Activists say Iran's current wave of protests are different from previous unrest. Unleashing their anger at the compulsory veil for women, protesters are targeting something central to the identity of Iran's Islamic cleric-led rule. The protests are drawing from a long history of resistance among Iranian women. During the 1979 revolution, the hijab was a sign of breaking with the secular monarchy. But when the new Islamic Republic then made wearing it mandatory, thousands of women marched in protests. Woman have been challenging the rule ever since. The death of a woman arrested for wearing too loose a headscarf has sparked an eruption of anger.

Environmental groups say the polluted leftovers of Florida’s phosphate fertilizer mining industry are at risk for leaks or other contamination triggered by Hurricane Ian. More than 1 billion tons are in “stacks” that resemble enormous ponds. Florida has 24 such phosphogypsum stacks around the state, mostly in central mining areas. About 30 million tons of this waste is generated every year, according to the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute. A March 2021 leak at one stack called Piney Point resulted in the release of an estimated 215 million gallons of polluted water into Tampa Bay, causing massive fish kills. State officials, overseen by a court-appointed receiver, are working with a $100 million appropriation to shut down the location.

Hurricane Ian is bearing down on Florida as a menacing major hurricane, and many residents have heeded orders to flee from its path. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian could become a dangerous Category 4 hurricane before slamming into southwest Florida on Wednesday. At least 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate in anticipation of powerful storm surge and flooding rains. One couple from England, Glyn and Christine Williams, got stuck and planned to ride out the storm at a shelter. They said the Tampa hotel where they had been staying closed amid evacuation orders and the airport shut before they could fly home.

Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, is asking a judge to free him from prison by reversing California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s denial of his parole earlier this year. Sirhan shot Kennedy moments after the U.S. senator from New York claimed victory in California’s pivotal Democratic presidential primary. Newsom said in January that Sirhan remains a threat to the public and hasn’t taken responsibility for a crime that changed American history. But his attorney, Angela Berry, says there is no evidence her now 78-year-old client remains dangerous. On Wednesday, she is filing a petition asking a judge to rule that Newsom violated state law.

Clergy in 33 states are exempt from laws requiring professionals such as teachers, physicians and psychotherapists to report information about alleged child abuse to police or child welfare officials. That loophole has resulted in an unknown number of predators being allowed to continue abusing children for years despite having confessed the behavior to religious officials. An Associated Press review finds that over the past two decades, more than 130 bills have been proposed in state legislatures to create or amend child sex abuse reporting laws. After intense opposition from religious groups, the clergy privilege remained unchanged. Often, legislative efforts to close the loophole run up against lawmakers who are also church members.