Iran attempting cyberattacks against US critical infrastructure, officials say

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies are “urgently warning” private sector companies throughout the nation that Iranian actors “are conducting exploitation activity” that has resulted in “disruptions across several U.S. critical infrastructure,” according to a government notice reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

The Iranian cyberactivity comes as President Donald Trump is threatening to target Iran’s critical infrastructure in the coming hours, particularly its bridges and power plants.

Iran’s attack targeted products by Rockwell Automation’s Allen-Bradley, one of the most widely used industrial automation brands, according to the notice, which said that cyber actors affiliated with Iran were exploiting “programmable logic controllers across U.S. critical infrastructure.”

Tehran’s targeting campaigns against U.S. organizations “have recently escalated, likely in response to hostilities between Iran and the United States and Israel,” the notice warned.

—Los Angeles Times

Minneapolis city leaders to consider bathhouses that allow sexual activity

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis city leaders are considering legalizing adult bathhouses and sex venues where “sexual activity between consenting adults” would be allowed.

The City Council will decide Tuesday whether to have city staff research several ordinances that would allow adult bathhouses and sex venues to operate again after a 38-year ban.

The ordinances would remove “stigmatizing language” and add “new definitions to be inclusive of establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated.” Adult bathhouses were popular among some men in the U.S. until public pressure and laws led to their closures in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis.

In Minneapolis, bathhouses and sex clubs operated until a 1988 ordinance banned businesses that facilitate “high-risk sexual conduct” — which it defined as fellatio, anal intercourse and vaginal intercourse for pay.

—The Minnesota Star Tribune

Artemis II headed home as Trump calls in to congratulate crew on moon mission

The crew of Artemis II flew farther from Earth than any human in history, saw parts of the moon never seen before and spoke with President Donald Trump as they took a turn for their return flight home.

“Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” Trump said during a call with the four crew who had just completed seven hours of observations including parts of the far side of the moon.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew 248,655 miles from the planet during their 10-day mission. The quartet launched from Kennedy Space Center last Wednesday, but are now headed for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday evening.

They were on a call with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who dialed in Trump who was rife with congratulatory statements. “We have a lot of things to be proud of lately, but this is. There’s nothing like what you’re doing, circling around the moon for the first time in more than a half a century,” he said.

—Orlando Sentinel

US outlines phased strategy for Venezuela’s stabilization after Maduro capture

The Trump administration has been working through a phased strategy to stabilize Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year, prioritizing security and economic recovery under interim leader Delcy Rodríguez as Washington gradually deepens engagement with Caracas.

The approach, described in recent remarks by a senior U.S. defense official at a Miami forum, envisions a sequence of stabilization, recovery and eventual political transition, with improvements in security conditions seen as the foundation for broader economic and diplomatic steps.

“You have stabilization, you have recovery, and then you have transition. Stabilization and recovery are kind of concurrent phases… but obviously, the bedrock of stabilization is security,” Joseph Humire, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, said during the event organized by the Heritage Foundation, which posted the video of his remarks on Monday.

In his comments, Humire added that U.S. officials were engaging Venezuelan authorities “every day… at different levels” as relations normalize. His comments suggested that while democratic restoration remains the end goal, officials view it as a later stage that could follow a potentially lengthy stabilization period.

—Miami Herald