Iniaes

In Ukraine

Russian strikes killed two people in Ukraine, a day after a drone attack on a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih killed at least 16. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the mall attack, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she would seek the bloc’s most far-reaching new sanctions listings against Russia since the war began.

In U.S. elections

The Postal Service has issued a final rule implementing President Trump’s March order on mail voting. Under the rule, mail ballots would be delivered only in states that share voter data with the federal agency, setting up a significant new condition months before the midterm elections.

In the Middle East

The USS George Washington carrier strike group has entered the U.S. Central Command area to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln after more than 250 days at sea, adding U.S. naval and air power amid tensions with Iran.

At the same time, Trump said he considers the Strait of Hormuz “American territory” as the United States maintains a blockade of Iranian shipping and ports. The strait is an international waterway.

In the courts

An appeals court cut a Sandy Hook-related judgment against Alex Jones from $50 million to $1.5 million. Jones is still contesting damages awards and efforts to liquidate Free Speech Systems, the company behind Infowars, and has not made payments in either state.

In tech

TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit alleging violations of federal children’s privacy laws. The settlement resolves a case filed in 2024, though further terms were not disclosed.

In trade

The United States and Canada are still trying to reach a trade agreement before steep new U.S. tariffs are scheduled to take effect. Trump has said a deal should be possible, while Canadian officials say negotiations still have work to do.

At the Pentagon

The Pentagon has fired the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes and a senior reporter after they publicly objected to what they described as Defense Department interference with the outlet's editorial independence. The department accused them of insubordination. The dispute raises a basic question for a military-funded news organization: whether it can report freely on the institution paying its bills.

In Alaska

Eight people were killed when a civilian-contracted Cessna crashed near a remote radar site in western Alaska. The National Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft was making a second attempt to land on a gravel airstrip in heavy fog. Both pilots and all six passengers died. Investigators say the crew could not see the runway and were flying solely by instruments.

In India

Authorities in Andhra Pradesh are investigating the death of a six-year-old who was allegedly slapped by a teacher. The regional education minister says legal action is underway and a committee has been formed to establish responsibility.

In cybersecurity

Google says three Russia-linked espionage groups are exploiting legitimate Google and Microsoft login processes to steal access tokens from targets including government, defense, academic and think-tank accounts. The phishing technique can resemble a genuine sign-in before redirecting victims, making personal accounts a potentially useful route into more sensitive systems.

In Charlotte

The family of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee fatally stabbed on Charlotte's light rail, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and its security contractor. The suit alleges that understaffing, missing guards, weak fare enforcement and known crime risks left the transit system unsafe. It seeks damages from the city and punitive damages from the security firm.

In Washington

The U.S. national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, another marker of the federal government's rapidly growing accumulated borrowing.

In U.S. news

The Navy is reportedly considering stripping Pearl Harbor hero Doris Miller’s name from one of its planned aircraft carriers. President Donald Trump is said to be among the possible replacements. Miller was the first Black recipient of the Navy Cross, and replacing his name with that of a sitting president has drawn scrutiny.

In the Middle East

Israel has sharply expanded settlement construction and road building across occupied West Bank land, accelerating changes that further fragment Palestinian territory. In Lebanon, the World Bank forecasts that the Israel-Hezbollah conflict will drive a 6.4 percent economic contraction, hitting an economy already struggling to recover.

In tech and security

CISA has ordered federal agencies to patch an actively exploited flaw in exposed MLflow servers by September 2. The vulnerability can give attackers access to systems that should not be internet-facing and may expose cloud credentials without requiring a login. The agency has not identified the targets or consequences of the known intrusions.

In the courts

A U.S. court has cut Alex Jones’s Sandy Hook penalty from $50 million to $1.5 million. The Infowars founder was penalized over his false claims that the school shooting was a hoax.

In U.S.-China relations

The State Department has designated Myanmar scholar and U.S. citizen Min Zin as wrongfully detained in China. Chinese authorities arrested him in June on an allegation of endangering national security. The designation makes securing his release a top U.S. priority ahead of President Trump’s planned White House meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.

In Sweden

One person was killed in a sword attack at a Swedish school. A second person remains in critical condition, and a third suffered minor injuries.

In U.S. trade policy

The Trump administration is temporarily lifting some tariffs on imported ground beef, saying it wants to lower consumer prices before the midterm elections. Republican Representatives Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene objected, criticizing the move from within the president’s own party.

