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The United Nations' nuclear watchdog chief says he does not believe the war in Iran can entirely eliminate the nation's nuclear program, even if the main facilities are heavily damaged.

And Iran confirmed a third senior official killed by Israel in about 24 hours.

Iran retaliated to Israel's killing late Tuesday of the head of the Supreme National Security Council with missile attacks at Israel overnight, killing two people near Tel Aviv.

Health authorities have reported about 1,300 killed in Iran, 968 in Lebanon and 16 in Israel since the war began on Feb. 28. U.S. Central Command has said 13 U.S. service members have been killed and eight severely injured. Several Gulf Arab countries have also reported lower fatalities.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says he believes some part of Iran's nuclear program will remain, even after the heavy damage done by U.S. and Israeli military strikes.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation has started buying location data on Americans, Kash Patel, FBI director, said under oath at the Senate intelligence committee worldwide threats hearing on Wednesday.

Patel’s admission came in response to a question from the senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who is a longtime opponent of the warrantless surveillance of Americans. Wyden told Patel that his predecessor, Christopher Whttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/18/kash-patel-fbi-location-dataray, testified in 2023 that the FBI did not at that time purchase location data derived from internet advertising, although he acknowledged that it had done so in the past.

“Is that the case still?” Wyden asked. “And if so, can you commit this morning to not buying Americans’ location data?”

“We do purchase commercially available information that’s consistent with the constitution and the laws under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and it has led to some valuable intelligence for us,” Patel responded.

“So you’re saying that the agency will buy Americans’ location data,” Wyden said. “I believe that that’s what you’ve said in kind of intelligence lingo. And I just want to say as we start this debate, doing that without a warrant is an outrageous end run around the fourth amendment. It’s particularly dangerous given the use of artificial intelligence to comb through massive amounts of private information.

“This is exhibit A for why Congress needs to pass our bipartisan, bicameral bill, the Government Surveillance Reform act,” Wyden said, referring to legislation he is working to pass to rein in surveillance.

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When New Yorkers finally emerge from the freakish cold of recent weeks, they’ll face another outsize side effect of the wild weather: their utility bills.

Residents typically see bills spike in January and February — but this has been no ordinary January or start of February. The record-breaking cold of this past week hasn’t registered on many bills yet.

In emails and letters to customers, both ConEdison and National Grid are trying to emotionally prepare customers for a big hit.

“We’ve experienced the coldest start to winter in more than a decade,” an email from ConEdison read. “Your next energy bill may be more than you’re used to seeing.”

“Colder weather plays a large role in raising winter energy bills,” National Grid wrote to customers. “When temperatures drop, homes use more energy to stay warm and that increased usage shows up on your bill.”

National Grid warned customers of a close to a 10% bump in their bills following the storm and arctic temperatures. Con Edison didn’t cite a specific number.

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The fossil fuel industry funded some of the world’s most foundational climate science as early as 1954, newly unearthed documents have shown, including the early research of Charles Keeling, famous for the so-called “Keeling curve” that has charted the upward march of the Earth’s carbon dioxide levels.

A coalition of oil and car manufacturing interests provided $13,814 (about $158,000 in today’s money) in December 1954 to fund Keeling’s earliest work in measuring CO2 levels across the western US, the documents reveal.

Keeling would go on to establish the continuous measurement of global CO2 at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. This “Keeling curve” has tracked the steady increase of the atmospheric carbon that drives the climate crisis and has been hailed as one of the most important scientific works of modern times.

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Solar power shines bright in California, and wholesale energy prices prove it. Last winter and early spring’s dependence on solar drove wholesale energy prices to negative prices, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Solar power in the California Independent System Operator accounted for nearly 40% of net grid power for three hours on March 11, 2017, the administration reports —a major first.

These figures don’t translate for the consumer into retail prices, which are based on averages. But the move will likely cause energy companies to pay more attention to green energy options.

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