By Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — The first US service members to die in the conflict between the US and Iran were killed by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday morning local time, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

The death toll from that event at the Shuaiba port has since risen to six, US Central Command announced on Monday afternoon, after the remains of two additional service members were recovered.

Earlier Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the strike that killed the service members hit a “tactical operation center that was fortified,” but there was “one” projectile that made it through air defenses. CNN previously reported the event was a suspected drone strike.

The source familiar said it was a direct hit just after 9 a.m. local time, on the center of the building they described as a triple-wide trailer with office space inside. The attack came quickly and with no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker, the source said. Hours after the strike, fire was still smoldering in some parts of the building, the source described – the inside of the makeshift operations center blackened and the walls blown outwards from the blast, some parts peeling away from the building.

A satellite image taken Sunday morning showed a building at the port on fire and dark smoke billowing into the sky.

US Central Command initially said that three service members were killed but didn’t specify the location of the strike. There were dozens of people at the site, the source said, but the final service members who were declared killed in action were unaccounted for when the dust settled. With the building still burning in some places, it took time to recover the remaining service members, the source said.

The CENTCOM release on Monday also said a facility was struck “during Iran’s initial attacks.” The military has not identified the troops killed on Sunday, as families are still being notified.

CENTCOM’s statement said US forces “recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members” from the facility that was struck.

The six casualties are the first killed in action in the military operation against Iran that began early Saturday Eastern standard time, dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Hegseth and President Donald Trump have both said that more casualties are likely. A CENTCOM spokesperson said Monday that 18 troops have been seriously wounded throughout the US military’s operation.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine called the service members killed in action “the best that our nation has to offer” and “true examples of what selfless service means.”

“Our deepest and heartfelt condolences are with their families, their friends, and their units,” he said. “We grieve with you and we will never forget you.”

CNN’s Thomas Bordeaux contributed to this story

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By Harmeet Kaur, CNN

(CNN) — Two months ago, Kaeden Rowland was just a print specialist at a Staples in upstate New York: bored at work, looking for subjects for her TikTok account and wondering how to inform the masses about the office supply chain’s services and products. So on January 13, while on the clock, she posted a quick video of herself in her red work shirt and lanyard, click-clacking her long fingernails on her name badge and offering to help with print projects.

Now, after 100 or so videos, Rowland, 22, is better known as the “Staples Baddie,” and she seems to be the retailer’s de facto employee of the year.

Under her TikTok name, Oblivion, she has invited customers to use Staples to create direct mail campaigns, renew their passports or emblazon a photo of their choice onto a mug. “You’re not getting your shawty a 40% off mug from Staples?” she mused in one video. “And men wonder why women cheat.” Her subjects swing from making ASMR content out of printer sounds to earnestly explaining the various coil sizes for book binding.

By last week, her efforts had brought her down to Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, at the invitation of MAC Cosmetics, to attend the brand’s launch party with Sephora. “Ever since I was little, I literally had the thought of, ‘I’m gonna be famous, and it will work out,’ Rowland said. “I just put that in the back, got my job at Staples, kept posting my content … And then it took off, and my life changed.”

The day after the event, she was at the Standard Grill, next door to the hotel where MAC had put her up. She had ditched the red Staples work gear for head-to-toe Rick Owens, along with her usual septum rings and a set of Sanrio-themed nails that she did herself.

Rowland kept extending her stay in the city as more opportunities opened up. On Sunday, she hosted the hotel’s weekly bingo night, and she said she was scheduled to appear at other cabarets, burlesque clubs and drag shows later this month. “Now, I’m, I guess, a queer icon, I’ve noticed,” she said.

At a time where the public seems to be growing weary of paid influencer marketing, Rowland’s genuine, organic enthusiasm for Staples provided an unexpected boost for the brand. People are posting videos about how “Staples Baddie” made them want to visit the store, and advertising and marketing publications are analyzing her impact on the office supply retailer.

