Florida, Russia, Turkey: Your Friday Evening Briefing

The U. S. Department of State issued a worldwide travel advisory on Friday due to a “potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U. S. citizens and interests,” the agency announced. The State Department specifically pointed to increased violence against LGBTQ+ people and pride-related events as a reason for the advisory.

(BIG SUR, Calif.) — A section of California’s scenic Highway 1 leading to the famous Big Sur coast reopened to around-the-clock traffic Friday after stabilization of a storm-triggered rockslide that dropped a chunk of one lane into the ocean and hampered tourism. The gap has yet to be closed, but after placement of steel and concrete into the cliff, a temporary signal system was activated to allow alternating north-south traffic on the undamaged lane, according to the California Department of Transportation. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The reopening came eight days ahead of schedule and just in time for summer travel. “Highway 1 is the jewel of the California highway system and our crews have been working non-stop for the last month and a half so Californians can have unrestricted access to this iconic area of our state,” Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said in a statement this week. Big Sur is a 90-mile (145-kilometer) stretch of the state’s central coast where misty, forested mountains rise up from the ocean.

King Charles III’s net worth has increased by $12.5 million (£10 million) over the past year, bringing his total net worth to approximately $772 million (£610 million) according to the newly-published 2024 Sunday Times Rich List, which ranks the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the U. K. Charles is ranked number 258 on this year’s list, a slight climb from his last year’s ranking of 263. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Charles’ net worth is significantly higher than that of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose fortune was estimated to be $470 million in 2022.

The question of how many people have died in Gaza since Israel began a bombing and ground campaign in response to Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack has taken on renewed urgency as President Biden tries to forestall a full assault by Israel against Hamas’ leadership and remaining battalions into the densely-populated city of Rafah.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after being shot multiple times and remains in serious condition, officials said Friday. Fico, 59, was attacked as he was greeting supporters after a government meeting in the former coal mining town of Handlova. A suspected assailant has been arrested. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Miriam Lapunikova, director of the University F.

The Israeli government’s approach to Hamas has been, by most accounts, a strategic failure. Israel’s citizens were not protected on Oct. 7, 2023, despite what seems to have been indicative prior warning of that appalling Hamas attack. And the decisive military defeat of Hamas remains elusive. The staggering death, injury, and suffering inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza in response has also helped turn much global opinion sharply against Israel, while doing little to bolster the security of ordinary Israelis. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Historically, it is responses to terrorism that have changed the world more than the violence itself, often in profoundly unwelcome ways.