Cottonwood Falls, in the heart of Kansas, is a small town surrounded by prairie as far as the eye can see and dotted with idyllic farms and red barns. This ranching community of roughly 850 people proudly hosts a tiny museum whose centerpiece is a perfectly preserved settlers’ wagon. Next to it is the “House of God,” a café that also functions as a church, or vice versa. The cobblestone main street features at one end a hotel where what may once have been a saloon is now a bar. At the other end stands a startling stone building in French Renaissance style: one of the oldest courthouses still in operation west of the Mississippi River. Currently, it also serves as an early voting polling place for next Tuesday’s midterm elections.

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Washington and Israel have devised new plans to strike Iran again after the U.S. midterm elections, The New York Times reports, citing senior U.S. officials and other sources. The planning comes as the armed forces of both countries have stepped up military maneuvers in the region to rehearse bombing missions, and as the State Department has ordered nonessential embassy staff and their families to evacuate Saudi Arabia amid the prospect of possible new attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen. It also comes as Israel prepares for an election in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for re-election.

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One of the factors that led Greg Pirio to buy his house in Loudoun County, in northern Virginia, 14 years ago, was the nature surrounding it. A historian specializing in Africa, he loved to take long walks with his dog and listen to the birds. Three years ago, a large data center was installed just a hundred meters from his door. Since it began operating a year and a half ago, the birdsong has been replaced by a constant buzzing together with fumes that cause headaches, conjunctivitis and respiratory problems.

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