What happened
A man in Rochester, New York, yesterday sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after two agents tracked him down last month to deliver a “warning notice” over an email he sent in January. In it, David Streever called acting ICE Director Todd Lyons a “monstrous human being” who “will never know peace” due to his “shame” over “protecting the obvious execution” of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses DHS of violating Streever’s First Amendment rights and requests that the court prohibit similar investigations into lawful criticism of government officials. 

Who said what
The Homeland Security Investigations agents who tried to confront Streever at home, then at his New York City hotel when he returned from Finland two days later, warned that the email to Lyons may have constituted an illegal threat. The same HSI agents issued a “similar warning the same day to a poll worker in Syracuse,” Paigelynne Gonyea, over a January Instagram post about the ICE agent who killed Good, The New York Times said. After Gonyea went public, The Washington Post said, “she heard from six other people around the country — including Streever — who say they also received similar visits from federal agents in recent months.”

What next?
“Any allegation DHS and its components are attempting to ‘squash’ free speech is categorically FALSE,” DHS said in a statement yesterday. But "anyone who assaults or threatens our law enforcement officers will face the consequences.”

What happened
Two bombs exploded this morning near the Damascus hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron is staying during his historic stopover in Syria. Macron, who arrived in Damascus last night, is the first major Western leader to visit the country since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in 2024. At least 18 people were wounded in the explosions, including four police officers, Syria’s Interior Ministry said. But Macron had already left the Four Seasons, Reuters said, and “the blasts were not audible from the presidential motorcade” as he headed toward his meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (pictured above with Macron). 

Who said what
The explosions “are a blow for al-Sharaa,” who has “pushed to assert full control and bring stability in war-torn Syria” after his Islamist-led insurgency toppled Assad, The Associated Press said. Macron “played a major role in pushing Europe and the United States to drop most sanctions on Syria” after al-Sharaa took over, and he is “scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding” as the “battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after 14 years of war.” 

“I have come to express France’s commitment to the Syrian people,” Macron said on social media. “Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace.”

What next?
France said Macron “intended to stick to his planned schedule for the day” before heading to Turkey for a NATO summit, Reuters said. 

A type of sea squirt discovered 20 years ago on an expedition to Antarctica was subsequently identified as a potential cancer therapy. The marine invertebrate contains a bacterium, Candidatus Synoicihabitans palmerolidicus, that can “produce the metabolite palmerolide A, which kills melanoma cells without causing too much harm to healthy human cells,” said Discover. Scientists have now conducted a second expedition to Antarctica to “better understand the compound and explore whether it could someday contribute to new therapies for patients battling melanoma,” the University of South Florida said in a news release. 

Sea squirts, or ascidians, are “sac-like marine invertebrates that tend to live on sloped sea beds,” said the BBC. Those found in Antarctica have “evolved over millions of years to cope with the harsh conditions there, producing chemical defenses that can deter predators and disease.” 

Researchers tested the sea squirt’s bacteria on melanoma cells in mice. “The good news is it didn’t kill the mice,” said expedition leader and adviser Bill Baker, a USF chemistry professor, to The Guardian. “It did kill their cancer, so we know it has the physiological properties to act like a drug.” 

Most FDA-approved drugs originated in nature, and Antarctica could be a rich source of new possibilities. But while the sea squirt shows promise, the “pathway to producing a safe and effective anti-melanoma drug, with approval for use in humans, is long,” said The Guardian. It would “require a succession of strictly regulated and ever-expanding trials even after a drug was formulated.”