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Today’s top stories

New information reveals that, over the weekend, the U.S. removed all long-range bombers from the British air base near where five men were arrested last week in a suspected terror plot. A U.S. official who is not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that the decision to abruptly send home a dozen B-1 bombers from Royal Air Force base Fairford was due to a “credible threat” from Iran, which potentially involved a drone attack.

• 🎧 The war with Iran has shown that U.S. military bases, both at home and abroad, are now seen as more vulnerable, NPR’s Greg Myre tells Up First. Iranian drones and missiles have targeted U.S. bases across the Middle East since the start of the conflict. For the past three decades, the U.S. has established these bases to protect its allies, but the rise of drone threats has changed this perspective. Now, the U.S. must defend a network of military bases — a task that is complicated and costly, Myre says.

High school students in France are blocking schools today, after hundreds of thousands of them marched across the country yesterday. They are joined by teachers, parents and labor union members. The movement, which began in a particularly run-down high school facing teacher absenteeism, aims to improve learning conditions and address inequalities in the French education system.

• 🎧 The French school system plays a crucial role in shaping the national identity, promoting the idea that anyone can achieve their goals if they apply themselves in l’école de la Republique, or the school of the republic, NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley says. She adds that this concept is at the heart of France’s democracy and vision of itself as a meritocracy and egalitarian society. Even elite public schools in Paris are joining the movement. French news reports show clashes between youth and police and cars, trash cans and schools burning. Initially, the far-right condemned delinquency, but many also saw police aggression. Critics argue that the government responded too late and then framed the issue as urban violence instead of addressing the students’ demands.

A former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency will appear before a federal judge today to face charges of espionage and attempted treason. Federal prosecutors accuse August Hanning of using classified information to brief a foreign intelligence agency. He served as the head of Germany’s CIA equivalent for seven years from 1998 to 2005. Prosecutors allege he shared sensitive political information for 12 years after leaving office. They have not yet disclosed who Hanning’s alleged clients were.