For once, Frank Underwood will not get what he wants.

Russia's United Nations reps on Tuesday nixed a request from House of Cards to film a couple of episodes inside the international body's Security Council chamber, according to Foreign Policy. The reason: Russia wanted the space to remain available in case of emergency.

"We are of [the] opinion that the Security Council premises should be available at any time and on short notice," a Russian diplomat said in an email obtained by Foreign Policy. "Besides that, we consistently insist that the Security Council premises are not an appropriate place for filming, staging, etc."

It's still possible House of Cards could shoot in another part of the U.N. Or, failing that, the writers could just work this setback into a future implausible script. Jon Terbush

Harvard University scientists who studied more than 60 million American senior citizens found that long-term exposure to ozone and fine particulate matter, two main air pollutants, is linked to premature death.

Even when the pollutants measured below the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, there was still an increased risk of dying early, the scientists said. Fine particulate matter is tiny specks of pollution that can stick to the lungs and is linked to cardiovascular disease, while ozone, found in warm-weather smog, can cause respiratory illness; build-ups of both are caused by emissions from vehicles and power plants.

The researchers developed a new computer model that used air-monitoring data from the ground and satellite measurements to estimate pollution levels in the U.S., the Los Angeles Times reports. They paired that information with health data from Medicare beneficiaries living in the continental United States from 2000 to 2012, and found that it only took being exposed to as little as five micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter, the lowest amount measured, to have an increased risk of premature death. If fine particulate pollution was decreased by one microgram per cubic meter across the United States, it would save about 12,000 lives annually, and if ozone pollution was lowered by one part per billion, an additional 1,900 lives would be saved every year, the researchers determined.

This study will be published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, accompanied by an editorial urging the government to tighten regulation on fine particulate matter and ozone. Read more about the new study — and how EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is delaying implementing the federal ozone standard because of "increased costs to businesses" — at the Los Angeles Times. Catherine Garcia

Cardinal George Pell, the third-ranking official in the Vatican, responsible for the Holy See's finances, is facing at least three sexual assault charges related to historic abuse allegations, Australian police said Thursday.

Pell's legal representatives in Melbourne were served the charges, and he will appear in court July 18. Police say there are "multiple complainants," but would not reveal the allegations; The Sydney Morning Herald reports he is being charged with at least one count of rape. Pell, 75, was made a cardinal in 2003, and has served as the archbishop of both Sydney and Melbourne. He is expected to return to Australia to face the charges, and when rumors of the allegations first surfaced, Pell told reporters he is innocent. Catherine Garcia

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it is enacting new enhanced security and screening measures for every commercial flight traveling to the United States.

Since March, passengers flying to the U.S. from some Muslim-majority countries have been barred from bringing electronic devices bigger than a cellphone into the cabin, and if the new security protocols are adopted by the affected airlines and airports, the ban will be lifted, The Washington Post reports. Due to safety concerns, the Department of Homeland Security did not give any details on the new measures.

"It is time we raise the global baseline of aviation security," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. "We cannot play international whack-a-mole with each new threat." Catherine Garcia

Republicans are trying to cast their health-care proposal in a positive light, saying that cuts to Medicaid actually do the opposite, slowing the program's growth in order to preserve it, and everyone from White House counselor Kellyanne Conway to President Trump himself is getting involved.

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office said the GOP Senate bill would reduce Medicaid spending by $772 billion over 10 years, and by 2026, enrollment would drop by 16 percent among people under the age of 65. Over the weekend, Conway said Republicans "don't see" these as cuts, and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said the bill would "codify and make permanent the Medicaid expansion" put in place by the Affordable Care Act. On Wednesday, former House Speaker and Trump ally Newt Gingrich said on Fox & Friends that "after all the news media talking about cutting Medicaid in the House Republican bill, I did some research. It actually goes up 20 percent over the next 10 years."

That's a touch misleading, PolitiFact says. The CBO report found that the House bill that passed in May would cut Medicaid spending by $834 billion over 10 years. His office didn't respond to PolitiFact's calls, but they concluded it is likely Gingrich was referring to the rate at which Medicaid will grow over the next decade, which will happen if the law passes or not. Medicaid spending will increase because health care costs are going up, and the CBO report found that under the House bill it limits the increase to 20 percent; if nothing changes, it will require a 60 percent increase.

One of Trump's major campaign promises was that "there will be no cuts" to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, which is likely why he tweeted this graph Wednesday evening:

None of these talking points are swaying David Kamin, a law professor at New York University and former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, who told The New York Times: "The question of whether it's an increase or a cut is really about how people experience health care and whether people will be covered. From my perspective, it would best be described as a cut." Catherine Garcia

The Los Angeles Clippers parted ways with their star point guard Chris Paul on Wednesday, agreeing to trade the 32-year-old to the Houston Rockets. Paul joined the Clippers in 2012 and led the beleaguered franchise to its six best seasons by win percentage, but the Clippers were never able to advance past the second round of the playoffs even with their star trio of Paul, forward Blake Griffin, and center DeAndre Jordan.

A nine-time All-Star who was named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team for the sixth consecutive season this year, Paul will join MVP finalist James Harden in Houston's backcourt. Harden's transition to point guard last season was hailed as an awakening for the eighth-year man, but now he will presumably share with Paul the burden of running Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced, trigger-happy offense. Paul and Harden had apparently wanted to play together for some time, Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.

In return for Paul, Houston is sending defensive guard Patrick Beverley, scorer Lou Williams, and second-year forward Sam Dekker — among others — to Los Angeles. Kimberly Alters

Scientists have uncovered evidence that humans aren't the only species that can play musical instruments. After seven years of observing 18 male palm cockatoos in Australia's Cape York Peninsula, researchers realized that male cockatoos put on drumming performances to attract females.

The scientists found that the birds "produced regular, predictable rhythms, rather than random thumps," The New York Times reported. Different males had unique styles of drumming, with some tapping "more slowly on average and others more quickly," said lead author Robert Heinsohn. "Some would start with a faster flourish before settling into their steady rhythm," Heinsohn said.

So, how does a cockatoo drum? The New York Times painted a picture:

A palm cockatoo drumming performance starts with instrument fashioning — an opportunity to show off beak strength and cleverness (the birds are incredibly intelligent). Often, as a female is watching, a male will ostentatiously break a hefty stick off a tree and trim it to about the length of a pencil.

Holding the stick, or occasionally a hard seedpod, with his left foot (parrots are typically left-footed), the male taps a beat on his tree perch. Occasionally he mixes in a whistle or other sounds from an impressive repertoire of around 20 syllables. [The New York Times]

The drumming seems to be unique to palm cockatoos in Australia's Cape York Peninsula though, suggesting "the habit is cultural," the Times wrote. "Presumably some bright spark of a male stumbled across this behavior, females found it pleasing, and it took off in the population," Heinsohn said.

Catch a glimpse of a cockatoo drumming below. Becca Stanek

The next season of Comedy Central's Broad City doesn't come out until August, but in the meantime you can catch the show's star Abbi Jacobson hosting a new podcast, A Piece of Work. Jacobson is teaming up with WYNC Studios and the Museum of Modern Art for the podcast, which will be all about contemporary art.

Jacobson, a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the author of two coloring books and a book of illustrations, will interview artists, museum curators, and celebrities like Questlove and RuPaul on the show. Each episode will explore different works of art through themes like minimalism, pop art, performance, and abstraction.

The 10-episode podcast premieres July 10. It will air twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Becca Stanek