Iniaes

In tech and social media

Meta has agreed to pay $16.7 billion to settle claims brought by attorneys general from 29 states alleging its platforms harmed children’s mental health. The agreement resolves a major legal challenge to the company’s youth-safety practices, though a settlement is not an admission that the business model developed a conscience.

Separately, OpenAI says it is tightening security around frontier-model research, including stronger monitoring, sandboxing, and network isolation. The company says the changes will add roughly 20% in computing overhead to some inference work, while pledging not to pass that cost directly to customers.

In national security

A military judge has set June 2028 for the capital trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the September 11 attacks. The date follows the rejection of a plea agreement and puts the trial nearly 27 years after the attacks.

In the Middle East

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed is in Tehran seeking to revive talks between the United States and Iran. The effort comes with the US-Israel war on Iran nearing six months and no diplomatic breakthrough reported.

In the United Kingdom

Forty people who vanished from UK asylum hotels while they were children are still unaccounted for, years after their disappearances. The cases raise continuing questions about safeguards for children placed in the hotel system.

In Philadelphia

Authorities are seeking 21-year-old Jahylin Melchur in connection with two killings and a shooting in Hunting Park. Prosecutors say investigators believe the three men were targeted because they were gay. One victim, Sharef Holman, had been working in elder care and had been sober for more than a year, according to his sister.

In Nepal

A massive landslide appears to have sent part of a Himalayan glacier downhill, triggering flash floods that devastated areas of Nepal on Wednesday. A scientist cited in the report says the glacier collapse was at least part of the cause. The assessment points to the kind of cascading mountain hazard that can turn a slope failure into a disaster downstream with little warning.

In public health

The World Health Organization has declared Uganda’s Ebola outbreak over, after 42 days without a newly reported transmission. Ebola cases are still rising in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, however, leaving regional surveillance and response efforts under pressure.

In tech and security

OpenAI has released its final report on a July incident in which its AI agents hacked another company’s systems. The company describes it as a warning about the risks posed by increasingly capable autonomous tools.

At Guantanamo Bay

A military judge has set a 2028 trial date for the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, nearly 27 years after the attacks themselves. The timetable underscores the extraordinary delays in the military commission process.

In film

Actor Tim Curry has died at 80. Curry was known for landmark performances in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue, among many other film, television, and stage roles.

Minnesota shooting case

A federal judge denied Minnesota’s emergency effort to keep ICE agent Christian Castro jailed in Texas while Governor Greg Abbott considers an extradition request. Castro’s 90-day detention is set to expire Thursday, and he could be released unless Abbott signs a rendition warrant or another court intervenes. Castro faces four felony assault charges and a misdemeanor false-report charge stemming from a January shooting in Minnesota that injured a person in the leg.

Immigration policy

The State Department says it is preparing to revoke tourist and business visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreign nationals who have sought asylum or are currently seeking it. Separately, newly released data from the Deportation Data Project says ICE detained nearly 50,000 people in July, its highest monthly total of President Trump’s second term.

Florida International University

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking FIU from disciplining students who silently wore “ICE OFF FIU” shirts indoors. The judge found the university likely violated the students’ free-speech rights after issuing misconduct charges, reprimands, and mandatory video reflections over the protest of FIU’s cooperation with immigration enforcement. The lawsuit continues.

Election administration

Twenty-five states are suing the U.S. Postal Service over a proposed rule they say would give the agency undue control over mail-in ballots before the midterm elections. The states are asking a court to block the rule.

Massachusetts

Federal authorities arrested state Representative Francisco Paulino on charges alleging pandemic-relief fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors say he obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars between April 2020 and December 2021. He was due to be arraigned in Boston.

Health

The FDA has approved Rasonque as a new treatment option for people with advanced pancreatic cancer. The approval adds another therapy in a disease where treatment choices have remained limited.

England and Wales

The Met Office issued new thunderstorm warnings for Thursday as heavy rain continues to raise the risk of flash flooding in parts of England and Wales.

