The Iranian government remains “intact but largely degraded,” National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard told Congress on Wednesday, as Israel continued to hunt down the Islamic Republic’s leadership with an overnight airstrike that killed the nation’s spy chief. Israel ordered strikes Tuesday that killed Iranian security chief Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary commander Gholamreza Soleimani. AdvertisementWith the war in its third week, deaths now number in the thousands across Iran, Israel and neighboring countries. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Intelligence. He pressed Gabbard on how serious the nuclear threat was leading up to the February operation, given that timeline.

- Advertisement -The Hill has maintained its position as the top political news destination on desktop and mobile platforms for the fifth consecutive month, according to Comscore data for February 2026. The outlet drew 33 million unique visitors in February, outpacing Politico by 30% and Axios by 51%. Total visits reached 84.2 million for the month, topping WSJ.com (80.2M), WashingtonPost.com (70.2M), Politico.com (55.1M), Axios.com (28.6M), Bloomberg.com (25.8M), and TheAtlantic.com (19.0M). Month-over-month, unique visitors climbed 13% from January 2026, and total minutes spent on the site rose 7%. Desktop and mobile video views for The Hill jumped 72% compared to January.

Palestinian alleges sexual assault by Israeli settlers, shares horrifying detailsDozens of masked Israeli settlers grabbed Qusai Abu al-Kebash in the middle of the night, bound him by his hands and legs and stripped him. Israeli settlers have increasingly used violence against Palestinians in a bid to drive them from their homes in the occupied West Bank. But sexual assault appears to be a new weapon in these settlers’ arsenal of intimidation, pointing to a troubling new level of violence. Israeli authorities are investigating the alleged assault and settlers’ alleged theft of hundreds of Abu al-Kebash’s sheep. Abu al-Kebash recounted his horrifying experience for the first time on camera with CNN’s Jeremy Diamond.

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Ireland winger Robert Baloucoune is out for three months after damaging an elbow against Scotland in the Six Nations last weekend. Baloucoune was named the rising star of the Six Nations last Saturday after Ireland beat Scotland 43-21 to take the Triple Crown. Sterling performances for Ulster in the first half of the season earned him a first Ireland cap since 2022. He marked his Six Nations debut with a try at home against Italy. Ireland's next games are in July in the Nations Championship against Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGSenate Republicans have given in to President Donald Trump’s demands to add a slate of anti-trans amendments to a bill that would upend federal elections if passed. AdvertisementRepublicans conceded late Tuesday evening, adding several amendments that target trans rights. AdvertisementAnother SAVE America Act amendment would bar transgender women and girls from participating in women’s and girls’ sports teams. The SAVE America Act had raised alarm among trans rights activists, even before the introduction of the new amendments. The Republicans’ recent anti-trans additions to the bill come as the Trump administration continues to target transgender rights.

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said at one point. Kent said he could not “in good conscience” back the war and did not agree that Iran posed an imminent threat. “I am very disappointed,” said an exasperated Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He asked whether she had omitted that reference to conform to Trump’s claims of an imminent threat. Ratcliffe tried to do the same Wednesday when he was asked whether intelligence supported Kent’s assessment that Iran was not an imminent threat.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGNEW YORK (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic’s early death toll was much higher than the official U.S. count, according to a new study that spotlights dramatic disparities in the uncounted deaths. About 840,000 COVID-19 deaths were reported on death certificates in 2020 and 2021. That would mean about 16% of COVID-19 deaths went uncounted in those years. AdvertisementThe overall findings, published Wednesday by the journal Science Advances, were close to estimates from other studies of pandemic deaths during that time. Other studies that have estimated the actual number of pandemic deaths have taken those deaths into account.

The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding U.S. operations, with the Iran war well into its third week. But securing the Strait could also mean deploying U.S. troops to Iran’s shoreline, said four sources, including two U.S. officials. AdvertisementThe sources did not believe a deployment of ground forces anywhere in Iran was imminent but declined to discuss specifics of U.S. operational planning. CASUALTIESTrump has said his goals go beyond degrading Iran’s military capabilities and could include securing safe passage through the Strait and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Ground forces could help broaden his options to address those goals, but carry significant risk.

It is often said that the people who come together to make a movie end up feeling like family. Starring husband and wife Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, “Family Movie” also features their two adult children, Sosie Bacon and Travis Bacon. After they brought on screenwriter Dan Beers, he separately interviewed Sedgwick, Bacon and their children while developing the script into more of a comedy. “But it was always made for our family to do together.”“And honestly, we didn’t know that the kids were going to say yes,” notes Bacon. That doesn’t mean that it was always easy, but it was kind of beyond my wildest dreams.”Duplass and Aselton say their younger daughter Molly has no interest in show business.

Introduction:Continuing our NL West offseason reviews, having already looked at the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres in prior weeks, we turn our attention today to the San Francisco Giants. 2025 Season Overview/RecapOn June 13th, the San Francisco Giants were 41-29 and tied for first place in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Notable subtractions:SP Justin Verlander (Tigers)C Andrew Knizner (Mariners)Offseason Summary and ReviewLet me put this as politely as possible, I am not a fan of the Giants offseason. Brennan hasn’t proven himself to be an everyday player, but if he manages to figure it out and breakout with the Giants, he’s under team control until the 2030 season. This may not seem that different from what the Padres or Dodgers did, but neither the Dodgers nor Padres needed to move the needle as much as the Giants this offseason.

Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., talk about dyslexia and the people who’ve been diagnosed with it with the care and nuance that the topic deserves. Newsom, who’s been publicly talking about his dyslexia as of late, can be too glib about the challenges dyslexia pose, and Trump, not surprisingly, has talked about people with dyslexia as if they’re broken. I think a president should not have learning disabilities.”Honestly, I’m all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president. President Trump said on Monday that Gov. And if Newsom wants us to take him seriously on issues of learning disabilities, then he must talk about them honestly as the disabilities that they are.

Cesar Chavez accused of abusing girls for years, New York Times reports Labor leader Dolores Huerta said Wednesday that the late Cesar Chavez assaulted her in the 1960s. Huerta's statement comes after a New York Times report released earlier Wednesday detailed allegations of abuse against Chavez. CBS News' Elaine Quijano has the details.

www.nytimes.com Building a leader: Blues’ Jake Neighbours became an ‘old soul’ on a life journey filled with adversity The Blues winger has commanded the respect of teammates and fans since showing up as a teenager. What's behind his striking maturity?

Murals depicting Cesar Chavez in Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Park in San Fernando. The United Farm Workers union said it will halt celebrations of its founder Cesar Chavez amid what the union described as “troubling allegations” against the iconic Chicano figure. A portrait of Cesar Chavez on a mural on Farmacia Ramirez, 2403 Cesar E Chavez Ave. in East Los Angeles. I first heard his name at Anaheim High School in the mid-1990s and thought my teacher was talking about Julio Cesar Chavez, the famous Mexican boxer. Advertisement“Who’s Cesar Chavez?” my Mami responded when I asked if his efforts ever made her work easier.