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News in Brief: August 18, 2025 [1]
['Alex Lee', 'Sivan Gilbert', 'Please Enter Your Name Here']
Date: 2025-08-19 15:00:22+00:00
Here at F Newsmagazine, we know how hard it is to juggle class, work, and life — all while keeping up with the world’s happenings. The goal of News in Brief is to briefly cover major Chicago, U.S. and global events. We gather our information from reputable, unbiased sources like NBC, NPR, CBS, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and other journalism organizations. Click a link, not only to find our source, but to read more in-depth on the nuance in a story.
We’re here to be a trusted source for students and to disseminate news that we feel is important to the community of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
So while you wait for the train — or the Sharp Building elevator — briefly catch up on the news.
WORLD
Iran
On June 23, 2025, a cease fire between Iran and Israel was announced. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, stated on social media that offences against Israel “continued until the very last minute, at 4 a.m.” The Israeli prime minister’s office likewise confirmed the cease-fire on social media at 9 a.m., saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had stated Israel had “achieved all of the objectives” in its campaign against Iran. President Trump took credit for ending what is now known as the 12-Day War.
According to the New York Times, Israel first launched strikes on Iran on June 13, targeting military sites, nuclear facilities, and energy infrastructure. The U.S. struck three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 21. Another NY Times article states, “Though Mr. Trump declared that Iran’s nuclear program had been ‘totally obliterated’ by U.S. bombings on nuclear sites on June 22, the actual state of the program seemed far murkier.”
Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official in the first Trump administration and a former CIA officer, said the program was likely only set back years. The BBC states that according to a leaked Pentagon intelligence report, the program was likely only set back months. According to CNN, the White House rebukes this statement. CNN also made the point that “If Iran is truly pursuing a nuclear weapon — which it officially denies — it is taking more time than any nuclear-armed nation in history.”
President Trump stated that he “absolutely” would attack Iran again if the country gave evidence that they were furthering their nuclear program.
The New York Times said that Iran stated that it had “targeted [in retaliation] the [American] Al Udeid base in Qatar ‘with destructive and forceful missiles.’” Trump said 13/14 missiles were downed and no one was hurt. Iranian officials coordinated with Qatar to give advanced notice of the missiles and minimize casualties — the officials state it was a “symbolic” strike, similar to a 2020 Iraq strike.
Israel’s final June 23 strike on the Iranian prison Evin in Tehran proved particularly controversial. Evin was a facility Iran used to conduct detention, interrogation, torture and execution. Yet Israel’s attack spiked anger in Iran, even among opponents of the authoritarian Iranian government. The strikes were the deadliest attack of the 12-day Israel-Iran war, killing prisoners, family members of prisoners, a lawyer, physicians and nurses, a 5-year-old child, teenage soldiers guarding the doors as part of mandatory military service, administrative staff, and residents of the area. Additionally, about 100 transgender inmates are missing. Israeli officials have described the attack on Evin as “symbolic.”
On June 24, it seemed the ceasefire was faltering, to the anger of President Trump, who was quoted as saying, “I’m not happy with [Israel]. I’m not happy with Iran either. We basically have two countries that have been fighting for so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing, you understand that?”
For readers having trouble visualizing the strikes, the NY Times created a map of the strikes in Qatar, Tehran, and Tel Aviv.
USA
What is Alligator Alcatraz?
As of August 1, 56,579 people are in ICE detention, according to NBC News. In June alone, well over 15,000 people were deported.
But what happens before immigrants are deported? For some, the answer is jail, and for others, the answer is detainment camps. One center in Florida has garnered particular national attention.
Alligator Alcatraz is a detention facility — a building that facilitates the intake, processing, and deportation of immigrants. Detention facilities have sprung up around the country.
Krisit Noem, Homeland Security Secretary, says Alligator Alcatraz should be the model for state-run migrant detention centers and that centers should be near airports for maximum efficiency.
The center, while under ongoing construction, opened in early July and can hold 4,000 people. On August 7, a Miami judge ordered that construction on the facility must be halted for 14 days.
An anonymous former worker, who withheld her name for fear of harassment, gave an interview to NBC6 South Florida about the conditions of Alcatraz. In her role as corrections officer, she was living in a shared trailer and was forced to use “porta-johns” as the bathrooms were backed up from frequent use. She said detainees had no sunlight, were unable to tell what time of day it was, and had no access to showers. The worker said she was fired after catching COVID-19 about a week into the job.
The original Alcatraz is a former federal prison on an island off the coast of San Francisco, and it is also known for its high population and poor living conditions. Alligator Alcatraz is named for the flat, marshy environment it was built on — President Trump was quoted saying, “we’re going to teach [detainees] how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”
Alligators are not the only risk to detainees — the structure, built of tents and wire fencing, sits in the path of potential hurricanes and tropical storms, as well as intense rainfall, extreme heat and humidity, and wildfires, depending on the season. In addition to harsh weather conditions, rare wildlife, and powering an aquifer, the land already has people in it. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida has lands adjacent to the airport and runway Alcatraz was built.
The New York Times has drawn similarities to historical U.S. internment camps, such as war relocation centers. In early July, civil rights advocates sued the Trump Administration over lack of legal counsel and violations of due process. To protest the conditions, prisoners at the center began a hunger strike on July 26. The strike ended after it’s 17th day on August 9 after strike leader, Cuban Pedro Lorenzo Concepción, was assured his name was not on the “lista de personas deportables” — list of deportable persons. The Department of Homeland Security denied the strike’s existence.
CHICAGO
Chicago’s Disability Pride Parade
Hundreds marched in the Chicago Disability Pride Parade to celebrate National Disability Pride Day on July 26. Marchers walked north on South Dearborn St. to Daley Plaza, where there were tents set up by disability groups and live music and performances. This year’s parade is the 22nd Chicago Disability Pride Parade, the longest-running parade of its kind.
The theme this year was “35 Years of ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act]: Still Rising, Still Thriving!”
Nirali Chauhan, Vice President of the Disability Pride Association, explained that the American Disability Act has a deep impact on American infrastructure, including elevators, video captioning, automatic doors, ramps, grab bars, and remote working options.
Disability Pride is the celebration and coming together of a community.
“The Disability Pride Parade gave me a space where I really didn’t have to minimize what I was carrying or make it palatable,” said Chauhan.
Grand Marshal Rachel Arfa, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, who led the parade, said, “Disability Pride to me means to be able to share the identity of having a disability and be coming together with our community.”
However, Disability Pride is not just a celebration; it is also a protest. Parade leaders led the crowd in a chorus of chants, saying, “Access now!” The Party for Socialism and Liberation also chanted, carrying signs asking for disability justice and protections for Medicaid following President Donald Trump’s signing of the bill that cuts Medicaid, one of the US’ largest public health care programs, by one trillion dollars.
Arfa said that federal actions are threatening disability rights in America, specifically the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. This affects the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
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