July 28, 2026

U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 151.

• Amidst a continued pause in fighting, the U.S. and Iran each asserted their control over the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying the strategic waterway remains closed and the U.S. military saying its recently re-imposed blockade in the passage remains in place, with 17 commercial ships redirected, two disabled and two boarded over the past day. [more]
• Regional officials say significant progress has been made in mediation efforts related to the Middle East war, including in talks between Iran and Oman on a mechanism for managing the transit of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. [more]
• U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scheduled to meet today in Washington, DC, with the war in Iran, the status of Israel's framework agreement with Lebanon, and potential expansion of the Abraham Accords expected to be among the main topics of discussion. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,613 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump today in Washington, DC, with Ukraine's air defense needs amidst the ongoing Russian invasion and U.S.-Ukraine strategic cooperation expected to be among the main topics of discussion. Zelenskyy will also meet with members of Congress and attend the funeral of late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, according to reports. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | The Justice Department yesterday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn recent lower court decisions that blocked implementation of President Donald Trump's executive order calling for the creation of a federal voting list and for the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver mail-in ballots to people on that list. [more]

U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY | The Senate is widely expected to confirm Jay Clayton as the Trump administration's new director of national intelligence today. [more]

WASHINGTON | Police in Seattle, Washington, now say there were at least three people involved in an exchange of gunfire Sunday near the city's iconic Space Needle in which three people were killed and four others were wounded. Reports cite local officials as saying the shooting is being investigated as a possibly gang-related incident. [more]

OREGON | State officials say about 70 miles of Interstate 84 in Oregon were temporarily closed to traffic yesterday amidst the ongoing Fox Fire, which has burned nearly 72 square miles and was considered 0% contained as of yesterday afternoon. [more]

U.S. AND CHINA | The Associated Press cites internal State Department documents as indicating the U.S. is considering plans to spend nearly half a billion dollars to counter China's economic influence projects, such as their Belt and Road initiatives, around the world. [more]

U.S. AND FRANCE | During a meeting of the U.N. Security Council yesterday, U.S. diplomats staged a brief walkout while their French counterparts were speaking over a French Mission social media post on Friday that criticized the United States' recent record on human rights. Following the walkout, deputy U.S. ambassador Dan Negrea accused France of feigning “moral outrage." [more]

EUROPEAN WILDFIRES | Major firefighting efforts and resident evacuations continue today in both France and Spain amidst persistent wildfires and the arrival of a new Western Europe heatwave that could complicate fire control efforts. [more]

JAPAN | Damage and injury assessments are ongoing today following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that shook Japan's main southern island of Kyushu yesterday, prompting a tsunami warning that was later canceled. [more]

LIBYA | Amidst ongoing demonstrations over recent and ongoing power outages, protesters stormed a key energy complex west of Tripoli, Libya, yesterday and closed gas lines used to operate power plants. Authorities warn that the protester action could cause blackouts in some areas and eventually lead to the complete collapse of the region's electricity network. [more]

NIGERIA | Local officials and residents say gunmen attacked the village of Naridon in Nigeria's Kaduna state on Sunday, killing at least 30 people and injuring several others. The attack took place amidst ongoing clashes over resources between bandit groups that consist mostly of former herders and farming communities. [more]

CHAD | The West African nation of Chad announced plans yesterday to begin the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, citing what it said was the Court's ineffectiveness and bias against African countries as reasons for the move. [more]

PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN | In a new report, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan says at least 499 civilians were killed, and 1,216 others were injured, in hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan between October 2025 and June 2026. [full report] [more]

PERU | Conservative leader Keiko Fujimori is scheduled to be sworn in as Peru's new president today. Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, will be the South American country's first-ever elected female head of state. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1914, using the assassination of Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand as a pretext, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, sparking World War I. [more history]