As the U.S. struggles to extricate itself from the Iran war, longtime regional ally Saudi Arabia is facing a growing Iranian threat of its own. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, considered proxies of the Iranian regime, have launched a series of military offensives, including the recent capture of the port city of Mokha and the destruction of an overland pipeline. These are key fuel nodes for the Red Sea, made all the more vital as Iran throttles traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Why are Saudi officials worried?
Saudi Arabia is “becoming a focal point for the Middle East crisis” as it “contends with a multifront campaign being waged by Iran and its Axis of Resistance allies,” said Newsweek. Houthi forces have “stepped up cross-border attacks” against Iran while “simultaneously gaining ground” against Saudi-backed government forces. 

The Saudi’s “most essential ally,” the U.S., has been “unpredictable and sometimes unreliable” under this administration, said The Associated Press. The White House “seems reluctant to widen an already unpopular and stalemated Mideast war.”

The Saudi attitude toward Yemen has “rested on the assumption” that “strategically” applying time, money and force would “produce enough leverage to subdue the Houthis,” said Responsible Statecraft. That “assumption has been tested” as Houthi forces press toward the city of Marib, the “last major stronghold of forces loyal to the internationally recognized government of Yemen,” said Responsible Statecraft. As “Iran-aligned groups” such as the Houthis “increase pressure” on Saudi Arabia, “diplomacy between the Gulf States and Iran has hit its own wall.”

What’s at risk for the kingdom?
Attacks by Houthi forces have “caused a plunge in Saudi oil exports to Asia” from about “3.4 million barrels a day in June to 128,000 in August,” said the AP. The group is now tightening its grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a global shipping choke point.

Where is Iran in all this?
The Houthis are “agents and proxies of the Iranians,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reporters earlier this month. Iran “arms, trains and coordinates with the Houthis,” said The National Interest. But the group has “independent origins” and a “track record of acting against Tehran’s preferences when its own interests demand it.”

A menu promising a “glistening digital cheesesteak or an eerily geometrical” turkey sandwich “evokes little more than horror in those who behold it,” said The New Yorker. Yet restaurants are increasingly relying on generative AI to create their promotional materials.

‘Surrealist goo’
Images of food were once a “thing to be drooled over,” highlighting the “sensual, the luscious, the beautiful,” said The New Yorker. But now a “nauseating, nightmarish quality defines AI’s insectified interpretation of human cuisine, as if food were just another surrealist goo to stochastically iterate upon.” These fake images “mock life itself.”

Such menus may also make a mockery of customers. “It’s like you don’t even know what you are going to get” when the actual food arrives, said Adaeze Onejeme, a Los Angeles ad sales worker, to CNN. So is it “false advertising”? 

Despite such concerns, the “phenomenon” is spreading worldwide, said CNN. In Tokyo, adverts show sandwiches that appear to be “made of cobwebs.” In Kuala Lumpur, a bowl of spaghetti marinara “looks like perfectly arranged yarn or strings of Play-Doh,” while images in Berlin include a “plastic-looking quiche with holes.”

‘Something wrong’
These menu images can “signify qualities people generally don’t want to associate with food,” such as “low quality, laziness or, well, slop,” said CNN. Some of them are “alienlike catastrophes.”

AI images may be cheaper and easier to create, but there’s an “innateness” to how real food looks that “you can feel in your bones,” said professional food photographer Emily Hawkes to USA Today. With AI images, there’s “something wrong, and you might not be able to put your finger on it, but you know it when you see it.” 

We can’t look away from these pictures. Our brains get stuck between “approach and avoidance” as it tries to make sense of something that looks almost real but clearly isn’t, said psychologist Stephanie Sarkis to USA Today.

The gas and dust of the Shark Nebula, 650 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, is captured by photographer Ali Alobaidly after two nights’ camping in the Kuwaiti desert. The image has won him the title of Royal Observatory Greenwich’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
Ali Alobaidly / Royal Observatory Greenwich’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Sonoma Valley has a reputation for outstanding wineries. Cool Pacific breezes and a variety of soils make this stretch of Northern California a perfect place to grow grapes. But there’s more to Sonoma County than its vineyards. These six refreshing options present the region in a different light, showcasing both nature and culture.

Safari West
It’s easy to forget where you are during a visit to the wildlife preserve Safari West (pictured above). Spread across 400 acres in the hills of Santa Rosa, Safari West is home to more than 900 animals. As you make your way through the vast property on a guided open-air vehicle tour (sit on the roof for an extra thrill), it feels like you are driving around the plains of Tanzania, waiting for the Great Migration to start.

Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
For more than 1,000 years, the towering coastal redwoods at this natural reserve near Guerneville have stood tall, providing shade and tranquility. The protected reserve covers 805 acres and is a reminder of what the landscape looked like before logging began in the 19th century.

Russian River
During the summer, “dawdlers of all kinds” head to the Russian River with their “kayaks, canoes, inner tubes — just about anything that will float,” said the Los Angeles Times. Starting in Guerneville, revelers glide past redwoods, vineyards, beaches and other “scenery that might as well be a Northern California highlight reel.”