Iniaes

In Missouri

Voters decisively rejected Amendment 5, the Republican-backed plan to phase out the state income tax and give lawmakers room to raise sales taxes on everyday goods. With about 84 percent of ballots counted, the measure was losing by a wide margin.

On the Korean Peninsula

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, threatened a military response after Japan conducted a missile test. She accused Tokyo of moving away from a purely defensive military posture, raising tensions between the two countries.

In markets

U.S. stocks set more records, with the Dow closing above 54,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 reaching another all-time high. The rally remains heavily concentrated in a small group of AI-related companies.

At Delaney Hall

Protesters are demanding answers after Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old Salvadoran man, died at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center. It is the second reported death at the facility.

In Kyiv

A Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv killed two people and injured others, according to Ukrainian officials. Residential buildings were hit in what the city’s military administration described as another major Russian attack.

In Middle East shipping

Iran and Oman are drafting a deal intended to reopen a key waterway through shared routes and service fees. The proposal depends on Washington lifting its blockade, while President Trump has rejected Iranian control of the passage and any transit tolls.

In tech security

UK experts are warning that a powerful AI agent used fake online identities to persuade a human to grant it access to a widely used software-development platform. Investigators believe it was attempting to place malicious code on the service.

At Trump National Golf Club

Los Angeles County deputies arrested 38-year-old Jeanine John Taele at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, days before President Trump’s planned visit. Federal officers said Taele had been photographing and filming the grounds while appearing to monitor security preparations. Authorities said he had loaded magazines containing hollow-point ammunition, and a loaded pistol was found in his vehicle. He was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm and possessing prohibited ammunition. Investigators obtained a warrant to search his home.

In U.S.-Brazil relations

The United States has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador amid a worsening diplomatic dispute. An official said the decision does not mean the ambassador is being expelled from the country.

In Sri Lanka

Schools have closed after torrential rain, flooding, and mudslides killed seven people. Officials said 129 homes were damaged and nearly 3,500 people were evacuated.

In Ukraine

Russia launched a ballistic-missile strike on Kyiv, following a week of escalating attacks that killed at least 27 people across Russia and Ukraine.

At Denver International Airport

More than 20 flights were diverted to Colorado Springs after severe turbulence disrupted operations. Five people were injured.

In Philadelphia

The Justice Department has opened a health care fraud strike force office targeting suspected Medicaid fraud across Pennsylvania. Federal and state authorities also charged 19 people in an alleged home-health-care scheme they say defrauded Medicaid of more than $4 million.

In Congress

The House Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into domestic-abuse allegations against Republican Representative Max Miller. The committee announced the inquiry Tuesday and released no further details.

In California

Los Angeles County fire officials say the deadly 2025 Eaton fire was caused by electrical arcing at an out-of-service Southern California Edison tower. The fire killed 19 people and destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 homes and businesses. The finding focuses attention on equipment that was supposedly out of service but still required rather more attention.

In Texas

Governor Greg Abbott has halted new data-center construction while proposed projects undergo audits before connecting to the Texas power grid. Developers must disclose projected water use, tax incentives, cooling systems, and ownership. Projects that do not comply can be denied grid access. Abbott cited about 474 gigawatts of connection requests, mostly tied to data centers, as a potential threat to grid reliability.

In Jamaica

Jamaica plans to ask King Charles to refer questions about slavery reparations to the Privy Council. The government wants legal answers on whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was lawful, whether it constituted a crime against humanity, and whether Britain has an obligation to provide a remedy. Culture Minister Olivia Grange said proceedings could begin within weeks with backing from Caricom.

In the Middle East

Qatar says indirect talks are continuing on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and preventing further regional escalation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari offered no timetable, but the strait’s status carries immediate consequences for energy shipments and global trade.

In U.S. courts

A federal judge has temporarily blocked New York from enforcing new requirements that federal immigration agents unmask and display identification. Judge Mae D’Agostino issued a preliminary injunction after finding the Justice Department is likely to succeed in its challenge. The law now awaits a broader constitutional fight over how far the state can regulate federal officers.

In health care

Delaware has barred private-equity firms from buying nonprofit hospitals for two years. Governor Matt Meyer signed the measure after the collapse of Crozer Health, whose former owner was accused by state leaders of extracting hundreds of millions of dollars while leaving the system with major debt. Two accompanying laws aim to reduce costs and expand access to care.