Meanwhile, the United States and Canada say they are nearing a deal covering hundreds of billions of dollars in trade before a midnight deadline. The talks remain shadowed by the threat of 50% U.S. tariffs on Canada and a relationship in which public taunts have not exactly built confidence.

On food assistance

Enrollment in SNAP fell more than 13% over the past year, a sharper decline than government estimates projected. The drop comes as new work requirements and other provisions in President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” take effect for the federal food-aid program.

In global health

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 11 million people worldwide will contract measles in 2026, underscoring the scale of the continuing global outbreak risk.

In football

FIFA suspended Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes for 10 matches after violence following the World Cup final against Spain. Two other Argentine players were also banned, while Argentina’s team and football federation received fines tied to the brawl and other tournament incidents.

In Hong Kong

Activists behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil have been convicted of subversion, a charge carrying sentences of up to 10 years. The case further dismantles one of the city’s last major public commemorations of the 1989 crackdown under the national-security system Beijing imposed on the territory.

In Russia

Russian drivers are facing long queues and fuel shortages as Moscow prepares Flag Day celebrations. The shortages are another visible domestic cost of the war, with petrol proving less dependable than official displays of national confidence.

In cybersecurity

Google says three suspected Russia-linked espionage groups are targeting researchers, diplomats and defence personnel in Europe and the United States. The campaigns use fake conference invitations, fraudulent login prompts and WhatsApp pages to steal credentials or install malware, often through personal accounts outside workplace security controls.

In Yemen

Houthi attacks have forced Al-Makha port to suspend operations, cutting off work for port employees and disrupting traders and local supply routes. The closure adds to the economic damage from Yemen’s wider conflict and attacks on Red Sea-linked infrastructure.

In Switzerland

Five people are missing and feared dead after a fire destroyed a restaurant and the apartments above it in an alpine town. Eight others were injured as emergency crews responded to the blaze.

Off Mauritania

Mauritania’s coast guard rescued more than 300 migrants, including 40 children, from a boat attempting the Atlantic route toward Spain’s Canary Islands. The crossing remains one of Europe’s most dangerous migration routes, often made in overcrowded vessels with limited food, water and safety equipment.

In U.S. courts

A federal judge has ruled that former Abercrombie & Fitch chief executive Michael Jeffries is fit to stand trial on sex-trafficking and interstate-prostitution charges.

In Japan

Japan has executed a 58-year-old man convicted of setting a 2009 fire at an Osaka pachinko parlor that killed five people. The execution underscores Japan’s continued use of capital punishment, with prisoners often given little notice before they are put to death.

At the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal will cut the number of daily ship transits from September as drought and low rainfall deplete the water needed to operate its locks. El Niño is intensifying pressure on a waterway central to global trade, meaning shipping schedules and costs could be affected.

In Switzerland and Alaska

Five people remain missing and eight were injured after an apartment-building fire in Switzerland. Around 100 firefighters were deployed, and crews were still working to contain the blaze Friday morning.

In Alaska, all eight people aboard a chartered Cessna 441 were reportedly killed when it crashed near a U.S. military-managed radar site.

At Spain’s Ceuta enclave

Spanish authorities have begun moving migrants from a makeshift camp on Ceuta’s El Trampolín beach into temporary shelters. The camp grew after a mass border crossing nearly three weeks earlier left thousands in the North African enclave without adequate housing.

In Kyiv

Residents of Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district were clearing wreckage and assessing damage after an overnight Russian barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones struck a residential area. The attack caused deaths and damage across the capital, adding to the civilian toll of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In Australia

New South Wales authorities are investigating a communication failure in the search for 18-year-old Lily Hooper, who had been missing for eight days in Nattai National Park. Her family and the public were told she had been found alive, including in an announcement by Premier Chris Minns, before search crews confirmed minutes later that she had died. Reports say an unverified coded message referring to “half a bottle of water” was wrongly understood and passed on as a rescue confirmation.

In Alaska

A charter plane carrying two pilots and six passengers crashed near a remote radar site in western Alaska. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. No further details on the people aboard or the cause were provided in the initial report.

In England

Thames Water says its hosepipe ban for 10.1 million customers could remain in place until the end of the year. The company says drought has depleted rivers despite recent rain, while it continues to lose an average of 569 million litres of water a day through leaks.

