July 24, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 147.

• The U.S. military carried out a 13th-straight night of strikes on numerous targets in Iran overnight, including on a Revolutionary Guard naval base and on Iran’s Qeshm Island. Iran continued its armed response, targeting, according to reports, sites in Bahrain and a military base hosting U.S. forces in the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. [more]
• The U.K. says it stands ready to protect against any attack after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said yesterday that U.S. bombing missions against Iran have originated from Fairford in southwest England and that any bases used to launch such attacks are considered legitimate targets. [more]
• Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, military advisers, and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen this month amidst Tehran's calls for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group to disrupt Red Sea shipping over the continued U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. [more]

U.S. EDUCATION | In a rule change announced yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education rescinded a decades-old standard for civil rights enforcement in schools, saying the Department will no longer consider school policies that disproportionately harm one group of students as discriminatory unless the discrimination is intentional. More than 60 civil rights and education groups condemned the rule change in an open letter, pointing out that discrimination is not always explicit, and that courts have recognized this standard for decades. [DOE press release] [objection letter] [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | President Donald Trump, citing what he said were countries' alleged failure to enforce bans on goods produced by forced labor, announced new import tariffs of 10-12.5% yesterday on goods from 60 U.S. trading partners that, together, account for more than 90% of all U.S. imports. The new tariffs, which take effect immediately, were imposed by Trump under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable,” or “discriminatory” trade practices. Reports note that some products, such as oil, gas, fertilizers, and products that qualify for duty-free status under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, will be exempt from the new tariffs. [White House memorandum] [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS, IMMIGRATION, AND DISASTER FUNDING | Twenty-five states and the District of Colombia filed a lawsuit yesterday challenging Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security policies that require states to comply with Trump administration-backed election and immigration conditions or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding for disaster recovery and relief. The states argue that putting conditions on congressionally appropriated funding violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution’s spending clause, while administration officials say the requirements are "common-sense measures designed to protect election security and safeguard the integrity of American democracy." [more]

U.S. WAR POWERS | The House of Representatives voted, 214-208, yesterday to pass a resolution that would require President Donald Trump to seek Congressional approval for continued military operations against Iran. The Senate, also yesterday, rejected a similar resolution with a 47-49 vote. [more]

CALIFORNIA | According to state data, nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots – about 1.73% of mailed ballots – were rejected in California's recent primary elections. Being postmarked after Election Day, mismatched or missing signatures, and multiple ballots being sent in a single envelope were among the main reasons for mail-in ballot rejection. [more]

MINNESOTA | Vance Boelter, the man who pleaded guilty last month to federal charges related to the killing of former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well as critically wounding state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, was sentenced to two life terms in prison plus 40 years yesterday. [more]

INDIA | Authorities in India's northeastern Assam state say at least 50 have died, and some 700,000 have been displaced, following several days of heavy monsoon rains in the region that caused flooding of the Brahmaputra River. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Reports say four Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed in a shooting incident today in the West Bank city of city of Nablus. Israeli military officials say the incident occurred after soldiers responded to a report of an attack on Israeli civilians hiking in the area. [more]

MIDDLE EAST WORLD HERITAGE | After reviewing applications on an emergency basis, and acting over the objections of Israel, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, voted today to add the West Bank town of Sebastia and five castles in southern Lebanon's Mount Amel region to its World Heritage and World Heritage in Danger lists. [more]

PHILIPPINES AND CHINA | Chinese coast guard ships fired powerful water cannons at two Philippine fishing vessels today near the contested Scarborough Shoal – the third China-Philippines confrontation in the South China Sea this week. [more]

EUROPEAN WILDFIRES | Amidst large ongoing wildfires, more than 10,000 people have been evacuated from Spain's central Madrid region, and an estimated 40,000 people have been evacuated from France's Cap Ferret peninsula region. [more]

BRAZIL | The Brazilian government announced a $3.7 billion relief package this week for companies affected by recently imposed 25% U.S. tariffs on many Brazilian goods. [more]

MATHEMATICS | The International Mathematical Union announced the 2026 winners of the Fields Medal, widely considered the top mathematics prizes in the world, yesterday. This year's recipients are: Yu Deng for his work in partial differential equations, John Pardon for achievements in symplectic geometry, Jacob Tsimerman for contributions in the recasting of o-minimality as a fundamental method of arithmetic and complex algebraic geometry, and Hong Wang for her work in harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory. [award site] [more]

FOOTBALL | The Las Vegas Raiders signed quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the top overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, to a four-year, $57.27 million contract yesterday. Mendoza is expected to compete with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins for the Raiders' starting role this season. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1917, the trial of Dutch-born dancer and courtesan Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod – better known by her stage name Mata Hari – on charges of spying for Germany began in Paris, France. She was found guilty and later executed by firing squad, and her name became synonymous with the femme fatale. [more history]