Good Morning! Today’s edition is 968 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• DHS will require travel visa bonds

• Texas to arrest fleeing Democratic lawmakers

• Zoo accepting small pet donations to feed large predators

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Big Stories

Full Gaza Occupation

• Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced Monday a decision for "full occupation" of the Gaza Strip as ceasefire talks with Hamas remain stalled. "We're committing to free Gaza from the tyranny of these terrorists," he said in a video posted on X.

• A leaked Israeli government document from December 2023 reveals plans that explicitly reject Palestinian Authority control, UN involvement, or Palestinian statehood in post-war Gaza. The proposal calls for "uprooting a murderous ideology" through "de-Nazification" and would give Israel military control over Gaza's administration. Senior officials confirmed the plan is "on the table."

• The policy shift comes as Hamas released a video showing hostage Evyatar David so emaciated his father couldn't recognize his voice after three years in captivity. David's brother compared his condition to Holocaust imagery. About 20 hostages remain in captivity of the roughly 250 kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. Others have been released in previous deals or confirmed dead.

Travel Visa Bonds

• The Department of Homeland Security will require foreign travelers from certain countries to post a $15,000 bond before entering the US as part of a 12-month pilot program targeting countries with high visa overstay rates. The bond money will be refunded to travelers who depart on time, but kept if they overstay their visa.

• Only 1.5% of foreign travelers overstayed visas in 2023, but rates vary dramatically by country - from Burma's 27% overstay rate with 543 overstayers to Colombia's 4% rate with over 40,000 overstays. The $15,000 bond roughly equals the $17,000 cost to arrest, detain, and deport visa violators, according to DHS estimates.

• The mandate applies only to air and sea travel, excluding land crossings from Canada and Mexico because the US uses less comprehensive methods to track departures at land borders. Visa Waiver countries like the UK, Spain, and France are exempt despite having high total overstay numbers because they don’t require pre-approved visas. The targeted country list will be posted on the State Department website later this month.

Sea Star Mystery Solved

• Scientists solved the mystery of what killed 5 billion sea stars off the Pacific coast in a decade-long epidemic from Mexico to Alaska. The culprit is bacteria that causes "wasting disease," where sea stars grow lesions and their arms fall off. The epidemic devastated more than 20 species starting in 2013, with sunflower sea stars losing around 90% of their population in the outbreak's first five years.

• It took over a decade for researchers to crack the case after initially blaming a harmless virus. The breakthrough came from analyzing body fluid that previous studies missed because they only examined dead tissue samples. Scientists called the detective work remarkable, given how difficult underwater diseases are to trace.

• With fewer sea stars eating them, sea urchin populations exploded and devoured 95% of Northern California's kelp forests in the last decade. The kelp loss devastated marine ecosystems, researchers compare to 'rainforests of the ocean.' Now scientists can identify healthy sea star populations for breeding programs and potentially develop treatments to restore the species and regrow critical kelp habitat.

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Quick Stories

US News

• Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered law enforcement to arrest Democratic lawmakers who fled the state to block Trump-backed redistricting that could flip five House seats. (More)

• The Department of Veterans Affairs will halt nearly all abortions at VA medical centers, reverting to pre-2022 rules allowing only life-threatening cases. (More)

• Rep. Nancy Mace launched her bid for South Carolina governor, joining a competitive GOP primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster. (More)

World

• Armed gangs kidnapped over 50 people in Nigeria's Zamfara state, continuing a surge of mass ransom abductions plaguing the northwest region. (More)

• A trial began Monday in Moscow for 19 people accused in the March 2024 Crocus City Hall massacre, one of Russia’s deadliest terrorist attacks, which killed 149 people. (More)

• South Korea dismantled border loudspeakers that broadcast music and news to North Korea despite Pyongyang rejecting reconciliation efforts. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed higher on Monday (S&P +1.47%, Nasdaq +1.95%, Dow +1.34%). Stocks bounced back from Friday’s losses as investors shook off concerns about the US economy. (More)

• The EU suspended retaliatory tariffs against the US for six months following July’s Trump deal, though key details remain unresolved. (More)

• All major Las Vegas Strip casinos are now unionized for the first time after holdout hotels Venetian and Fontainebleau signed labor deals. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• The NCAA won't expand March Madness beyond 68 teams in 2026 but may add 72 or 76 teams for the 2027 tournaments. (More)

• De’Aaron Fox signed a four‑year, $229 million maximum extension with the San Antonio Spurs, locking him in through the 2029–30 season after a midseason trade from Sacramento. (More)

• “Cartoon sitcom King of the Hill returned Monday on Hulu with all 10 episodes of season 14, 15 years after the original series ended. The revival features the original creators.” (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• A Northwestern study uncovered global networks using paper mills, brokers, and fake journals to commit scientific fraud. It is now spreading faster than legitimate research. (More)

• OpenAI added break reminders to ChatGPT and made responses less definitive on personal advice to promote healthier AI usage. (More)

• Plastic pollution costs at least $1.5 trillion yearly and poses a "grave, growing danger" to health, Lancet researchers found. (More)

Extra Credit

Radioactive wasp nest found near nuclear storage site.

Sixty-three million US adults are serving as caregivers.

A Denmark zoo asks public to donate unwanted small pets to feed captive predators.

Russian volcano erupts for the first time in 600 years.