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A fragile Iran framework is entering its most difficult phase as U.S. officials defend the deal against criticism from both allies and opponents, while Ukraine demonstrates a new level of reach with its largest drone strike yet on Moscow. Meanwhile, the opening of the Obama Presidential Center marks the end of a years-long battle over legacy, development, and public space, underscoring how today's biggest stories are as much about what comes next as what has already happened.

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Vice President JD Vance forcefully defended the emerging U.S.-Iran agreement this week, arguing that the deal serves American interests while emphasizing the importance of preserving the U.S.-Israel relationship. Vance described the framework as a path toward preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and reducing the risk of a broader regional war.

The comments come as criticism grows from some Israeli officials and U.S. conservatives who argue the agreement gives Tehran too much room to maneuver. Supporters counter that the framework ties any economic benefits to Iranian compliance and creates a new window for negotiations, while opponents remain concerned that key questions on enforcement, nuclear restrictions, and regional security have been deferred to future talks.

Ukraine launched its largest-ever drone strike on Moscow Thursday — nearly 200 drones struck an oil refinery and a shopping centre in the south-east of the city, sending thick black smoke across the Russian capital as residents reported black rain falling from the clouds. Russian air defences scrambled but could not prevent the scale of the attack.

The refinery fire lit up the Moscow skyline and marks a significant escalation in Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against Russian energy infrastructure, which has steadily intensified over the past two years. Moscow authorities confirmed civilian area damage but released no official casualty figures.

Four former presidents joined Bruce Springsteen, Bono, and Jennifer Hudson Thursday as the Obama Presidential Center opened in Jackson Park, capping nearly a decade of planning, lawsuits, and neighborhood debate. The Chicago campus is part museum, part civic gathering space, and part political mood ring for a city eager to reclaim a marquee moment.

The center's arrival follows years of legal fights over its placement on protected parkland and worries about gentrification on the South Side. For Obama, it cements a hometown legacy. For Chicago, it's a tourism anchor at a time when big cities are hunting for one.

The Archbishop of Canterbury apologized for the Church of England's role in forced adoptions that took tens of thousands of babies from unmarried women and girls between the 1950s and 1980s. The statement acknowledged the "pain, shame and indignity" the practice caused, joining similar reckonings in Australia, Ireland, and Canada.

The parents of the 13-year-old who killed nine people at a Belgrade primary school in 2023 were sentenced to prison in a retrial after an earlier verdict was successfully appealed. Vladislav Ribnikar school remains one of the deadliest mass attacks in Serbian history; the case has prompted lasting national debate about parental accountability.

The Interior Department is insisting Washington's Reflecting Pool is "crystal clear" even as witnesses describe a murky green sheet of algae creeping across the landmark, with officials comparing the cleanup to the campaign against Iran. The metaphor, intended or not, is doing a lot of work.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the federal law barring "unlawful" drug users from possessing firearms is unconstitutionally vague, siding with a Texas man who had 60 grams of marijuana and a pistol at home. Justice Neil Gorsuch called the ruling "narrow" — it does not extend to felons or people intoxicated at the time of possession, but its implications for federal gun and drug policy are significant.

The administration moved $352 million in federal funds originally earmarked for the Secret Service to help finance the new White House ballroom, a project the president had publicly said would be paid for by private donors. The transfer surfaces as the building begins to take shape on the East Wing site.

The Trump administration announced a 1-point interest cut for federal student loan borrowers who enroll in autopay by September 30, valid through June 2028 — up from the current 0.25-point discount. Over 42 million Americans hold federal student debt; only 40% are currently enrolled in autopay, down sharply from pre-pandemic levels.

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Intel surged more than 10% Thursday after Trump announced on Truth Social that Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build chips in the US, sparking a broad semiconductor rally that lifted the Nasdaq nearly 2% in a recovery from Wednesday's Fed sell-off. Sandisk and Super Micro Computer also rose double digits as chipmakers led the rebound.

SpaceX shares fell about 5% for a second straight session, dragging the company below Amazon by market cap and cooling a months-long rally fueled by Starship optimism. Investor bullishness on the Musk empire is showing its first real cracks of the year.

