Axios

Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it confirmed that the head of Hezbollah's executive committee Hashim Safi al-Din and chief of intelligence Hussein Hazimah were killed in an airstrike in Beirut three weeks ago.

Why it matters: Safi al-Din was the leading figure to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah's leader.

The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) official and several others over an alleged plot to assassinate Iranian American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad.

Why it matters: The charges are prosecutors' first attempt to implicate a high-ranking Iranian official in the Revolutionary Guard in the murder-for-hire plot, the New York Times reported.

Child welfare advocates are pressuring New Mexico, which has the largest proportion of Latino residents nationwide, to create state-funded saving accounts for children born into poverty.

Why it matters: Roughly 28% of New Mexico children under age 5, and a quarter of those under 18, live in poverty — while the official poverty level nationally is 11.1%.

State of play: About a quarter of U.S. states are debating or showing interest in a program to endow U.S. citizens with a grant worth thousands of dollars when they turn 18, according to the Harvard Kennedy School.

• Proposals for so-called baby bonds have passed in Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and California and been introduced at the federal level and eight additional states.

1. Guatemalan journalist José Ruben Zamora has been released after more than 800 days behind bars on charges that international organizations say were trumped up.

• Zamora had been in jail since 2022, accused of laundering money as publisher of elPeriódico, a newspaper that ran investigative stories about corruption in the former government. Zamora says the whole case is a reprisal for that work.
• The new president, Bernardo Arévalo, was among those who'd been asking the courts to grant Zamora leniency given the irregularities of the 2023 trial, and a court finally ordered his release to house arrest this weekend and a retrial next year.

Rubén Romero showing his workshop and with a lookbook of jewelry he's made. Source: via Telemundo

A self-taught jeweler, originally from Honduras, has made it big making pieces for reggaeton and rap stars.

State of play: Rubén Romero is behind items like rapper Lil' Wayne's grill teeth made of platinum, and necklaces made for Latino artists like Farruko.

• Romero says he learned the trade by himself through books and through trial and error.

What they're saying: "Sometimes I'll see someone on TV wearing a piece from me, and it's awesome, even if they don't always know my handiwork was behind it," Romero tells Telemundo.

Cuban authorities are warning that people who protest due to a massive blackout will be prosecuted to "the full extent of the law."

Why it matters: President Miguel Díaz-Canel is trying to discourage mass protests like those seen in 2021, which were the largest in decades and resulted in hundreds of arrests, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct. 

Child welfare advocates are pressuring New Mexico, which has the largest proportion of Latino residents nationwide, to create state-funded saving accounts for children born into poverty.

Why it matters: Roughly 28% of New Mexico children under age 5, and a quarter of those under 18, live in poverty — while the official poverty level nationally is 11.1%.

A policy proposed by former President Trump to round up and deport undocumented immigrants — even if it requires using military-guarded encampments — has Americans divided, per a new survey.

Why it matters: The survey results come as Trump is promising to carry out mass deportations using a 226-year-old law that allows the federal government to detain "enemy aliens" in times of war.

The FBI has opened an investigation into the leak of top secret U.S. intelligence documents regarding Israel's preparation for an attack against Iran.

Why it matters: The leak was one of the most serious security breaches within the U.S. intelligence community in years.

The new director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service presented Israel's Shin Bet chief an idea for a "small" hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza that could jump-start negotiations on a broader agreement, two Israeli officials told Axios.

Why it matters: The negotiations over a hostage and ceasefire deal have been deadlocked for almost two months and no significant talks have taken place between the parties.

The State Department is reviewing an Israel Defense Forces unit in charge of guarding detainees from Gaza for alleged human rights violations which could have implications for U.S. assistance, two Israeli officials and two U.S. officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: Several members of the unit, called "Force 100," are standing trial in Israel for allegedly sexual assaulting a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention camp, dubbed "the Israeli Guantanamo" by human rights organizations.

Israel gave the U.S. a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon and allow displaced civilians from both sides of the border to return to their homes, two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials told Axios.

Why it matters: The Israeli Prime Minister's Office gave the paper to the White House ahead of President Biden's envoy Amos Hochstein's visit to Beirut on Monday to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Israeli officials said.