In the Middle East

The U.S. carried out a second round of strikes on Iran after Tehran attacked a commercial tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, sharply raising the risk that the fragile ceasefire will unravel. U.S. officials said the targets included surveillance, communications, air defence, drone storage and minelaying facilities, and warned that further violations would bring more force. Shipping through the strait is now expected to slow again, which is the sort of small detail that tends to become a large economic problem.

In U.S. news

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency after flash flooding and heavy rain killed multiple people and triggered rescues across the state. Officials said one motorist was swept away and killed, with more deaths later reported in Madison and Jackson counties. Search-and-rescue teams were deployed and drivers were urged to stay off the roads as more rain was expected.

In Massachusetts, a duck boat overturned near a Cambridge boat ramp by the Charles River entrance, injuring at least six people. Police said everyone on board was accounted for and no passengers ended up in the water. State police will lead the investigation.

An Alaska Superior Court judge ordered candidate Daniel J. Sullivan onto the state’s Senate primary ballot, rejecting the state’s attempt to disqualify him over possible voter confusion with incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. The court said officials could not invent a new qualification for candidates and should handle confusion through ballot design instead.

In Scotland

Scotland are out of the 2026 World Cup after results made it impossible for them to finish among the eight best third-placed teams. Steve Clarke stepped down as head coach shortly after the exit was confirmed, closing out a qualification campaign that never really found its footing.

In Venezuela

The death toll from the earthquakes in Venezuela has climbed past 1,400, with thousands injured and many more still missing. Rescue teams are still digging through collapsed homes and apartment buildings, and officials say emergency operations are being expanded as shelters open and basic services slowly come back online.

International help is now part of the response, including U.S. search-and-rescue and medical personnel. It is a grim situation, and the numbers are still moving in the wrong direction.

In security and defense

The U.S. struck Iranian drone sites on Saturday morning, and Iran answered by hitting Bahrain. Separately, Israel’s defense minister says the military has been told to prepare for an extended stay in Lebanon, though no details were provided.

In the wider Pacific picture, the U.S. Air Force is also laying the groundwork for a new long-range missile family designed to hit air, land, and sea targets from more than 1,000 nautical miles away, part of Washington’s effort to keep pace with China’s reach across the region.

In the U.S.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling Utah’s Cottonwood fire, which grew overnight to more than 92,000 acres and remains uncontained. Strong winds and low humidity are helping it spread through Fishlake National Forest, making it the largest active fire in the country.

In Alaska, Republican Senator Dan Sullivan failed in his bid to knock a namesake challenger off the ballot.

And in public health, state lawmakers introduced 107 maternal mental health bills this year across 34 states, but only a handful were substantive. Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, and Virginia enacted stronger measures, while advocates say the broader U.S. still falls short on paid leave, child care, and support for new parents.

In Britain

A man has been arrested after a car struck five pedestrians in west London. Police say the driver did not stop, but officers detained him nearby. Two people were treated at the scene and three were taken to hospital, and police are not treating the incident as terrorism.

In business and jobs

Nintendo says it will raise base salaries by 10% to help retain employees, a notably calm move in an industry that has spent much of the year trimming staff and chasing efficiencies. In the U.S., meanwhile, employers announced more than 97,000 job cuts in May, the highest May total since 2020, with AI cited in about 40 percent of them.

The parent company of Saks and Neiman Marcus has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as Exemplar Luxury Group, cut most of its Saks Off 5th discount stores, and says it is refocusing on higher-end retail. Luxury, it turns out, also enjoys a restructuring.

In the Middle East

Hezbollah has rejected the latest agreement with Israel, while criticism inside Lebanon is mounting from supporters and others who see it as a surrender of sovereignty. Israeli strikes continue to hit southern Lebanon.

In defense and security

The U.S. Army is testing Onebrief, an AI-powered planning platform, as part of its next-generation command-and-control effort. In recent exercises, planners reportedly cut some operational planning times from hours to about 30 to 40 minutes, and the Army says testing will continue through 2026.

Separately, the U.S. Air Force has permanently moved three Global Hawk surveillance drones from Guam to Yokota Air Base near Tokyo, giving the U.S. and its allies more persistent coverage across the Indo-Pacific and a little less dependence on Guam’s typhoon season.

