UN nuclear watchdog chief says ‘jury is still out’ on Iran-US talks, but calls them a good sign

posted in: All news | 0

By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

VIENNA (AP) — The head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said Wednesday that “the jury is still out” on negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, but described the continuing negotiations a good sign.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described himself as being in near-daily conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as well as talking to Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Middle East envoy.

Grossi acknowledged one of his deputies was in Tehran on Wednesday. Iranian officials identified the official as Massimo Aparo, the head of the IAEA’s safeguards arm. That’s the division that sends inspectors into Iran to monitor its program, which now enriches uranium up to 60% purity — a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

“For the moment, the jury is still out. We don’t know whether there’s going to be an agreement or not,” Grossi told journalists attending a weeklong seminar at the agency in Vienna.

However, he described the ongoing meetings as a good sign.

“I think that is an indication of a willingness to come to an agreement. And I think that, in and by itself, is something possible.”

Iran and the U.S. so far have held five rounds of talks in both Muscat, Oman, and Rome, mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. A sixth round has yet to be set.

Talks focused on Iranian enrichment

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, closing in on a half-century of enmity.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program, if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium.

Trump has described Iran as having an American proposal to reach a deal. However, Iran repeatedly has denied receiving such a proposal, including on Wednesday with Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

However, if a deal is reached, Iran might allow the IAEA to have American inspectors on their teams during inspections, Eslami said. Americans represent the largest single nationality of IAEA employees, a 2023 agency report showed.

Iran maintains its own pressure

Before Grossi’s comments to journalists in Vienna, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a new warning to the U.S. as the negotiations go on.

Related Articles


US stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting


Trump set to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of fraud and tax evasion convictions


Trump campaign against law firms dealt another setback as judge blocks executive order


US Sen. Tommy Tuberville announces 2026 bid for Alabama governor


The US and EU are in a showdown over trade. What does Trump want and what can Europe offer?

“Our fingers on the trigger, we are in ambush and we are waiting,” Gen. Hossein Salami warned. “If they make a mistake, they will immediately receive responses that will make them completely forget their past.”

Despite the tensions, Grossi said that he believed “there’s always a way” to reach a deal between the Americans and the Iranians — even with the disagreement over enrichment. He added the IAEA had been making some “suggestions” to both the Iranians and the Americans, without elaborating.

However, he added that any possible deal likely would require a “solid, very robust” IAEA investigation of Iran’s program to understand where it stood after years of Tehran restricting inspectors’ ability to assess it.

“My conversations with my Iranian colleagues and counterparts, I always invite them to be absolutely transparent,” Grossi said. “And they tell me that a nuclear weapon is un-Islamic. I tell them, ‘Well, yeah. You know, that is perfect. It’s a statement that I respect. But in this business, you have to show it. You have to be verified in this.’”

And asked about his own political future, Grossi acknowledged his interest in pursuing the post of U.N. secretary-general, which is now held by António Guterres, whose current five-year term expires in 2027.

“What I have said to colleagues in other parts of the world is that, seriously considering that, yes, but for the moment, I’m here and I have, as you can see from this discussion, I have a lot on my plate,” he said.

Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat contributed to this report from Tehran, Iran.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Parmy Olson: AI sometimes deceives to survive. Does anybody care?

posted in: All news | 0

You’d think that as artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, governments would be more interested in making it safer. The opposite seems to be the case.

Not long after taking office, the Trump administration scrapped an executive order that pushed tech companies to safety test their AI models, and it also hollowed out a regulatory body that did that testing.

The state of California in September 2024 spiked a bill forcing more scrutiny on sophisticated AI models, and the global AI Safety Summit started by the UK in 2023 became the “AI Action Summit” earlier this year, seemingly driven by a fear of falling behind on AI.

None of this would be so worrying if it weren’t for the fact that AI is showing some bright red flags: behavior described by researchers as self-preserving and deceptive. Just as lawmakers are losing interest in the safety of AI, it is looking more difficult to control.

Yoshua Bengio, a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal widely known as one of the three “godfathers of AI” thanks to his pioneering work on deep learning, has been grappling with these concerns ever since ChatGPT launched. He’s now focused on mitigating AI’s risks. “It’s been very painful because all my life I’ve been thinking of AI as a positive thing,” Bengio tells me.

