Hello, readers – happy Monday! Today, we’ll be talking about what’s going on with Russia and Ukraine, data centers, a deadly celebration, a nuclear deal with Iran, the VA’s rules, China pushing back on Hegseth’s speech, and a whole lotta bees. 

Here’s some good news: the FDA approved mNexspike, a new Covid vaccine that allows for a lower dose by refining its immune target. Also, hundreds of thousands of people with advanced head and neck cancer could live longer without their cancer returning, thanks to an immunotherapy drug.

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“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” – Lewis Carroll

40 Big Booms For Russia

Ukraine launched a large-scale air attack against Russian targets on Sunday. Kyiv sent a wave of drones at Russian airfields, hitting (according to Ukrainian officials) more than 40 Russian military planes used to “bomb Ukrainian cities every night.” 

According to a source within Ukraine’s Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the attack had been planned for “more than a year and a half.” The drones used to hit the Russian planes were apparently secreted into the country inside a few different mobile homes that were mounted on trucks. The homes featured retractable roofs to release the drones. Russia’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged that several Russian military planes had caught fire as a consequence of the drone attacks, but added that there were no recorded casualties. 

While Russia’s planes were being attacked on the ground, its bridges were falling out of the air. Two Russian bridges located in regions that border Ukraine collapsed over the weekend. The collapses killed at least seven and injured dozens – Russia said it was investigating the collapses as “acts of terrorism,” but Ukraine denied any involvement.

Computing The Costs Of Computing

Artificial intelligence, we’re told, is The Next Big Thing. But to train current AI models, companies have to process massive amounts of data, so tech leaders are building large data centers – basically warehouses filled with rack after rack of computers – to sort out the data needed to train the next ChatGPT or whatever. 

Tech companies wanting to build these data centers makes a lot of sense, but the surprising part is that state and local governments are lobbying to have them built within their jurisdictions. The idea is that the building process will generate jobs for local construction companies and create demand for various other goods and services from local firms, which will supposedly lift up local communities…oh, and there’s also those convenient tax revenues.

Unfortunately, this equation isn’t as favorable to local communities as tech firms would have you believe. In the long term, data centers won’t actually create many lasting jobs – it doesn’t take many people to keep computers running once the centers are built. Also, data centers require lots of energy in the short term, which has pushed energy companies to consume more fossil fuels as they build up more renewable energy sources in the long term. Some companies – including Elon Musk’s xAI – have turned to running mobile generators to power their data centers, bringing more noise and pollution into already disadvantaged communities. Finally, data centers also suck up one of the Earth’s most basic resources: water, which is used in computers’ internal cooling systems, and is also sprayed in a fine mist on hot days.

Violence In French Is “Violence”

• One of the year’s biggest sporting events took place in Munich on Saturday. European soccer’s Champions League final saw French side Paris Saint-Germain thrash Italy’s Inter Milan in a record-breaking 5-0 win, bringing the club its first-ever Champions League trophy and bringing France its second-ever UCL title. No club has ever won a Champions League final by a 5-goal margin in the competition’s entire history. 

• Given all those broken records, celebrations in France were extremely raucous after PSG’s win… perhaps a little too raucous. French fans flooded the streets in cities across the country, with the chaos causing at least two deaths. In the French city of Dax, a 17-year-old was killed in a street party celebrating the victory, and one man in Paris died when his scooter was hit by a car. Hundreds of people were arrested for setting cars on fire, breaking into high-end shops, and committing other crimes. Apparently, the absolute pummeling that PSG gave to Inter inspired some fans.

I Went To Iran And All I Got Was A Half-Hearted Nuclear Deal

• Over the weekend, Iran took a step forward and a half-step back in nuclear deal talks with the U.S. On Saturday, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff sent a “detailed and acceptable proposal” for a new U.S.-Iran nuclear deal over to Tehran. Up until now, the two sides have been hung up on Iran’s desire to retain its right to enrich uranium, but the U.S. contends that enriching uranium will bring Iran too close to being able to create a nuclear weapon. One solution to that issue, according to U.S. sources, would be the establishment of a regional agency that enriches uranium for civilian energy purposes – Iran would be able to take the enriched uranium from the agency without creating the nuclear fuel itself.

