July 25, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Gaza cease-fire talks in Qatar were cut short yesterday after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff suggested that Hamas "does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith" in negotiations to end the 21-month-old war with Israel. Hamas officials said they were surprised by Witkoff’s “negative remarks” and that they are "keen to reach an agreement." [more]
• French President Emmanuel Macron announced yesterday that France will formally recognize Palestine as a state before the U.N. General Assembly in September – a move analysts suggest is largely symbolic but that could lead to additional international recognitions. [more]
• Talks between Iranian and European diplomats in Istanbul, Turkey, today are expected to center on the possibility of reimposing sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2015 in exchange for Iran accepting restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,247 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that his country has received confirmation of funding from international partners to purchase three U.S.-made Patriot missile defense systems and that discussions are ongoing for funding to purchase seven more. [more]
• Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying that a previously unreported order by Elon Musk to temporarily cut his Starlink satellite communication service over a portion of Ukraine disrupted a counteroffensive against Russian forces by Kyiv in the fall of 2022. [more]

TRUMP EXECUTIVE ACTIONS | Among the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump this week were:

• An order to facilitate the relocation of homeless persons into "long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment" to restore public order. [more]
• An order that federal government procurement of artificial intelligence services and models take into account the AI systems' compliance with government policies, including those on diversity, equity, and inclusion, ideological neutrality, and "truth seeking." [more]

U.S. FERTILITY | Newly released data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics indicates that while the number of births in the U.S. increased 1% to 3,628,934 from 2023 to 2024, the general fertility rate declined 1% over the same period to 53.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44. [full report] [more]

U.S. EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION | Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who formerly served as President Donald Trump's personal attorney, met yesterday with the imprisoned former girlfriend of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein amidst ongoing tensions over what has been perceived as a lack of transparency about Epstein's activities and relationships and the non-release of materials related to the case by the Justice Department. [more]

NEW YORK | In its latest in a series of similar lawsuits, the Trump administration sued New York City, along with Mayor Eric Adams and other city officials, over its so-called "sanctuary city" policies that the administration alleges obstruct the federal government from enforcing immigration laws. [more]

CALIFORNIA | The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a lower court ruling that found California's first-of-its-kind law requiring purchasers of firearm ammunition to undergo background checks to be unconstitutional. [more]

CAMBODIA AND THAILAND | The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency session today on the escalating border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. Reports cite regional officials as saying more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from the affected border regions and that a second straight day of military clashes has seen cross-border artillery fire and rocket launches. [more]

CHINA | Local officials say some 19,000 people in the Beijing region of northern China have been forced out of their homes due to flooding following storms that have dropped nearly a year's worth of rain on the region in just 24 hours. [more]

U.K. | Thousands of doctors at the U.K.'s National Health Service began a five-day strike today over pay issues. Health officials note that emergency departments will remain open during the strike. [more]

HONG KONG | Police in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong announced yesterday that rewards are being offered for information leading to the arrest of 19 overseas-based activists that authorities accuse of subversive activities in violation of China's national security laws. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Schools in many areas of the northern Philippines are closed today as the region deals with flooding and other damage from Typhoon Co-may, which struck last night and followed a week of heavy rains linked to at least 25 deaths. [more]

GREEN ENERGY | According to the new "Seizing the Moment of Opportunity" report from the United Nations, 74% of the growth in electricity generated worldwide in 2024 was from wind, solar, and other green sources and about 75% of new wind and solar plants offered cheaper power than existing fossil fuel facilities globally. [full technical report] [more]

AUTO INDUSTRY | German automaker Volkswagen cut its full-year sales and profit margin estimates today, citing an estimated $1.5 billion in losses so far this year from new U.S. tariffs as a major contributor to the guidance change. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY | The U.S. Federal Communications Commission yesterday approved the $8 billion merger of Paramount and Skydance. The approval follows Paramount's recent $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a story aired by the Paramount-owned CBS network and the network's cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” just days after he criticized the lawsuit settlement. [more]

TECH INDUSTRY | In a memo to employees yesterday, Intel Corp. CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the tech giant plans, through layoffs and attrition, to end 2025 with 75,000 “core” workers excluding subsidiaries – down from 99,500 core employees at the end of last year. [more]

R.I.P. | Grammy Award-winning musician Chuck Mangione, best known for his 1977 hit single "Feels So Good" and for his promotion of the flugelhorn as a jazz instrument, died this week at the age of 84. [more]

MORE R.I.P. | Hulk Hogan, who rose to fame in the 1980s as a professional wrestler in the WWE's WrestleMania, died yesterday at the age of 71. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1978, in what has been characterized as one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th century, Louise Joy Brown, the first “test tube baby" – conceived through the technique of in-vitro fertilization – was born in Oldham, England. [more history]