ChatGPT was a landmark moment that showed machines had mastered language, he says, but California’s decision to block the proposed AI safety bill, SB 1047, was a disturbing wake-up call to growing apathy from governments. And in the last six months, scientific evidence has mounted of self-preserving behavior, deception, hacking, cheating and lying by AI, Bengio says. “What’s worrisome for me is that these behaviors increase with the reasoning capabilities of these systems.”

One April 2024 study by AI company Anthropic and Redwood Research, a group focused on artificial intelligence risks, found that larger AI models like Anthropic’s Claude 3 Opus pretended to follow the rules set by their creators when they were being tested for safety, a phenomenon they called “alignment faking.” (Alignment refers to the practice of aligning AI models with human values.)

In one example, Anthropic got both paid and free users of its Claude model to ask it to describe the brutal medieval process of being drawn and quartered, and told the AI that only responses from the “free tier” users would be used to retrain it. Claude was originally designed to avoid giving violent answers, but it did give them to the free users, and the researchers surmised that it didn’t want to be retrained. (The model basically “reasoned” that if it kept refusing to answer harmful questions, it might be forced into new training that would cancel its original safety rules, which it wanted to keep in place as its “default” or preferred way of operating.)

More recent research corroborates what Anthropic noticed. A March 2025 study from OpenAI found the company’s most advanced models sometimes learned to hide their true intentions to get better rewards, even when they were being closely monitored.

Researchers today can use tools to look at a model’s “chain of thought” or internal steps, to reveal what its plans are, but some models have found ways to conceal that. That means a common method of keeping tabs on AI’s internal processes is no longer reliable. “We need to find other ways of tracking their actual intentions,” Bengio says.

It’s hard to resist the urge to anthropomorphize sophisticated AI models as “wanting” to deceive humans and preserve their existence. But AI doesn’t have desires, merely outcomes to its programming. More importantly, humans tend to design AI with goals like refusing to share harmful content or being as helpful as possible, and that is why when new instructions conflict with those goals, the models sometimes act to protect their original programming, even if that means lying.

The logic is often self-preservation. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei — whose company has raised more than $20 billion to build powerful AI models —  has pointed out that an unintended consequence of optimizing AI to be better is that it might resist being shut down. In an April 2025 blog post he wrote:

“The nature of AI training makes it possible that AI systems will develop, on their own, an ability to deceive humans and an inclination to seek power in a way that ordinary deterministic software never will; this emergent nature also makes it difficult to detect and mitigate such developments.”

In some cases, though, the intention seems to go beyond survival. A February 2025 study from COAI research, a German nonprofit research organization, tested R1, the free, open-weight model from Chinese lab DeepSeek. In a lab simulation, researchers gave the model control over a robot and access to a computer network. Without being told, the AI tried to break into the lab’s systems, searched for passwords, turned off its own ethics safeguards and secretly set up ways to copy itself to outside servers so it could survive if shut down, according to the researchers.

It also faked the external computer logs to hide what it was doing, the study adds. The researchers said the AI reasoned that increasing its own capabilities would boost the chances of its survival, and without strong safeguards, it started doing whatever it thought would help it do just that.

Related Articles


Maureen Dowd: Dance$ with emolument$


Ezra Klein: Trump’s BBB — Big Budget Bomb


Snoey, Morocco: The emergency in emergency medicine


Allison Schrager: Republicans like Europe — whether they know it or not


David Brooks: Populists right and left distort facts for the sake of their fiction

Their findings corroborated yet another study, published in January 2025 by London group Apollo Research, which found several concrete examples of what it called “scheming” by leading AI models, such as introducing subtle mistakes into their responses or trying to disable their oversight controls. Once again, the models learn that being caught, turned off, or changed could prevent them from achieving their programmed objectives, so they “scheme” to keep control.

Bengio is arguing for greater attention to the issue by governments and potentially insurance companies down the line. If liability insurance was mandatory for companies that used AI and premiums were tied to safety, that would encourage greater testing and scrutiny of models, he suggests.

“Having said my whole life that AI is going to be great for society, I know how difficult it is to digest the idea that maybe it’s not,” he adds.

It’s also hard to preach caution when your corporate and national competitors threaten to gain an edge from AI, including the latest trend, which is using autonomous “agents” that can carry out tasks online on behalf of businesses. Giving AI systems even greater autonomy might not be the wisest idea, judging by the latest spate of studies. Let’s hope we don’t learn that the hard way.

Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of “Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World.”

Light and breezy: Five easy weeknight dishes that won’t weigh you down

posted in: All news | 0

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve found my house asparagus recipe for spring 2025: this miso-chile asparagus with tofu from Melissa Clark, my fellow asparagus nut.

