​Reports: Top Hamas Leader Killed in Iran

What's Happening

International

​Reports: Top Hamas Leader Killed in Iran

What's going on: Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. In a statement, Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli “raid on his residence.” Haniyeh was a longtime leader of Hamas, having first joined in the late 1980s and rising through the ranks in the following decades. Hamas said he was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of the newly elected Iranian president. Iran’s supreme leader blamed Haniyeh’s killing on Israel and said “we consider his revenge as our duty.” There was no immediate comment from Israel. It’s not the only attack that’s sparking concerns of a larger conflict in the region.

Tell me more: An Israeli airstrike hit the southern suburbs of Beirut yesterday, killing at least one person and injuring several others. The strike targeted Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander who Israeli officials say was behind the attack that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights last weekend. Israel said it believes the commander died. The attack in Beirut comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel would retaliate for Saturday’s deadly strike, which Hezbollah denied responsibility for. It’s got world leaders on alert amid flashbacks of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Related: US Says “All-Out War” Between Israel and Hezbollah Not Inevitable (Reuters)

US News

The Senate Passes Bills to Keep Kids Safe Online

What's going on: The Senate overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to enforce major safety and privacy rules for kids and teens on social media and other tech platforms. The bills would require platforms to set the highest privacy and safety settings by default for those under 17 and would ban targeted ads to kids and teens. The heart of the package would create a “duty of care,” which obligates companies to protect minors from possible harms, like abuse and sexual exploitation. The legislation follows years of advocacy from lawmakers and parents for updated digital privacy and safety laws. The measures now go to the House, which is in recess until September.

What it means: The fate of the legislation remains uncertain as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says he’s still reviewing it and hasn’t scheduled a vote. Still, the passage of the package stands as a rare bipartisan win in a deeply divided Congress. The cooperation also highlights the widespread concern over social media’s potential negative effects on kids’ and teens’ wellbeing. In a 2022 Pew Research survey, almost a third of American teens said social media has had a mostly negative effect on their peers.

Related: Nearly One in Three Teens Are Getting Mental Health Treatment, According to a Federal Survey (CBS)

Sports

US Women Take Home Gold in Gymnastics

What's going on: The first stop on the Women’s USA Gymnastics Olympic “Redemption Tour” was a golden one atop the podium. The Simone Biles-led team bounced back from their Tokyo silver by winning the team finals on Tuesday in Paris. Biles clinched the gold with her floor routine to Taylor Swift’s “...Ready for It?” The routine — which featured two skills named after her — proved Biles was ready and delivered. The team's gold kept a 32-year medal streak intact for the women and it gave Biles even more reasons to be considered the GOAT (as if she needed any). She is now the most decorated US gymnast in Olympic history with eight medals, passing Shannon Miller. Biles is also the oldest female gymnast to win a gold. We agree, Simone. Victory never tasted so good.

Tell me more: Team USA’s victory marks an incredible comeback for Biles and her teammates post-Tokyo, but this win didn't come without its challenges. Members of the squad battled injuries on the road to making the team and winning gold. Biles even had to clap back at criticism about her hair. Suni Lee, who won the gold all-around medal in Tokyo, wasn’t even sure if she would make it to Paris due to an incurable kidney disease. She called the win “super special.” If you missed yesterday’s action, there's still time to catch Biles and Lee in the all-around finals tomorrow. For more Olympics coverage check out Scorecard below.

Related: The Best Olympics 2024 Memes and Tweets (Esquire)

Quick Hits

💉 Ozempic-like drugs could protect against Alzheimer’s and help people quit smoking.

🤒 Your nonstick pans might be giving you “Teflon flu.”

🦞 Sure, royals are fancy. But the cost of King Charles’ lobster dinner in France is absurd.

😯 Some Lululemon leggings apparently caused “long butt.” New fear unlocked.

👀 Bella Hadid broke her silence about that controversial Adidas campaign.

Scorecard

The week's sports news and culture stories, ranked.

Winning: Egyptian fencer (and three-time Olympian) Nada Hafez competed while seven months pregnant. Plus, after winning hearts and minds, Ilona Maher helped Team USA win its first ever bronze medal in rugby.

Chaotic: Snoop Dogg is racking up some incredible Olympic sidequests. His commentary on badminton might just top the list.

Hang it in the Louvre: Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina is basically an icon now (see image above). Here's how a photographer captured the shot. Someone get him a gold medal.

Psst...Want more Olympic highlights and sports stories in general? Listen to our new podcast, Well Played. We provide gold medal takes and treat the sports world like the bingeable TV it actually is.

Medal Counts

Tell Us

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to hit the campaign trail with her VP candidate next week. Who do you think gives her the strongest chance of winning in November?

Extra Credit

Thanks to the Olympics, viewers are getting to know the world’s greatest athletes and their inspiring journeys. But there’s another athlete — who isn’t competing at the Games — that you should know. Her name is Lhakpa Sherpa and Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa tells her story. The single mother — who works at a Whole Foods in Connecticut — holds the world record for summiting and descending Mount Everest the most times by a woman. Not only does the Netflix documentary capture Sherpa’s tenacity for scaling mountains (sometimes, in dangerous weather conditions) as she embarks on her 10th climb, but the “dazzling footage” also captures Sherpa’s ability to overcome personal challenges, be it her childhood in rural Nepal or an abusive marriage. And while Sherpa’s physical strength is no doubt impressive, it’s her continued perseverance — in spite of a lifetime of hardship — that makes the film worth watching.

Game Time

Looking for a crossword that’s not impossible to solve? You’re in luck. This one even offers hints when you get stuck. The faster you finish, the better your score — and the more impressed the group chat will be. Go on.