TFI Daily News

The $2 Trillion Race for Control of Future Battlefields (Bloomberg) Cold War-sized nuclear stockpiles are out. Emergent technologies like hypersonic missiles, AI, space weapons and drones are in. These weapons are at the center of a new arms race, as countries pour billions into attempts to be the first to master drones, hypersonic weapons, AI and other emerging technologies that may dominate future battlefields. The spending spree—amounting to more than $2 trillion across three continents—mirrors the nuclear buildups of the Cold War, where the US and Soviet Union amassed huge stockpiles of ever-more-dangerous nuclear warheads. This time around there are more players, yet less certainty of the impact these new weapons may have—only the sense that getting left behind could be catastrophic. Russia has an edge in proven hypersonic missiles; China’s military is deeply enmeshed with AI labs but the US used the technology for the first time in combat; all three are capable of destroying satellites. Europe has the resources to catch up but struggles to work collectively. “An arms race is sort of happening—even though we haven’t called it that—and it’s a multidimensional arms race,” said former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander. Major military powers “have to figure out where they will put their emphasis.”

Shootings in Nine States Mar Fourth of July Celebrations (NYT) The Fourth of July brought celebrations from coast to coast, as millions watched fireworks, parades, tall ships and more in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. But the holiday weekend was also marked by spasms of gunfire, with shootings occurring in New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan and South Carolina. At least five people were killed out of at least 52 gunshot victims, authorities said. Large gatherings with heavy alcohol consumption and hot weather create the conditions for violent outbursts, according to researchers. Gun Violence Archive data from 2013 to 2025, analyzed by the criminologist James Alan Fox, shows that July 4 and July 5 rank as the most violent days of the year, followed only by Jan. 1.

Trump won big spending promises from NATO last year. This week in Turkey, he’ll try to enforce them (AP) President Donald Trump got what he wanted from NATO at last year’s summit: an alliance whose members had largely acceded to his demands to step up their defense spending. This week when he meets leaders in Turkey, his mission is to enforce that pledge. The speed with which most NATO countries have tried to heed Trump’s call to spend 5% of their annual gross domestic product on defense over the next decade underscores how the U.S. president has reshaped the alliance and bent it to his will—even as he continues to spar with its members over the Iran war, his flirtation with annexing Greenland, and various personal tiffs. Trump leaves Monday evening for the summit, and for days leading up to the trip has been airing grievances about how much the U.S. spends on defense compared with other countries.

Trump administration’s $46 billion ‘smart wall’ races ahead on the US-Mexico border (AP) For decades, all that separated the U.S. from Mexico was barbed wire. Now, after a massive infusion of cash from Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration is swiftly building what it has dubbed a “smart wall,” a combination of 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) steel fencing and an array of sophisticated technology like sensors, cameras and towers allowing Border Patrol to surveil the territory. The wall is under heavy scrutiny for the billions of dollars being dedicated to it when border crossings are at their lowest in decades.

Islandwide blackout hits Cuba as its fuel reserve dwindles and aging grid crumbles (AP) An islandwide blackout hit Cuba on Monday as the country’s fuel reserves dwindle and its electric grid continues to crumble. The blackout in the country of nearly 10 million people was reported by the state-run Electric Union, which said on X that the cause is under investigation. Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, deepening the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.

Death toll from Venezuelan earthquakes rises to 3,342, more than 40,000 still missing (Drop Site News) Venezuela’s official death toll from the June 24 twin earthquakes has risen to 3,342, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced on Saturday. The UN estimates between 41,000 and 50,000 people remain unaccounted for, and Venezuelan authorities say more than 16,740 have been injured, and another 16,000 have been displaced from their homes.

With poor ventilation and children packed in, UK’s outdated schoolhouses swelter in the heat (AP) Like hundreds of other schools across the U.K., the Welsh school where Mark Morris teaches was forced to close its gates during Europe’s latest record-smashing heat wave. With no air conditioning or fans, and intense sunlight coming in from windows that don’t open very far—some don’t even open at all—Morris said it would have been impossible to conduct his design and technology classes when the mercury hit a record 35.9 degrees Celsius (96.6 Fahrenheit) in Wales. “Even in a normal summer, the heat on those south-facing windows becomes unbearable,” said Morris, who teaches high school children things like woodworking and food preparation. “If there’s anything that you need to turn the oven on, you can forget about it. There’s no way anybody could carry on.” More than 1,000 U.K. schools closed for days or sent children home early in late June, when temperature records were toppled across Europe, disrupting learning and impacting the wider economy as working parents scrambled to find childcare.

Wildfires rage in Portugal, Greece and Spain while Greek authorities warn of toxic smoke (AP) Hundreds of firefighters battled wildfires in Portugal, Greece and Spain on Sunday, with Spain and Italy sending reinforcements to Portugal to help with a massive blaze burning for more than three days. Authorities urged residents in parts of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, to remain indoors and shut their windows and doors due to toxic smoke from a burning recycling plant that was engulfed by a wildfire. Another major wildfire broke out Sunday afternoon west of the Greek capital, Athens.

Deadly Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv on Eve of NATO Summit (NYT) Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv early on Monday, the eve of a NATO summit, as Russia mounted its second major attack on the city in days. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who is expected to attend the NATO summit in Turkey, had warned that Russia was preparing “a new massive strike” against the capital. Loud blasts shook the city hours later. The regional military administration said ballistic missiles were flying, and Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to stay in shelters. Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said that at least seven people had been killed. At least two dozen others were wounded.

Ukrainian midrange drones reshape the battlefield by targeting Russian supply lines (AP) Through the grainy gray-and-white haze of thermal images streamed from a drone, Ukrainian pilots watch the roads that keep Russian forces supplied, hunting for targets with a fleet of midrange drones that is reshaping the battlefield. In a basement command post in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, hundreds of kilometers from the drone over Russian-held territory, pilots wait for movement. When a vehicle appears, they will nudge the controller, sending the aircraft diving toward its target to disrupt Russian supplies deep behind the front. “Our mission is to cut logistics,” said Kat, commander of Ukraine’s K-2 brigade, which fires midrange drones. “Cut off their supply lines, and the infantry on the front line have no food, no ammunition, no night vision, no batteries. Nothing. That’s how we’re wearing them down in every sense.”

Philippine Senate opens the politically volatile impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte (AP) The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday in a politically volatile event that will unfold with the backdrop of her bitter political feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. More than 6,000 police officers, including anti-riot squads, were deployed to secure the Senate.

China Test Fires Long-Range Ballistic Missile in the Pacific, Angering Neighbors (NYT) China test fired a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the first such launch in almost two years, which set off alarm from countries in the region that criticized the move as “destabilizing.” The missile was launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine and sent a “mock warhead” into the Pacific Ocean, according to a report from Xinhua, China’s official news agency. The launch came as the leaders of Australia and Fiji announced a mutual defense treaty and a regional security alliance, the latest in a string of agreements Canberra has been striking with Pacific Island nations widely viewed as efforts to push back against China’s encroachment in the region.

At Site Where Iran’s Slain Leader Lies, Some See a Symbol of His Failures (NYT) The masses of mourners who came to bid a final farewell to Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, this weekend in Tehran did so at a mosque and prayer complex with unfinished minarets, cracked and missing tiles, and a crumbling parking lot. Nearly 40 years after planning and construction for the complex, the Grand Mosalla, began in earnest, it is still incomplete, and has even become shabby, with parts of it in obvious need of repair. The status of the site is in stark contrast with how Iran’s government was hoping to present itself during Ayatollah Khamenei’s weeklong funeral services—as a strong, capable state that has endured through the U.S.-Israeli war. Instead, the saga of the Mosalla, a sprawling mega-project in the works for almost as long as the Islamic Republic of Iran has existed, symbolizes, to the slain supreme leader’s critics, the unfulfilled promises of the state he ruled.

Life of imprisoned Palestinian physician is in danger, report says (Drop Site News) Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s life is in immediate danger, Physicians for Human Rights Israel and his lawyer warned Saturday, after a prison visit. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital had fresh, severe injuries to his head, eyes, ears, and neck, they said, leaving him so disfigured his own attorney initially struggled to recognize him. Attorney Nasser Odeh, who saw Abu Safiya Thursday at the underground Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan Prison, said he arrived shackled hand and foot, escorted by masked guards, struggling to breathe and speak, unable to sit upright, and repeatedly on the verge of losing consciousness. Abu Safiya told him that after his Supreme Court appeal was heard June 10, four or five guards entered his solitary cell at Ganot Prison and beat him with a hammer and batons, and that since his June 24 transfer to Rakefet he has been beaten daily, losing consciousness several times and receiving no medical treatment. “This is the last time you will see me,” he told his lawyer. “They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.” He has been held without charge since December 27, 2024.

The End of Canada Nice (Politico) There’s a momentous shift taking place across Canadian society: As the world gets darker and more uncertain outside their borders, Canadians are increasingly embracing the need for a more muscular national defense. There has been a 13 percent increase in enrollment in the country’s understaffed military over the past year—the highest recruitment rate in three decades. The growing interest in military services comes amid the “elbows up” mentality fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s belligerence, including his suggestions that Canada become the “51st state” and his imposition of stiff tariffs on a host of Canadian products. The bump in recruitment also complements Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to boost defense spending by tens of billions of dollars. He’s released a comprehensive industrial defense strategy to rearm the military—envisioning new fleets of submarines and destroyers, a new class of fighter jets and a national ammunition stockpile. And he has sweetened the pot for servicemembers with 20 percent pay raises and promises of better military housing and social services. Carney was hailed across the globe for declaring a “rupture” had taken place in the international order, but it has not been hard to convince Canadians that their relationships with the United States and the rest of the world have changed.

