Daily Briefing: The US on high alert

Welcome to the week.🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Megan Thee Stallion is my all-time favorite "Love Island" bombshell.

Start the week with Monday's news:

• The world anticipates Tehran's response after the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend.
• With so many options, New Yorkers will choose their next mayor like they pick ice cream. 
• The Oklahoma City Thunder earned the 2025 NBA championship. 

The US is on high alert right now

Cities across the country from New York to Los Angeles have beefed up security following notice from the Department of Homeland Security of a "heightened threat environment." 

The background: Iran — and its hard-line supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — are almost certainly going to strike back in response to historic U.S. military strikes on three of its suspected nuclear facilities over the weekend.

• A new chapter in a 46-year battle between Iran the U.S.: Trump's calculation behind "Operation Midnight Hammer," is that Tehran will be forced to abandon its nuclear program.
• Trump campaigned against "forever wars." But his most recent move also runs the risk the U.S. is now enmeshed in another war in a volatile region — with perilous and uncertain consequences.
• America is preparing for any potential retaliation: Many world leaders urged speedy de-escalation over fears of a widening Mideast conflict while U.S. officials have heaped praise on the military operation.

📰 More details: These graphics show how operation Midnight Hammer unfolded.

Activist Mahmoud Khalil speaks out after release from ICE custody

 “My existence is the message. Palestinian existence is a message.”

~ Mahmoud Khalil, the the 30-year-old Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist, spoke upon arrival at Newark International Airport on Saturday, a day after a federal judge ordered his release from immigration detention.

More news to know now

• Oil hit a five-month high after U.S .strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites.
• A fiery hot air balloon crash killed at least eight people in Brazil.
• "Killer bees" keep spreading (and killing) across the U.S.
• Karen Read jurors are speaking out after the verdict.
• FedEx founder Fred Smith has died at 80.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

If you're sweating as you read this ...

... That sticky feeling isn't going away so soon. Millions of Americans are in for a sweltering commute to work Monday as swaths of the nations face scorching temperatures that could reach as high as 100 degrees, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region, weather experts said. A heat wave is expected to continue this week across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, putting more than 150 million Americans under heat advisories, heat warnings or extreme heat watches, according to the National Weather Service. Experts say "it’s going to feel miserable."

• At what temperature should you set your thermostat during a summer heat wave?

Make elections more democratic? It's like picking ice cream.

With so many candidates for mayor, New Yorkers will choose their next leader like they pick ice cream in the summer. The city’s ranked choice system allows voters to choose their top five candidates for mayor, plus top picks in other city races. Even if your top choice doesn't make it, you can still get flavors, or candidates, you prefer. The system aims to give voters more choices in a crowded field of nearly a dozen Democratic and a handful of Republican mayoral hopefuls in closed primaries for both parties. And with ranked choice, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist calling to freeze rents, has inched ever closer Andrew Cuomo, New York’s former governor.

Today's talkers

• Margaret Cho alleged Ellen DeGeneres was "really weird and not nice" to her.
• How does the "We Were Liars" book compare to the show?
• Jay-Z made a surprise performance during Beyoncé's final Paris show.
• What happens when you use ChatGPT to write an essay?
• Here's what to know about the Suns trade of Kevin Durant to the Rockets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on top

The Thunder capped a dominant season with a 103-91 triumph against the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, giving the franchise its first NBA championship since relocating to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008. It was not an easy win for the Thunder — even with the Pacers missing star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who left the game with 4:55 left in the first quarter due to a lower right leg injury. Paste BN Sports has highlights, wild plays, analysis and more from the game.

Photo of the day: The Bayou Bengals celebrate in Omaha

After winning a mesmerizing pitching duel in Saturday night’s College World Series opener, LSU took advantage of Coastal Carolina’s sloppy start and won, 5-3, on Sunday, to capture the eighth national championship in program history. For Coastal Carolina, it’s a heartbreaking and disappointing end to what had been a dream run. Celebrate LSU Tigers' eighth College World Series title with Paste BN's commemorative page print. 

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.