Rants:

- According to the BBC, Iran has gone the North Korea route by test firing its most advanced long-range missiles, which are believed to have ranges of about 1,240 miles.

- According to CBS News, a poll posted on Facebook over the weekend asking whether President Obama should be assassinated has prompted a Secret Service investigation. Seven hundred and thirty people responded to the four-answer survey before it was taken down — with “Yes,” “Maybe,” “No,” and “If he cuts my health care,” as the possible choices — but the results were not made available.

Raves:

- While you were on vacation, according to The Seattle Times, a UW student unearthed a 2,000-year-old engraved gemstone with Alexander the Great’s portrait at an archaeological dig in Israel.

- Signs that the economy may be on the upturn, according to CNN Money: the Dow Jones industrial average went up 124 points on Monday and the S&P 500 has gained 57 percent since hitting a 12-year low in March.