25 suspected heat deaths in New Jersey from record-breaking July 4 weekend temps (ABC News) At least 25 people are suspected to have died in New Jersey from the sweltering, multi-day heat wave that has enveloped a large portion of the country leading up to and over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, officials said. New Jersey officials said at a news conference that the deaths were caused by the heat dome that had settled above parts of the central and eastern United States. Over the past several days, New Jersey and states along the Eastern Seaboard have experienced extreme heat with temperatures in the high 90s to triple digits.

Poll: Americans say they’re sick of politics taking over their lives (Politico) Roughly 60 percent of Americans say it feels like politics are everywhere these days where it does not make sense for things to be political, according to new results from The POLITICO Poll. It’s a rare point of harmony between Republicans and Democrats, with majorities of both parties also agreeing that it is becoming less important what celebrities say about politics. Unless they agree with them. The same people who want politics out of everyday life are still influenced when the celebrities’ or athletes’ opinions align with their own. Nearly 70 percent of voters who backed Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 would think “more positively” about a movie star if they spoke out against President Donald Trump. The inverse is also true: For nearly 60 percent of the president’s voters, their perception of a star would improve if they expressed support for him.

As blazes rage out West, federal firefighters describe a mounting strain (Washington Post) As wildfires rip across the parched American West, federal firefighters say they are facing immense pressure and grappling with a shortage of resources that has worsened following the Trump administration’s staffing cuts. A collision of risky conditions have made things harder as the summer gets underway: a warm, dry winter; prolonged drought; snowless mountains; thick fuels that have had time to cure—elements that have set the stage for what could be a hellish fire year. The scenario started rearing its head in March and intensified over the last few weeks, with about 50 large fires now burning across the United States, and Utah and Colorado experiencing particularly large or destructive blazes. Before these factors aligned, strain on federal firefighting capacity had been building for years, leaving many feeling short-strapped and exhausted as they respond to prolonged and erratic fires.

Fierce winds hit US Pacific territories as Super Typhoon Bavi makes landfall near Guam (AP) Super Typhoon Bavi made landfall Monday over a tiny U.S. territorial island in the western Pacific near Guam, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain to the Northern Mariana Islands. The eye of the storm passed over the island of Rota Monday morning local time, bringing winds of more than 150 mph (241 kph), according to the National Weather Service. It was traveling at around 9 mph (14 kph) west toward the Philippines, the weather service said. The storm impacted other parts of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory, as well as Guam. The area was still recovering from another destructive cyclone that struck in April. On the island of Saipan, the international airport recorded wind gusts of more than 100 mph (161 kph), the weather service said.

Paris summer ritual returns with 3 supervised Seine swimming spots (AP) Swimming in the Seine is settling into a new Paris summer ritual as the city on Saturday opened three supervised bathing sites for the second year in a row. The free swimming areas near City Hall, the Eiffel Tower and in eastern Paris will remain open through the summer, depending on water quality and weather conditions. They are placed under strict lifeguards’ watch and authorities conduct daily water quality testing. Visitors described swimming in the heart of the French capital as an unforgettable experience. “It’s amazing to be swimming in the Seine while looking at the Eiffel Tower,” said Stewart Talbot, a tourist from Melbourne, Australia, visiting Paris for a week.

Albanians take to the streets in protest for the 35th night in a row (AP) A massive demonstration was held for the 35th night in a row in Albania’s capital on Saturday, with protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, the temporary replacement of his government, constitutional reform and an end to corruption. Media images showed tens of thousands of people marching along Tirana’s main boulevard toward Skanderbeg Square. The nightly demonstrations began over a luxury coastal resort development project in a protected natural area linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, but have since evolved into broader anti-government and anti-corruption protests. The protesters were chanting “New Albania” and “Edi Rama, resign.”

Turkey sees its status in NATO rise (Washington Post) For years, many other NATO allies treated Turkey with suspicion for buying a Russian air defense system, attacking Western-backed Kurdish forces in Syria and stalling Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. That was then. Now, ahead of a NATO leaders summit in Ankara next week, the stars (and stripes) seem to have aligned for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President Donald Trump, touting his friendship with his Turkish counterpart, says he’s only attending this year’s summit for Erdogan. It is the latest sign of rocky relations between Trump and his European peers. Meanwhile, European officials, straining for a united front, have stayed largely mum about concerns of democratic erosion in Turkey. Instead, many have praised Turkey’s robust weapons industry as Europe rearms in the face of a U.S. military drawdown. Turkey, which boasts NATO’s second-largest military and strategic control over the Bosphorus Strait, will showcase its military prowess at a summit dominated by discussion of arms production.

In Strike After Strike, Ukraine Is Bringing the War to Crimea (NYT) Celebrating his seizure of Crimea in 2014, President Vladimir V. Putin later called the peninsula an “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” hailing Russia’s return there as a symbol of revanchist ambition. Now the Ukrainian military is hammering Crimea with swarming drone attacks, seeking to transform it from a Russian-occupied fortress into a nightmare for the Kremlin to manage. Ukraine has ramped up attacks in recent weeks, trying to sever vital supply lines. It targeted bridges and roads last month, according to a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery and verified videos, many of which were posted by the Ukrainian military. It began this wave of attacks by targeting air defense and radar systems across the peninsula. The Ukrainian military has also battered the energy grid and fuel reserves, causing blackouts and starving Russian troops of resources. All of this has shaken life in Crimea to the greatest extent since Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014.

Iran’s regime survived the war and is now savvier, ruthless and more hard-line (Washington Post) The death of Iran’s supreme leader on the opening day of the war raised U.S. and Israeli hopes that the regime he led—and that has held the country in an Islamic vise grip since 1979—had been pushed to the brink of collapse. Four months later, however, as Iran stages a belated state funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the burial rites testify instead to the Islamic republic’s survival and mark the ascendance of a new generation of leaders that is more entrenched and hard-line, according to security officials and experts. Led by Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba—who has remained in hiding since being injured in the same strike that killed his father—the new hierarchy is younger, has better command of the state’s levers of power, has gained insights from the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is savvier about soft-power tools including diplomacy and online propaganda. Iran “might be weaker when it comes to its economic situation, its industries, some of its strategic capabilities,” said Raz Zimmt, head of Iran research at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel. “But the bottom line is that we are facing a new, bolder, self-confident Iran.”

Israel government says it will defy Supreme Court ruling on media regulator (Reuters) Israeli cabinet members on ​Sunday voted to defy a Supreme Court decision regarding the country's broadcast regulator, raising concerns of a constitutional crisis. This is the first ‌time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has flouted a Supreme Court ruling, although it has clashed with the judiciary in the past. After elections in 2022, it sought to limit the court's powers, drawing global criticism and mass protests in Israel. Israeli law requires ​the Second Authority for Television and Radio to have a minimum number of members to make decisions. The government argues that because the council ​no longer meets that requirement, it has no authority to approve appointments or take other actions. However, on June 17, the ⁠court ordered the council to continue anyway. The cabinet on Sunday voted unanimously in favour of rejecting the court's ruling. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid ​said "the government had turned criminal".

A Nation Unites for a Day of Grand 250th Celebrations (NYT) Two hundred and fifty years after men from 13 disparate colonies made the fateful decision to adopt the Declaration of Independence, a country whose size and diversity they could have scarcely imagined will strive to set aside its divisions on Saturday and throw itself a massive sea-to-sea celebration of liberty and happiness. Hoover, Ala., will dish up free apple pie and ice cream and try to set a Guinness record by opening the most cans of Coke simultaneously. Mount Morris, Ill., is breaking out extra bouncy houses and juicing up the finale of its annual fireworks show. Los Angeles and Philadelphia will throw star-studded concerts. New York City and Washington will have military jets streaking overhead and fireworks shows for the ages crackling over their skylines. All across the United States on Saturday, millions of Americans will take part in festivals, parades and cookouts that together form a portrait of the country in all its messy, star-spangled complexity.

Trump Accounts launch July 4, giving newborns $1,000 (AP) On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to launch Trump Accounts, tying the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to an effort to boost financial independence for American kids. Under the program, parents can open special investment accounts for any child born during Trump’s second term and automatically receive $1,000 from the government. Accounts can be opened for older children—as long as they don’t turn 18 before the end of the calendar year—but they will not receive the $1,000. The accounts are set to open for deposits July 4, which is also the day the Treasury Department plans to transfer the $1,000 bonus. That money—and anything else deposited by employers, philanthropies and relatives—is invested in the stock market by private firms. Children can’t access the money until they turn 18, and then only for specific purposes, like paying for a home or school.

A California farmer is giving away tons of nectarines that he’s not allowed to sell (AP) Thousands of visitors have flocked to Cesar Mora’s farm in central California this week to gather free nectarines. He’s giving his harvest away rather than watching it rot as he’s locked in a legal battle with a company that claims exclusive rights over the variety of white nectarine he grows. He’s shared more than 100,000 pounds (45,359 kilograms) since Monday. “It was really just a thought of not wasting a perfectly good product,” Mora said. “It does make a grower feel good, being able to share my fruit with people and see their immediate reaction that they love it. It’s a little bit of good in this tough situation that I’ve been dealing with.” The legal dispute highlights the tension that can emerge between farmers and the plant breeders and large industrial food marketers that create new varieties of plants and obtain the exclusive rights to sell them.