“I don’t have any formal training in marketing,” Rowland said. “I’m just opinionated with cheekbones.”

Already, though, there are signs that some Staples employees are souring on her — in a recent Reddit thread titled “Staples ‘baddie’ on tiktok low key makes me mad,” one user reported dealing with “a higher volume of annoying/needy customers at print” since Rowland’s videos took off, while another user lamented that the retailer wanted employees to replicate the phenomenon in other stores.

Staples, however, seems delighted by the attention — the company’s official brand TikTok account has eagerly commented on several of her videos, and Rowland said she’s had meetings with people on the corporate side to share her ideas for the company. “I’m so glad to be showing people that you don’t have to be so sterilized with your marketing,” she said.

Rowland’s passion for Staples does seem sincere — she’s always been interested in digital art and graphic design and she said she’s used the store’s services for her own small art business on Instagram. But though she hopes to work wi

By Tal Shalev, CNN

Tel Aviv (CNN) — In any other year, it would be almost impossible to move through Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Costumed children and adults flood the streets, and music blasts from rooftop parties as residents party until dawn. It’s a holiday in which Tel Aviv, which proudly boasts it’s “the city that never stops,” lives up to its nickname.

This year, though, the square was quiet as the holiday began Monday evening. Since Israel and the United States launched their attack on Iran on Saturday, streets have been largely empty. A handful of people with partial costumes sat at outdoor cafes, looking out of place amongst closed shops and vacant sidewalks. Many of those who had ventured out of their homes were only catching moments of sun between the air raid sirens.

“If this was a normal Purim, you wouldn’t have been able to move here,” said Daphna Lustig, a writer in her 40s whose home overlooks the square. Then her phone buzzed with a Home Front Command alert. Within minutes, the square was deserted.

Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles toward Israel since Saturday, sending the public into shelters and safe rooms, some sharing underground spaces with strangers.

“There’s no sense of panic,” Lustig said. “Unlike in previous rounds, people know there’s time – they don’t jump up in fear. There’s a kind of routine, even though it’s depressing to call this a ‘routine.’”

For Israelis, the drill is familiar: Nearly two and a half years of conflict have made them accustomed to the sound of the sirens. Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has faced rocket fire from Gaza and missiles from Hezbollah, as well as drones and ballistic missiles from Iran and the Houthis in Yemen.

“I feel calmer than during all the previous rounds,” said Robyn Isberg, originally from Boston, who was lounging in the square with two friends in their 20s. “The atmosphere is less grim. The last Iran war (in June 2025) was like a boot camp for us – we had to be ready in seconds, with a backpack, a portable charger, snacks, water. I don’t know if it’s because we’ve built resilience, or if it’s just become the new normal.”

The Israeli public is generally supportive of the military campaign, for now. A February poll by the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv-based think tank, found that 78% of Israelis consider Iran the most worrying public security issue, and 50.5% of those surveyed voiced support for an independent Israeli strike even if a nuclear agreement was reached between the US and Iran.

The prospect of renewed confrontation with Tehran had been building for weeks, ever since US President Donald Trump pledged support for Iran’s anti-government protesters in early January. This allowed Israelis to prepare physically as well as mentally.

Taylor Sanchez, who moved to Israel from Orlando, Florida two and a half years ago, said she had plans for Purim. Her costume was ready at home, and she was contemplating using it even with no celebrations going on, “just to walk around. We try to go outside whenever we can. We know where the shelters and safe places are.”

But Sophie Leb, also originally from Florida, said she had set up a tent for the night in the nearby Dizengoff Center mall. “This time, unlike previous rounds, we knew it was coming for weeks. It’s almost like – finally, at least the anxiety is over,” she said. Still, she added, there are mixed feelings. “My body reacts to every noise and sound. Training the body to get used to this situation is harsh.”

After more than two years of conflict, some Israelis say public frustration will grow if the war is prolonged. “At some point, I believe people will lose patience, like i

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