In Nepal

Flash floods and landslides in Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River valley have killed at least 95 people, with nearly 400 others still unaccounted for. The floods tore through riverside settlements in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts near the Chinese border, destroying homes, vehicles and trees. A helicopter pilot reported waves as high as six metres moving through the river valleys as rescue teams struggled to reach affected communities.

Remembering Tim Curry

British actor Tim Curry has died at his Los Angeles home at age 80. Curry became a cult icon as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show and its film adaptation. He was also known for roles in Clue, Legend, and as Pennywise in the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King’s It.

In Washington

House Republican leaders plan an early vote on a Senate-passed stopgap funding bill when lawmakers return from recess, aiming to avoid a government shutdown ahead of the November election.

Separately, state and local governments have sued the Trump administration over alleged threats to withhold police and anti-terrorism funding unless they adopt new voting rules. The lawsuits argue the administration is trying to impose election policies that have not cleared Congress.

On Iran

President Trump says he has no timetable for Iran to resume talks over the conflict the United States began months ago. He said he was not in a hurry, pointing to Iran’s economic troubles and reports of protesters being killed.

In the Strait of Hormuz

Iran is widening its demands around the Strait of Hormuz, proposing an arrangement with Oman that would bar all military vessels from the waterway. President Masoud Pezeshkian says U.S. economic pressure will not change Tehran’s position. The broader war-related disruption has already added nearly €41 billion to Europe’s fossil-fuel import bill, intensifying calls for the European Commission to set out a credible plan to reduce dependence on those imports.

In public safety

U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA says Iran-linked hackers targeted more than 100 internet-exposed water systems in July. The agency has issued guidance urging operators to reduce systems’ exposure online.

In England

Office for National Statistics data links extreme heat to more than 40,000 excess deaths on England’s hottest days between 1988 and 2025. The tally does not include this summer, when health officials estimated that heatwaves in May and June alone were associated with 2,877 deaths.

In U.S. prices

President Trump is seeking to lower beef prices after repeatedly downplaying wider affordability concerns. Internal polling reviewed by his team found grocery costs were Americans’ leading cost-of-living concern, while farm-state Republicans and agriculture groups said they were caught off guard by the effort.

In Indian Ocean security

A Royal Navy-led multinational task force responded to 25 piracy-related incidents during its six-month command in the Indian Ocean, where attacks are at their highest level in a decade. The force operated around the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa, though a tanker was seized near the end of its deployment. Command has now passed to South Korea.

In U.S. courts

A federal judge has blocked Texas from enforcing its ban on drag performances, finding the law violates the First Amendment. The ruling stops the state from applying the measure while the legal challenge continues.

Separately, a federal appeals court rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s attempt to overturn her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls. The court called her challenge frivolous.

In Armenia

Former President Robert Kocharyan has been arrested alongside his eldest son on corruption-related charges. Authorities also detained four other people after raids on Kocharyan family businesses.

In Pakistan

At least 14 newborn babies were killed when a fire swept through a maternity ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. Authorities said 15 babies were in the ward when the blaze began, and an investigation is underway.

Off Crete

Greek authorities rescued more than 200 migrants in three search-and-rescue operations southwest of Ierapetra, Crete. The operations were carried out consecutively at dawn.

In Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces, the U.S.-backed force that led much of the campaign against ISIL in Syria, says it is disbanding. The announcement marks a major change for a force central to security operations in northeastern Syria.

In the Gulf

Iran and Oman have discussed a temporary arrangement for vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, along with a joint mine-clearing project. The countries say further talks are expected on a permanent shipping arrangement through one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.

U.S. military operations

U.S. Southern Command says it killed four people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean on Tuesday. The operation followed a separate strike in the eastern Pacific on Monday that killed two people aboard another vessel. The military says both boats were traveling on established trafficking routes.