In court and in the news

In Surrey, a 31-year-old French man, Kevin Kerjean, has been charged with murder, rape, and sexual assault of a child under 13 after the body of a two-year-old girl was found at a property in Chertsey. Police say the major crime investigation is ongoing and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.

In North Wales, James Hughes, 67, has been convicted of murdering his neighbor Harold Turner after a Christmas Day attack at a sheltered housing complex in St Asaph. The court heard that Turner died from asphyxia and blunt force injuries, and Hughes will be sentenced later.

A California appeals court has upheld Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault conviction and ordered resentencing. The verdict stands, which is inconvenient for anyone still hoping the legal system runs on celebrity charisma.

In weather and wildfire

Firefighters across the western United States are facing what fire managers describe as unprecedented conditions, and some areas have already imposed fireworks bans. The weather is making an already difficult season even harder, which is not what anyone needed heading into summer.

In China

Authorities in Beijing have confirmed a plane crash that hit the city’s tallest building on Friday. The pilot was killed and 13 people were injured.

In U.S. politics and courts

A Superior Court judge in Alaska has put retired teacher Dan Sullivan back on the ballot after ruling that election officials wrongly disqualified him as a challenger to Sen. Dan Sullivan. In Massachusetts, two Republican candidates for statewide office, including the party’s likely attorney general nominee, have been removed from the September primary ballot after the state said hundreds of nomination signatures were problematic.

Separately, the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission issued a draft report arguing that the separation of church and state is a legal error. It says Americans should see religion as an essential support and remember the Creator who grants rights. The White House got the report in the Oval Office, which is a setting with almost no irony at all.

In Ukraine and Russia

Ukraine says it struck Russia’s Titan-Barrikady weapons plant overnight with FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, part of a wider pattern of attacks reaching deeper into Russian territory. The Kremlin is struggling to answer an expanding Ukrainian drone campaign that has hit key arms factories, damaged more oil refining capacity, and added to fuel shortages inside Russia.

In the Middle East

Bahrain says Iranian drones hit the country as fighting around the Strait of Hormuz entered a third day, and a tanker was also struck while crossing the waterway. Iran has not directly claimed the attacks, but state media said the Revolutionary Guard had hit American targets in the region and repeated Tehran’s claim of control over traffic in the strait.

At the same time, a reported preliminary U.S.-Iran deal could hand Tehran a major economic lift, including sanctions waivers that would let it sell oil in U.S. dollars and steps to unfreeze Iranian assets. Vice President JD Vance is also facing pushback from pro-Israel conservatives over his role in the negotiations, while evangelical supporters of Trump remain strongly behind the war decision against Iran.

In business

RENK America says it has won a $691 million, five-year Army production contract for its HMPT 800 transmission, the fourth straight multi-year deal in the same program. Separately, African governments are pushing for a bigger share of gold revenue, while much of the value still flows out of the continent. Mining the resource, then letting someone else collect the money, has proved a stubborn business model.

In Europe and security

Ukraine says it struck a key Russian defense manufacturing site in Volgograd, with open-source analysts pointing to the Titan-Barrikady plant, which makes components tied to the Iskander missile system. In a separate warning sign for the continent, NATO allies in Eastern Europe are increasingly unsure the U.S. would come to their aid if Russia attacked, after Trump-era rhetoric and a muddled answer from a U.S. official in Tallinn.

In the Middle East

Iran and the United States are again trading blame after fresh attacks, with both sides warning that any further escalation would be met in kind. Tehran also condemned recent U.S. strikes as a violation of the memorandum of understanding, while Washington said it targeted Iranian missile and drone storage sites. The ceasefire is looking less like a ceasefire and more like a pause someone forgot to agree on.

In the UK and domestic security

Home Secretary Mahmood has announced a new capped, legal refugee sponsorship route into the UK, saying it is meant to restore confidence in the asylum system. In the U.S., prosecutors say Somali intelligence helped lead to the arrest of a key suspect in a Minnesota fraud case, adding an overseas assist to a domestic investigation.