Trump Says It’s ‘Ridiculous’ for U.S. to Maintain Current NATO Support as Rift Widens Ahead of Summit (TIME) President Donald Trump said it is “ridiculous” for the United States to maintain its current level of support for NATO “when the relationship is not reciprocal.” Referring to the alliance as a “one-sided path” late Thursday, Trump doubled down on his long-argued criticism of allied nations’ defense spending ahead of next week’s planned NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The President had earlier complained that the U.S. “spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit.” NATO defense spending has long been a contentious issue for Trump who has, since his first term, accused European allies of not investing enough in their own militaries and relying too heavily on U.S. contributions and protections. Tensions between Trump and the NATO alliance have exacerbated this year amid the fallout of the Iran war. The U.S. President has repeatedly lambasted European countries for failing to get actively involved in the Iran war. He revived those criticisms on Thursday, arguing: “They were not there for us.”

As World Cup fever grips Brazil, scrutiny mounts over its sports betting industry (AP) When World Cup season descends upon soccer-mad Brazil, green and yellow banners decorate restaurants, bars and apartment buildings, streets are painted with flags and soccer balls, and discussions of the beloved national team’s games are ubiquitous. But this year, another topic has taken center stage: the prevalence of ads for bets on the games, even as the country grapples with a surge in gambling which leaves some with crippling debt and has led to the number of people seeking care for addiction more than doubling in the past five years, according to Brazil’s health ministry. Since the FIFA World Cup began, the percentage of Brazilians placing bets has more than tripled, rising from 11% in May before the tournament kicked off to around 35% at the end of June, said Brazilian fintech company Klavi in a study based on a sample of 1.2 million people. Brazil has become the third-biggest market in the world for sports betting, following the U.S. and the U.K., a report by data analysis company Comscore said in 2023.

Brutal heatwave in France is killing 2,000 people per week (Fortune) Deaths surged by nearly a third in France during the hottest week of a record heat wave last month, the country’s public health authority said Friday, reporting at least 2,000 more deaths than in the previous week when temperatures were already climbing and filling emergency wards with heat victims. The new and still incomplete figures from Public Health France doubled its first preliminary estimate of at least 1,000 additional deaths that it gave last Sunday. That earlier estimate covered just three of the hottest days of extreme, deadly heat. In Paris, funeral service directors have said they’ve struggled to find places to store bodies before burial or cremation, with some mortuaries saying they were full and having to turn bodies away.

In Battlefield Visit, Putin Vows to Take More of Ukraine (NYT) President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, under pressure from increased Ukrainian strikes at home, appeared in fatigues in a rare frontline visit to a support post late Friday, where he touted battlefield progress and threatened to take more of Ukraine outside the Donbas region. Mr. Putin’s appearance was the latest indication that he was doubling down in the face of Ukraine’s expanding barrages. It appeared designed to show the Russian public that the heightened Ukrainian strikes in recent weeks would receive a response and won’t derail the Russian leader’s battlefield aims. The visit took place two days after Mr. Putin launched one of the biggest attacks on Kyiv of the war, which left at least 30 people dead and was widely seen as a delayed response to a string of Ukrainian successes of late that have brought the war home for more Russians.

Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg oil terminal in latest long-range attack on Russia (AP) A Ukrainian drone attack struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Russian officials said, as Kyiv presses on with bombardment of Russia’s oil infrastructure. Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as part of Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions” against Russia. He said that Ukrainian forces also hit a military target on the island of Kronstadt, just off the coast of St. Petersburg.

Russia plotting attack on Poland to test Nato’s resolve, US claims (The Independent) The US has warned Warsaw that Russia is planning an armed “provocation” against Poland to test Nato’s resolve, according to reports. The assault could see Poland’s vital infrastructure targeted by missiles or drones, or even Russian soldiers crossing the border into Nato territory, Washington has said. Sources close to Polish president Karol Nawrocki told Polish outlet Onet that the aim of Moscow’s possible assault, which could be launched in a matter of months, would be to provoke tensions and pressure Ukraine’s Western allies to suspend their military and financial aid. Warsaw’s security services have admitted that a conventional attack, such as a small ground incursion, which Moscow may allege is an accident, is possible. Other possibilities are a drone attack on infrastructure such as power stations or simulated air strikes forcing Poland to activate its air defence systems.

Iran begins dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in war (AP) Hundreds of thousands of mourners began a dayslong funeral Saturday for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, beating their chests in sorrow before the glass case containing his flag-draped coffin in Tehran and calling for revenge against Israel and the United States. The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before being killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike in the opening moments of the Iran war, could provide a boost for the country’s theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. That is particularly important as Iran tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.

Australian officials ask fans to respect the privacy of Neil, a trouble-making seal (NPR) Like plenty of local boys before him, Neil has come home to the stretch of Australian coast where he was born. Unlike most of them, he trails fame, fans and property damage in his wake. He is also a 1,000 kg (2,200 pound) elephant seal. In June, the bellowing and blubbery 5-year-old mammal hauled himself onto land for his twice-yearly tour of beachside towns in southern Tasmania state after months of feeding at sea. That’s posing problems now that he weighs as much as a small car and has a social media following more than double Tasmania’s human population. His rampage through local infrastructure has claimed bent traffic bollards, a sign warning the public about seals and a fence that did not survive Neil’s attempt to vault it. The rest of the time he lies placidly any place he likes, which is sometimes the middle of the road, bringing towns he visits to a standstill.

El Niño is 'strengthening rapidly,' forecasters warn (Yahoo News) El Niño has formed in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to intensify in the coming months, meteorologists say. "El Niño conditions are already underway and are forecast to strengthen rapidly into a strong event, as accurately anticipated by WMO forecasts," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. "This will intensify the chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world."

Bar pregnant foreigners from entering US? Trump allies considering all options after Supreme Court defeat. (Politico) President Donald Trump lost his decade-long bid to end birthright citizenship, but the administration’s zeal to curtail illegal immigration is far from over—instead, it’s being redirected into policies targeting women who come to the U.S. to give birth so their child will automatically be a citizen. In the hours after the Supreme Court defeat, White House aides and allies discussed a number of policy options, according to two administration officials and several others close to the administration. Suggestions range from prosecuting organizations or individuals involved in “birth tourism schemes” or women already in the country for fraud to barring entry of pregnant women entirely. The immediate discussions reflect the administration’s determination to project momentum on one of the president’s signature priorities despite the Supreme Court setback.

Crowded planes and airports set records, straining the U.S. aviation system (NPR) If you’re flying across the country this Fourth of July weekend, you’re in good company. The biggest holiday of the summer is expected to set travel records again, with the Transportation Security Administration preparing to screen more than 18 million travelers at U.S. airports over the next week. U.S. airlines are carrying more passengers than ever, even while operating fewer flights than they did 20 years ago. They’re flying bigger planes while filling more seats on each one, and that’s testing the limits of the aviation system. There’s broad agreement that the nation’s air traffic control system has not kept pace with growing demand. The system is thousands of controllers short of full staffing. Even the head of the FAA says the aviation system has “reached its limits.” At an aviation industry conference in May, administrator Bryan Bedford said the FAA needs to do more than just replace aging equipment. “If we just remove all the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s technology and replace it with 21st century digital tech, we’ll have a really super reliable system,” Bedford said. “But all of the inefficiencies that are essentially designed into the current system, that will be unchanged.”

Man Rescued 8 Days After Quake, a Ray of Joy in Stricken Venezuela (NYT) Eight days after two earthquakes devastated Venezuela, rescuers on Thursday pulled a 44-year-old man alive from the rubble of a collapsed basement, providing a rare moment of hope after a week of desperation. His name was Hernán Gil, and his rescue came as both the death toll and criticism of the government’s response to the disaster mounted in a country whose institutions have been decimated by years of economic crisis. The toll reached 2,295 on Wednesday, according to the Venezuelan government and is expected to rise.

NHS to reward people who walk 30 minutes a day (BBC) Getting your steps in has long been linked to better health—and for the first time the NHS is to start giving people rewards for doing exercise. Early next year, NHS England will launch a "marathon a month" challenge, asking people to walk for around 30 minutes a day. Those who do it every day will hit roughly 26 miles a month—the distance of a marathon. Users will be able to log their walks online, or through their phone or smartwatch. And the NHS says those who complete the challenge will then be eligible for rewards—which could include incentives and discounts.

Denmark Has a Big Fourth of July Party. This Year, the U.S. Is Uninvited. (NYT) Every year for the past century, in the green hills of rural Denmark, thousands of Americans and Danes come together to celebrate the Fourth of July. The gathering is billed as the largest Fourth of July celebration outside the United States, and partygoers decked out in the Stars and Stripes sing American songs, eat hot dogs and, because this is Denmark after all, down Danish beer and aquavit. This year it’s going to be a little different. Organizers are expecting the smallest crowd ever. Some locals say they are sitting it out. And the American government has been uninvited, something that has never happened before and in the past would have been unthinkable. President Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, a Danish territory, have soured the mood. His obsession with Greenland has hijacked what used to be a very tight Danish-American relationship.

