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MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflicts:

• Without specifying potential responses, United Arab Emirates officials said yesterday that any Israeli move to annex the occupied West Bank would be a "red line" that would undermine the 2020 Abraham Accords under which the UAE and three other Arab countries established ties with Israel. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,288 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer are hosting a summit in Paris today of some 30 countries to discuss potential security guarantees for a postwar Ukraine. Some members of the so-called “coalition of the willing” have said they are prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine in the event of a Russia-Ukraine cease-fire, while others have suggested a strengthening of NATO's eastern security would be a more prudent action. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | President Donald Trump suggested yesterday that he could add New Orleans to the list of cities to which he intends to deploy National Guard troops as part of efforts to fight crime. In a related move, reports say the orders authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, DC, have been extended through December. [more on New Orleans] [more on DC]

U.S. EDUCATION | Boston-based U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled yesterday that Trump administration cuts of some $2.6 billion in research funding for Harvard University amounted to illegal retaliation for the school's rejection of administration demands for changes to Harvard's governance and policies and ordered the cuts reversed. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | The Labor Department reports that U.S. employers posted a lower-than-expected 7.2 million job openings in July – down from 7.4 million in June – with healthcare and social assistance, arts, entertainment, and recreation, and retail among those sectors with the largest cuts. [full report] [more]

FLORIDA | State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced yesterday that Florida will become the first U.S. state to eliminate vaccine mandates, calling them "immoral" intrusions on parents’ rights to make health decisions for their children. Reports cite medical experts as saying the move will put students and school staff at greater risk and note that vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives globally over the past 50 years, according to a 2024 World Health Organization report. [more]

U.S. TARIFFS | The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court yesterday to overturn an appeals court ruling that found the majority of President Donald Trump's unilateral imposition of sweeping trade tariffs an illegal use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which provides presidential authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions following the declaration of national emergency. [more]

EPSTEIN INVESTIGATIONS | Amidst ongoing calls for the release of investigative files related to sex trafficking by late financier Jeffrey Epstein, survivors of Epstein's sexual abuse held a press conference on Capitol Hill yesterday, demanding accountability and transparency in the case and criticizing President Donald Trump’s characterization of the issue as a “hoax.” [more]

U.S. VACCINES | Amidst what the state's governors allege is the advancement of federal anti-vaccine policies under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., California, Oregon, and Washington announced yesterday that they would form an alliance to establish their own vaccine recommendations. [more]

PORTUGAL | A national day of mourning is being observed in Portugal today following yesterday's crash of a famous streetcar in Lisbon that killed 17 people and injured 21 others. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. [more]

HURRICANE LORENA | Tropical storm warnings and watches are in effect for much of Baja California and parts of northwestern Mexico as Category 1 Hurricane Lorena approaches the region. Meteorologists say the storm, which is expected to weaken today, could bring up to 15 inches of rain to some areas, increasing risks of flash floods and mudslides. [more]

NIGERIA | At least 31 people died yesterday in a river boat accident in north-central Nigeria, according to the country's National Emergency Management Agency. Reports note that about 50 other people have been rescued in the incident and that search and rescue operations continue. [more]

INDIA | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced yesterday that India plans to cut taxes on hundreds of consumer goods to cushion the country's economy from the impact of recently imposed U.S. trade tariffs. [more]

CLIMATE AND WILDFIRES | According to a new analysis from World Weather Attribution, the hot and dry conditions that led to this year's record-setting wildfire season in Spain and Portugal were made 40-times more likely by human-caused climate change. [full report] [more]

RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA | At a meeting on the sidelines of a Beijing celebration marking the end of World War II yesterday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country's full support of Russia's army is a "fraternal duty," while Russian President Vladimir Putin praised North Korean troops fighting against Ukraine, according to reports by North Korean state media. [more]

ENERGY INDUSTRY | Oil giant ConocoPhillips confirmed yesterday that it plans to lay off 20-25% of its global workforce of about 13,000 as part of efforts to reduce operating costs. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1998, American search engine company Google was formally established with the filing of incorporation papers by Stanford University Ph.D. students Sergey Brin and Larry Page. [more history]