July 18, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• At least three people were killed, and 10 others were wounded, yesterday when an Israeli artillery round struck the compound of the only Catholic church in Gaza. Israeli officials described the incident as an accident and said an investigation into its cause has been launched. [more]
• A new BBC report says Israel has demolished thousands of buildings across Gaza since its cease-fire with Hamas ended in March, with satellite imagery showing instances of entire towns and suburbs in the Palestinian enclave having been leveled in the past few weeks. [full BBC report] [more]
• Syrian officials said today that government forces will be re-deployed to the southern province of Sweida to impose stability after renewed clashes between armed Druze groups and members of Bedouin clans broke out overnight. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,240 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• The European Union approved an eighteenth round of sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine today. The new sanctions include a lower oil price cap, a ban on transactions with the Nord Stream gas pipelines, and specific measures targeting so-called "shadow fleet" ships that transport Russian oil and gas. [more]
• The Russian Defense Ministry says its forces destroyed 73 Ukrainian drones overnight, including at least three that were heading toward Moscow. The drone attack forced the temporary suspension of operations at two Moscow-region airports, but no details on casualties or damage have been announced. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL FUNDING | The House voted, 216-213, early this morning to give final congressional approval to a measure that cancels some $9 billion in previously approved federal spending as part of cuts requested by President Donald Trump to programs that include public broadcasting and foreign aid. President Trump is expected to sign the measure later today. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Reports cite an agreement signed earlier this week between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security as showing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of some 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities. The information sharing agreement is part of ICE efforts to identify and locate immigrant who may not be living legally in the United States, according to the agreement. [more]

U.S. HEALTH INSURANCE | A new analysis from health policy research group KFF suggests that the average cost of health insurance premiums from healthcare.gov or state-based marketplaces could rise as much as 75% next year as related federal subsidies and tax credits expire in the absence of enough Congressional support to extend them. [full KFF analysis] [more]

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY | Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued new guidance to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad yesterday, telling diplomats to refrain from commenting on or criticizing elections in other countries unless there is a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest in doing so. Any such comments, notes the guidance, "should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process, its legitimacy or the democratic values of the country in question." [more]

CALIFORNIA | The U.S. Transportation Department announced yesterday that it is pulling back $4 billion in funding for California's high-speed rail project that was to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. The DOT decision affects about one-quarter of the funding for the project. [more]

U.S. POLLUTION REGULATIONS | In a series of proclamations issued yesterday, President Donald Trump exempted multiple pollution-generating industries from complying with stricter Environmental Protection Agency standards imposed during the Biden administration. The two-year regulatory relief was granted to coal-fired power plants, taconite iron ore processing facilities used to make steel, and some chemical manufacturers that Trump said are vital to national security. [full presidential proclamations] [more]

CHINA | Without mentioning any specific foreign country, China's Ministry of State Security said today that foreign spy agencies have attempted to steal rare earth-related materials from China and pledged to crack down on infiltration and espionage targeted at its critical mineral sector. [more]

GERMANY AND AFGHANISTAN | In the country's second such move since the Taliban returned to power, Germany deported 81 Afghan nationals to their homeland today as part of government efforts to limit immigration. [more]

BURKINA FASO | The ruling military junta of Burkina Faso abolished the West African's country's independent electoral commission this week, saying the move would reinforce "sovereign control on the electoral process" and "limit foreign influences." [more]

FRANCE | Authorities say nearly 1,000 firefighters are involved in battling a wildfire about 25 miles northwest of the southern France city of Marseille. Reports say the fire has burned about 593 acres of land and threatened about 120 homes. [more]

SPAIN | Spanish authorities say they intend to intensify investigations into suspected crimes by members of far-right and racist groups following four nights of clashes between such groups and African migrants in the southeastern Spain town of Torre Pacheco. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | Four people have died, two remain missing, and thousands have been evacuated amidst flooding and other water-related damage in South Korea's western and southern regions following three days of intense rain. [more]

FOOTBALL | Linebacker T.J. Watt has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $123 million extension with eh Pittsburgh Steelers, making him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT | CBS and its parent company Paramount say the networks' decades-old "The Late Show" is being cancelled, with the late-night staple scheduled to end next May. [more]

R.I.P. | Singer and actress Connie Francis, best known for her 1950s and 60s hits including "Who's Sorry Now?," "“Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool," and "Where the Boys Are," died Wednesday at the age of 87. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1976, for her performance in the uneven parallel bars at the Olympic Games in Montreal, Nadia Comăneci of Romania became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. [more history]