The far-right Alternative for Germany is buoyant as it eyes a slice of power in regional elections (AP) The far-right Alternative for Germany is in a buoyant mood as it holds a convention this weekend. It is capitalizing on the unpopularity of a government that’s trying to reform the sluggish economy, and eyeing promising prospects of power in an eastern region this fall. In last year’s national election, AfD achieved the best showing by a far-right party since World War II. Its second-place finish left it as the biggest opposition party nationally and the strongest political force in Germany’s formerly communist east. Its support has since climbed above the 20.8% it won then, with recent assessments putting it in first place. Weidel said recently that “2026 is a year of destiny for AfD.” Mainstream parties say they won’t work with it, a stance often known as a “firewall.” “AfD is standing before the gates of power, to some extent,” said Albrecht von Lucke, a political expert who edits the magazine Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik.

Nord Stream blast ordered by Ukraine, say German prosecutors (DW) Ukrainian state authorities were behind the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia with Europe, German prosecutors said on Thursday. In a statement detailing the charges brought against suspect Serhii K. on Wednesday, prosecutors said that he and six accomplices had acted “on the orders of state authorities in Ukraine.” According to prosecutors, K., now 50, was an “officer in the Ukrainian army” at the time of the operation, and his accomplices were also “military personnel.” Prosecutors said the plan was to “destroy the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines” with the objective of “permanently halting gas supplies via the pipelines and preventing Russia from using the revenue from natural gas trade to finance its war efforts.” Germany is one of the biggest military backers of Ukraine in its battle against the ongoing Russian invasion, making the incident potentially diplomatically awkward. Before the war, Germany covered a considerable part of its energy needs with fuel and gas from Russia.

Troop Casualties in Ukraine War Top 2 Million, Study Finds (NYT) More than two million Russian and Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded in the four years that Russia has been waging war against its neighbor, according to a new study, a bleak milestone as Russia’s assault grinds on. The study, published on Wednesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Russia has borne the heavier toll, with 1.4 million troops killed or wounded since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Of that total, 450,000 were killed, a number that is four times greater than U.S. fatalities in all wars combined since World War II. Ukrainian forces have suffered 525,000 to 625,000 casualties, including 125,000 to 150,000 deaths, the study said. Officials cautioned that casualty figures have been difficult to estimate throughout the war because Moscow is believed to routinely undercount its war dead and injured, and Ukraine does not disclose its official figures. The study relied on casualty figures from American and British government estimates, among other sources.

China tells its ethnic minorities to integrate or face consequences with sweeping new unity law (CNN) For years, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed ethnic minority groups like Tibetans and Uyghurs to adopt an identity rooted in Chinese nationality and allegiance to the ruling Communist Party. Now, that push has been codified into a sweeping new law that reaches into classrooms, neighborhoods and homes—and gives Beijing the right to target people outside of its borders that it believes violate its rules. The statute, officially known as the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, came into effect on July 1. It bans acts that “undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division” among China’s 56 officially recognized ethnicities, which include a Han Chinese majority that makes up over 90% of the country’s 1.4 billion people. Under the new rules, schools and government agencies must use Mandarin Chinese as their primary language; classrooms must ensure that their curriculum “forges a strong sense of the community of the Chinese people,” and all parents must guide children to “love the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.” Organizations and individuals outside mainland China that “undermine” ethnic unity or “create ethnic division” will also be held liable, the law says—a broad-based stipulation that critics say will impact activism, research and discussion of ethnic minority issues globally.

Sailors Are Still Stuck in The Gulf Despite Iran War Ceasefire (Bloomberg) At anchor in the Persian Gulf, Abhijit Chopra found out about the US-Iran peace deal when his phone lit up with messages from family and friends. The captain of a crude oil tanker, he had to temper his excitement. There were no signs of celebration from nearby vessels, and no ships making haste towards the Strait of Hormuz. Chopra and his 21-strong crew have been trapped since the war began in late February. At the beginning, they struggled with fear and uncertainty, which ebbed into boredom and a constant battle not to let negative thoughts set in. For more than 120 days they have waited, dining together and bonding by singing old Hindi songs at karaoke. Some 8,000 seafarers are still waiting for a chance to sail out of the Strait of Hormuz.

The world added nearly a million new millionaires in 2025 (Quartz) Global personal wealth grew by 10.8% in 2025, with nearly one million new U.S. dollar millionaires created over the course of the year, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report 2026. UBS built its findings from data spanning 56 markets that together account for an estimated 92% or more of all global wealth. More than 440,000 of those new millionaires were American—a pace exceeding 1,200 per day—making the U.S. responsible for close to half of the worldwide increase. The United Kingdom added more than 43,000 new millionaires, while France, Spain, Japan, and India each added more than 30,000. The world’s total millionaire population now stands at roughly 57.5 million. The report also counted 3,302 U.S. dollar billionaires, an increase of 383 people, or about 13.1%, over the prior year. UBS reported that median wealth—a figure more representative of typical adults than the mean—dropped across the majority of countries it tracked, even as averages climbed, a pattern the bank described as evidence of widening inequality.

The US, Canada and Mexico begin bumpy negotiations to renew North American trade pact (AP) Tourists from Chattanooga check into beach resorts in Cancun. Canadian auto parts feed factories in the American Midwest—and vice versa. Happy hour revelers raise glasses of Mexican tequila and mezcal at bars in Seattle. It adds up. The United States trades $1.9 trillion a year—$5 billion a day—worth of goods and services with its neighbors, Canada and Mexico. They have supplanted China to become America’s top two trading partners. So the stakes are high when it comes to fiddling with the rules that govern trade between the three countries. And after a year of President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policies, many U.S., Canadian and Mexican businesses would welcome the return of stability across North America. They are not likely to get it. The regional trade pact—the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA—that Trump negotiated and boasted about came up for renewal Wednesday, starting a process that is likely to last months, maybe longer. Trump, characteristically, has added to the tension by threatening to pull out of his own agreement altogether.

ICE’s arrest of nun heading to church fuels bipartisan backlash in South Texas (Washington Post) Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja was walking to Sunday Mass in McAllen, Texas, when federal immigration officers stopped her, confiscated her rosary and put her in handcuffs. The Catholic nun from Nigeria was released hours later after Democratic and Republican lawmakers intervened. Diocesan officials said she is a nurse who entered the country legally and was a certified nursing assistant at health center in Edinburg, Texas, for 10 years. Ugboaja’s arrest was the latest to trigger anger from both sides of the political aisle in South Texas. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) wrote on Facebook: “As I have repeatedly said, our immigration enforcement should target violent criminals. A Catholic nun on her way to church is not a threat to our community.” Bishop Daniel E. Flores condemned the arrest. “Sister Letty is a well-known source of goodness and hope in our community, and I am grateful she has been released. It is clear that Homeland Security enforcement protocols that make it possible for a religious sister, or anyone, to be detained and handcuffed while peacefully walking to Church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and need to be reformed.”

After quakes trap Venezuelans, the government impedes rescuers and aid (Washington Post) On the earthquake-cracked streets of La Guaira, near a bridge in partial collapse, two bald men argued. One was a search-and-rescue worker from Fairfax, Virginia, sent by the U.S. government to try to reach people buried beneath the rubble left by the back-to-back temblors last week that killed more than 1,700 people. The other was Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. The commander of much of Venezuela’s security apparatus, both official and unofficial, he’s been indicted by the United States on charges of narco-terrorism and remains under U.S. sanctions. In a video of the weekend encounter, Cabello appears to be blocking traffic. The American points behind him. “There’s somebody right over there that we’re trying to help,” he says, in English. “You don’t want us to help the person right over there?” Cabello, in Spanish, tells him to “push” his vehicle out of the way. The interaction laid bare one of the greatest challenges complicating the international race to save survivors trapped in the rubble: the Venezuelan government. A regime that has held onto power not through competence and electoral support but repression, censorship and fear is failing to facilitate rescue efforts that could save more lives, said survivors, first responders and former U.S. officials in interviews and on social media. An emergency medical team organized by ISAR Germany complained online that it had been “denied entry clearance despite Venezuela’s previously reported need.” Spanish rescuers said they were also thwarted: “We’re extremely saddened to not have been able to help.” The Chilean rescue group Topos Chile said Venezuelan authorities repeatedly interrupted their work to solicit documentation on suspicion that they were spies. Others have complained of arduous bureaucratic hurdles, blocked roads, checkpoints, demands for payments that appeared to be bribes and restrictions on journalists—all while thousands of Venezuelans remain missing.

Venezuelan medics fear earthquake aftermath will trigger widening medical crisis (AP) Doctors said Wednesday they feared the aftermath of Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes could trigger a widening medical crisis marked by untreated injuries, infectious diseases and a healthcare system already on the brink. Thousands of displaced Venezuelans are sleeping in crowded shelters or outside without access to clean water amid dismal sanitary conditions following the June 24 earthquakes which officials say killed at least 2,295 and left more than 11,000 injured. Aid workers said the aftermath of the quakes has become a major medical crisis that, unless quickly controlled, would take more lives in the days and weeks ahead. The emergency has laid bare Venezuela’s chronic shortage of doctors, the result of years of economic crisis, underfunding and emigration.

