President Trump is reportedly weighing more strikes in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from rebuilding its capacity to attack ships. This comes as the United Arab Emirates said that it intercepted an Iranian drone over its waters Monday, after the United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend for the first time in a month.

It comes as newly released emails show that U.S. immigration officials worked with Tehran to deport more than 100 Iranians on three flights between September 2025 and January 2026, despite rising tensions between the countries.

Meanwhile, Iranians are facing dire economic conditions with runaway food inflation and a collapsing currency. For example, vegetable oil in Iran last month cost 383% more than a year ago. The price of eggs rose by 294%, chicken by 177% and red meat by 148%. Speaking to The Guardian, a biomedical engineer said, “For part of the population, the issue is no longer buying a house or a car; the issue is cutting out meat, reducing food quality, postponing medical treatment, and scraping by until the end of the month.” This is Ali Ghroubi, a local businessman.

Ali Ghroubi: “I’m a businessman myself. Things are difficult under these circumstances. Business has become harder, and it’ll become even harder if another war breaks out. At the end of the day, it’s a battlefield. Excuse me, it’s not a friendly gathering or a party. Everyone gets caught up in it, including me as a businessman.”

The Washington Post is reporting that several conservative veterans with big online followings have been given secret Pentagon jobs, where they promote Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s agenda and attack the Trump administration’s critics. Those involved include Rob Maness, a retired Air Force colonel, and Kurt Schlichter, a retired Army colonel. They both have active official government email addresses and are assigned to the office of Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman and Air Force veteran, said on social media, “How many more people that are blue checkmarks on X that are putting out information on behalf of the federal government, and Donald Trump, and the Republican Party, … are actually special government employees?”

Daniel Driscoll, the Army’s civilian chief, submitted his resignation to President Trump on Monday, according to administration officials. He has repeatedly clashed with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the removal of seasoned commanders from the Army’s senior ranks and refusal to promote women and people of color. The Army has also been without a chief of staff since Hegseth fired General Randy George back in April without explanation. Hegseth has also removed at least three senior officers once considered contenders for the job.

In Gaza, Israeli attacks killed at least four people, including three children, today. According to Hamas’s media office, Israel tried carrying out an operation in Gaza City involving more than 10 warplanes, which wounded several people. In a separate incident, a girl, Israa al-Hissi, was killed along with two other people when Israeli forces attacked Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Since last October’s so-called ceasefire, more than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks. This is U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

Stéphane Dujarric: “Turning to the occupied Palestinian territory, we continue to remain very concerned about the impact on civilians because of the continued Israeli airstrikes and other military attacks over the weekend in Gaza. We’re particularly concerned about reports that a young boy was among the fatalities, and also one of the strikes damaged items at the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound in Deir al-Balah. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, of course, must always be protected. They should not be attacked or used for military purposes.”

Reuters reports experts and officials from Nepal and China met three months before last week’s deadly floods to assess the risk of such disasters. The participants in May’s meeting reportedly called for joint efforts to strengthen the response to floods and other glacier- and weather-related hazards along the border with Tibet, where a massive wall of water, mud and debris crashed through a Himalayan river valley, killing hundreds. The death toll has now surpassed 1,000 as search and rescue teams race to find thousands of missing people.

A school principal in Nuwakot helped evacuate 900 students, just 13 minutes before the catastrophic flash flood completely washed away the school building. Rajendra Dawadi said a staff member burst into the classroom and shouted that a fast-approaching flood was headed their way. This is school principal Dawadi.

Rajendra Dawadi: “Other people saying that, other colleagues also saying, 'Sir, the flood is coming up to Betrawoti,' or some saying so. So, we immediately saying that. They stop the class, ring the bell, and we send the keeper’s whistle there, then go up here. … It’s an emotional attachment with this school, because I learned that same school, I get my own education from this school, and I am giving the education to the people from last 23 years.”

In Arizona, a second person has been confirmed dead at Grand Canyon National Park after devastating flash floods swept through the canyon Saturday. Climate experts say record-breaking El Niño conditions and a marine heat wave in the Pacific Ocean have led to more moisture in the atmosphere, driving heavier rainstorms and fueling the deadly floods.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of President Trump and his construction of a new White House ballroom. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court lifted lower court orders that would have temporarily stopped work on Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s three liberal justices in dissenting, writing that the ongoing construction was “likely unlawful.” The Supreme Court also ruled that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed a lawsuit to block the project, did not have grounds to sue.

In Texas, the third key eyewitness in the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the 52-year-old Mexican father who was killed by an ICE agent in Houston on July 7, has been released from an ICE jail after nearly two months. Victor Salgado is Araujo’s younger brother, and his release comes as Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said he plans to bring the case to a grand jury in the “next few weeks.”

A 25-year-old U.S. citizen who was wrongfully deported to Mexico was granted permission to return to the United States. Brian José Morales García was deported in April after a police stop. The Texas Tribune reports he was born in Colorado but grew up in Mexico and was living and working in Texas when ICE apprehended him. He said he repeatedly told federal agents he was a U.S. citizen and that he could provide copies of his birth certificate and Social Security number. But the agents did not believe him. García arrived back in Texas on Sunday following a lawsuit challenging his removal.

In more news from Texas, a federal judge has extended an order that temporarily paused the expansion of the border wall and construction of border enforcement infrastructure in Big Bend National Park. Crews were filmed bulldozing pristine desert wilderness last month after DHS waived requirements that federal contractors comply with a broad slate of environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that the global tech company Cisco violated the civil rights of Middle Eastern, Muslim and other company employees. According to complaints employees filed in December 2024, an internal Cisco communications platform became a venue for racist and Islamophobic messages in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel. The complaints say the abuse intensified after over 1,700 employees put their names to a public letter questioning the company’s relationship with the Israeli government. Posts allegedly cheered the deaths of Palestinian civilians, described Palestinians as animals, and singled out specific Cisco workers who had advocated for Palestinian rights.

In Ukraine, at least 12 people have been killed and 21 wounded in a wave of Russian air attacks on Kyiv and the surrounding region. This is a mother in Kyiv.

Yulianna Oliynyk: “I’m already thinking maybe we should just take sleeping bags and sleep in the metro at the station near the lyceum. I don’t know. Last year, it was difficult at school, and now I honestly don’t even know what to do. I just don’t know.”

In Massachusetts, primary elections are being held today. Progressive incumbent Democratic Senator Ed Markey is facing a primary challenge from the more conservative Democratic Congressmember Seth Moulton.

Wendell Berry, the award-winning poet, novelist, activist and farmer, has died at the age of 92 at his home in Port Royal, Kentucky. In his poems, stories, novels and essays, he celebrated rural communities in his native Kentucky and warned against the excesses of modern, industrialized society. In 2011, he risked arrest by taking part in a four-day sit-in at the office of Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to protest mountaintop removal strip mining. He spoke to the journalist Jeff Biggers about why he was committing an act of civil disobedience.

Wendell Berry: “Over these years, there’s been one protest after another, one march on Frankfurt after another, one visit to a legislator after another. And last year we visited the governor. And all this has been without any perceptible political effect, no acknowledgment even that the problems exist. And so, we’re doing this simply as the next logical step. We’d exhausted all other possibilities.”