What We Know So Far About Israel’s Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear ProgramIsraeli warplanes began carrying out airstrikes across Iran in the early morning hours on June 13, in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cast as a critical measure to protect his nation. Netanyahu said Iran had stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to result in nine nuclear warheads, and said Iran could produce its first warhead in just a few months. He vowed the Israeli strike operations would continue “for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.”

The full extent of the damage from the strikes cannot be independently verified at this time, but the Israeli military said it has relied on high-quality intelligence to precisely target aspects of Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu said the strikes targeted the leading Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, and an individual he described as Iran’s leading scientist working on nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed Natanz was among the sites targeted in the Israeli military operation.

“We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program,” Netanyahu said. (More)

Trump Signs Resolutions Nixing California’s EV RulesPresident Donald Trump signed three congressional resolutions to block California’s landmark vehicle emissions mandates. The measures overturn California’s plans to phase out the sale of new gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, roll back its low-nitrogen oxide regulations for heavy-duty trucks, and rescind an Environmental Protection Agency waiver granted in December 2023 allowing the state to enforce stricter vehicle emissions standards.

The move will likely intensify a longstanding power struggle between the federal government and the Golden State over environmental policy and differences in state and federal policy priorities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, vowed to challenge the resolutions in court, arguing that the moves are illegal and will tag California taxpayers with an estimated $45 billion in additional health care costs.

Serious legal questions loom over Congress’s authority to revoke a state-level law. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, previously determined that the Congressional Review Act cannot be used to block California’s vehicle emissions standards. The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, agreed with that assessment. (More)

India Plane Crash Leaves More Than 240 Dead, Lone SurvivorAt least 241 people died in an Air India crash on Thursday near Ahmedabad, a city in western India. The plane, a Boeing 787 with 242 people onboard bound for London and identified as flight AI 171, crashed into a residential area shortly after takeoff, said Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, director general of the directorate of civil aviation.

A single survivor found in the aftermath recounted his experience. “Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” the survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, told a local media outlet from his hospital bed. “It all happened so quickly.”

The death toll slowly rose in the hours after the incident—making it the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a massive fireball when the plane crashed. Imagery posted on social media by news outlets shows debris on fire, with thick black smoke rising into the sky near the airport. (More)