Ireland Is Becoming a French Military Protectorate (Foreign Policy) Ireland has long been a free rider in security and defense. Officially neutral and spending an infinitesimal 0.22 percent of GDP on its military in 2025, the country is literally defenseless. With only four naval vessels available on a rotational basis, patrol ships that lack technicians to operate weapons, and zero fighter jets, Ireland is incapable of protecting itself, its waters, and the undersea infrastructure that surrounds the island and on which trans-Atlantic communications depend. Since it has little hope of handling security on its own, Dublin recently announced that it was seeking to engage the French Navy to provide temporary air defense during important European Council meetings. In January, Dublin and Paris signed a joint strategic framework that will run until 2030. In February, there followed a military cooperation agreement covering joint training, intelligence sharing, and other areas. Most significantly, Ireland has outsourced its military procurement, including legal, administrative, and logistical control, almost entirely to France. France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), whose official stated purpose is to equip the French military and promote French arms exports, is now managing Ireland’s rearmament.

Facing barbs and pressure from Trump, Europe’s leaders close ranks (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on Italy’s premier have had an unintended consequence. After Trump questioned Italy’s reliability as a wartime ally and claimed Giorgia Meloni had groveled for his attention, European leaders rallied to Meloni’s side, thawing what had been a frosty relationship over her hard-right political roots. It is the latest example of how the often divisive American president is helping to draw Europe closer together. European leaders are finding more reasons to coordinate on defense, tariffs and foreign policy as they confront wars in Ukraine and Iran, a ballooning trade deficit with China, and threats from Russia. That leaves Trump, who has often preferred to negotiate with European countries individually, with less ability to do so, analysts say.

A Dispute Over Opening Hormuz Drives a Wedge Into U.S.-Saudi Relations (WSJ) More than 100 U.S. military aircraft were taking off from bases and warships across the Middle East as part of an effort to crack open the Strait of Hormuz this past spring when they hit a glitch: Saudi Arabia, whose bases and airspace were critical to the mission, was saying no. The pushback forced the U.S. to abort Project Freedom, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, ending the military operation to guarantee safe passage for ships that President Trump had launched hours earlier. Incensed, the White House threatened to hold back delivery of interceptors that Saudi Arabia needs to shoot down Iranian missiles and drones, if the kingdom didn’t reverse course, U.S. and Arab officials familiar with the discussions said. Saudi Arabia ultimately backed down, but U.S. officials said at the time that the damage wouldn’t easily be undone. Now, the U.S. is considering reducing its military footprint in the kingdom, according to U.S. officials familiar with the planning process. Saudi officials told the White House that any attempt to topple the Iranian regime would close the Strait of Hormuz, rattle oil markets, and hurt the U.S. economy, as well as damage their and the region’s stability, the Arab officials said. The kingdom and other Gulf states said publicly they wouldn’t allow their bases or airspace to be used to attack Iran. The U.S. started the war alongside Israel anyway, exacerbating Saudi concerns that its investment in the relationship wasn’t paying off in actual influence, according to the Arab officials. Iran responded by launching missile and drone attacks against Gulf population centers, energy infrastructure and airports in an effort to raise the economic and political costs of the conflict.

Palestinians face uncertain future as Gaza marks 1,000 days of war (AP) It’s the 1,000th day of war since a Hamas-led attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Other conflicts have emerged in the region, and fragile ceasefires show scars of persistent attacks. Both Israelis and Palestinians are weary of the strain. The fate of over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, largely displaced and living amid ruins, remains uncertain. Israeli forces controlled over half of the territory under the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, but Israel’s government has expanded that and says it aims to hold 70%. Few people can get in or out. Further ceasefire steps, including Hamas’ disarmament and the immense task of reconstruction, have stalled. “Much more needs to be done so that even a semblance of normality can come back, and we are far, far away from this,” the International Committee of the Red Cross regional director, Nicolas von Arx, said this week.

Trump filing shows he took in about $1.2 billion from crypto businesses last year (AP) President Donald Trump took in nearly $1.2 billion dollars from his crypto businesses last year, a federal filing released Tuesday shows, locking in profits while his investors were socked with losses. Mere startups when he took the oath of office, the new ventures have now eclipsed in revenue much of his vast property portfolio that took him decades to accumulate. Fueling their rise were billionaire investors and Trump’s own move to quash a federal crackdown on the industry. Trump also took in millions last year from selling Trump-branded bibles, sneakers and other small items in another unprecedented move for the presidency. The sale of Trump-branded watches alone brought in $4.7 million. The 927-page disclosure form paints a stark, if incomplete picture of the massive growth of the president’s wealth since taking office last January through a web of business interests—many that have benefited from the policy moves of Trump’s own government. Trump has insisted that his sons direct his finances but the arrangement rejects the conflict of interest protections that his recent predecessors in office had instituted.

In San Francisco, Even $180,000 Tech Salaries Are No Longer Enough (NYT) Katrine Razniak, 27, arrived in San Francisco in 2022 as a recruiter at LinkedIn, earning $70,000 a year. Her annual salary soared to $180,000 when she joined the software company Rippling to lead a team of account managers. Her partner, Adam Woodbury, 39, moved to the city in 2021 and earns $185,000 as a software engineer. These days, even those six-figure salaries are no longer enough in San Francisco. When Ms. Razniak and Mr. Woodbury tried to find a one-bedroom apartment for under $5,000 a month this spring, they struck out. They looked at around 30 properties over three months, but all were too expensive and too in demand. At one listing for $5,200 a month, they found 30 people had added their names to a sign-up sheet within an hour of the open house. They ended the search. But even if they had found a place, a question lingered: whether a city where groceries and dinner with friends had become sources of financial concern was somewhere they could build a future. “I don’t feel completely hopeless, but I don’t think I can stay in S.F.,” Ms. Razniak said. As a wave of artificial intelligence wealth is set to deluge San Francisco, even young tech workers who came to the city chasing the Silicon Valley dream have started to say an affordable future feels increasingly out of reach.

The New ‘Bootstrap’ to the American Dream: Deep Cleaning Cars (WSJ) Benjamin Scheets was halfway through his junior year in college when he decided to turn his side hustle into a full-time job. It involves rags and a lot of dirty water. He dropped out of Kent State University in May. The 22-year-old now runs his own business scrubbing every sheet metal curve and interior corner of a vehicle until there isn’t a smudge or crumb left. He runs his car detailing operation out of his parents’ garage, and brings in $5,000 a month in profits. “There’s a real feeling of satisfaction doing this work,” said Scheets, who started detailing cars for spare cash in high school and now charges $180 on the low end to detail a sedan and as much as $2,000 to add full protective coating. He has booked out two months in advance and is looking to hire an assistant. A customer might pay hundreds of dollars to have someone come to their driveway and fully detail their car, giving it a deep clean both inside and out. Additional services, such as paint correction and ceramic coating intended to help protect the car’s finish and give it extra shine, can cost still more. “We’re seeing an influx of young people,” says Nicholas Vacco, who runs a $1,995, three-day training course in Pittsburgh for car detailers. He said inquiries from students around the country have risen more than 50% in the past four years.

Cuban official says talks with the US are at a standstill (AP) Talks between Cuba and the U.S. are at a standstill, despite the island recently approving a series of free-market reforms, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez announced Tuesday. He noted that the newly unveiled reforms were neither mentioned nor discussed in earlier talks between the two nations. But he said it was striking that they “were met with a new package of unilateral coercive measures ... against Cuba.” Earlier this month, the U.S. slapped new sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel and other officials, as well as on companies key to the island’s crumbling economy. Rodriguez added that while the conduct of U.S. government officials was “generally respectful” during earlier talks, he said it is accompanied by “constant aggressive statements against Cuba, threats of military aggression, and the imposition of additional coercive measures.”

Aid Workers Fear Disease Outbreaks in Venezuela After Quakes (NYT) As the window of opportunity shrank in the search for earthquake survivors trapped under rubble in Venezuela, relief efforts on Tuesday began to focus on the longer-term ripple effects of disaster that are often less reported. One of the most pressing consequences is the destruction of what little infrastructure for clean water existed in affected areas, raising the risk of contamination and the spread of illnesses like cholera and typhoid fever. “The water distribution system collapsed as a result of the earthquake,” said Susana Arroyo, a spokeswoman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Ms. Arroyo confirmed in a WhatsApp message on Tuesday that in parts of La Guaira, one of the states hit hardest, bottled water remained the only option for bathing, brushing teeth, washing hands, cooking and everything else. Many in La Guaira state lacked access to running water before the earthquakes, relying on mobile water tankers for basic needs, Ms. Arroyo said.

Hospitals in Europe are gearing up for the next heat wave armed with lessons from this one (AP) Ice. Urgently and in large quantities. At a Paris-region hospital, emergency medics needed it to plunge patients into cold-water baths to speedily bring down their temperatures so they wouldn’t join the growing tally of dead from a record-smashing heat wave. But lacking an ice-making machine, where to get it? A fast-food restaurant helped out last week. The Paris-Saclay Hospital has now ordered its own ice machine, eagerly awaited in the emergency department for a future attack of sizzling heat. Just as doctors brace for the annual flu season, they know that fighting heat waves is becoming their new normal. The World Health Organization on Tuesday described the heat wave as “a dress rehearsal” for summers that “will be harder.” “Europe is warming at more than twice the global average. Heat waves are no longer one-off freak events,” it said. “Every summer we fail to prepare for them is a summer we pay for in lives.”

