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U.S. launches new retaliatory strikes against ISIS in Syria after deadly ambush

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The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria.

Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.

“Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.

A day earlier, Syrian officials said their security forces had arrested the military leader of IS’s operations in the Levant.

The U.S. military said Saturday’s strikes were carried out alongside partner forces without specifying which forces had taken part.

The Trump administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.

It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has for years been the U.S.’s main partner in the fight against IS in Syria, but since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, Washington has increasingly been coordinating with the central government in Damascus.

Syria recently joined the global coalition against IS.

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Walmart teams with Alphabet for AI-assisted shopping on Gemini

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Walmart Inc. is partnering with Alphabet Inc. to offer AI-enhanced shopping on Google’s Gemini platform — part of the retailer’s race to apply the technology across its operations. 

Customers will be able to purchase items on Gemini’s browser or mobile app in the coming months, David Guggina, chief e-commerce officer of Walmart US, said in an interview. The selection will include apparel, consumables, entertainment and food products that are currently available at Walmart and Sam’s Club, he said. Customers can build a basket and purchase the items directly on Gemini, with Walmart handling orders. 

“We are moving past the era of the search bar,” Guggina said. “We aren’t just meeting people where they shop, we’re anticipating how they live.”  

Customers will be able to ask Gemini for tips and suggestions — such as which running shoes are the most recommended. Gemini will respond with items, including those sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club if relevant, which they can purchase directly.

Queries that aren’t tied to shopping could also include item recommendations. Gemini will assess people’s purchasing intent — for example an inquiry about removing a wine stain out of a rug could lead to links for related products sold at Walmart.

Fresh, frozen and marketplace items won’t be included in the initial offering, although the assortment will expand with time. 

AI is making inroads into consumers’ shopping habits, with people increasingly using the technology to research items or compare deals. Brands and retailers are creating new partnerships in order to capitalize — Walmart is also working with OpenAI

That deal, which lets shoppers buy items through ChatGPT, is in “very early days,” Guggina said. He added the retailer is aiming to make shopping experiences simpler, more personalized and anticipatory through AI.  

Other retailers are forging their own partnerships. Target Corp. is working with OpenAI to enhance shopping and help employees, with a goal of “weaving AI throughout the business.” 

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company gained market share last year and has benefited from its scale as consumers hunt for deals. It’s pushing to incorporate AI into everything from supply-chain management to the shopping experience. 



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Iran threatens U.S. and Israel as protests enter third week

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Tehran warned the US and Israel against any intervention over nationwide protests in Iran while it sought to placate its citizens, as demonstrations entered their third week and fatalities mounted. 

Saturday marked the third night of intensified nationwide demonstrations, following calls by Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, to seize city centers and stage strikes. Since the unrests first began on Dec. 28, Donald Trump has repeatedly warned the Iranian regime not to fire on demonstrators, with the US president receiving a briefing in recent days on new options for military strikes.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group said on Sunday it had confirmed the deaths of at least 192 protesters, including nine individuals under 18. Separately, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said deaths linked to the recent unrest had reached 116, with most killed by live ammunition or pellet gunfire. 

On Sunday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian struck a conciliatory tone in a state TV interview, offering condolences to families affected by the “tragic consequences” of the unrest.

“Your protests must be heard, and we must address your concerns. Let’s sit down together, hand in hand, and solve the problems,” he said, without offering details on how that would be done. “I promise the dear people, perhaps ninety percent of whom have concerns, that we will address their worries. We will get through this crisis.”

Still, Pezeshkian accused the US and Israel of bringing in “terrorists from abroad,” whom he claimed had set mosques and markets on fire, “beheaded some, and burned others alive.” Other officials took an even harder line. 

“In the event of a US military attack, both the occupied territories and US military and shipping centers will be legitimate targets for us,” Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in remarks broadcast on state television earlier on Sunday. 

He reiterated a warning that Iran could act preemptively against potential threats. “Within the framework of legitimate self-defense, we do not limit ourselves to responding only after an attack,” he said.

Trump has been briefed in recent days on a range of options for military strikes in Iran, including nonmilitary sites, a White House official said, confirming an earlier New York Times report. The US president is seriously considering authorizing an attack, according to the official.

Israel’s Army Radio reported Sunday that the country’s security establishment views it as unlikely that Iran will attack Israel at this stage. “No such immediate willingness is identified in Israel — but rather an Iranian focus on internal matters,” it said, citing unidentified defense officials. 

Footage from Iranian cities suggests that hundreds of thousands, including many elderly, are defying stern warnings from authorities to stay off the streets, despite a nationwide internet blackout and severe telecommunications restrictions that have blocked calls and text messages since Thursday.

