July 13, 2026

A NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS | The Daily Brief is hand-written every weekday morning by one person out of a sense of hope and of shared responsibility for an informed citizenry. Unfortunately, that means the perils of a one-person shop can sometimes impinge on the mission, and I want to let you know that beginning tomorrow there will be some interruptions in the Brief due to medical procedures and treatments. I hope to return the service to full operations on Wednesday, but will have to see. Additional interruptions will likely occur in the coming weeks.
~ Editor

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 136.

• The U.S. carried out more than 150 strikes on targets in Iran over the weekend and today, according to the military's Central Command, as violence continues to escalate over Iran's claims of sole control over the Strait of Hormuz. [more]
• Iranian forces targeted multiple Gulf-region countries in which U.S. forces are based over the weekend amidst the re-escalation of tensions, including in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan. [more]
• Iranian officials suggested today that the latest round of U.S. military strikes have "rendered futile" diplomatic efforts of the past few months to reach a permanent peace agreement. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,598 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Citing the need for a change in his country's political strategy amidst the ongoing Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the resignation of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko yesterday. Reports say Svyrydenko has been offered an unspecified government role in a "new, important area" by Zelenskyy. [more]

U.S. HOUSING | A sweeping, bipartisan housing bill that, among other things, seeks to reduce federal housing rules and limit the ability of corporations to buy single-family homes automatically became law Friday night after President Donald Trump refused to sign it for 10 days in protest over what he said was the lack of Congressional action on his desired voting reform legislation. The housing bill was passed by veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who served in Congress for more than 30 years, died Saturday at the age of 71. A preliminary medical examiner's report says Graham died due to a torn aorta related to hardened arteries. Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, and the state will hold a special primary to choose a candidate for Graham's former Senate seat for this November's elections. [more]

KANSAS | According to a proposed court decree filed late last week, Canada-based energy infrastructure company South Bow, which operates the Keystone Pipeline, would be required to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty over a major 2022 oil spill in Kansas and to spend about $40 million to prevent future such accidents. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Stressing that his order should not be taken as an endorsement of the Justice Department's decision to abandon the cases, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on Friday dismissed the cases of members of the far-right Proud Boys group who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Kelly stated in his order that he saw no legal basis to preserve the Proud Boys members' convictions after President Donald Trump's broad granting of clemency last year regarding the January 6 attacks. [more]

U.S. AI AND COPYRIGHT | A coalition of media outlets has asked a federal judge to impose sanctions on artificial intelligence giant OpenAI over what the outlets claim is the company's hiding of evidence in a trial centered on how AI models were trained using millions of news articles and whether AI chatbots are unfairly competing as news sources without doing the actual journalistic work involved in gathering the news. [more]

E.U. INTERNET POLICIES | A new report from a special European Commission panel suggests that "Until they demonstrate that their services are safe by design, social media and other digital services providers should have restricted access to children under the age of 13" in the European Union. The report comes as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for limits on social media access by children and reports of ongoing work on related bloc-wide legislation. [official report summary] [full report] [more]

CHINA AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA | Commemorating a July 12, 2016, arbitration ruling by a tribunal established in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, statements issued by the European Union, the United States, the U.K, and 12 other Western and Asian countries said yesterday they reaffirmed the finding that there is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea and criticized Beijing's destabilizing actions in the disputed waters. China also released a statement on the ruling yesterday, saying it neither accepts nor recognizes it. [more]

FRANCE | Amidst a third European heatwave of the summer, emergency officials in France say some residential neighborhoods were evacuated and train and highway traffic were disrupted yesterday as firefighters battled a wildfire in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris. [more]

ISRAEL AND GAZA | Palestinian health officials say at least six people were killed yesterday in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, including in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood and two displacement centers. Israeli officials say the strikes targeted "terrorist infrastructure" in the Palestinian enclave. [more]

RUSSIA AND EUROPEAN UNION | Denouncing efforts by Russia to "destabilize the E.U., its member states, and international partners," the European Union imposed new sanctions on Russian military intelligence officers, hackers, and private companies today, citing a years-long cyber-espionage campaign aimed at undermining the bloc. [more]

CHILE | Reports say several people were killed yesterday when an off-duty member of the Chilean navy crashed into an open-air market in Chile's coastal city of Vina del Mar. Investigations into the incident are ongoing. [more]

CANADA | Two people were killed, and four others were injured, Saturday when two gunmen exchanged fire in the midst of the Salsa on St. Clair street festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Police say the two suspects, neither of whom have been detained or identified, are believed to have been targeting each other. [more]

VIETNAM | Authorities say the captain of a speedboat that capsized Saturday off the coast of southern Vietnam, killing 15 Indian tourists, has been arrested on charges related to alleged violations of waterway transport safety regulations. [more]

YEMEN AND SAUDI ARABIA | The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen today accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out an airstrike on the Yemeni international airport in Sanaa today and said the attack would not go unanswered. [more]

THAILAND | Police in Bangkok, Thailand, say at least 27 people were killed, and 25 others were seriously injured, yesterday when a fire broke out in a music bar in the city's northern region. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. [more]

EUROPEAN HEATWAVE | According to data from European mortality monitoring group EuroMOMO, countries across Europe reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the late-June heatwave that affected much of the continent, with more than 9,000 of those deaths occurring in people aged 65 and above. [more]

TENNIS | Top-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev yesterday to claim his second Wimbledon men's tournament championship. On Saturday, Linda Noskova defeated Karolína Muchova to win her first Wimbledon women's title. [more]

WORLD CUP | Semi-final matchups for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are set following weekend games, with France to face Spain tomorrow, and England to face Argentina on Wednesday. [full bracket] [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Moana" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $43 million in receipts, followed by "Minions & Monsters" and "Toy Story 5." [more]

R.I.P. | Actor Sam Neill, best known for his starring role in the film "Jurassic Park," died today at the age of 78. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1985, the benefit concert Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the event drew an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers and raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia. [more history]