Havana Syndrome, Ikea expansion, and a six-legged mouse.

Adam Rogers
April 02, 2024

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An Israeli airstrike destroyed part of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria, killing or wounding everyone inside.

The strike killed two Iranian generals and five officers. A member of the Hezbollah militant group and two Syrians also died in the attack.
Israel has long targeted Iranian military outposts in government-controlled parts of Syria and has increased the attacks in parallel with its war against the Iranian-funded Hamas militant group in Gaza. Israel declined to comment on the strike.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces left Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday after a two-week operation to rid the area of Palestinian militants. Press access to the hospital was limited during the mission, so the reports are mixed. Palestinian officials claim the raid on the hospital treating wounded patients was a war crime, while Israeli officials said they targeted a Hamas stronghold purposefully located among civilians.
Hamas also claimed that Israeli forces killed 400 Palestinians around the hospital while putting the facility out of action. Israel said they killed 200 militants and detained 900 more, dealing a major blow to Hamas and Islamic Jihad operations.

Russia may be responsible for the neurological illness that has affected US diplomats and workers around the world.

A joint investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel, and CBS’s 60 Minutes found that Russia’s GRU Unit 29155 may be behind the attacks, though Russia denied involvement in Havana Syndrome cases. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US intelligence community hasn’t reached the same conclusion as the investigation.
Havana Syndrome symptoms include extreme headaches, dizziness, nausea, and ear pain. The mysterious illness was dubbed “Havana Syndrome” after American officials became sick at the US Embassy in Cuba in 2016. However, the investigation found that cases may have started two years earlier in Frankfurt, Germany. Nearly 1,600 cases among US government personnel have been reported across 96 countries.
The investigation believes that some sort of electromagnetic radiation attack causes the illness. Yet, US intelligence agencies said last year it is “very unlikely” that foreign adversaries are responsible for cases of Havana Syndrome and the cause is likely due to environmental or pre-existing health factors. The State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the department stands by its previous assessment.

Around half a million California workers got a big pay bump on Monday.

California increased its minimum wage for fast-food employees to $20 an hour on Monday — a 25% increase for many workers. Local franchisees from big restaurant chains like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks are concerned about the increased labor costs.
Owners and franchisees of the chains say that higher labor costs will force them to raise prices, add automation, reduce worker’s hours, or even shut down. Inflation is still stubbornly affecting the cost of eating out in the US and operators have plans to raise prices by another 5 to 10% to offset the new labor expenses.
The new law affects fast-food chains with at least 60 locations nationwide, with a few exceptions for some bakeries and smaller kiosks located in larger stores.
California is often a trendsetter for business decisions, and advocates hope other states will follow suit.

Caitlin Clark led Iowa to a 94-87 victory over LSU in the March Madness Women’s regional final. Clark's 41 points and nine made 3-pointers helped secure Iowa's spot in the Final Four and avenged last season's loss to LSU in the national championship game. Later, Paige Bueckers helped UConn beat USC to move onto a Final Four matchup against Iowa. (More)

Ikea plans to open smaller stores in the US and worldwide. The new store’s footprints will be about 2% of the size of its warehouse stores and carry 500 “really popular takeaway” products, compared to about 10,000 at traditional Ikea stores. (More)

The US Coast Guard has opened a temporary channel for boats helping to remove debris from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The temporary channel is primarily for cleanup crews and stranded barges and tugs. Another two channels will be created to help the flow of marine traffic into the city. (More)

A section of California's famous Highway 1 remained closed on Monday after part of the road collapsed during a major weekend storm. Nearly 2,000 travelers were stranded along the scenic coastal route in Monterey County, near Big Sur. Some motorists had to sleep in their cars and others found shelter in local hotels. (More)

Lou Conter, the last survivor of the USS Arizona battleship that sank during the Pearl Harbor attack, has died at 102. He passed away at his home in Grass Valley, California, due to congestive heart failure. Conter was one of 335 Arizona crew members who survived the battle. The death toll from the ship totaled 1,177 — nearly half those killed in the attack. (More)

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