News briefs

Tribune News Service on Jul 31, 2026

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Trump blames ‘incompetent’ Minnesota, not Iran, for water system cyberattacks

MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump blamed the state of Minnesota and Gov. Tim Walz for the coordinated cyberattack on over 30 water systems across the state even as officials say the attacks may have been carried out by Iran.

“They blame it on Iran, I don’t think so ... I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent,” Trump said at news conference Friday. “There was a cyberattack of 30 water plants, and I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota.”

“Iran’s got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota,” he added.

Trump’s remarks, given ahead of a slate of updates on the conflict in Iran, stand in contrast with the information other officials have received on the cyberattack — which also appeared to hit other states.

—Star Tribune

NC school gets backlash over transgender teacher. Board member defends hire

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Wake County elementary school is under fire from conservative groups for hiring a transgender teacher.

In posts on multiple social media platforms Thursday night, Libs of TikTok said Middle Creek Elementary School in Apex has a new “nonbinary” teacher and “students reportedly have to call him Ms.” The far-right social media account included a photo of the teacher wearing a dress and urged people to contact Sarah Stephens, the school’s principal.

By noon Friday, the Libs of TikTok post on X had 295,000 views, 3,000 reposts and 6,500 likes. The post on Facebook had more than 2,000 likes and 2,400 comments.

“We should not confuse children or expose them to unhealthy ideas at school,” Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the N.C. Values Coalition, said in a statement Friday. Fitzgerald’s statement added that “this will surely cause mass exodus from the school.”

—The News & Observer (Raleigh)

'This is revolutionary': New guidelines take aim at a syndrome impacting nearly 90% of US adults

It’s not every day that physicians coin a new name for a disorder — and that the disorder plagues a majority of Americans.

Last month, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology released guidelines for physicians on a syndrome it’s calling “CKM syndrome” or cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome, which they first dubbed a collection of disorders in 2023. It’s a revision of the formerly named “metabolic syndrome,” which experts say wasn’t specific enough to aid in detection and treatment.

The identification of CKM syndrome and the publication of the guidelines represent a reframing of how cardiologists, endocrinologists and other physicians want to catch and treat the early signs of metabolic illnesses to usher patients toward care more quickly and intentionally.

“This is revolutionary,” said Nikos Pappan, a cardiologist at St. Clair Health and the leader of the health system’s new Center for Cardiometabolic Prevention, which encompasses nutrition consultation, lifestyle changes and personalized medicine.

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ukraine aims to extend the ‘kill zone’ and turn up heat on Putin

Ukrainian artillery crews are on track to have access to extended-range shells by the end of the summer — a high-tech tool Kyiv hopes will drastically expand the frontline “kill zone.”

The first wave of deliveries will stretch 155mm cannons’ range to at least 60 kilometers (37 miles) and include laser-guided shells, Ukraine has said. More advanced munitions equipped with small ramjets could more than double that distance. All the shells will be compatible with existing 155mm artillery batteries.

By piling battlefield setbacks atop waves of strikes deep inside Russia that have triggered fuel shortages and pushed up prices, Kyiv aims to increase the pressure on Moscow to end the war. Yet Ukraine itself is also vulnerable, and the Kremlin is exploiting its shortage of air defenses to hammer civilian populations, stirring fears of another brutal winter.

The kill zone on the front line, a contested area between Ukrainian and Russian forces where nearly anything can be quickly spotted and attacked by a drone, is about 30km wide, putting rear areas outside the range of conventional artillery.

—Bloomberg News