July 16, 2026
U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | TEXAS | U.S. ECONOMY | U.S. CURRENCY | U.S. MILITARY | U.S. POLITICS | U.S. AIR QUALITY | U.S. AND BRAZIL | U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT | ISRAEL AND LEBANON | MYANMAR | MEDITERRANEAN MIGRATION | PAKISTAN | EL SALVADOR | SOUTH KOREA | U.K. | WORLD CUP
U.S., ISRAEL, IRAN WAR | Day 139.
- U.S. strikes on Iran and Iranian strikes on U.S. facilities in Gulf-region nations continue today, with reports noting that areas targeted by the U.S. were expanded to include regions around the Iranian capital, Tehran. [more]
- Reuters cites unnamed sources as saying Iran has asked Yemen's Houthi rebel group to prepare to close Red Sea shipping lanes in the event of U.S. attacks on Iranian power infrastructure. [more]
TEXAS | Authorities have issued flash flood emergency warnings along the Guadalupe River in Texas after slow-moving storms dropped several inches of rain on the region in just a few hours today. [more]
U.S. ECONOMY | Labor Department data released yesterday indicates that wholesale inflation in the U.S., as measured by the producer price index, fell 0.3% from May to June – down from a 0.6% increase the previous month and the largest monthly decline since April 2025. On a yearly basis, wholesale prices increased 5.5% in June from the year-ago period. [full report] [more]
U.S. CURRENCY | The Treasury Department announced yesterday that it has begun producing a new $1 commemorative coin featuring a depiction of President Donald Trump as part of celebrations to mark the United States' 250th birthday. Reports note that federal law prohibits the depiction of a living president on U.S. currency but that the treasury secretary is authorized, in some circumstances, to approve the minting of commemorative coins. [more]
U.S. MILITARY | Citing a need for troops to be "strong, resilient and capable," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday announced a new testosterone deficiency screening policy under which military service members aged 30 and older will be tested for the hormone and offered free testosterone replacement therapy if low levels are detected. [more]
U.S. POLITICS | House Republicans unveiled a $95 billion budget reconciliation measure yesterday that aims to supplement Pentagon funding for the war in Iran, provide aid to U.S. farmers, and enact strict nationwide voter registration requirements. Opponents have criticized the measure as a move to circumvent regular budget procedures, while supporters stress its importance to implementing Trump administration priorities. [more]
U.S. AIR QUALITY | Air quality warnings have been issued across much of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast as smoke from dozens of Canadian and U.S. wildfires passes through the regions. Warnings span from Minnesota through New York and come amidst unusually hot summer temperatures, which meteorologists say exacerbates the smoke problem. [more]
U.S. AND BRAZIL | The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced yesterday that new 25% tariffs on most imports from Brazil will be imposed starting July 22. The tariffs, which were initially proposed last month after a finding of unfair Brazilian trade practices, will not be imposed on some products, including beef, coffee, oranges, and some oil and gas energy products. [more]
U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT | In a lawsuit filed yesterday, two human rights groups – DAWN and the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide – say Trump administration sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its investigations of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza have illegally impeded their ability to advocate for Palestinians. The lawsuit comes amidst ongoing U.S. sanctions on the Hague-based court and just days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would "dismantle the ICC." Reports note that neither the U.S. nor Israel are ICC member states, and neither nation recognizes the court's authority. [more]
ISRAEL AND LEBANON | U.S. State Department officials say talks between Israel and Lebanon this week in Rome have been productive and that work on a pilot program under which Israeli forces would withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon and turn over control to the Lebanese army is progressing. [more]
MYANMAR | Officials with the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees say more than 500 people are feared dead following reports of two boats carrying members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority capsizing since last week in the Bay of Bengal. [more]
MEDITERRANEAN MIGRATION | Coast Guard authorities in eastern Libya say at least 50 migrants died or are missing after the boat on which they were attempting to reach Europe capsized Tuesday off the North African country's coast. [more]
PAKISTAN | Security officials say at least three police officers were killed, and 20 others were wounded, in two militant attacks yesterday in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but reports note that suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban militant group. [more]
EL SALVADOR | Concluding three months of proceedings, prosecutors in El Salvador delivered closing arguments yesterday in the mass trial of 485 suspected members of the MS-13 gang on charges that include homicide, extortion, and drug, arms, and human trafficking. The mass trial, which has been criticized as a violation of defendants' rights, was carried out under provisions of the Central American country's state of emergency, which suspended some constitutional rights when it was enacted in March 2022. [more]
SOUTH KOREA | Amidst increasing inflation and high levels of household debt, South Korea's central bank today raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 2.75% – its first increase in more than three years. [more]
U.K. | Citing the need to protect national interests and save thousands of jobs, the U.K. government's Department for Business and Trade announced today that Chinese-owned British Steel has been nationalized and "now belongs to the British people." The move comes after the firm’s former owner, China’s Jingye Group, said it planned to shut the company's blast furnaces, and reports note that evaluations are planned to determine if any compensation will be paid to the Chinese company. [more]
WORLD CUP | Argentina beat England, 2-1, yesterday to advance to Sunday's 2026 FIFA World Cup final against Spain. [more]
TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1945, the United States conducted the Trinity nuclear test – the first-ever explosion of a nuclear weapon – near Alamogordo, New Mexico, as part of the Manhattan Project. The U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan the following month, hastening the end of World War II. [more history]