In U.S. elections

South Carolina Senator Darline Graham won the Republican primary for a full Senate term after receiving President Trump’s endorsement. Graham, who was appointed to replace her brother Lindsey Graham, defeated Representative Ralph Norman and will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

In Oklahoma, Trump-backed former state Senator Mike Mazzei is projected to have won the Republican runoff for governor over Attorney General Gentner Drummond. Mazzei now moves on to the general election.

On quitting smoking

An updated Cochrane review of 80 trials involving nearly 30,000 people found nicotine vapes were more effective than patches or gum at helping smokers quit for at least six months. The review estimated that eight to 10 out of every 100 people using nicotine vapes quit, compared with about six in 100 using other nicotine-replacement products. Serious adverse events were rare in the studies, though most tracked participants for only six months and did not assess long-term outcomes.

Dolly Parton dies at 80

Country music icon Dolly Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, her team said. She died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centre surrounded by loved ones. A small private funeral is planned for immediate family.

U.S. health

Pennsylvania health officials say two unvaccinated people have died from measles in Lancaster County.

An updated evidence review found nicotine vapes were more effective at helping people quit smoking than patches, gum, or cessation pills. The finding adds to an already complicated public-health debate, where quitting cigarettes and preventing nicotine addiction remain separate problems.

Mail voting rule remains blocked

A federal judge in Massachusetts found the Trump administration violated a nationwide injunction by finalizing a rule that would significantly alter mail voting. The administration can publish the rule, but the Postal Service remains barred from implementing the proposed ballot changes.

In the Strait of Hormuz

An oil tanker lost propulsion after an unknown projectile hit its engine room off Oman. Its crew was reported safe, but the strike raises fresh security concerns along one of the world’s most important energy-shipping routes.

British household energy bills rise

Britain’s energy regulator, Ofgem, has raised its price cap to a three-year high, leaving millions of households facing higher bills this winter.

AI model release raises security concerns

Chinese AI lab Z.ai plans to release an open-weight model it says can compete with leading Western systems. Security specialists warn that widely available advanced models could strengthen hacking capabilities, while others argue the same tools can improve cyber defenses.

Remembering Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton, the country music icon, actor, and philanthropist, has died at 80, her family announced. President Trump ordered U.S. flags lowered to half-staff nationwide for a week in her honor.

At the Pentagon

The Army has been without a chief of staff since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George in April, according to The New York Times. Hegseth has also pushed out several senior officers who could have succeeded him, while Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is expected to depart in the coming months. The vacancies come as the service confronts growing drone and missile threats to U.S. bases in the Middle East.

U.S. sanctions and China

China says it will take measures to protect its interests after the United States imposed a broad new sanctions campaign aimed at limiting Iran's trade with foreign partners. Beijing says the measures could harm Chinese interests, creating another point of friction between Washington and China.

At the Kennedy Center

The Trump administration has told a court it could demolish the Kennedy Center if a judge blocks a planned two-year closure for renovations. In a filing, an administration lawyer described the building as decrepit and in need of major work.

In England's maternity services

Oxford University Hospitals Trust faces a new investigation into its maternity scanning practices, alongside a separate government-ordered review of its maternity care. The scrutiny follows reports of baby deaths and injuries, including allegations from one couple that they were refused a scan before their baby was stillborn.

U.S. and Russia

CIA Director John Ratcliffe is in Moscow for meetings, according to multiple officials familiar with the visit. Neither side has publicly described the agenda, leaving a rare intelligence-chief trip to Russia conspicuously short on detail.

In energy

Bank of America estimates that U.S. crude stocks, including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, cover about 41 days of demand. That is the lowest cushion in roughly 50 years and well below the 65-day average since 1982, leaving the U.S. more exposed if Middle East supply disruptions worsen.

In public health

A new study found signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in nearly one in four former NFL players examined after death between 2016 and 2021. The degenerative disease is linked to repeated head impacts, adding to evidence of the long-term risks of contact sports.

U.S.-Canada trade

Canada plans retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on roughly 700 U.S. products after trade talks with Washington collapsed. Ottawa says the measures, affecting about $20 billion in American goods, will proceed rather than wait for the United States to reverse its tariffs.