Whatever You Do in Russia, Don’t Talk About the War (NYT) The war in Ukraine is a “Special Military Operation,” even though it’s the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. Across Russia, officials blame fuel shortages on “unscheduled maintenance at refineries” without noting a cause, as Ukrainian drones attack fuel refining facilities in the country. And Russia’s central bank governor has talked of the “structural transformation of the economy,” as code for military spending that has spiraled and reoriented the economy around the military-industrial complex. For years, President Vladimir V. Putin has insulated Russian society from the consequences of his war in Ukraine, using euphemisms as a psychological shield. But as the war increasingly comes home, the mismatch between rhetoric and reality is becoming a source of frustration for ordinary Russians.

Russian attack kills at least 13, injures scores and causes damage across Ukraine capital (AP) Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s capital overnight into Thursday that killed at least 13 people and injured scores as loud explosions shook Kyiv for hours. The attack with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city. The attack killed 13 people in Kyiv and injured 86 more, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Damage was recorded in 30 locations across the city, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

Xi touts Chinese wisdom and solutions as a model for developing nations (AP) China’s leader held up his country’s rapid industrialization as a new pathway for developing nations in a speech Wednesday that projected a growing confidence both at home and on the world stage. Xi Jinping, now in his 14th year in power, noted that China achieved in a few decades what it took centuries for rich countries to do. “We advocate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, providing Chinese wisdom, Chinese solutions and Chinese strength for addressing major issues facing humanity,” he said at an event marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party. China, which has long bristled at U.S. dominance of the international system, has said it doesn’t want to replace the global order but change it to better represent the interests of developing countries.

Israel has bombed and bulldozed €150m of EU-funded buildings in Gaza and West Bank (EU Observer) Israel has damaged at least €150m of European taxpayer-funded structures in Gaza and the West Bank, but not paid back one euro, amid concern its impunity will cause further destruction. The European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis (€50.5m) and the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant in Deir al-Balah, plus its 18km pipeline (€30m), were the most expensive EU-funded structures hit by Israeli airstrikes since 7 October 2023, when the current war began. European taxpayers had funded an average of €10m a year in other Gaza infrastructure in the 2014 to 2020 period, according to figures from the EU foreign service and the UN, putting another €60m of items in harm’s way. And individual member states added to the tally.

After U.S.-Iran War, Oman Said to Propose Hormuz Fee Plan (NYT) Iran and U.S.-allied Oman are moving forward with plans to collect payment for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public American objections, according to an Iranian official and four diplomats with knowledge of the matter. If enacted, the plans would be a significant change from the prewar status in the strategic waterway, underscoring how the American-Israeli decision to attack Iran on Feb. 28 has changed the Middle East in far-reaching and unanticipated ways.

36 students and 3 teachers missing after gunmen raided a school in northeastern Nigeria (AP) Thirty-six students are missing after gunmen raided a school in northeastern Nigeria, authorities said Tuesday. The attack, which happened Monday at the Lassa Day Secondary School in the Askira-Uba area of Borno state, left at least one teacher dead. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but an insurgency from armed groups in the region has killed thousands and displaced millions.

Supreme Court Justices Reject Trump’s Effort to End Birthright Citizenship (NYT) The Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, and the justices reaffirmed the long-held principle that nearly all children who are born on U.S. soil are American citizens. Mr. Trump’s executive order had aimed to prevent babies born to undocumented immigrants and temporary foreign residents from automatically becoming Americans. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, explained that Mr. Trump’s executive order violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote. “The framers of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’” He added: “We keep that promise today.” The 6-3 decision capped a more than decade-long effort by Mr. Trump to use the issue as a political tool.

The Force Hollowing Out the Economy (NYT) We are witnessing one of the largest peacetime mobilizations of capital in modern American history. Topping $1 trillion annually by next year, the artificial intelligence buildout is expected to rival or surpass previous technological booms at their peaks—rail, electrification and the internet revolution. Many economists believe that at a time of rising inflation, a weakening job market and global unrest, this boom is keeping the U.S. economy afloat. Look more closely, however, and the picture changes. A.I. is vacuuming up so much of our land, talent, semiconductor chips, building materials—and, above all, so much of our money, that it is beginning to crowd out the rest of the economy. In other words, A.I. isn’t merely compensating for the weakness in the rest of the economy. It is, at least in part, causing it. Researchers, economists and other market analysts are ringing the same alarm. They are particularly worried that the deluge of investment, much of which is plowed into data centers, is beginning to starve the rest of the economy of the money it needs (to say nothing of the talent and physical materials).

‘No One’s Coming to Save Us but Us’: Gen Z Runs for Office (NYT) Melat Kiros was fresh out of Notre Dame Law School in 2023 when she was fired by her New York law firm after publishing a lengthy letter sharply criticizing Israel’s government, raising questions about its historical legitimacy and challenging the firm’s response to law students engaging in pro-Palestinian activism. In Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Colorado, under the banner of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ms. Kiros, 29, is again challenging the establishment. This time, she hopes to defeat Representative Diana DeGette, 68, a liberal Democrat who was elected to her Denver-area seat a year before Ms. Kiros was born. The showdown is the latest between the mainstream Democratic Party and its ascendant, youthful left wing, but Ms. Kiros represents more than the D.S.A. She is one of several Gen Z candidates this year fueled by the generational frustrations of their pandemic-marred youth, social media-fueled isolation, artificial intelligence and the war in Gaza. “We’re seeing just how broken the system is, and we’re seeing that no one’s coming to save us but us,” Ms. Kiros said.

Efforts to Rescue Venezuela Quake Victims Grow More Desperate (NYT) Rescuers on Monday pulled a 21-year-old man out of the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state in earthquake-shattered Venezuela, where he had been trapped for 106 hours. The rescue operation lasted 43 hours, President Delcy Rodríguez said on social media, where she shared video of workers hoisting the man, Aaron Levi Cantillo, onto a stretcher. Onlookers erupted in cheers. The possibility of finding more survivors continued to fuel rescuers digging through collapsed buildings in northern Venezuela on Monday, even as the search was growing increasingly desperate with every passing hour. The death toll from Wednesday’s 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes rose to 1,719 people, with more than 5,000 injured and 15,800 displaced, the Venezuelan government said on Monday. But the official numbers are probably a vast undercount. Doctors have said that in La Guaira officials have been processing about 750 bodies each day.

Peru’s Presidential Vote Gives the Right in Latin America Another Win (NYT) After three failed presidential campaigns, years of legal troubles and over a decade as a polarizing opposition leader, Keiko Fujimori has finally won the nation’s highest office by becoming Peru’s first woman elected president. Her victory brings the political movement founded by her late father back to power a quarter century after the collapse of his authoritarian government. According to a final vote count published by the electoral authorities on Monday, Ms. Fujimori, 51, defeated her leftist opponent, Roberto Sánchez, by 49,641 votes, ending one of the closest elections in the country’s history. When Ms. Fujimori takes office on July 28, she will join a growing bloc of conservative Latin American leaders, reinforcing a rightward shift across the region and potentially bolstering President Trump’s efforts to expand U.S. influence in the hemisphere.

6 Are Killed During a Rare Mass Shooting in Germany (NYT) A 45-year-old man killed six adults and wounded several others in a shooting attack at a child welfare facility in northern Germany on Monday, in what the local authorities described as a dispute over the custody of the man’s daughter. The daytime assault in the small city of Stade, roughly 30 miles west of Hamburg, killed six employees of the facility and a neighboring youth center, and it shocked a country where strict gun laws have made mass shootings a rarity.

Zelenskyy condemns ‘horrific attacks’ as Russian strikes kill 12 and wound 40 in Ukraine (AP) Russian missiles and drones killed at least 12 civilians and injured 40 others in Ukraine on Monday in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as “horrific attacks.” Since Russia launched its all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, its forces have conducted bombing in an effort to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure and sap morale. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to the U.N. A Russian missile targeting infrastructure struck the central city of Dnipro, killing six people and wounding 29, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said. Russian drones also hit a passenger minibus in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing three and wounding six, including a child, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Ukraine’s expensive attacks on Russia (Foreign Policy) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is beginning to have serious ramifications domestically within Russia, as new Ukrainian tech that can destroy Russian infrastructure even in Moscow has led to economic and psychological ramifications, capped off by a mid-June attack that disabled the largest oil refinery in the capital through 2027. Ukraine’s efforts have reduced refining capacity by an estimated 700,000 barrels per day, and over half of Russia’s regions are rationing fuel. This has caused other issues: high inflation, a labor shortage for the first time in modern history, inevitable government spending cuts and residential construction down 40 percent in Q1. It’s all warning signs for economic trouble that has rattled many among Russia’s elite. Complicating matters further is that ending the war might not actually solve this problem, as the economic shock of cutting all the government money that had been pouring into defense industries might cause an even larger problem.

Iran says this. The US says that. (AP) The United States and Iran have less than 60 days to negotiate a permanent end to the war, but they still seem to be at odds over the interim deal they reached this month. It’s not even clear when the two sides will meet again. “The situation is sensitive and complex,” a senior Iranian negotiator, Kazem Gharibabadi, posted Monday on X. Talks are just one of the pressing questions. Others include the Strait of Hormuz, which the U.S. says is open while Iran insists on a measure of control. The issue led both sides to carry out days of military strikes that appeared on Monday to have ended.