In Pennsylvania

Philadelphia police are investigating a fatal shooting in Parkside that may have started after a Facebook Marketplace meetup turned violent. In a separate incident, a police officer was injured when a fleeing vehicle struck him in Strawberry Mansion. And in Allentown, two juveniles have been charged with arson after a six-alarm fire destroyed a commercial building and damaged nearby homes.

Also in the region, police found chemicals and weapons at a home in Olney while searching for a missing woman, sharpening concern around the case. Separately, Muhyyee-Ud-din Abdul-Rahman has been sentenced to 20 to 40 months in prison for building bombs and planning attacks at multiple locations in the Philadelphia area.

In disasters and transport

In Caracas, rescue work is shifting toward recovery after twin earthquakes and aftershocks hit Venezuela, with residents in one neighborhood saying help still had not arrived two days later. The toll is still being assessed as crews continue to deal with unstable conditions.

Meanwhile in France, Eurostar passengers were stranded for nearly six hours after a heat-related technical failure on a Paris-to-London service, and a replacement train was also affected. Eurostar says customers will get full refunds and vouchers worth 150 percent of the fare.

In Washington

President Trump attacked former national security adviser John Bolton after Bolton pleaded guilty to improperly retaining sensitive materials from his White House years. Trump called him “very dumb, unbalanced, and unskilled” on Truth Social and said he hoped Bolton would be dealt with harshly.

In the World Cup

Uruguay’s tournament is over after a 1-0 loss to Spain sent them out of the group stage for the second World Cup in a row. Fernando Muslera’s error helped decide it, and the match was marked by frustration, mistakes, and a late red card for Agustín Canobbio.

Spain finished top of Group H, while Cape Verde held Saudi Arabia to reach the round of 32 in their World Cup debut. England also secured a knockout-stage place before their final group match.

In Britain

Newly released video shows the false account that led UK police to arrest a stabbing victim who was dying. The case raises serious questions about how the arrest happened and why officers accepted the lie in the first place.

In U.S. politics

Gavin Newsom is pushing for a national tax on billionaires while fighting a California ballot measure that would put a one-time 5 percent tax on residents worth more than $1 billion. The governor says the money should go to healthcare, education, and food assistance.

The Democratic National Committee is also planning a weekend of local events focused on affordability under Trump, as Democrats accuse him of downplaying lingering inflation. Separately, a former ombudsman for Stars and Stripes is suing the Pentagon, saying her firing was retaliatory after she criticized new restrictions on the newspaper.

DHS says ICE has arrested more than 10,000 gang members since the start of Trump’s second term.

In health care

Nearly four million people who enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans this year have already dropped coverage after enhanced subsidies ended and premiums rose sharply, according to HHS. Some monthly costs reportedly doubled or more.

In the Middle East

The U.S. says Central Command carried out strikes on missile and drone storage sites, plus coastal radar positions, in Iran after an attack on a cargo ship.

Israel and Lebanon have signed a framework agreement after U.S.-brokered talks. Hezbollah was not part of the deal, and the region has a long habit of treating “framework” as a very loose promise.

In the American West

Utah Governor Spencer Cox has declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned personal fireworks through July 5 as wildfires spread across the state. The order also lets the state forester restrict fireworks anywhere in Utah, while evacuations are underway in Eureka and red-flag warnings remain in effect.

In Venezuela

Rescue crews are still searching through rubble after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela seconds apart, leaving more than 900 people confirmed dead and tens of thousands still missing. A 4.9-magnitude tremor hit days later as the country continues to deal with the aftermath.

In Washington and the courts

Congress once again discovered that its war powers are mostly advisory. The Senate briefly backed a resolution to pull U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran, then lost the next vote, a neat demonstration of how the 1973 War Powers Resolution has aged into something close to constitutional wallpaper. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, after months of keeping lawmakers at arm’s length, is now back on Capitol Hill courting Republican support for Trump’s spending plan.

Texas education officials also approved a statewide reading list that will require Bible passages for more than 5 million public school students, a move critics say pushes church and state into the same classroom chair. And a federal appeals roundup covered everything from monopolies and policing to online therapy, including a ruling striking down a D.C. rule that had blocked out-of-state therapists from counseling local clients.

