U.S. Central Command carried out a massive two-hour bombing campaign overnight, hitting dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets inside Iran — missile and drone facilities, military command centers, and coastal defense installations. The strikes came after Tehran launched a surprise missile attack on U.S. forces stationed in Jordan. Officials say the operation successfully degraded Iran's ability to threaten American troops and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared before the Senate on Tuesday and refused to answer questions more than 100 times, invoking the Fifth Amendment throughout a chaotic three-hour hearing — with his own attorney getting ejected from the chamber after repeatedly interrupting proceedings. Sen. Rand Paul says a contempt of Congress vote will be held August 5th, arguing that Fauci's existing pardon may eliminate his right to invoke the Fifth altogether. Florida has separately announced it is launching its own investigation.
The Commerce Department reported this morning that the U.S. economy expanded at a 1.5 percent annualized rate in the second quarter of 2026, down from 2.1 percent in Q1 and well below economist projections of 2.1 percent. Consumer spending surged 3.2 percent and business investment jumped over 8 percent, but those gains were wiped out by rising imports, falling inventories, and a drag from government spending.
The Senate voted 49 to 50 Thursday to block a Democrat-backed resolution that would have forced President Trump to pull back from the conflict with Iran. It marks the thirteenth failed attempt by Democrats to invoke the War Powers Act against the administration's Iran operations, with Republicans holding firm as U.S. military strikes continue.
The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan on Tuesday has now killed at least 34 people, with dozens still missing as rescue crews work through rubble in punishing summer heat. Roughly 300,000 people were displaced to evacuation centers, power is out for tens of thousands, and a devastating gas explosion tore through a shopping mall that had just reopened after being rebuilt following a deadly 2016 quake.
The Bundibugyo strain Ebola outbreak tearing through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has now killed more than 1,500 people with over 3,400 confirmed cases, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in recorded history. The outbreak spans five provinces, health workers went on strike over unpaid bonuses, and the U.S. has barred Americans from returning directly home from Congo. There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for this particular strain.
First Lady Melania Trump facilitated the return of another group of Ukrainian children separated from their families by Russia, marking the fifth successful reunification round of her initiative. The program, which she launched in October 2025 after delivering a personal note to President Putin via her husband, has now returned roughly 30 children to their loved ones. An estimated 35,000 Ukrainian children are believed to have been taken by Russia.
The Federal Communications Commission expanded its national security blacklist this week to prohibit foreign-made advanced robotic devices — including humanoids, quadrupeds, and mobile robots — from entering the U.S. market, specifically targeting Chinese manufacturers. The rule defines a banned device as anything that moves autonomously, weighs more than 4.4 pounds, perceives its environment via sensors, and has network connectivity. Even robots assembled in the U.S. are covered if more than 35 percent of components come from abroad.
In a hopeful development tied to the Congo crisis, the University of Oxford's Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute announced the first human volunteer has received a dose of their new experimental Ebola vaccine in a UK clinical trial. The Bundibugyo strain spreading in Congo currently has no approved vaccine or treatment, making the Oxford trial especially urgent. Researchers hope to fast-track results as the outbreak continues to accelerate.
Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was suspended for five home games and fined by the WNBA after she reportedly called a pair of teenage Sophie Cunningham fans "f---ing insane" during a game Tuesday. The girls were wearing XX-XY Athletics gear in support of Cunningham, who has been outspoken against transgender athletes in women's sports. Cunningham herself broke her silence on the controversy, and the league's handling of the incident drew immediate criticism from fans who noted the WNBA's simultaneous gambling controversy, in which the league quietly deleted a social media post showing players wagering in apparent violation of league rules.