Penske Media is acquiring the remains of Vox Media, bringing Popsugar and Eater under the same roof as Rolling Stone and Variety. The deal further consolidates digital publishing into a handful of legacy-brand portfolios.

Researchers have produced the first global map of the planet's underground fungal networks, charting a 68-quadrillion-mile system of mycorrhizal threads that move carbon and nutrients between plants. The atlas could reshape how conservationists think about soil, forests, and climate storage.

An experimental vaccine could neutralize fentanyl and several emerging designer-drug variants before they trigger an overdose, according to new preclinical work. Synthetic opioids now kill more Americans annually than car crashes, making any prevention tool a meaningful target.

Researchers found that Arizona's Santa Cruz Reservoir nearly dried up after an unusually weak winter snowpack sharply reduced water inflows, triggering a major fish die-off as oxygen levels in the remaining water fell. The findings highlight how declining snowpack and changing climate conditions can rapidly alter freshwater ecosystems that depend on seasonal mountain runoff.

Christian Pulisic trained separately from his USMNT teammates Thursday with a wrap around his left calf, less than 24 hours before the US faces Australia in a World Cup Group D match in Seattle. Coach Mauricio Pochettino was set to address Pulisic's status at a press conference Thursday evening, with the injury first aggravated in last week's win over Paraguay.

The NHL completed its Babcock investigation and found no basis to ban him from the league, clearing the path for the Edmonton Oilers — who are widely expected to hire him — to move forward. Babcock won the 2008 Stanley Cup with Detroit; the NHLPA said it found his past conduct "very concerning" but accepted the league's decision.

Former Iona basketball player Adam Njie Jr. was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for sharing game intelligence with known gamblers — one of whom bet $15,500 that Njie's team would underperform a spread, then lost when Njie played normally both times. Six alleged "fixers" were separately named in a DOJ indictment in January; Njie cooperated with investigators and maintained he never deliberately shaved points.

Netflix has canceled "The Boroughs" after a single season, weeks after the Duffer brothers, who produced the show and created "Stranger Things," decamped for Paramount. The timing suggests the streamer is trimming projects tied to talent it no longer controls.

Universal and Imagine Entertainment are developing a live-action Grinch sequel with Jim Carrey expected to return and Ron Howard to direct, the script going to a trio of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" veterans. Carrey has said he would want motion capture this time to avoid the "excruciating" prosthetic makeup process from the 2000 original.

Taylor Swift says she wrote and recorded "I Knew It, I Knew You" in an eight-hour burst after watching "Toy Story 5," calling it one of the most fun days of her life. The track dropped alongside the film's opening weekend.

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What it is: MIT researchers think they've finally worked out how Russia's Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile — nicknamed "Skyfall" by NATO — actually flies. The weapon, which Vladimir Putin first unveiled in 2018, is designed to loiter for days using a tiny onboard nuclear reactor instead of jet fuel. Unlike conventional cruise missiles, Burevestnik was conceived as a near-unlimited-range system capable of approaching targets from unexpected directions and potentially evading existing missile-defense networks.

The detail: By modeling the missile's airframe and reactor, the MIT team concluded the propulsion system works by piping air directly over an unshielded reactor core, heating it and blasting it out the back. That makes it functional in principle — and wildly radioactive, spewing contamination along its entire flight path. The analysis also helps explain why testing the weapon has reportedly been plagued by accidents, delays, and questions about its operational viability.

Why it matters: Even a successful test of Burevestnik would essentially be a low-altitude radiological event, and a wartime launch would salt huge swaths of territory with fallout regardless of whether the warhead detonated. One analyst told NPR the design is "almost certainly a terrible idea, but it's not an impossible idea" — a phrase that captures Russia's late-Soviet weapons aesthetic better than any briefing slide.

What to watch: Whether Moscow attempts another flight test, and whether Western intelligence detects the telltale radiation plume earlier tests have left behind. The Kremlin has touted Burevestnik as proof of unmatched reach, but the MIT analysis suggests its real range is limited mostly by how much of its own country Russia is willing to irradiate. Future satellite imagery and environmental monitoring could offer some of the clearest clues about whether the program is advancing or quietly running into technical limits.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team