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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Wednesday.

1. U.S.-Israel tensions rise over Israel’s planned judicial overhaul.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said today that Israel is “a sovereign country” that will make its own decisions, in response to U.S. criticism of his plan to weaken the country’s judiciary. Netanyahu’s statement was released at the unusual time of 1 a.m., hours after President Biden said he was “very concerned” about the events in Israel.

The back-and-forth came after the Biden administration had flooded Israel’s government with warnings that its judicial proposals were threatening its reputation as a true democracy, causing Netanyahu’s opponents to accuse him of endangering the critical relationship between the U.S. and Israel.

Biden’s blunt remarks this week — which included him saying Netanyahu would not be invited to the White House in the near term after the U.S. ambassador had floated the possibility — indicated that the U.S. would wait to see the outcome of the negotiations in Israel.

For more: My colleague Amanda Taub wrote about how Israel’s recent political crisis showed both the powers and limits of protest. And here’s an explanation of what has happened so far, and what happens next in Israel.

In other international news, Pope Francis, 86, was taken to a hospital in Rome to be treated for a respiratory infection.

2. Kentucky legislators voted to override the governor’s veto on an anti-trans law.

The state’s Republican-dominated legislature voted to bypass the governor’s veto and enact a bill that will create a host of new regulations and restrictions on transgender youth, including banning access to what doctors call gender-affirming health care.

The bill, described by L.G.B.T.Q. rights groups as among the most extreme in the nation, had been vetoed last week by Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat. It specifically bans surgeries, puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children under 18, and rejects any requirements by school districts to refer to transgender children by their preferred pronouns.

The bill also puts new limits on what can be discussed in schools, stopping lessons at any grade level about gender identity or sexual orientation and requiring schools to give notice to parents about any program on the subject of sexuality.

3. The F.D.A. approved Narcan, the nasal spray that reverses overdoses, for over-the-counter sales.

The move clears the way for big-box chains, vending machines, gas stations and online retailers to sell the potentially lifesaving medicine to people without prescriptions by late summer. Public health experts hope that wider availability of Narcan will help reduce the nation’s alarmingly high drug fatality rates.

Narcan — the most well-known version of naloxone, a drug that blocks an opioid’s effect on the brain — is considered an important tool in fighting the country’s opioid crisis. More than 100,000 people died of drug-related causes in the U.S. in each of the last two years.

For more: Here’s a guide for how to use Narcan, and here’s an explanation of when to use it.

4. The Senate voted to repeal its decades-old Iraq military authorizations.

The chamber voted 66-to-30 today to repeal congressional authorizations from 1991 and 2002 for combat operations against Iraq, moving with broad bipartisan support on a yearslong effort to claw back war powers from the executive branch.

Passage of the bill, which now goes to the House, reflected a growing belief in both parties that it is long past time for Congress to play its constitutional role as a check on an executive branch that has embroiled the country in endless wars. “Presidents can do mischief if there are outdated authorizations on the books,” said Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia.

5. In full control of the government, Michigan Democrats are trying to turn the state blue.

Seven years after Michigan helped cement Donald Trump’s presidential victory, the state is a new focal point of Democratic power. Led by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — who is considered one of the party’s brightest stars — the Legislature is rapidly approving ambitious priorities.

Democrats there made Michigan the first state in nearly 60 years to repeal right-to-work rules, which had weakened organized labor, while expanding L.G.B.T.Q. protections, pursuing anti-gun violence measures and moving to repeal a now-unenforceable abortion ban.

In other politics news, Republicans have sought to erect more barriers for college students, who tilt heavily Democratic, after several cycles in which their turnout surged.

In New York, the governor’s plan to solve the state’s housing problem is facing heavy resistance in the suburbs of New York City.

6. More than 1,000 tech leaders, including Elon Musk, called for a pause on A.I.

In an open letter, entrepreneurs and researchers urged artificial intelligence labs to hold off on the development of their most advanced systems, warning that A.I. could present “profound risks to society and humanity.”

The letter warned of powerful tools that “no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict or reliably control.” Its signees also included Steve Wozniak, an Apple co-founder, and Andrew Yang, the 2020 presidential candidate.

For more: One of my colleagues tested out how well an A.I. chatbot could perform as a personal assistant.

In other tech news, TikTok’s owner, facing a potential U.S. ban, began pushing a new app, and a rift between gaming giants showed the toll of China’s tech crackdown.

7. The International Court of Justice will soon rule if nations have a legal obligation to fight climate change.

A tiny Pacific island nation, Vanuatu, rallied countries at the U.N. this morning to ask the world’s highest court to weigh in on a high-stakes question: Can countries be sued under international law for failing to slow down climate change?

The international court’s opinion would not be binding. But it could turn the voluntary pledges that every country has made under the Paris climate accord into legal obligations.

8. One of the luckiest lightning strikes ever recorded.

Researchers in Brazil were able to capture on camera the brief moments that illustrate how lightning rods work. Their high-speed footage shows that less than one millisecond before lightning strikes, the rods send an upward discharge to connect to the incoming lightning bolt.

Lightning rods aren’t alone in producing these charges. A scientist involved in the study added that “any person standing in an open area can similarly launch an upward connecting discharge from their head or shoulders and be injured by lightning even when not directly struck by it.”

In other science news, a new DNA analysis of centuries-old bones and teeth suggested that long-told Swahili stories may be more truthful than many outsiders have presumed.

9. What to do tonight:

Cook: This flavorful soup is rich with peanuts, potatoes and comfort.

Watch: Check out eight hidden gems available to stream now.

Listen: Our critic made a playlist for early spring.

Book: “Set-jetting” luxury tours let you travel like James Bond or the cast of “The White Lotus.”

Plant: Cucumber melons are never bitter, and always easy on the digestion.

Exercise: Here’s how to enhance your run with diaphragmatic breathing.

Play: Today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. For more, find all our games here.

10. And finally, how the world looks through the eyes of children.

On a recent trip to Rome, 10-year-old Baptiste Mille’s eyes were drawn to a large ornate archway, a carving of two winged creatures and the mossy remains of an out-of-use fountain. He also took a selfie in front of the Colosseum.

Baptiste was one of several vacationing children whom my colleagues asked to take photos using disposable cameras. Their photographs — in cities such as New York, Paris and Bangkok — offer an insightful view into the interests of a traveling child.

Have a youthful night.

Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.

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