August 3, 2026
MIDDLE EAST WAR | UKRAINE | U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | U.S. TRUMP COMPENSATION FUND | WASHINGTON | COLORADO RIVER | U.S. CYBERATTACKS | WASHINGTON, DC | GLOBAL WEATHER AND CLIMATE | INDO-PACIFIC SECURITY | ISRAEL AND GAZA | SUDAN | GREECE | RUSSIA | DENMARK | ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | SOCCER
MIDDLE EAST WAR | Day 157.
- U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he had called off a new round of strikes on Iran at the urging of Gulf-region allies and to give more time for progress in diplomatic efforts. Trump suggested that negotiations with Iran would resume today, but reports cite Iranian officials as saying Tehran is not currently holding talks with the United States. [more]
- Amidst ongoing disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq and Turkey signed a one-year agreement Saturday to increase Iraqi oil exports through a pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Reports say the agreement provides for a minimum export volume of 750,000 barrels of Iraqi crude oil per day through the pipeline. [more]
UKRAINE | Today is day 1,619 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:
- Russia carried out large-scale drone, missile, and bomb strikes on targets across Ukraine overnight, including on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, where at least eight powerful glide bombs killed at least one person, wounded dozens of others, and damaged 22 apartment buildings. [more]
- U.S. President Donald Trump, appearing to back off an earlier commitment to give Ukraine a license to make Patriot anti-missile systems, said Friday that the licensing arrangement is still under discussion and that he has yet to make a final decision on the matter. [more]
U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | At least three people were killed, and seven others were injured, Saturday afternoon when a yet-unidentified gunman, who shot himself following the incident, opened fire at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho. Investigations into the shooter's identity and motive are ongoing. [more]
U.S. TRUMP COMPENSATION FUND | Amidst his Senate confirmation hearings, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal order yesterday terminating President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” settlement to compensate his political allies and supporters for perceived improper investigations and prosecutions. Reports note that the order, apparently, does not affect the settlement provision providing Trump immunity from prosecution over any of his past IRS tax filings. [more]
WASHINGTON | Emergency response officials say wildfires in and around Spokane, Washington, burned an estimated 8.2 square miles of land, forced the evacuation of some 60,000 people, and destroyed at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures over the weekend. [more]
COLORADO RIVER | Under a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposal released Friday, Arizona, California, and Nevada would have to significantly reduce their use of water from the Colorado River system through 2036. The proposal comes amidst increased regional demands for water from the river system and regional drought that has lowered water levels. [more]
U.S. CYBERATTACKS | Authorities in Minnesota and Michigan have reported cyberattacks on more than 30 water systems in the states since last week. The attacks remain under investigation, but reports note that the FBI and other federal agencies warned last week that Iranian hackers have been targeting U.S. water and wastewater systems. [more]
WASHINGTON, DC | The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia moved Friday to drop criminal charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who had been accused of deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool following its recent renovation. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office said assessments showed that damage to the pool were the result of shoddy construction and not the work of vandals – a contention that President Donald Trump continued to dispute over the weekend. [more]
GLOBAL WEATHER AND CLIMATE | The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization said Friday that the current El Niño – a natural warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator that affects weather patterns worldwide – has already broken records for intensity at its early stages and could trigger extreme heat, drought, and rainfall well into next year. [press release] [more]
INDO-PACIFIC SECURITY | Speaking at a regional security conference in Malaysia today, Admiral Samuel Paparo, the head of U.S. Pacific Command, said coercive actions by China and other regional actors threatens stability in the Indo-Pacific and that the U.S. would not allow any nation to dominate the region. [more]
ISRAEL AND GAZA | Following a proposed disarmament deal with the Hamas militant group in Gaza announced last week, Israel carried out airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave overnight, killing at least 17 people, according to reports. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said today that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarizing and that Israel would not withdraw from Gaza before Hamas disarms. [more]
SUDAN | Amidst the country's ongoing civil war, independent atrocity documentation group Emergency Lawyers says at least 35 people were killed yesterday in a Sudanese army drone strike on a civil court in Sudan's Darfur region. [more]
GREECE | Reports say nearly 500 firefighters are involved in battling a major wildfire west of Athens, Greece, today. Two flight crew members were killed yesterday in the mid-air collision of two firefighting helicopters helping to battle the blaze. [more]
RUSSIA | Authorities in Moscow, Russia, say at least three people were killed, and 21 others were injured, when a bomb detonated at a restaurant in the city's center on Saturday. The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism, according to Russian state media. [more]
DENMARK | Amidst Arctic security concerns, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and U.S. demands for control of Greenland, Denmark's new extended conscription policies went into effect today. The policies extend conscription to include women for the first time, increase the standard service time from four months to 11 months, and increase the overall number of annual conscripts. [more]
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | Following a recent similar incident involving AI giant OpenAI, artificial intelligence company Anthropic said late last week that its AI models independently hacked into three other organizations during recent testing. [more]
SOCCER | FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced over the weekend that he would abandon plans to sell a stake in future World Cup tournament profits to private investors following strong objections from soccer federations around the world, including from European soccer body UEFA, which said it would boycott FIFA events if the plan went forward. [more]
WEEKEND MOVIES | "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $355 million in receipts, followed by "The Odyssey" and "Toy Story 5." [more]
TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1921, a day after being acquitted on insufficient evidence —largely because key evidence had disappeared from the grand jury files — eight Chicago White Sox players were banned from baseball for life, having been accused of receiving bribes to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. [more history]