July 21, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 144.

• The U.S. carried out a 10th-straight night of airstrikes on Iran overnight, targeting what the U.S. military's Central Command said were Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems. [more]
• Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for attacks on three commercial vessels – two yesterday and one today – in the Strait of Hormuz amidst the unraveling of the U.S-Iran cease-fire agreement. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | U.S. President Donald Trump, citing what he said was unfair Canadian discrimination against American goods, imposed new 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products yesterday. Reports note that Trump imposed the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act and that some Canadian products affected had previously been protected from import duties under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney criticized the U.S. move but said his country "stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens." [White House fact sheet] [more]

OHIO | In a move criticized by environmental activists and praised by oil and gas industry groups, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced plans late last week for a September fracking lease sale for 2,840 acres of land in Wayne National Forest, Ohio's only national forest. [more]

NEW YORK | Federal investigators say U.S. Army veteran Andrew Arrabaca, 43, has been arrested in connection with the setting of a fire yesterday morning outside a Manhattan federal office building that houses offices for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, and other federal agencies. Reports say Arrabaca was carrying an anti-ICE sign and fired a pellet gun during the incident. [more]

U.S. EDUCATION | The Justice Department announced a review yesterday into what it says is potential illegal discrimination based on country of origin at Harvard University. Department officials say they are investigating whether the university allows private Chinese donors to create scholarships that exclude American students and suggest that steering private funding to students of certain countries amounts to a civil rights violation for U.S. students. [more]

GULF OF MEXICO | The U.S. National Hurricane Center says a strengthened Tropical Storm Bertha is moving slowly northwestward in the Gulf of Mexico and that related tropical storm warnings and storm surge watches have been issued for areas around the state line between Florida and Alabama. [more]

GLOBAL TRAFFIC DEATHS | A new study in the journal Lancet Public Health says road injuries were the leading global cause of death among males aged 10-39 years between 1990 and 2023 and that road injury-related mortality in low-income countries was about six-times higher than in high-income countries over the same period. World Health Organization data, also released yesterday, indicates that road traffic deaths declined globally by 21% between 2011 and 2025. [full Lancet study] [WHO data] [more]

U.K. | Newly installed U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to meet with his Cabinet for the first time today after announcing priorities of easing costs of living, decentralizing political power, and revitalizing industry yesterday. [more]

INDIA | Authorities in India's northeastern state of Sikkim say at least 10 people are dead, and 17 others remain missing, following a suspected gas explosion yesterday in an under-construction tunnel at the state's 500-megawatt Teesta hydroelectric project. Search and rescue efforts in the incident are ongoing. [more]

GREECE | Authorities in Athens, Greece, say two tourists, both Greek Americans, were wounded in a stabbing attack today near the Acropolis, the city's top tourist attraction. A yet-unidentified suspect in the attack was detained at the scene. [more]

SOUTHEAST ASIA | Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations begin three days of meetings in the Philippine capital of Manila today. Regional security, the war in Iran, and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea are expected to be among the main topics of discussion at the summit. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | At least 23 people were killed, 80 were wounded, and more than 100 remain missing following widespread flash floods yesterday in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nuristan, according to the country's National Disaster Management Authority. Additional severe weather is predicted for the region today, and authorities have warned residents to avoid riverbanks and other areas at risk of flooding. [more]

NICARAGUA | Speaking on the anniversary of his country's 1979 Sandinista Revolution, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said Sunday that "there won’t be any more elections" in the Central American country – a statement analysts say underscores Ortega's efforts to extend his nearly 20-year rule. [more]

JAPAN, CHINA, AND RUSSIA | Japanese officials expressed concern yesterday after a Chinese navy destroyer carried out live-fire drills off Japan’s southernmost island of Okinotori during joint exercises with Russian forces. [more]

SPAIN | Officials in Madrid, Spain, say an estimated 1.8 million people attended ceremonies and parades in the city yesterday to welcome the country's men's soccer team home following their victory over Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. [more]

E.U. ONLINE COMMERCE | Citing breaches of the E.U.'s Digital Services Act, the European Commission yesterday imposed a €550 million (about $629 million) fine on Chinese online marketplace AliExpress for failing to crack down on the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY | A U.S. federal judge yesterday issued a temporary restraining order blocking progress on the proposed $81 billion merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery for at least two weeks while state challenges to the merger play out in court. [more]

WORLD CUP | World soccer governing body FIFA says it has launched an investigation into post-game clashes between players and staff following Spain's win over Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. Related media reports have focused on apparent action by Venezuelan players against Spanish players. [more]

TENNIS | The Women's Tennis Association has announced a new mandatory one-time genetic screening policy for player eligibility, effective today, to "preserve the integrity of women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition conditions for all players." In announcing the policy, which takes the organization in line with the eligibility policy introduced by the International Olympic Committee in March, the WTA says it is intended to distinguish between biological sex and gender identity, and that there is “no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity or the dignity of any person." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2011, NASA's space shuttle program came to an end after 135 missions as the Atlantis orbiter landed at John F. Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. [more history]