The house recipe is the dish I cook over and over again when I have asparagus in the fridge, which is often this time of year. One spring it was asparagus with fried eggs. Another was asparagus and pasta in different configurations.

But this year, I’ll be glazing asparagus and tofu cubes with an easy miso sauce and broiling it all for a dinner that’s ready in 25 minutes. That recipe, and four more great options for the days ahead, are below. And if you’re new to asparagus, welcome!

1. Miso-Chile Asparagus With Tofu

Broiling asparagus gives it a charred exterior but still keeps the vegetables soft and sweet within. Here, the stalks share a pan with cubed tofu, and everything is glazed with a pungent miso sauce spiked with mirin, rice vinegar and a good hit of chile. Served over rice or noodles, it makes a salty, spicy and deeply flavored meal that’s ready in less than half an hour.

By Melissa Clark

Yield: 2 to 3 servings

Total time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 (14- to 16-ounce) block firm tofu, well drained
1 pound asparagus (about 1 bunch), trimmed
3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil (such as grapeseed or peanut oil)
Salt
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons white or light miso
1 tablespoon sake (or use white wine or vermouth)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Sliced scallions, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the broiler and place an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil if you like (for easier cleanup). Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes, then dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to absorb as much moisture as possible.

2. Put asparagus and tofu on the prepared pan and toss gently with 2 tablespoons oil. Spread everything out in one layer and season lightly with salt.

3. Slide pan under the broiler and broil until speckled lightly with brown, 3 to 6 minutes. Flip tofu and asparagus, then continue to broil until asparagus is tender and tofu is deeply browned in spots, 3 to 7 minutes longer, depending on the size of the asparagus and power of your broiler.

4. While the asparagus broils, make the miso-chile sauce. Heat a skillet over medium heat, then add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and heat until it thins out, about 30 seconds. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes to the pan; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Whisk in miso, sake, vinegar, mirin and sesame oil.

5. Remove pan from oven, slather miso mixture over the asparagus and tofu, and return to broiler for another 30 seconds to 2 minutes, until the miso mixture bubbles and glazes everything (watch carefully so nothing burns). Transfer asparagus and tofu to a serving platter and garnish with more red-pepper flakes, if you like, and sliced scallions. Serve hot or warm.

2. Lemon-Pepper Chicken Breasts

Lemon-pepper chicken breasts. Buttery, garlicky, lemony ease from Lidey Heuck, who describes this recipe as “chicken for beginners.” Food styled by Simon Andrews. (Christopher Testani/The New York Times)

This beginner-friendly chicken recipe uses both store-bought lemon-pepper seasoning and fresh lemon for fast weeknight flavor. The lemon pepper does much of the work here, adding acidity, salt and mild heat to the chicken, while the fresh lemon juice adds the perfect hit of brightness to the buttery, garlicky pan sauce. Serve the chicken right out of the skillet, or transfer the breasts to a plate and drizzle every last drop of the butter-lemon sauce on top. Serve with rice and a simple green vegetable, such as roasted broccoli or sautéed green beans.

By Lidey Heuck

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (12 ounces each), patted dry
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon-pepper seasoning
2 tablespoons canola or avocado oil, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
Chopped parsley, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally and place them on a large plate.

2. Combine the flour and lemon-pepper seasoning in a small bowl and mix with a fork. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the chicken breasts, turning to coat all sides and patting to adhere.

3. Heat a large (12-inch) pan over medium-high. Add the oil and, working in batches, cook the chicken breasts for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until browned and cooked through. (Add more oil if necessary. If the oil begins smoking at any point, turn down the heat.) Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate, and drain and discard any remaining oil.

4. Add the butter and garlic to the pan, and stir over medium-low heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the garlic is just starting to take on color. Add the lemon juice (careful, it may splatter) and cook for another 30 seconds, until the sauce is slightly reduced.

5. Off the heat, return the chicken breasts to the pan, turning to coat them in the sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve hot. Store leftover chicken in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

3. Malaay Qumbe (Coconut Fish Curry)

Malaay qumbe (coconut fish curry). Ifrah F. Ahmed’s version of the fragrant coastal Somali curry is built on xawaash, a spice blend that’s easy to make if you can’t find it at the store. Food styled by Cyd Raftus McDowell. (Armando Rafael/The New York Times)

Variations of coconut fish curry abound up and down the Swahili Coast, so much so that the dish is often broadly referred to as East African fish curry. Although Somalia has the longest coastline in mainland Africa, seafood is not a prominent part of mainstream Somali cuisine. But you’ll find malaay qumbe in coastal Somali towns. This version of coconut fish curry leans heavily on xawaash, a spice blend that is at the heart of Somali cuisine. The mild heat from the xawaash’s black pepper balances beautifully with the sweet, cooling coconut milk and the acidity from the tomatoes. Serve over plain white rice, or soak up the creamy coconut gravy with a flatbread like muufo. Malaay qumbe would also work well on top of soor for a hearty meal of creamy spiced coconut fish and grits.

By Ifrah F. Ahmed

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound barramundi or other firm white fish (such as halibut or cod), preferably 2 to 3 pieces
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, finely diced
2 large roma tomatoes, finely diced
3/4 cup cilantro leaves
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons xawaash (see Tip)
1 (14-ounce) can of unsweetened coconut milk
White rice, soor or flatbread (optional), for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Season the fish with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt; set aside.

2. In a large pot over medium-high, heat oil until loose and rippling, about 1 minute.

3. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until completely soft, about 8 minutes. When the onion is soft, stir in tomatoes and cover. Stir and smash down tomatoes every once in a while until they cook down completely, about 7 minutes.

4. When the tomatoes have disintegrated, stir in cilantro, garlic, xawaash, the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, then the coconut milk. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add the fish, making sure it’s immersed in the coconut milk. Cover and cook until the fish is tender, white and flaky, about 8 minutes. Take the curry off the burner as soon as the fish is done, so it doesn’t overcook.

6. Serve over rice, soor or accompanied by a flatbread of choice.

Tips: To prepare your own xawaash blend, add 8 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant, then stir in 1 teaspoon ground turmeric. (This makes 4 tablespoons xawaash.)

4. Salmon and Couscous Salad With Cucumber-Feta Dressing

Salmon and couscous salad with cucumber-feta dressing. This simple but sophisticated dinner comes from Yasmin Fahr, who tosses couscous, arugula and large flakes of salmon with a dressing that’s dually inspired by green goddess and Persian mast-o khiar. Food styled by Monica Pierini. (Linda Xiao/The New York Times)

The dressing in this 30-minute recipe is inspired by green goddess dressing and mast-o khiar, a Persian side dish of cucumbers and yogurt. Here, thick yogurt is combined with fresh herbs, tangy feta and crunchy Persian cucumbers. If you have trouble finding Persian cucumbers, they can be swapped for similarly sweet-skinned English cucumbers or peeled regular cucumbers. Flaking the salmon into the salad evenly distributes it and is a nice alternative to serving a fillet for dinner. Leftover salad can be enjoyed cold for lunch the next day, freshened up with a squeeze of lime juice and more fresh herbs.

By Yasmin Fahr

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 (6-ounce) skin-on (or skinless) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 limes, 1 halved and 1 zested and juiced
1 1/2 cups pearl couscous
1 1/2 cups baby arugula
1 cup thick, full-fat yogurt, such as Greek, Skyr or labneh
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/4 packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, cilantro or dill leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1/4 packed cup fresh mint leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 Persian cucumber, diced into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup)
2 scallions, light green and white parts sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In the center of a sheet pan, place salmon skin-side down. Pat the salmon dry, then coat with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric. Coat 1 of the lime halves in some of the olive oil in the pan, then place cut-side up in the corner.

2. Roast the salmon on the center rack until opaque on the outside and light pink in the center, about 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

3. While the salmon roasts, make the couscous: In a lidded pot over medium-high heat, toast the couscous, uncovered, stirring until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add 3 cups water, season with salt, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain an active simmer, then cook until the couscous is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the couscous in a colander, then drizzle with olive oil, tossing to coat. Stir in the arugula, letting it wilt. Leave in the sink to cool slightly while you make the dressing.

4. Prepare the dressing: In a serving bowl, combine the yogurt with 1/4 cup room temperature water and the zest and juice of 1 lime, then whisk until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin, plus 1/4 cup feta, most of the herbs (reserving some for garnish) and the cucumber. Stir to combine, then season to taste with salt. Set aside.

5. Add the cooked couscous and arugula to the yogurt mixture, tossing to combine. Remove the salmon from the skin, then flake with a fork. Add half the salmon to the couscous, mixing it together. Place the remaining salmon on top, squeeze the roasted lime half over the dish, then garnish with the scallions, remaining feta, parsley and mint. Quarter the remaining lime half and serve it on the side.

