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MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Amidst Egypt-led negotiations, Hamas said yesterday that it has accepted a new proposal from Arab mediators for a cease-fire in Gaza. Reports cite Israeli officials, however, as saying Tel Aviv's position on ending the conflict has not changed and that all Hamas-held hostages must be released and the militant group must be disarmed. [more]
• Palestinian health officials say the death toll in Gaza since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel surpassed 62,000 yesterday and that at least 156,230 other people in the Palestinian enclave have been wounded. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,272 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• European leaders expressed cautious optimism regarding progress toward a peace plan for Ukraine following yesterday's White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump signaled that the U.S. would be willing to support European efforts to maintain Ukrainian security following any such deal and said he is working to arrange a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. [more]
• Ukrainian officials say Russia carried out its largest-yet missile and drone attacks of August overnight, just hours after the White House summit at which U.S., Ukrainian, and European leaders discussed potential peace plans for the Russia-Ukraine war. [more]

WASHINGTON, DC | The governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee have joined those of Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia in authorizing the deployment of state National Guard troops to Washington, DC, in response to requests from President Donald Trump for assistance in policing the capital city. [more]

HURRICANE ERIN | Officials have ordered the evacuation of Hatteras and Ocracoke islands along North Carolina's Outer Banks amidst dangerously large waves and strong currents caused by Hurricane Erin, which is forecast to spark issues along the U.S. east coast this week despite remaining hundreds of miles offshore. [NOAA Erin information] [more]

U.S. 2020 ELECTIONS | Conservative network Newsmax has reportedly agreed to pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems that claimed the broadcaster defamed Dominion by spreading false information about the company and its voting equipment following President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL FUNDING | A coalition of 20 U.S. states and Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to block the Justice Department from withholding federal funds for crime victims if states do not cooperate with Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts. [more]

TEXAS | State health officials yesterday declared Texas' measles outbreak to be over, saying it has been more than 42 days since the last case was confirmed in the state. Reports note that 762 people were sickened in the outbreak, two of whom died and 100 of whom were hospitalized. [more]

MARYLAND | A federal appeals court declared Maryland’s first-in-the-nation tax on digital advertising to be unconstitutional yesterday, finding that a provision in the law that blocked companies from telling customers about the tax was a violation of the companies' right to free speech. [more]

GLOBAL AID WORK | The U.N. humanitarian office reports that a record 383 aid workers were killed in global conflict zones in 2025, with nearly half of the deaths occurring in Gaza amidst the Israel-Hamas war. [more]

INDIA AND CHINA | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New Delhi today in what analysts say is a sign of continued easing of tensions regarding borders and trade sparked by a 2020 clash between the countries' troops in the disputed Ladakh region of the Himalayas. [more]

CONGO | U.N. officials say at least 52 people were killed in attacks carried out this month in eastern Congo's North Kivu province by suspected members of the Islamic State-backed Allied Democratic Forces rebel group. [more]

CANADA | Air Canada flight attendants say they will return to work today after reaching a deal with the airline to end a four-day strike. The airline says it will gradually resume flights today, but that full restoration of service could take a week or more. [more]

SERBIA | Police clashed with protesters in Serbia again yesterday amidst ongoing anti-government demonstrations and statements by President Aleksandar Vucic that he would impose a crackdown on the unrest. [more]

KOREA | Calling the ongoing U.S.-South Korea annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercises a sign of "will to provoke war," North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called today for his country to rapidly expand its nuclear arsenal. [more]

NEW ZEALAND | In the country's first-ever such conviction, a New Zealand soldier admitted yesterday to attempting to spy for a foreign power. Neither the soldier's name nor that of the country to which he sought to pass security information were released by officials. [more]

BURKINA FASO | The military junta of Burkina Faso declared U.N. resident coordinator Carol Flore-Smereczniak persona non grata in the West African nation yesterday over the April release of an official U.N. report that accused both jihadi groups and government forces of abuses against children, including their recruitment as soldiers, sexual abuses, and attacks on hospitals and schools. [more]

TECH INDUSTRY | Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group has announced plans to purchase $2 billion worth of stock in Intel, which would be a roughly 2% ownership stake in the U.S. chip maker. [more]

TENNIS | Carlos Alcaraz won the men's title at the Cincinnati Open yesterday after top seed Jannik Sinner withdrew from the final due to illness. Iga Swiatek beat Jasmine Paolini in straight sets to claim the tournament's women's title. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1960, U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers was sentenced to 10 years' confinement by the Soviet Union for espionage following the U-2 Affair. Powers was released in 1962 in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. [more history]