What's Happening

International

Tensions Mount in Lebanon After More Handheld Devices Explode

What's going on: There are growing fears that a second wave of exploding devices and a series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East. The leader of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group, accused Israel of breaking “all conventions and laws” with the sophisticated attack using pagers and walkie-talkies and vowed that “retribution will come.” Tuesday’s pager attack, which Israel’s defense minister suggested was linked to Israeli actions, killed at least 12 people, including a child. On Wednesday, another wave of explosions, this time involving walkie-talkies, killed 20 people and wounded 450, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Since the blasts, Hezbollah and Israel have also exchanged cross-border missile attacks, injuring eight people in Israel’s Upper Galilee, per Israel’s public broadcaster. 

What it means: All this marks a “new era” of war, according to Israel’s defense minister. Although Israel and Hezbollah have been in conflict for decades, the temperature turned up after October 7. Analysts say this week’s apparent pager attacks humiliated Hezbollah, making the group look weak. As a result, the Hamas ally is likely to retaliate, possibly as soon as this weekend — though doing so could further escalate the conflict at a time when the recent attacks have injured and weakened their fighters. Analysts worry that Israel could be seeing a war on at least two fronts, with the Israel-Hamas war far from a cease-fire deal. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged both sides not to escalate things any further.

Related: What Would a “Wider War” Between Israel and Hezbollah Mean for Lebanon? (NYT Gift Link)

Politics

Is Violence Defining a New Era of American Politics?

What's going on: American politics has been marked by a troubling rise in violence recently. Yesterday, authorities arrested an individual for threatening six of the nine Supreme Court justices. Earlier this week, suspicious mailings were sent to US election officials. Meanwhile, Congress just said it was bracing for the possibility of a “mass casualty” event. That’s as a recent poll found that nearly half of Republicans said they wouldn’t accept the results if their candidate loses, with some saying they would “take action to overturn” the outcome. Just a couple of months ago, there was an attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, followed by another apparent attempt last week (and Elon Musk's follow-up tweet). *Checks calendar* — and all that’s just this summer. 

What it means: Violent political rhetoric and threats aren’t new. President Gerald Ford survived two assassination attempts in one month, and, of course, some political figures haven’t been so lucky when targeted by assassins. Still, the level of heated discourse the country is seeing now has analysts worried, with some warning that 2024 could be a “tinderbox.” However, democracy experts say there are ways to reduce the risk of violence, including politicians on all sides publicly condemning it, and everyday citizens challenging the perception that the people and leaders within each political party are a monolith.

Related: “Disturbing Comments.” The Report That’s Rocked the North Carolina Governor’s Race (CNN)

Technology

Are Social Media Platforms Spying on You? Spoiler: Of Course They Are

What's going on: A new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that nine major social media companies, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, engage in “vast surveillance” of consumers to generate profit. The agency said that, in some cases, many companies shared users’ personal information — ranging from age to language to gender — to third parties that’d create targeted ads. The report, which began four years ago, also found that these companies fail to protect users, especially minors, and often don’t differentiate between adult and child accounts. The report states that many platforms “bury their heads in the sand when it comes to children.” Overall, these companies offer little choice for users to opt out of data collection. It might be time to start reading those privacy agreements.

What it means: Tech companies have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years over their handling of user data. While some companies have updated their policies since the study began, these changes may still fall short. Many of these data practices, like sharing customers’ location data and making retroactive changes to their policies without notifying users, are tied to the companies’ core business models. The FTC said “self-regulation has been a failure” and emphasized the need for the federal government to step in. However, legislation has stalled in Congress, and Big Tech continues to push back against proposed bills. The Kids Online Safety Act just cleared a House committee…which was first introduced in 2022.

Related: The Right Age to Let Kids Use Social Media, According to Experts (CNBC)