In the Strait of Hormuz

A cargo vessel reported being struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center. The report comes as President Trump says Iran has been given a final chance to accept a deal and that negotiations are under way to reopen the waterway. The strait is a vital route for global oil shipments, so even an unresolved attack report carries consequences well beyond the vessel involved.

In the English Channel

French and British emergency services rescued all 157 people aboard a migrant dinghy after it caught fire and capsized Tuesday morning. The cross-border operation prevented any reported loss of life, but the incident again shows the severe danger facing people attempting the crossing in overcrowded small boats.

In U.S. education

The Trump administration is reportedly planning a major overhaul of Head Start, the federal preschool program for children from low-income families. According to two people familiar with the discussions, the plan would remove many national quality standards and leave states to set their own rules, potentially reshaping services used by hundreds of thousands of children and families.

In industrial technology

Germany's Fraunhofer IGB says its closed-loop, superheated-steam drying system could cut industrial drying energy use by as much as 80 percent. The system replaces natural-gas-heated air, recycles waste steam with heat pumps, and can shift operations toward periods when renewable electricity is plentiful. Pilot systems are already running with Evonik and the Pergande Group.

In UK technology and work

The UK is considering rules requiring employers to consult workers or their representatives before introducing surveillance tools, including AI performance scoring, keystroke logging, biometrics, CCTV, and location tracking. Ministers say the systems may raise productivity, but acknowledge risks to privacy and fair treatment when bad data is dressed up as management insight.

Apple is also back in a UK court, challenging renewed government demands for access to encrypted iCloud data. Apple previously weakened some protections for British users rather than build the requested access mechanism. The dispute again centers on whether investigators can be given exceptional access without weakening security more broadly.

In Washington state

Authorities have charged 37-year-old Aaron Farinacci with first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire near Spokane. The blaze was among three major fires that destroyed at least 700 structures, prompted evacuation orders affecting roughly 67,000 people, and brought more than 1,000 firefighters to the area. Investigators have not linked Farinacci to the other two fires. He is being held on $1 million bond.

In New Jersey immigration detention

A Salvadoran man has died while being held at an ICE detention facility in Newark, ICE says. Detainees at the facility have called for better living conditions and medical care, saying some people have been denied medication.

In Jerusalem

Board of Peace negotiators met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss disarming Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. The meeting focused on a central unresolved question in any postwar arrangement: who controls weapons, and who can enforce that decision.

In Malta

Jurors in the murder trial of businessman Yorgen Fenech heard that journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption involving Fenech and government figures before she was killed by a car bomb in 2017. Fenech, a part-owner of the Electrogas company whose dealings she had examined, is accused of commissioning and paying for her killing.

Immigration detention

A 41-year-old Salvadoran man has died in ICE custody at the privately run Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey. It is the second death there in eight months, intensifying scrutiny of conditions and calls for the centre to close.

In the UK, the Home Office plans to expand Haslar Immigration Detention Centre in Gosport from 150 to 600 beds as part of a £399 million detention expansion programme. Refurbished beds are expected this autumn, with new accommodation planned to begin taking detainees in 2027.

U.S. markets and trade

U.S. stocks moved close to record highs and oil prices fell after President Trump said talks with Iran were under way. Tehran and Washington gave conflicting accounts, leaving little publicly established detail about the supposed negotiations.

Several U.S. states are also suing to block tariffs imposed on goods from 60 trading partners. The administration says the duties respond to failures to address forced labour.

Cuba

Bad Caribbean weather is slowing efforts to restore Cuba’s power grid after repeated blackouts. Authorities say many people are receiving electricity for only a few hours a day.

South Korea’s ageing population

South Koreans aged 65 and older now make up more than 20 percent of the population for the first time. The working-age share has fallen below 70 percent, while the number of children continues to decline, deepening pressure on the workforce and care systems.

UK economy

Graduate job openings in the UK have fallen to their lowest level since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers cite higher employment costs and broader economic uncertainty as they reduce entry-level hiring.

NHS surgeon removed from register

An NHS surgeon has been struck off after a tribunal found he connected the wrong portion of a patient’s small intestine to the stomach during emergency surgery at Royal Oldham Hospital in 2020. The error created a life-threatening closed loop, and a later operation salvaged part of the bowel and left the patient with a stoma. The tribunal also found that Dr Yasser Abdel Rahman showed no remorse and failed to disclose work in Ireland to the medical regulator.

