on an apartment in Qom, south of Tehran, in the early hours of Saturday. He had been in charge of the Palestine Corps of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps's (IRGC) Quds Force, responsible for handling ties with the Palestinian armed groups. He was reportedly instrumental in arming and financing Hamas, and had been responsible for military co-ordination between senior IRGC commanders and Hamas leaders, the IDF said. In April 2024, Izadi narrowly survived an Israeli air strike targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria - an attack that killed several high-ranking Quds Force commanders. Israel later on Saturday also claimed to have killed another Quds Force commander, Behnam Shahriyari in a drone strike as he was travelling in a car through western Iran.

This week, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss whether the US should join Israel's war on Iran, the tragic Minnesota assassinations and why US political violence is surging now, and the Supreme Court's unsurprising but willfully obtuse decision to uphold Tennessee's youth transgender care ban. Here are some notes and references from this week's show: Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, and Dustin Volz for The Wall Street Journal (Exclusive): Israel Built Its Case for War With Iran on New Intelligence. The U.S. Didn't Buy It. Thomas L. Friedman for The New York Times (Opinion): The Smart Way for Trump to End the Israel-Iran War Oren Cass for Understanding America (Substack): Is Israel the Ideal "America First" Ally? Warren P. Strobel, Alex Horton, and Abigail Hauslohner for the Washington Post: Navigating Iran crisis, Trump relies on experience over star power Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog: Court upholds Tennessee's ban on certain medical treatments for transgender minors Abbie VanSickle for The New York Times: Sotomayor Writes the Court'Abandons' Transgender Children to'Political Whims' Ella Lee for The Hill: Clarence Thomas urges courts to end deferring to'experts' on gender-affirming care Ian Millhiser for Vox: The Supreme Court's incoherent new attack on trans rights, explained Here are this week's chatters: Emily: A Family Matter by Claire Lynch; The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Higher Education by Justin Driver; A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland. John: Mary Cunningham for CBS News: Federal Reserve holds its benchmark interest rate steady at today's FOMC meeting; ABA Banking Journal: Fed's Powell says some areas of U.S. may be'uninsurable' in next decade David: Trip Gabriel for the New York Times: William Langewiesche, the'Steve McQueen of Journalism,' Dies at 70 For this week's Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David discuss the exciting possibilities and likely limitations of using AI tools for historical research and writing.

As fears of all-out nuclear war intensify, scientists are sounding the alarm that the decision to launch a catastrophic strike could soon rest not with world leaders, but with a machine. In a stark warning, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), an independent group that monitors global security issues, reported that the decades-long decline in global nuclear arsenals has come to an end. Instead, nations are now modernizing, expanding, and deploying their stockpiles at a rapid and alarming pace, signaling the onset of a new, high-tech arms race. While AI and similar technologies can accelerate decision-making during crises, scientists warn they also raise the risk of nuclear conflict through miscommunication, misunderstanding, or technical failure, the report stated. In a nuclear standoff, decision-makers often have only minutes to assess threats and respond.

Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., spoke with Fox News Digital about his bipartisan bill to codify oversight of foreign adversaries, including China, buying American farmland. EXCLUSIVE: Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is leading the charge with Democrat Sen. John Fetterman to codify oversight on foreign countries buying American farmland. The bipartisan Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act seeks to implement recommendations published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in January 2024, which found the AFIDA was ill-equipped to combat foreign ownership of American agricultural land. "Communist China is our greatest geopolitical threat," Ricketts told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview, adding, "This is a way for us to improve the disclosure that's going on with regard to the purchase of this agricultural land, so we can take other action if necessary to make sure we're not giving Communist China the opportunity to buy agricultural land." The bill's proposal comes as two Chinese nationals – a University of Michigan post-doctoral research fellow, Yunqing Jian, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology student Chengxuan Han – were held in federal custody after they were accused of smuggling biological materials into the United States.

Garrett Butts details military drone innovation effort aimed at speeding deployment and reducing cost in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. As the war between Israel and Iran intensifies, one Army drone expert is warning that the U.S. must stay ready, and fast. Garrett Butts is helping lead the charge by building smarter, cheaper unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in-house for the battlefield. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Butts described how his team is creating drone technology from scratch, often using parts it took nearly a year to legally obtain. "We're a transformation and contact unit," said Butts, who serves with the 1st Cavalry Division.

A U.S. citizen died during a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the State Department confirmed Tuesday afternoon. An American citizen was among the 15 killed in Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital city, Kyiv, on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed in a press conference Wednesday. In response to a reporter's question on U.S. diplomats in Kyiv having to spend the night in a bunker, Bruce said "we can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine." "We are aware of last night's attack on Kyiv that resulted in numerous casualties, including the tragic death of a U.S. citizen," she said, noting, "We condemn those strikes and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected." Bruce did not offer any more details on the identity of the citizen killed by the Russian strikes, citing "respect to the family during this obviously horrible time."

Former Foreign Service officer advocates for social media vetting of visa applicants, explaining how AI could enhance screening to identify anti-American sentiments.

Artificial intelligence could spark an accidental nuclear war, conflict experts fear. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the world's leading organisation on nuclear assessments, said technologies like AI are aggravating the risk carried with growing global nuclear stockpiles. SIPRI pointed to China's rapidly growing stockpile, from 500 to 600 in a single year, as well as the imminent expiry of the final arms control treaty between the US and Russia, two nuclear-armed nations. The institute's director, Dan Smith, warned: 'One component of the coming arms race will be the attempt to gain and maintain a competitive edge in artificial intelligence (AI), both for offensive and defensive purposes. 'There are benefits to be found but the careless adoption of AI could significantly increase nuclear risk.'

Israel activated a new aerial defense system – dubbed "Barak Magen" – for the first time on Sunday night, saying it intercepted and destroyed multiple Iranian drones. Israel activated a new aerial defense system – dubbed "Barak Magen," meaning "lightning shield" – for the first time on Sunday night, saying it intercepted and destroyed multiple Iranian drones. The Israeli Navy intercepted eight Iranian drones using the "Barak Magen" and its long-range air defense (LRAD) interceptor, which were launched from an Israeli navy Sa'ar 6 missile ship, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement. John Hannah, senior fellow at the National Security of America and the co-author of a report published earlier this month on Israel's defense against two massive Iranian missile attacks in 2024, told Fox News Digital on Monday that the air defense system "significantly enhances" the air and missile defense architecture of Israel's navy. "The Barak Magen is simply another arrow in the expanding quiver of Israel's highly sophisticated and increasingly diverse multi-tiered missile defense architecture – which was already, by leaps and bounds, the most advanced and experienced air defense system fielded by any country in the world," Hannah said.

Bright LEDs could spell the end of dark skies Scientists have known for years that light pollution is growing and can harm both humans and wildlife. In people, increased exposure to light at night disrupts sleep cycles and has been linked to cancer and cardiovascular disease, while wildlife suffers from interruption to their reproductive patterns, and increased danger. Astronomers, policymakers, and lighting professionals are all working to find ways to reduce light pollution. Many of them advocate installing light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, in outdoor fixtures such as city streetlights, mainly for their ability to direct light to a targeted area. But the high initial investment and durability of modern LEDs mean cities need to get the transition right the first time or potentially face decades of consequences.