In defense and national security

The Space Force has given Orbital Composites a $1.9 million contract to develop AI-driven manufacturing for heat-resistant parts used in rockets, hypersonic vehicles, missile defense systems, and nuclear reactors. The pitch is faster production and fewer supply bottlenecks, which in defense procurement counts as almost revolutionary.

Separately, a case involving a U.S. serviceman accused of strangling a British woman has resurfaced the question of how much jurisdiction U.S. troops actually face abroad. Under the NATO status agreement, some cases can be handled by American military authorities instead of UK courts.

In the Middle East

A drone strike on a cargo ship off Oman has renewed pressure on the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire. President Trump blamed Iran and warned against what he called a foolish attack, putting another hard test in front of a truce that was already looking thin.

In Britain

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, has been jailed for three and a half years after assaulting two police officers and a member of the public at Manchester Airport last July. He was convicted of attacking Pc Lydia Ward and Pc Ellie Cook during the incident.

In politics and security

The U.S. Supreme Court has backed the Trump administration’s authority to block some asylum seekers from entering at the Mexico border, a ruling that strengthens the White House’s hard-line immigration approach. In a separate national security case, former Trump adviser John Bolton has pleaded guilty to unlawfully retaining sensitive information, in a deal that includes a $2.25 million fine.

In Europe, EU countries are trying to revive a temporary plan to scan messages for child sexual abuse material after the European Parliament rejected it in March. The effort could make the broader long-term law even harder to settle.

In business and tech

With inflation above 4 percent, the Trump administration is softening its push for immediate interest-rate cuts, giving new Fed chair Kevin Warsh a little more room to operate. In markets, that counts as a reprieve, which in Washington is about as close as policy gets to a pause button.

Polymarket says hackers stole funds from an undisclosed number of users after compromising a third-party vendor and planting malicious code on its site. The company says it has fixed the problem and will reimburse losses in full, while a blockchain security firm estimated the theft at around $3 million in cryptocurrency.

In tragedies and accidents

French authorities are investigating the death of an 18-month-old baby in Marseille after the child was found unconscious with heatstroke in a car parked on a medical campus. A parent is believed to have left the toddler in the vehicle while going to work.

In California, a lifeguard truck reportedly ran over a 20-year-old woman at Francis Beach in Half Moon Bay, with investigators saying the driver may have been distracted.

A small plane reportedly crashed into Beijing’s tallest building on Friday, triggering evacuations and a major emergency response in the business district.

In the Middle East

Tankers are still moving through the Strait of Hormuz after a new vessel attack rattled energy markets, but the route remains under strain. Traffic through the waterway has more than tripled since the U.S.-Iran interim peace deal, though it is still well below prewar levels. Four empty supertankers are due to enter the strait today, a useful test of whether ship operators think they can load and leave safely. The possibility of more stable oil flows is already shifting markets, and Iraq’s president says the country would leave OPEC if production quotas are not raised.

In Europe

A punishing heat wave is pushing power systems hard across the continent. Britain’s grid briefly called for extra power before backing off as supply tightened, electricity prices jumped in the evening, and several French nuclear reactors went offline because they could not cool efficiently. Germany and Britain are heading for their highest June average electricity prices since the 2022 energy crisis. Europe’s climate director, Carlo Buontempo, said record heat should not be treated like a surprise package, and noted that the consequences arrive whether the planning does or not.

In Germany

In Magdeburg, Taleb al Abdulmohsen has been sentenced to life imprisonment after driving into the Christmas market there, killing six people and injuring more than 300. It is a brutal reminder that the legal process may end, but the damage does not neatly follow suit.

In U.S. politics

Billionaire Leon Black is scheduled to appear before members of Congress investigating Jeffrey Epstein. Black paid Epstein large sums, and his representatives have said the money was for tax advice and estate planning.

Separately, House Republicans are defending the use of artificial intelligence after a committee summary for a defense bill amendment included the phrase “Claude responded,” which suggests the drafting may have gotten a little help from the chatbot. Representative Anna Paulina Luna said most staff use AI. That is one way to keep Congress looking modern.