Israeli troops push into a town in Syria (AP) As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and some young men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol. Tensions in this part of the country created by a buffer zone occupied by Israeli forces have flared into violence in recent days, leaving residents anxious that more escalation is coming. Residents of Abdin, located near a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone now controlled by Israeli troops, tried to resist against a military incursion Sunday. Residents said Israeli troops fired warnings shots at walls and between the angry protesters, before firing artillery rounds at the village. No one was harmed in the exchange, but most residents fled, and most were still too afraid to return on Monday. Many fear that there will now be more intense incursions and raids following the skirmish. “They come into the village regularly, every few days,” said resident Mohammad al-Hassan, standing not far from a group of children looking at an exploded shell. “They come in armored 4x4 vehicles, they roam around the village and search some houses, they knock on doors and if people don’t answer the door they break it down and enter the houses. Women and children start screaming, it’s a terrifying thing, them coming here.”

Anti-immigration sentiment in South Africa reaches a fever pitch (The Week) South Africa is a melting pot of culture, with “Zimbabweans trained as doctors but driving Ubers, Ethiopians running bustling restaurants and Congolese selling colorful wax print fabrics,” said NPR. “All of them are now under threat” as a result of continued pressure from anti-migrant groups. For several months, “anti-immigrant protesters, many brandishing sticks, have been marching through the streets.” Many of them chant “Mabahambe,” a Zulu phrase meaning “they must go.” The protests have also “sparked attacks against foreigners” throughout South Africa, said The Associated Press. As the violence and attacks continue, several of the most notable anti-immigration groups have “set what they are calling a June 30 deadline for people in the country illegally to leave and the government to take action” against undocumented migrants. The flash point of xenophobia is largely because of the country’s large number of immigrants. As “one of Africa’s richer countries, South Africa has long attracted migrants from elsewhere in Africa seeking a better life,” said the AP.

Repair Backlog Plagues Federal Buildings (NYT) Rain has been seeping into an Internal Revenue Service building in Atlanta through leaks in the roof that have gone on for years. The mold in Veterans Affairs work spaces in Hilo, Hawaii, got so bad that visitors complained. And on any given day, people in an Oakland, Calif., federal building are at risk of getting stuck in one of its outdated elevators. Across the federal government, employees are working in buildings that have persistent health and safety problems, in part the result of decades of backlogged maintenance that totals as much as $50 billion, according to one recent estimate by an oversight board. In several years, the cost is set to exceed the entire value of the federal government’s real estate portfolio, the Public Buildings Reform Board said earlier this year. Unlocking money for repairs is a lengthy and bureaucratic process. Under federal law, Congress must approve major improvements to buildings run by the General Services Administration that total more than $3.96 million—an amount that would cover the cost of replacing just three elevators at a time when the government needs to replace dozens. The approval process takes an average of 435 days, the G.S.A. said, and in many cases even longer, meaning costs balloon as problems fester.

As nation turns 250, many Americans say the Stars and Stripes is now a red flag (NBC News) To fly or not to fly an American flag? That was never a question for Bruce Watson, who has put his national pride on display for years—and nudges neighbors in his small New England town to do the same. “I’m very proud of our flag,” the writer said. “It’s the symbol of ‘We, the People.’” But as the polarized nation marks its 250th birthday, Watson, 72, worries his Stars and Stripes may now need an asterisk. “If we do fly the flag, we will also put out signs to make it clear that we are not MAGA,” he said. The American flag is a symbol striped with many meanings, whether it’s hung on front porches, waved in parades, protests and World Cup matches, or stamped on lapel pins and boxing trunks. Like so much else in American life, it has also been tangled up in politics and the policies of President Donald Trump.

European Soccer Fans Marvel at America’s Suburbs (WSJ) Frank Everink hadn’t even heard of Kansas City. But when the Dutch soccer fanatic saw his team would be playing along the border of Missouri and Kansas, he made a detour in his worldwide road trip. Everink got into his camper van and drove south from Toronto, making stops in Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis. Along the way, he—and other European fans who flocked to Kansas City for the World Cup—beheld the fruits of the American economy from a vantage point few foreign tourists typically see: suburban superstores, hulking plates of food, quiet streets. He marveled at the sprawling houses, a contrast from the tightly packed homes of the Netherlands. “It’s spacious,” he said. “You go here for your shopping, and there for your dentist. People are so rich here.” The throngs of Dutch fans that flooded Kansas City and its suburbs this past week got a taste of day-to-day life in the U.S., reigniting a long-running trans-Atlantic debate: Who lives better, Americans or Europeans? The data sheds some light: The average American home is about 1,800 square feet, with new single-family homes measuring well over 2,000 square feet, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Europeans’ homes are about 1,100 square feet on average. Such measures of wealth offer only a partial view of what it is like to live on these two continents. Europeans might earn less and own less stuff, but they also work less hours and, many argue, benefit from stronger social safety nets. According to American economist and former New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, “It’s misleading to conclude that Europeans have a clearly lower standard of living than Americans when they have essentially just made different choices.”

A Community Comes Together to Search for Survivors (NYT) A single jackhammer. A pair of pickaxes. Men swinging with all their might to break through multiple stories of concrete to try to reach the living. The scene on Saturday night in San Bernardino, a middle class neighborhood in Caracas, showcased both the severe shortage of heavy machinery needed to rescue survivors following Wednesday’s double earthquakes and the massive community mobilization that has taken place to try to fill that gap. At the Residencia Rita, an apartment building that crumbled when the quakes hit, finding anyone alive three days later would have been a miracle. And yet, hundreds of people gathered to help locate survivors on Saturday. They lined up like firefighters, passing buckets of rubble down the line to try to clear the way. “We will always have hope,” said María Alejandra Navarro, 25, a journalist with rescue training who said she had brought a team of 14 volunteers to the scene.

Andy Burnham says he’d hand more power to local governments if he becomes UK leader (AP) Andy Burnham, likely the next U.K. prime minister, pledged Monday to give away a chunk of his power by handing greater autonomy to local leaders in a “circuit-breaker” for the sclerotic British state. The former mayor of Greater Manchester also said he would move part of the prime minister’s office from London’s 10 Downing St. to northwest England as part of “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen.” Burnham set out a 10-year plan to get “good growth in every postcode,” in a country where wealth and power are concentrated in London and the south of England.

Europe’s record heat has overwhelmed Paris mortuaries and left families in distress (AP) Every few minutes, the mortuary owner’s phone rings. Since a record-smashing heat wave started taking lives and storage space for bodies in Paris and beyond, the funeral directors and mourning families calling him mostly have the same question: Do you have room for one more? With all 32 places in his cold room taken, Zouhaeir Hertelli reluctantly has to gently say “Non,” over and over and over again. “We’re facing a really catastrophic situation,” he said. “I’m getting hundreds of calls.” As the historic heat wave shifted its deadly temperatures eastward this weekend to other parts of Europe, France began counting the human cost it left in its wake. The statistical and public health work of tallying heat-related deaths could take weeks or months. But it’s already apparent that the toll exacted by the intense, unrelenting extreme temperatures was terrible in France, the first country hit from mid-June, particularly among older people who died at home.

Ukrainian drones set another Russian oil refinery ablaze as Putin admits fuel shortages (AP) Ukraine kept up its heavy drone assault on Russia, setting fire to a major oil refinery in the south, as President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that the country was facing a “certain deficit” of fuel and vowed to strengthen protection of oil facilities and boost fuel output. Ukraine has markedly stepped up its long-range attacks on Russian military industries and energy facilities in recent months, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for its invasion—now in its fifth year—and make Russians feel the consequences. The campaign has choked Russian fuel supplies, causing widespread shortages and long lines at gas stations across the country and prompting authorities in many regions to introduce fuel rationing.

Pakistani airstrikes kill 36 civilians in Afghanistan and wound 160, officials say (AP) Overnight ground operations and strikes by Pakistani forces have killed at least 36 civilians and injured more than 160 others, Afghan officials said Monday, as tensions between the neighbors further escalated. One Afghan official said the attacks would be met with retaliation. Pakistani security forces carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late Sunday, followed by strikes against militant hideouts and safe havens, killing 29 fighters, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said. Pakistan said the operations were launched in response to multiple militant attacks across Pakistan.

In Beirut’s Southern Outskirts, Life Slowly Returns Amid Ruins (NYT) In Dahiya, a maze of neighborhoods south of Beirut where the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah holds sway, traffic jams are back. Bakeries again pull trays of Lebanese flatbread from ovens. Cafes, draped in the flags of the nations competing in the World Cup, are filled with men and women watching the matches and lingering late into the night. For more than three months, the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah brought airstrikes, evacuation warnings and an exodus of tens of thousands of people from these densely populated commercial and residential neighborhoods. Now, after a series of stop-and-start cease-fires, and the signing of a U.S.-brokered preliminary deal between Israel and Lebanon, life is returning almost as quickly as it vanished, even as mounds of rubble remain between buildings blown open to the sky. “We are back,” said Mohamed Trad, 45, who manages a coffee and hookah shop. “This is the best place in Lebanon.”

US and Iran pause strikes but disagree over next steps on talks (AP) The United States and Iran on Monday separately announced they will send delegations to Qatar this week, though Tehran insisted it has not agreed to meet with the U.S. “at any level” after attacks across the Persian Gulf over the weekend challenged negotiations to end the war. The U.S. president has tried to preserve a fragile interim deal, but hostilities mounted in recent days in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil had been shipped before war began. After four days of trading strikes, both sides appeared to pause their attacks Monday.

Dry, windy conditions fuel explosive wildfire growth across western US (AP) Three firefighters died and two were injured while tackling fires on the Colorado-Utah border, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service reported Sunday. Wildfire activity has intensified across the western United States, as consecutive days of hot, dry and windy weather have fueled flames in Utah, Arizona and elsewhere as new fires popped up across the region. The largest blaze, the Cottonwood Fire, was burning in rugged terrain in southwest Utah. It ballooned Saturday to more than 144 square miles (373 square kilometers) after marching through canyons and mountainsides, destroying part of a ski resort and other summer cabins along the way.

Mexican Officials Have Become Informants for the Trump Administration (NYT) As the Trump administration ramps up its investigations into Mexico’s government, elected officials in the country’s governing party have been quietly offering themselves to U.S. authorities as informants against fellow party members, according to eight people involved in the conversations. The discussions have come in the weeks since the United States indicted 10 current and former Mexican officials, charging them with colluding with one of the nation’s most powerful drug cartels. In turn, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico has made challenging those investigations a rallying cry for her leftist political party, Morena, denouncing the indictments as foreign interference. At least a dozen elected officials in Mexico—including governors and members of Congress, many from the governing party—have reached out to discuss sharing information about fellow politicians, multiple people said, and several have already begun talks with the United States. Many of the officials are seeking to get ahead of investigations that they fear could soon focus on them, the people said.

Venezuela Was on the Cusp of Rebirth. Then Disaster Struck, Again. (NYT) The blows just keep coming. Venezuela’s economy began crumbling so badly more than a decade ago that hospitals were hollowed out, blackouts were everywhere and even the most basic goods disappeared from store shelves. Soon, millions of Venezuelans fled the country. Faced with the nation’s steep decline, Venezuela’s already repressive government clamped down even harder, stealing an election and people’s hopes for change. Next came American military strikes on boats off the nation’s coasts, a partial blockade of its oil and a stunning intervention: The Trump administration raided the capital, seized Venezuela’s authoritarian leader and declared that the United States would run the country, effectively turning it into a vassal state. After all the head-spinning crises, Venezuela finally appeared to be on the cusp of an economic rebirth this year. Oil was flowing again, its leaders were mending ties with global lenders and energy executives were flocking to Caracas, the capital, to explore potential deals. Then, the twin earthquakes this week upended everything. The cash-strapped Venezuelan government, already struggling to tame the world’s highest inflation rate, must now somehow muster an enormous disaster response: clearing vast amounts of rubble; finding and caring for countless, newly-homeless survivors; and restoring basic services to a nation in crisis. “This is a country that already had massive reconstruction needs,” said Francisco Rodríguez, a prominent Venezuelan economist. “Now, on top of that, they need to rebuild without having ready access to resources.”

Venezuelans sleep in cars and under trees as they question where they’ll live after the earthquakes (AP) The Quintero family crowded around their new home this week after two deadly earthquakes forced them to flee their apartment building in Caracas. Francisco Quintero reserved the seats of his small, beat-up car for his children, while the trunk is now home to Paquito, their green-and-red parakeet, and a handful of pet turtles. Quintero, a musician, said he and other adults in the family search nightly for a place to sleep near the car “until we get an answer about what they might do with us.” Thousands of Venezuelans left suddenly homeless have since poured into parks, plazas and even the shoulders of blocked highways, looking for a place to lay their heads. The latest crisis in this nation of roughly 30 million comes after decades of economic struggle. More than half of the population lives in extreme poverty and nearly 8 million were already in need of humanitarian aid before the quakes struck.

Thousands of Vespas swarm Rome’s historic center to mark iconic scooter’s 80th anniversary (AP) More than 10,000 Vespas putt-putt-putted around the Colosseum and past the Roman Forum on Saturday, marking the 80th anniversary of the iconic scooter. Enthusiasts came from all over; the AP spoke to people from across continental Europe, northern England, San Francisco, Australia’s Gold Coast, the Philippines and more. Vespa-borne visitors converged on the Eternal City’s cobblestone streets to celebrate a brand they likewise view as timeless. If for only a day, Ferrari and Ducati were forgotten as the little Vespa left them in its dust. “The passion for Vespa is for the Italian style, freedom, the ‘60s,” said Natalie Dunand, a retiree from France who was celebrating her own 61st birthday, too. “I love it.” With curved lines evoking a bygone era, plus an ability to produce smiles among onlookers, Vespa—which means “wasp” in Italian—is to two-wheeled transport what the Volkswagen Beetle is to cars.

Central Europe sizzles as heat records are smashed in Switzerland, Denmark and Czech Republic (AP) Temperatures soared to record highs from Switzerland to the Czech Republic and Denmark on Saturday, as a heat wave that baked western European countries this week moved to central and eastern parts of the continent. Unusually high temperatures were recorded even in the Nordic countries not known for sweltering summers. Denmark’s Meteorological Institute reported a record 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Ødum north of Aarhus—the warmest day since records there began in 1874. In Switzerland, a record 38.8 C (101.8 F) was set in the city of Basel. Germany’s famous Autobahn was overwhelmed, too, as temperatures were expected to hit 40 C (104 F). In two places outside Berlin, the concrete of the A2 burst due to the high temperatures and the highway had to be closed. Other highway damage was reported across the country, according to the German daily Bild.

The U.S. is losing ground to China in university research (NPR) The U.S. was once the leading force in the world's research engine, but it is now losing ground to China. The country may be taking the dominant role due to significant investments and a disruptive year for American universities under the Trump administration. This year, Harvard University lost its top position in a global ranking measuring academic output to a Chinese university. In fact, seven out of the top 10 institutions on the list, compiled by Leiden University in the Netherlands, are located in China.

A Mayor Is Taking Maternity Leave in Japan. Some Men Are Furious. (NYT) The news traveled fast in Yawata, a spiritual oasis of 68,000 people in western Japan known for its traditional tea culture and cherry blossoms. Shoko Kawata, the city’s mayor, was pregnant with her first child—and she was planning to take maternity leave, the first mayor in Japan to do so. Many residents of Yawata celebrated Ms. Kawata, 35, and her decision, which she announced in May. They offered gifts like crocheted baby shoes and auspicious ceremonial rocks. But in Japan’s patriarchal society, some people—especially men—responded with anger, calling her irresponsible, and accusing her of placing her personal life above her constituents. Ms. Kawata’s decision has prompted a national debate about the hurdles that working women still face—on the factory floor, in corporate suites and in government. Discrimination against young mothers is still so common that there is a Japanese word for it: matahara, or maternity harassment.

African migrants fear a surge in xenophobic violence in South Africa (NPR) Johannesburg has always been a melting pot. Traverse South Africa’s economic capital and you’ll come across Zimbabweans trained as doctors but driving Ubers, Ethiopians running bustling restaurants, and Congolese selling colorful wax print fabrics. Some of these immigrants have lived here for years. Others have recently arrived, seeking a better life in one of the continent’s richest and most stable democracies. Some are here legally, others not. But all of them are now under threat as South Africa is engulfed by a rising tide of xenophobia. For months now, mobs of anti-immigrant protesters, many brandishing sticks, have been marching through the streets. Foreign-owned businesses have been attacked, people chased from their homes, and several migrants have been killed. In Durban, it’s a tinder keg, and thousands of Malawians who have fled their homes to escape the violence have camped out in the open, in winter, begging their country to send buses to rescue them. Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique weren’t waiting—they’ve already repatriated those citizens who wanted to leave.

Deal With Israel Divides Lebanese, Fueling Protests in Beirut (NYT) After Israel and Lebanon signed a preliminary agreement in Washington on Friday aimed at establishing a lasting peace between them, the reaction in Lebanon was immediate and sharply divided. Supporters of the U.S.-brokered deal said it was a move to curtail Iranian influence in Lebanon, setting out a pathway for the disarmament of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which Israel is at war with. They also said it asserts Lebanese sovereignty over the country’s internal security. Others, not least Hezbollah, rejected the framework, calling it a capitulation to Israeli and American demands. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said his group will keep fighting until Israel is forced to leave Lebanon. At the core of the deal is a phased security arrangement in which the Lebanese Armed Forces would gradually assume control over all Lebanese territory as nonstate armed groups, like Hezbollah, are disarmed and their military infrastructure is dismantled.

Iran and the U.S. exchange attacks (Politico) Iran launched a fresh round of attacks against Bahrain and Kuwait, responding to U.S. airstrikes this weekend in a back-and-forth that is rattling the shaky ceasefire and threatening to derail negotiations, AP’s Jon Gambrell And Melanie Lidman report. Trump accused Iran of violating the agreement and threatened to “complete the job.” But Iran is saber-rattling over the Strait of Hormuz, as it looks to gain complete control over the international waterway. Complicating the peace deal further are tensions over Hezbollah in Lebanon, with Trump now pushing Syria to take the lead in combatting Hezbollah. Trump has suggested that the battle-hardened and Islamist-led insurgents who overthrew Syria’s autocratic President Bashar Assad a year and a half ago and formed a new government would do a better job of rooting out Hezbollah than the Israeli army. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has said he has no interest in doing so, and has asserted that Trump’s comments were misconstrued. But Trump has doubled down on the idea. The prospect of a Syrian invasion has raised alarms in Lebanon—and also in Israel, which regards al-Sharaa’s Islamist-led government with suspicion and has seized control of a strip of southern Syria since he took power.