The Trump administration on Friday moved to roll back Biden-era limits on emissions of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing chemical often used in the sterilization of medical devices. An estimated 50% of sterile medical devices in the U.S. are treated with ethylene oxide, or EtO, particularly those that can’t be cleaned using steam or radiation. The action around ethylene oxide would affect about 90 commercial sterilization facilities owned and operated by approximately 50 companies. Three California companies applied for and received presidential exemptions for their EtO emissions in July. “The EPA rule concerning ethylene oxide use in commercial sterilizers threatens to severely restrict access to vital medical products nationwide,” the American Chemistry Council said in a statement.

Sony’s joint venture with Honda, Sony Honda Mobility, will launch a luxury EV brand called Afeela just in California this year. “We believe customers are looking for more than just a means of transportation” in their luxury EVs, said Sony Honda Mobility President and Chief Executive Shugo Yamaguchi in a statement to The Times. AdvertisementThe interior of the Afeela vehicle at Afeela Studio in Beverly Hills. AdvertisementVarious display screens inside the Afeela vehicle at Afeela Studio, Beverly Hills. Because Sony and Honda each own 50% of Sony Honda Mobility, the companies reduce their liability by sharing risk, said auto analyst Kristin Shaw.

The crash involved two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” the Pentagon said, adding that the other plane landed safely. The downed KC-135 refueling tanker is the fourth U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran. He said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei “is wounded and likely disfigured,” but gave no intelligence to support the claim. Vessels that have attempted to traverse the embattled channel have been destroyed in Iranian attacks. Drone and missile attacks continue to assail gulf states, threatening to draw more players into the conflict.

Letter: Who Sited a School Next to a Naval Base? (“Column: With Two Fools Running This War…,” BJN 3/6/26) Military targets should not be located near civilian structures. In this instance, the school was adjacent to an Iranian naval base hit in a precision strike, suggesting that Iran—similar to Hamas—uses civilians as human shields. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/world/middleeast/iran-school-us-strikes-naval-base.html)Furthermore, Iran and its proxies deliberately target civilians, including Sunni Muslims. Iran has threatened Israel’s existence for decades while building the necessary military apparatus, including enriching uranium and obstructing nuclear inspections.

Washington Post LiveJason Rezaian: Iranians ‘want to connect with... the world’March 13, 2026 | 7:53 PM GMTIn a Post Live conversation, Jason Rezaian spoke about his hopes for the future of Iran.

New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne dropped a bombshell during his introductory presser with his new team. His revelation had nothing to do with his expectations for next season or his on-field play, however. It had to do with his name. Turns out, everyone has been mispronouncing Etienne’s last name since his college days. As Etienne explained Friday, his last name should be pronounced “AY-chan.”

AI systems make mistakes as well as miracles, and in war, those mistakes can be catastrophic. In many Middle Eastern states, cyber and AI strategies emphasize ambition over guardrails. Accountability crumbles when no law clearly assigns blame for AI mistakes. In the global AI arms race, Gulf states have tied themselves tightly to Silicon Valley’s networks. Independent audits of AI-driven cyber tools should be mandated, even behind closed doors, to catch subtle flaws.

›A 22-year-old man convicted of murder in 2021 cut off his GPS ankle monitor and fled from classes he was taking at an Orange County community college while on a court-approved academic furlough. Why it mattersThe incident has raised concerns about the educational furlough program that allowed Aguilar, a convicted murderer, to attend college classes unsupervised. Orange County Probation Department The department that had requested the court to revoke Aguilar's educational furlough arrangement several days prior to his escape. Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner A local official who expressed concerns about the educational furlough program that allowed Aguilar to attend college classes unsupervised. Santiago Canyon College The Orange County community college where Aguilar was taking classes as part of his court-approved furlough.

3 House Democratic leadership position, made the announcement in his home state at the South Carolina Democratic Party headquarters in Columbia. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), 76, a two-decade incumbent, faces a serious primary challenge in state Rep. Justin Pearson, 31. In 1992, Clyburn became the first Black congressman elected from South Carolina since Reconstruction. Since then, he has served as freshman-class president, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, House Democratic chair and whip. In 2020, Clyburn breathed life into Biden’s then-flagging 2020 presidential campaign when he endorsed the former vice president days before the South Carolina primary.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave another media critique at a Pentagon press conference Friday, this time singling out a CNN report that the Trump administration underestimated the war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz. The strait, controlled on three sides by Iran, is the choke point for shipping from the region. A CNN spokesperson said of Hegseth’s comments, “We stand by our reporting.”Barbara Starr, former CNN Pentagon correspondent, posted a message to Hegseth on X, “CNN has had personnel in combat zones for decades. If it can be admitted.”During his tenure, the former Fox & Friends Weekend host has sought to impose new restrictions on press access to the Pentagon. Ellison has said that the independence of CNN “needs to be maintained” under its new ownership.

The crash involved two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” the Pentagon said, adding that the other plane landed safely. The downed KC-135 refueling tanker is the fourth U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran. AdvertisementThe move will add additional warships, troops and fighter jets to support Marines already in the Middle East. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)During the briefing, Hegseth described the Iranian leaders as “desperate” and “cowering” underground like rats. Vessels that have attempted to traverse the embattled channel have been destroyed in Iranian attacks.

AdvertisementThat can include placing “barriers,” like crushed eggshells, around your plants. There’s not much evidence to suggest eggshells repel slugsThe idea is simple: when you place crushed eggshells on the ground, the theory goes, it makes an uncomfortable carpet for slugs. So, they turn away from your budding blooms rather than face the sharp, stabbing sensations of crawling over broken shells. The MU team placed crushed eggshells around some lettuce (which slugs love), and found it didn’t stop them at all. And the RHS research, which took place over six weeks, found that plants “protected” by crushed eggshells didn’t fare any better than those with the smashed-up shells.

or human” preference tests? My take at the time, calibrated to be maximally annoying, was that Alexander’s quiz didn’t really prove that people couldn’t identify, and, when asked, “prefer” A.I. art--but that nonetheless it was probably true, in a general sense, that people can’t identify, and likely prefer, A.I. But all of it taken together suggests that, given our strong bias in favor of writing we believe to be human, A.I. vs. human “preference” tests (or “reads better” quizzes) are often second-order “identification” tests, in each case measuring not “preference” per se but the accuracy of the prevailing heuristics for identifying A.I.

It confirmed widespread reports of recent secret meetings between senior Trump administration officials and Cubans close to Raúl Castro, the still-influential former president and party head. It wouldn’t matter.”“We are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal,” a White House official said Friday in response to questions about the talks. Some Cuba experts have dismissed the idea that Raulito, as he is known in Cuba, would be the government’s choice as a negotiator. Trump then threatened to impose high tariffs on any country that supplied energy to Cuba. A tanker fully loaded with Russian fuel, reportedly destined to reach Cuba the first week in March, never arrived.

›The United States is bracing for an unprecedented stretch of extreme weather, with nearly every region of the country set to experience a range of hazardous conditions over the coming days. Why it mattersThe confluence of these extreme weather events, all occurring at the same time, highlights the growing challenges posed by climate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of severe weather. The players Marc Chenard Meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. ›What they’re saying“All of the country, even if you're not necessarily seeing extremes, are going to see generally changing from cold to warm, or warm to cold to warm.” — Marc Chenard, Meteorologist, National Weather Service (latimes.com) “The back of my neck was melting. If it was freezing cold, I could not do this.” — Shane Dixon (latimes.com)What’s nextMeteorologists will continue to closely monitor the progression of these extreme weather systems and provide updated forecasts and warnings to help communities prepare and respond effectively.