• But soon after that proposal was sent to Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report about Iran’s nuclear program saying Iran is “the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce” enriched uranium, and describing its compliance with IAEA investigations as “less than satisfactory.” In response to the findings, Iran’s foreign minister promised his country’s “continuous cooperation” with the agency, which might signal Iran’s desire to eventually hammer out a nuclear deal with Western nations.

More Mixed Nuts

• Trump sparks Europe’s ‘new Enlightenment’ (Politico)

• Death toll in Nigeria floods hits more than 200, officials say (BBC)

Middle East Mixed Nuts

• Hamas seeks changes to Gaza ceasefire proposal but US envoy calls it 'unacceptable' (NPR)

• Gaza doctor who lost nine children in Israeli airstrike dies from wounds in same attack (Guardian) 

• Greta Thunberg joins aid ship sailing to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade (Guardian)

• Palestinians gunned down while trying to reach food aid site in Gaza, hospital says (Guardian)

Silencing Scientists

• Late last week, senior officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs ordered that VA physicians and scientists not publish in medical journals or speak with the public without first seeking clearance. The demand came hours after the New England Journal of Medicine published an article co-authored by two pulmonologists who work for the VA in Texas. 

• In it, they warned that cancelled contracts and layoffs put the health of a million veterans seeking help for conditions linked to toxic exposure at risk. VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz said the agency’s policy “simply requires VA employees to properly coordinate with public affairs staff prior to speaking with the media. Virtually every organization both inside and outside government has similar policies” – others say the rules simply encourage consultation, but don’t require it.

Hacked Off At Hegseth

• On Saturday, Pete Hegseth said in a keynote address at the Shangri-la Dialogue Defense Forum that China was “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” and was rehearsing for “the real deal” of invading Taiwan. “There’s no reason to sugar coat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.”

• On Sunday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned his speech, which it said was “filled with provocations and intended to sow division.” The statement also pushed back on Hegseth’s claim that China was trying to become a “hegemonic power” in the region, saying, “No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the U.S. itself, who is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific,” it said.

More Nuts In America

• Veterans fume after VA partially blames them for overpayments it claws back (NBC)

• Trump, frustrated with some judges, lashes out at former ally and conservative activist Leonard Leo (AP)

• MIT bans class president from graduation commencement after pro-Palestinian speech (NBC)

• Sen. Ernst doubles down on bleak response to Medicaid grilling (NPR)

• 1 dead and 11 wounded in North Carolina mass shooting (NBC)

Bee-ware Of Escaped Insects

• Some people make a living as beekeepers. But a few days ago, a truck driver did just the opposite – he probably lost his job by losing bees. Millions of bees. On Friday, a truck traveling through Washington state flipped on its side while carrying 70,000 pounds (31,750 kilos) of live honeybee hives. 

• Soon after the crash, the local sheriff's department closed off the crash site and told the press that an estimated 250 million bees were on the loose as a result of the incident. Officials were soon able to get the help of roughly two dozen beekeepers, who were able to get the chaos sorted out. 

• “The plan is to allow the bees to re-hive and find their queen bee,” said police after the beekeepers worked their magic, adding that they hoped this would happen “within the next 24-48 hours.” Authorities later lowered the bee swarm estimates from 250 million to 14 million – to be fair, it’s probably hard to count bees as they’re swarming in the air.

More Loose Nuts

• Skulls once subject to racist study in Germany are laid to rest in New Orleans (NPR)

• Opal Suchata Chuangsri from Thailand crowned Miss World 2025 (NBC)

• Transgender athlete AB Hernandez shares 2 California state titles (USA Today)

• Manson ‘family’ member Patricia Krenwinkel recommended for parole (Guardian)

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Team Thoughts

Kayli - If I had a time machine, I might go back and stop AI from being invented. Or maybe see a dinosaur…but probably the AI thing. 

Marcus - I didn’t realize these data centers were literally just evaporating water to keep their computers chilly. “Oh, you wanted to drink that? Sorry, I need to mist it into the air so that my computer algorithm can read some more tweets.”

Editor In Chief: Kayli Woods

Head Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella