In a news wrap on Friday, it has been six months since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, a conflict that President Trump stated would last weeks. President Trump honored the Artemis II crew with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and Anthropic announced its focus on working productively with the administration after a judge ruled the Pentagon's measures against the company were illegal.
Today marks six months since the U.S. and Israel first launched strikes on Iran in a conflict that President Trump said would last a matter of weeks. Half-a-year on, the scars of the war's earliest days remain, with buildings across the country still in ruins. In the southern city of Minab, parents are still grieving more than 100 children killed when their school was bombed on the war's first day. One mother reflected on the loss of her son.
Khadijeh Ahmadizadeh, Bereaved Mother (through interpreter): "They have left a pain in the heart of Minab that will never go away. They think that now six months have passed that our hearts have grown cold, but they haven't at all. It's getting worse. This pain is so heavy. The children left with so many dreams."
Also in the region today, Israel conducted a rare airstrike in the occupied West Bank, killing a Hamas operative and two of his accomplices. The militant group confirmed that the target was a member and condemned the attack.
President Trump honored the crew of the Artemis II lunar mission today with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. The three Americans and one Canadian received the nation's highest space honor in recognition of their flight around the moon earlier this year, marking the first time astronauts have done so in over half a century. At the ceremony, the president signed an executive order creating the United States Space Academy, likening it to a West Point for the military space branch.
A.I. company Anthropic stated it remains focused on working productively with the Trump administration after a federal judge ruled that the Pentagon's measures against the company were "illegal and baseless." The judge ruled that Anthropic was denied due process after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled the company a national security supply chain risk earlier this year. This designation followed Anthropic's refusal to allow the military to use its Claude A.I. models for U.S. surveillance or autonomous weapons. The Trump administration is expected to contest the ruling.
In Washington, D.C., thousands gathered on the National Mall for what organizers described as a Defend the Vote March. Martin Luther King III, Civil Rights Activist, stated, "This is the season to reject the spirit of anxiety and fear by personally becoming and teaching our children to daily become engaged." The march, organized 63 years after Dr. King's famous March on Washington, aimed to highlight threats to voting rights and other freedoms ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
British right-wing figure Milo Yiannopoulos is in ICE custody and facing deportation after being arrested at an airport in Louisiana. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Yiannopoulos legally entered the U.S. in 2019 but overstayed his visa and was ordered deported last month after failing to appear for an immigration hearing. DHS confirmed that Yiannopoulos will remain in custody pending his removal from the country.
In Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee and the Nashville International Airport announced plans to rename the airport in honor of Dolly Parton. The proposal has received strong support following the passing of the country music superstar and philanthropist earlier this week. A plane flew a banner over Nashville calling on people to sign a petition in support of the renaming, which has garnered over 150,000 signatures. However, under the airport authority's rules, at least two years must pass after a person's death before they can be honored. Officials will discuss the proposal at a meeting next month.
On Wall Street, stocks ended slightly lower to close out the week. The Dow Jones industrial average changed less than 10 points, remaining essentially flat. The Nasdaq fell about half a percent, and the S&P 500 also ended in negative territory.
Additionally, two royal deaths were noted. Norway's Prime Minister announced national mourning following the death of King Harald V at the age of 89. King Harald took the throne in 1991 and was known for modernizing the monarchy. In Uganda, King Oyo of Tooro passed away at just 34 years old. Oyo became king at the age of 3 and served as the cultural leader of the Tooro Kingdom for three decades.