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"Exploding pagers target Hezbollah and Russian disinformation."

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By Sarah Naffa September 18, 2024

In the news today: What to know about the deadly pager explosions in Lebanon and Syria; a new Microsoft report outlines Russia’s all-out effort to spread election disinformation; and Instagram is making teen accounts private by default. Also, it might be time to give your houseplants a fall repotting. A police officer inspects a car in which a hand-held pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) WORLD NEWS What to know about the deadly pager explosions targeting Hezbollah Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have blamed Israel for the nearly simultaneous detonation of hundreds of pagers used by the militant group’s members in an attack Tuesday that killed at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounded nearly 3,000 others, according to officials. Read more.

What to know: A U.S. official said Israel briefed the U.S. on the operation — in which small amounts of explosives hidden in the pagers were detonated — on Tuesday after it was concluded. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly. The Israeli military has declined to comment. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the Iran-backed militant group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track the group’s movements. As a result, the organization uses pagers to communicate.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Israel has a long history of pulling off complex attacks like the exploding pagers US military acknowledges Yemen’s Houthi rebels shot down 2 MQ-9 Reaper drones Exploding pagers used in apparent Israeli attack on Hezbollah made in Hungary, accused firm says U.S. NEWS Russia goes all-out with covert disinformation aimed at Harris, Microsoft report says A new Microsoft threat intelligence report details how Russia-linked actors are going full throttle in their covert influence efforts against Vice President Kamala Harris. The report released Tuesday says that after a slow start, groups linked to the Kremlin have redoubled their commitment to swaying U.S. political opinion as the election nears. Read more.

Why this matters: The report says that Kremlin-aligned actors at first struggled to adapt to President Joe Biden dropping out of the race, but have now pivoted their covert influence efforts. Some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage and fake videos that racked up millions of views across social media that seed disinformation about the Democratic presidential nominee. The report builds on previous U.S. concerns about Russian interference in the upcoming election. It also describes how a Chinese-linked influence actor has used short-form videos to criticize Biden and Harris and to create anti-Trump content. The Russian embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump will soon be able to sell shares in Truth Social’s parent company. What’s at stake? VP says woman’s death after delayed abortion treatment shows consequences of Trump’s actions Florida will launch criminal probe into apparent assassination attempt of Trump, governor says TECHNOLOGY Instagram makes teen accounts private Instagram is making teen accounts private by default as it tries to make the platform safer for children. Beginning Tuesday in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia, anyone under 18 who signs up for Instagram will be placed into restrictive teen accounts, and those with existing accounts will be migrated over the next 60 days. Read more.

What to know: Parent company Meta acknowledges that teenagers may lie about their age and says it will require them to verify their ages in more instances, like if they try to create a new account with an adult birthday. “Sensitive content,” such as videos of people fighting or those promoting cosmetic procedures, will be limited, Meta said. Private messages are restricted so teens can only receive them from people they follow or are already connected to. The announcement comes as the company faces lawsuits from dozens of U.S. states that accuse it of harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ BREAKING: Google wins legal bid to overturn 1.5 billion euro antitrust fine in EU digital ad case Life as a teen without social media isn’t easy. These families are navigating adolescence offline One Tech Tip: Protecting yourself against SIM swapping ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: Indictment alleges music mogul used power to build empire of sexual crime Fatal beating: Ex-officer testifies he beat a ‘helpless’ Tyre Nichols then lied about it Severe drought: Zimbabwe and Namibia will kill scores of elephants to feed people Aleutian Islands: US moves soldiers to Alaska island amid Russian military activity increase in the area Photo collection: A look at the Supermoon from across the globe Today in History: In 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27 WATCH Boston airport: Small plane lands with just one wheel deployed Big gulp: A bewildered seal finds itself in the mouth of a humpback whale ‘Fake heiress’: Anna Sorokin’s ankle monitor ‘the real star’ of ‘Dancing’ premiere Second gentleman: What to know about Doug Emhoff ‘Critics hated it’: Dennis Quaid reacts to polarized ‘Reagan’ reception A CHANGE OF PACE The girdled roots of a golden Pothos plant that has outgrown its container. (Jessica Damiano via AP)  Summer vacation is over for houseplants, too. It might be time to repot them The best time to repot a houseplant is in spring, when its root system is actively growing and can quickly establish itself in its new home. But a fall repotting could be warranted if a plant is getting snug in its container after a summer growing outdoors.

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