Travelodge chief executive Joanna Boydell has stepped down as the hotel chain faces scrutiny over its handling of a sexual assault case. Staff reportedly issued a man a key card to a woman’s room, and the woman was later offered a £30 refund, a response the company has acknowledged was inappropriate.

In Hong Kong

A Hong Kong court has convicted three pro-democracy activists, including veteran campaigner Lee Cheuk-yan and barrister Chow Hang-tung, of inciting subversion under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. The case centres on their links to the Hong Kong Alliance, which organised annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Authorities have largely shut down those commemorations under the security law.

On the Nile

Egypt faces renewed pressure over water security as Ethiopia advances three additional dam projects after completing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Cairo failed to halt that project and now faces the prospect of further upstream development on the Nile, potentially deepening a long-running dispute over water flows and regional influence.

In the Middle East

President Trump says the United States will begin an unprecedented economic pressure campaign against Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the objective is to collapse the Iranian regime, though the administration has not yet detailed the measures. U.S. officials say countries continuing to do business with Iran could also face pressure, while military options remain open.

In Yemen, government forces reported 81 attacks over 24 hours, while the Houthis said they struck two targets in Saudi Arabia. The exchange points to a sharp escalation and raises the risk that Yemen’s long-running conflict could slide back toward full-scale war.

In Pakistan

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been moved from solitary confinement to a hospital after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered a medical examination within 48 hours. The court restored family visits and directed that an eye specialist join his medical team. Khan, jailed since 2023, denies the charges against him.

In Texas schools

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is calling for schools to remove sexual education books he describes as dirty, highlighting a graphic novel about teen sexual education. Patrick said, “We’re coming for the books,” while maintaining the campaign is not a book ban.

In New York

Federal prosecutors say an Albany woman has been arrested over an alleged plot to bomb the New York State Capitol while senators were meeting inside. Authorities allege she intended to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill lawmakers.

In Michigan

Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is proposing a one-year pause on new data center construction. The call reflects growing political pressure over the electricity demands of rapidly expanding facilities that support AI systems.

In U.S. security

Federal authorities have charged an Albany woman with supporting a terrorist group after alleging she planned an attack on the New York State Capitol. The case is now in federal court.

In the Middle East

The USS Abraham Lincoln has left the Middle East after a nine-month deployment and is heading home, while the USS Washington takes over its regional role. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. sanctions are intended to severely damage Iran’s economy and help bring down its government, while pressing allies to choose between Washington and Tehran.

The Lindsay Clancy trial

About 300 people gathered outside the courthouse in support of Lindsay Clancy, who is on trial over the deaths of her three children. Her lawyer does not dispute that she killed them, but argues that postpartum psychosis left her not criminally responsible.

AI expansion and local backlash

Data centers are becoming a midterm issue as residents push back against huge campuses built to support AI and cloud computing. Donald Trump continues to back the industry despite concerns from communities near proposed sites. McGill researchers also report a more energy-efficient way for AI systems to signal when they are uncertain and may need human review.

Consumer pressure and cannabis dependence

Walmart says sales growth is slowing as Americans make tougher spending choices, with gasoline above four dollars a gallon adding pressure to household budgets. A separate study estimates that Americans with cannabis use disorder rose from 15.3 million in 2021 to 19.4 million in 2024, challenging the idea that marijuana cannot be addictive.

In Ukraine

Russia launched an hours-long overnight barrage on Kyiv with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. The attack was reported deadly, though the available account did not provide a casualty total. Separately, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said Russian drone strikes are endangering civilians and disrupting relief work, as the UN seeks more than €1.7 billion for its priority Ukraine response this year.

In the Gulf of Aden

Gunmen seized the tanker Seamull off Yemen and diverted it toward Somalia, according to a UK maritime security monitor. The incident comes amid renewed piracy in the Gulf of Aden, a vital shipping route.

U.S. immigration and Iran

Released emails show U.S. immigration officials coordinated with Iranian authorities on the deportation of more than 100 Iranian nationals across three flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026. The records, obtained by the National Iranian American Council, detail arrangements between the two governments.

At Meta’s youth-safety trial

Former Meta safety engineer Arturo Béjar testified in federal court in Oakland that he directly warned Mark Zuckerberg about serious risks to teenagers using the company’s platforms and received no response. His testimony is part of litigation examining Meta’s handling of youth safety.