The NetBlocks internet‑monitoring group said in a posting on X early Sunday that internet connectivity in Iran “continues to flatline around 1% of ordinary levels.”

Still, multiple social media videos, reportedly from a warehouse in southern Tehran, show people searching through dozens of corpses in body bags, lined up on the ground and on stretchers. Wailing can be heard as individuals bend over the bags, trying to identify their loved ones.

A video published later on Sunday by the state-run IRIB News appeared to show scenes from the same warehouse — one of the first glimpses by official media into the scale of the fatalities. In the video, a reporter described the site as a complex of the state forensic organization in Tehran, with dozens of bodies inside a large indoor facility. Outside, dozens of people are seen huddling around ambulances and the back of what appears to be a refrigerated truck, searching for their relatives.

Protests erupted last month among pockets of traders in Tehran over worsening economic and living conditions but have since grown into the largest anti-regime demonstrations to grip the country since 2022, when the death in custody of Mahsa Amini triggered nationwide anger and mass protests.

Read more: How Sanctions and a Currency Crash Fueled Iran Unrest: QuickTake

Other videos, reportedly from west of Tehran on Saturday night, show thousands of protesters packed into the streets, waving phone flashlights in the dark as city lights remain shut down, amid whistles and chants of “Death to the dictator.” A truck was seen on fire in Mashhad, while footage purportedly from Sunday shows a state tax administration building burned out overnight in eastern Tehran. Bloomberg couldn’t independently verify any of the footage. 

In an X post on Sunday, Pahlavi urged protesters to continue their demonstrations through the weekend. He described Trump as “the leader of the free world” who is observing the unrest and “is ready to help you.”

Late on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US and Israel of fueling violent unrest and warned against any action directed at Tehran.

“The only ‘delusional’ aspect of the current situation is the belief that arson does not ultimately burn the arsonists,” Araghchi said.

Alongside those killed, another 2,638 people had been detained, the Human Rights Activists organization said. Some of those killed included medical personnel, and seven of the victims were under 18, it added.

Iran’s prosecutor general warned on Saturday of swift trials and death penalty charges against detainees, a day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the security apparatus won’t tolerate “vandalism” or “people acting as mercenaries for foreign powers.”



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Florida man who grabbed Nancy Pelosi’s podium during Capitol riot runs for county office

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A man who grabbed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium and posed with it for photographs during the U.S. Capitol riot is running for county office in Florida.

Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee County Commission on Tuesday. That was the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, where he was photographed smiling and waving as he carried Pelosi’s podium after the pro-Trump mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Johnson told WWSB-TV that it was “not a coincidence” that he filed for office on Jan. 6, saying “it’s definitely good for getting the buzz out there.” His campaign logo is an outline of the viral photograph of him carrying the podium.

He’s far from the first person implicated in the Jan. 6 riot to run for office. At least three ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024 as Republicans. And there are signs that the Republican Party is welcoming back more people who were convicted of Jan. 6 offenses after Trump pardoned them.

Jake Lang, who was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes before he was pardoned, recently announced he is running for Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s vacant U.S. Senate seat in Florida.

Johnson placed the podium in the center of the Capitol Rotunda, posed for pictures and pretended to make a speech, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in 2021 of entering and remaining in a restricted building or ground, a misdemeanor that he equated to “jaywalking” in the interview.

“I think I exercised my First Amendment right to speak and protest,” Johnson said.

After driving home, Johnson bragged that he “broke the internet” and was “finally famous,” prosecutors said.

Johnson served 75 days in prison followed by one year of supervised release. The judge also ordered Johnson to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 200 hours of community service.

Johnson told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton at sentencing that posing with Pelosi’s podium was a “very stupid idea” but now says he only regrets his action because of the prison sentence.

“I walked into a building, I took a picture with a piece of furniture, and I left,” he now says.

Four other Republicans have filed to run so far in the Aug. 18 primary in what’s a deeply Republican county. The incumbent isn’t seeking reelection.

In March 2025, Johnson filed a lawsuit against Manatee County and six of its commissioners, objecting to the county’s decision not to seek attorney’s fees from someone who sued the county and dropped the lawsuit. The county has called Johnson’s claims “completely meritless and unsupported by law.”

Johnson said he objects to high property taxes and overdevelopment in the county south of Tampa, claiming current county leaders are wasteful.

“I will be more heavily scrutinized than any other candidate who is running in this race,” Johnson said. “This is a positive and a good takeaway for every single citizen, because for once in our life, we will know our local politicians who are doing things.”



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