July 27, 2026

MIDDLE EAST WAR | Day 150.

• Both the U.S. and Iran refrained from launching attacks against the other today for a third straight day, continuing a pause that regional mediators say is key to resuming negotiations and preventing the conflict from spreading. [more]
• Amidst the apparent pause in U.S-Iran airstrikes, Iran today insisted that it retains control over the Strait of Hormuz and that it is not seeking to resume peace talks ‌with the United States. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,612 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the U.K. today for a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham – the first U.K. visit by a foreign leader since Burnham took office last week. British officials say Burnham intends to signal his country's unwavering support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. [more]
• Romanian fighter jets shot down a suspected Russian drone in the Eastern European nation's airspace over the Black Sea yesterday – the third such drone incursion over the NATO member's territory in three days. Reports cite Romanian officials as saying one of the earlier drone incursions involved a Shahed-type drone, used by Russia in its military operations against Ukraine. [more]

U.S. GUN VIOLENCE | Three people were killed, and four others were wounded, yesterday when gunfire broke out at a food festival taking place under Seattle, Washington's iconic Space Needle. Police say it appears two suspects, one of whom has been arrested, were shooting at each other and that there is no ongoing related threat to the public. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | Yesterday marked 100 days until the U.S. mid-term elections, with both Republicans and Democrats kicking off campaign efforts to have congressional majorities. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested in the November 3 elections. [more]

U.S. VOTING | The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court ruling Saturday blocking an executive order from President Donald Trump that sought to create a federal list of eligible voters and limit the delivery of mail-in ballots to only people on that list. Officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia challenged the Trump order, saying it was an infringement on the Constitution's granting of election oversight to the states and to Congress. [more]

U.S. MEASLES | According to a Friday update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has recorded 2,318 cases of measles in 2026, surpassing the number of cases in all of 2025 with five months left in the year. [full CDC update] [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT | Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said yesterday that, in the follow-up of multiple recent high-profile confrontation incidents, the vetting of new Immigrations and Customs enforcement officers is under review and that a new directive has been issued requiring the use of body-worn cameras in all vehicle-stop actions by ICE officers. [more]

U.S. AND CANADA | The newly inaugurated Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Canada, is scheduled to open to vehicle traffic today following a Friday opening ceremony from which U.S. officials were uninvited after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new 50% tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods entering the United States. [more]

U.S. AND E.U. | President Donald Trump, citing what he said were unfair fines against leading U.S. tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Meta, and Apple, said Friday that the United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union's trade practices. Analysts say the investigation is a precursor to potential new U.S. tariffs on E.U. goods 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. [more]

WORLD HERITAGE | World War II’s D-Day landing beaches, Greece's Mount Olympus, the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, and South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape were among the 25 sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage List yesterday. [full 2026 site list] [more

MEXICO | Hurricane Genevieve strengthened to a Category 5 storm early today, becoming the strongest storm in the Eastern Pacific in two years. The storm is not expected to make landfall before weakening but could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions along parts of Mexico’s southwestern coast and the Baja California Peninsula, according to meteorologists. [more]

GERMANY | One person was killed, and 29 others were injured, Saturday when a man drove a van into a crowd of people near Berlin, Germany's LGBTQ+ pride festival. Abdul Ballout, the suspect in the case, who was killed in a confrontation with police yesterday, is a German citizen with Lebanese roots and is reported to have sought to join the Islamic State militant group. [more]

FRANCE | More than 250,000 people have been evacuated from France's southwestern Gironde and Landes regions amidst ongoing wildfires that threatened to spread to the wine region city of Bordeaux over the weekend. Reports say hundreds of firefighters made progress yesterday in controlling the spread of the fires but that a new heatwave predicted for as early as tomorrow is expected to complicate firefighting efforts. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Israeli security forces arrested more than 70 Palestinians in the West Bank over the weekend amidst surging violence in the Israel-occupied Palestinian enclave. Reports say two mosques in the region were set on fire Saturday night in apparent action by Israeli settlers. [more]

CONGO | Government officials said yesterday that 1,405 people have died, and at least 3,200 cases have been confirmed, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak. [more]

TANZANIA | Reports say 51 officials of Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, have been arrested and charged with terrorism in connection with a protest movement planned for earlier this month that was cancelled due to expected heavy police presence. Chadema officials have criticized the arrests as a government move to intimidate critics in the East African country. [more]

GOLF | Jackson Koivun shot a final-round 5-under-par 66 yesterday to win the 3M Open and claim his first PGA Tour victory in just his third professional start. [more]

CYCLING | Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar won the 2026 Tour de France yesterday, joining Belgium's Eddy Merckx, Spain's Miguel Indurain, and France's Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only riders to win five Tours. [more]

BASEBALL | Longtime Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones, 20-year veteran Carlos Beltrán, and second baseman Jeff Kent were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday in Cooperstown, New York. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "The Odyssey" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $87 million in receipts, followed by "Moana" and "Toy Story 5." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee voted, 27-11, to adopt the first of three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon, charging he had personally engaged in a course of conduct designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case and acted "in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." [more history]