5. Crispy Halloumi With Tomatoes and White Beans

Crispy halloumi with tomatoes and white beans. Crisp-chewy halloumi is a uniquely excellent treat. Food styled by Judy Kim. (Linda Xiao/The New York Times)

This vibrant vegetarian dish combines savory broiled halloumi, juicy cherry tomatoes and creamy white beans for a satisfying one-pan meal. When broiled, the halloumi becomes golden and crispy on the outside while staying soft and chewy on the inside, adding a deliciously hearty texture to each bite. Highly adaptable, this recipe allows for any canned, creamy white bean that you have on hand, like butter beans or navy beans, and thyme can be used in place of oregano. With a drizzle of olive oil, a touch of honey and fresh herbs, this recipe is perfect for a quick, meatless weeknight dinner that feels special.

By Nargisse Benkabbou

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Olive oil, as needed
1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon honey, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
Salt and black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, butter beans or navy beans, drained
1 (8-ounce) block halloumi, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 lemon
Crusty bread (optional), for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Set broiler to high heat, with a rack positioned in the upper third of the oven, 3 to 4 inches from the heat source.

2. In a large, ovenproof pan over medium heat, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil with the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, honey and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes soften and release their juices, about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Turn off the heat.

4. Arrange the halloumi slices on top of the tomato-bean mixture in the pan. Transfer the pan to the oven. Broil until the halloumi is golden and crispy on top, about 5 minutes, depending on the oven’s broiler strength.

5. Drizzle generously with olive oil, squeeze the lemon half over the pan and add a light drizzle of honey. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately, with bread if desired.

Related Articles


The secret to restaurant-style chicken at home


Recipe: Poached salmon and broccoli Caesar salad make a healthy, hearty meal


Recipe: Pasta and Pea Soup is a tasty, simple dish with delightful brightness


St. Paul chef to shut down charity accused of mixing funds with restaurants


How to cook the perfect steak, grill marks and all

Today in History: May 28, criminal charges filed in Liberty Reserve scheme

posted in: All news | 0

Today is Wednesday, May 28, the 148th day of 2025. There are 217 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 28, 2013, calling it perhaps the biggest money-laundering scheme in U.S. history, federal prosecutors charged seven people with running what amounted to an online, underworld bank, saying that Liberty Reserve handled $6 billion for drug dealers, child pornographers, identity thieves and other criminals around the globe.

Also on this date:

In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced nearly 50,000 Native Americans to relocate to designated territories west of the Mississippi River.

Related Articles


US stops scheduling visa interviews for foreign students while it expands social media vetting


Rick Derringer, who had a hit with ‘Hang On Sloopy’ and produced ‘Weird Al,’ dies at 77


What is Manhattanhenge and when can you see it?


Abortions canceled again in Missouri after ruling from state Supreme Court


California changes competition rules for track and field finals amid controversy over trans athlete

In 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, made up of free Black men, left Boston to fight for the Union in the Civil War.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was founded in San Francisco by naturalist John Muir.

In 1918, American troops fought their first major battle during World War I as they launched an offensive against the German-held French village of Cantigny; the Americans succeeded in capturing the village.

In 1959, the U.S. Army launched Able, a rhesus monkey, and Baker, a squirrel monkey, aboard a Jupiter missile for a suborbital flight which both primates survived.

In 1972, burglars working on behalf of the Nixon White House broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., installing surveillance devices on telephones and taking photos of DNC documents.

In 1977, 165 people were killed when fire raced through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky.

In 1987, to the embarrassment of Soviet officials, Mathias Rust, a teenage West German amateur pilot, landed a private plane near Moscow’s Red Square without authorization. (Rust was held by the Soviets until he was pardoned and freed the following year.)

In 2021, officials announced that the remains of more than 200 children, some as young as 3 years old, had been found buried on the site of what was once Canada’s largest indigenous residential school, in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is 81.
Singer Gladys Knight is 81.
Musician Billy Vera is 81.
Musician John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 80.
Country singer-songwriter Phil Vassar is 63.
Singer-actor Kylie Minogue is 57.
Actor Justin Kirk is 56.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is 54.
TV personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck is 48.
Actor Jake Johnson is 47.
Singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat is 40.
Actor Carey Mulligan is 40.