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Israel carried out dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday night, hours after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened retaliation and “punishment” for an unprecedented attack that blew up pagers and walkie-talkies purchased by the group.
The Israeli military said it had shot down hundreds of rocket launchers that were due to be fired in the near future, and three Lebanese security sources told Reuters the airstrikes, which involved more than 52 rockets in neighbouring southern Lebanon, were the biggest since October last year.
The same day, Nasrallah warned that Israel would retaliate “expected and unexpected” over the attack on the compound, which killed 37 people, including children, and injured thousands.
What is Israel saying about the explosion? It has not commented, but hours before Tuesday’s pager attack it announced it was broadening its war aims to bring home Israelis displaced from the north.
Labeling Trump’s lies as ‘debatable’ on Twitter makes his supporters more likely to believe them – study
Tagging posts that make false claims about election fraud as “disputed” can make Trump supporters more likely to believe the lies, a study found, pouring cold water on Twitter’s past efforts to combat misinformation.
A 2020 study on Twitter (now TwitterX) predicted that Trump supporters would be largely unaffected by the tags, rather than being more likely to believe the claims. “These ‘controversial’ tags are meant to alert readers to false and misinformation, so it’s shocking that they could be counterproductive,” said study co-author Katherine Norris.
Meanwhile, Biden supporters’ beliefs were barely altered by the “disputed” label, while third party and non-voter voters were slightly less likely to believe the lie after reading the four tweets with the tag.
Does X still use tags? No, they now use the “Community Notes” peer review feature and have a weaker approach to content moderation under Elon Musk’s ownership.
What are the limitations of this study? It was conducted during the 2020 election cycle, when Trump supporters were against the platform. Since buying the company in 2022, Musk has allowed far-right figures back onto the site and taken a laxer stance on moderation.
Revealed: Seized documents show Russia anticipated Kursk invasion months in advance
The Russian military command had expected a Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region and had been trying to thwart it for months, The Guardian has revealed, citing documents that Ukrainian troops allegedly found at abandoned Russian military positions in the area.
The documents, seen by The Guardian but unable to independently verify, also reveal Russian concern about morale among infantrymen in the region, which has plummeted following suicides by soldiers on the front line. They reveal instructions to unit commanders for soldiers to follow Russian state media daily to boost their “spiritual state,” and appear to match genuine Russian military communications.
The Ukrainian invasion was kept secret and took Western allies by surprise, but the documents reveal that there had been internal warnings for months about the risk of an invasion and an attempt to take Suzha, a town of 5,000 people that has been occupied by Ukraine for more than a month.
When were they seized? Ukrainian special forces seized the documents hours after Russian forces withdrew from the territory and presented them to the Guardian in late August.
In other newsâŚ
Two days before South Carolina is scheduled to execute a death row inmate, the state’s star witness admitted to lying about an innocent man being put to death.
One of 50 men accused of raping French woman Gisele Perico after her husband drugged her into a “deep coma” and then raped her pleaded guilty in court on Thursday.
Mark Robinson, a Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina, described himself as a “black Nazi” on a pornography site message board and said he supported the restoration of slavery, according to CNN.
Stat of the day: 74% of picky eating in children can be explained by DNA
Parents with picky eaters, rejoice: It’s not your fault, it’s genetics. Researchers have found that DNA is the main factor that determines whether a child will eat anything or survive on chicken nuggets and plain macaroni. In fact, the study found that genetic variation could explain more than 74% of such preferences in children ages 3 to 13, but toddlers’ eating experiences also influenced them.
DON’T MISS: Chapel Roan talks sexuality, being a superstar, and why she won’t endorse any candidates
Chapel Lone is suffering from whiplash from his rapid rise to fame, having gone from cult favorite to pop megastar in less than a year. In this profile, he talks about growing up gay in the Republican Midwest, being treated as a “freak” by fans as a successful artist, and having “a lot of problems with the government on all sides.”
Climate check: Wildfires hit northern Portugal – in pictures
Images from the wildfires that have ravaged central and northern Portugal since last week are a stark reminder of the climate crisis and its toll on people and wildlife, leaving at least seven people dead and 50 injured.
Finally: you be the judge. Should my wife stop waiting until the last minute to board a plane?
There are two types of people in this world: those who line up as soon as the gates open at the airport, and those who wait until the last minute to board the plane. How you vote on this week’s “You Be the Judge” might have something to do with which type of person you are.
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