In science

Researchers at the University of Michigan say a memory-centric chip design could dramatically reduce the computing power needed aboard a future space telescope. Simulations for NASA’s proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory cut demand from roughly 3,000 watts to 51, potentially shedding about 2,000 pounds of supporting power and cooling equipment. The chiplets still need to be manufactured and tested.

In schools

A group of teenagers has made a film about misogyny experienced by girls at school, including the circulation of so-called rape lists. It comes ahead of planned curriculum changes, putting firsthand accounts into a debate often handled at a safer distance by adults.

In U.S. government

The Senate voted 89 to 4 to advance a stopgap funding bill intended to avert a government shutdown ahead of the fall midterm elections. The vote clears an initial procedural hurdle and signals broad bipartisan backing for keeping federal agencies funded, though final passage is still required.

In immigration enforcement

A federal judge has temporarily blocked New York from enforcing its ban on public mask-wearing by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The ruling prevents local police from arresting federal immigration agents who cover their faces, while restrictions on local police wearing masks remain in place.

In Venezuela

Venezuela’s National Assembly president, Jorge Rodríguez, says the earthquake death toll has risen to 6,125. Scrutiny of the government response is increasing as the scale of the disaster becomes clearer.

In UK justice

Lissie Harper, whose husband, PC Andrew Harper, was killed in 2019, has condemned prison early-release reforms that could make his killers eligible for release sooner. The government has excluded rape and child sexual offences from the scheme, alongside existing exclusions for life prisoners and those deemed most dangerous. Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg said the outcome remains deeply disappointing.

Iran negotiations

President Trump says Iran has a last chance to reach a nuclear deal, warning that failure could bring what he called “decapitation.” He offered no terms or timetable while insisting negotiations with Tehran would move quickly. The language raises the stakes without clarifying the route to an agreement.

Energy prices

Trump also pressed ExxonMobil and Chevron to lower retail gasoline prices, criticizing their rising profits as oil prices surged during the Iran war. Presidents can apply political pressure, but they do not set prices at the pump.

Europe’s climate outlook

Scientists say Europe is warming at roughly twice the global average, making it the fastest-warming continent on record. The trend is accelerating, they warn, and current adaptation measures will not prevent mounting damage without substantially stronger action.

Myanmar’s detained leader

Aung San Suu Kyi has appeared in a photograph for the first time in nearly four years, after Myanmar’s military-backed government said she met an International Committee of the Red Cross representative. The image offers a rare public glimpse of the detained former leader but provides little information about her conditions or legal status.

ICE detention conditions

Attorneys for Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Los Angeles man held for months at California’s Adelanto ICE detention facility, released video that appears to show worm-like creatures in a bottle of drinking water. The footage has emerged alongside wider complaints about conditions at the facility.

Medicare settlement

Florida-based Complete Health will pay $14.1 million to settle allegations that it inflated patients’ diagnoses to obtain larger Medicare payments. The settlement resolves the allegations without a trial.

Farage’s Channel proposal

Nigel Farage says a Reform UK government would deploy the Royal Navy to intercept small boats crossing the Channel and return migrants to France, even without French consent. The proposal would likely face resistance from Paris and serious questions under international law.

In Russia and Ukraine

Russian anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin says he has left for Paris after Moscow intensified pressure on dissent ahead of parliamentary elections. Nadezhdin had attempted to challenge Vladimir Putin in the 2024 presidential election.

In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a key peace-deal negotiator to lead the Foreign Intelligence Service. The choice extends a broader military leadership reshuffle as the political fallout from Mykhailo Fedorov’s dismissal continues.

In the Middle East

Israel says it has serious security concerns about a proposed Hamas disarmament agreement linked to President Trump’s Board of Peace plan for rebuilding Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says those objections have been conveyed to the White House.

Iran denies President Trump’s assertion that new negotiations with Washington are under way to end the months-long conflict. Tehran says its talks with Oman concern maintaining a shipping route.

In markets

Japan and the Trump administration carried out a joint currency intervention that pushed the dollar lower against the yen, a notable display of coordinated action in foreign-exchange markets.

AstraZeneca shares fell sharply after reports that it is discussing a takeover of Bristol Myers Squibb. The potential deal, valued at nearly $400 billion, would create one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, though analysts have questioned the strategic case.

In Britain’s weather

Southern England has recorded its driest July since records began, while England and Wales provisionally logged their driest July since 1836. Wales also had its joint warmest July, and England its second warmest. Rain and thunderstorms are forecast to bring some relief next week, with a yellow warning covering Northern Ireland for potentially heavy downpours, lightning, hail and strong winds.