Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
Israel agrees to hold talks with LebanonPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that Israel would start peace talks with Lebanon after its attacks there threatened to unwind the U.S.-Iran cease-fire. For now, however, he said Israel would continue its heavy bombardment of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in the country. President Trump said that he had asked Netanyahu to scale back Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon. The possibility for diplomacy is significant because Iran has suggested it could pull out of its two-day-old truce with the U.S. if Israel continued to strike Lebanon. The Americans and Israelis say that Lebanon is not part of the cease-fire. Iran says it is, and several NATO leaders argue that it should be. The talks between Israel and Lebanon, which Netanyahu said would focus on disarming Hezbollah, face enormous hurdles in part because Lebanon’s government has no direct control over the militia. Since the start of the Iran war, roughly 1,500 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than a million displaced, officials there said. For more on the war:
Fertility falls to a new low, but it may be temporaryThe U.S. fertility rate — the number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age — fell to another record low in 2025, extending a decline that began around the time of the financial crisis of 2007. One major factor is teenage births, which have fallen 72 percent since then. But demographers say the trend may eventually reverse itself. While many women are postponing their pregnancies, they are not becoming less likely to have children. At least not yet. By 45, most women still have about two children, on average.
Emperor penguins are now considered endangeredThe International Union for Conservation of Nature announced today that emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals are now on its endangered species list. Both species have been made more vulnerable because of global warming, the researchers said. Studies show that emperor penguin populations are shrinking as the sea ice that they need to survive hits record-low levels. Antarctic fur seal numbers are dwindling as warmer waters cause krill to move to new locations, disrupting a crucial food source.
Vegetative patients may be more aware than we knewMany doctors consider unresponsive patients in comas or vegetative states to be unable to think or feel anything, including pain. But new research shows that it might not be so simple. One study of 241 vegetative patients found that nearly one in four appeared to be “covertly conscious.” While their brains were severely damaged, they would still light up on scans, just as healthy ones would, when the patients imagined themselves swinging a tennis racket. Read more about how the research is changing the way some families approach treatment. More top news
This question comes from a recent edition of the newsletter. Click an answer to see if you’re right. (The link is free.) A luxury cruise ship became stuck on a reef last weekend near an uninhabited island that was the setting for which movie?
‘Hacks’ always knew how it was going to endWhen the creators of “Hacks” first pitched the comedy to HBO in 2019, they had already planned out the final scene. Now, seven years later, the show’s final episodes — including that scene — will soon be released. The series, which begins its fifth season tonight, stars Jean Smart as a comedy legend teamed up with a millennial joke writer played by Hannah Einbinder. As they shot the ending, the cast was emotional. Our photographer went behind the scenes. What else to watch:
Ube, ube, ubeUbe, the vivid purple yam that has been a Filipino staple for centuries, is gaining traction in the American diet. There are ube cakes at U.S. bakeries, ube ice cream at Trader Joe’s and now an ube coconut macchiato at Starbucks. Veterans of the flavor world say that the rising popularity of ube — pronounced “oo-bay” — has little to do with its subtly sweet and nutty taste. It’s all about the color: It’s “social media gorgeous,” one flavor maker said.
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