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A NOTE TO READERS AND LISTENERS: Related to our July 13 announcement, there will be no edition published tomorrow, August 12.



Thankfully, there will be very few additional occurrences of this type. We appreciate your understanding.

~Editor

MIDDLE EAST WAR | Day 165.

• U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday dismissed Iran's demand for U.S. concessions and war reparations in return for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz and countered that the U.S. would seek compensation from Iran for decades of violence against U.S. persons and interests. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,627 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that North Korea is preparing to send 30,000-50,000 troops to Russia to assist in the war on Ukraine. Zelenskyy's statement, originally made over the weekend, came amidst his calls for South Korea to provide support for Ukraine's air defense. [more]
• Ukrainian officials say at least six people were killed, and 19 others were wounded, in overnight Russian airstrikes on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Three more people were killed in Russian strikes on the central Dnipropetrovsk region. [more]

U.S. VACCINATIONS | President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday calling for separating the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all childhood immunizations at separate appointments whenever possible. The order also recommends children get immunizations to provide protection for 11 diseases – a decrease from the 18 diseases recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In announcing the order, Trump repeatedly suggested, contrary to scientific consensus and decades of studies, a possible link between autism and the number or timing of vaccines. Public health advocates have raised concerns that separating or spacing out vaccines could reduce vaccination rates and increase the risk of children becoming infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit. [full executive order] [White House fact sheet] [more]

U.S. CLIMATE AND WEATHER | According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the contiguous lower-48 U.S. states, when taken as a whole, experienced the hottest month ever recorded in Jully 2026, with an average temperature of 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit – 3.3°F above the 20th-century average. Researchers note that the largest driver of the record heat was significantly higher nighttime low temperatures. [full report] [more]

U.S. SOCIAL MEDIA | Trump Media & Technology, President Donald Trump's media company behind the Truth Social platform, posted a $238 million second-quarter loss yesterday and said it plans to abandon new business lines unrelated to media. [more]

COLOMBIA | Search and rescue efforts continue today in western Colombia following yesterday's 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the region, killing at least 179 people and leaving more than 3,000 missing. Preliminary estimates say about 1,600 buildings have been reported damaged or destroyed in the quake, and President Abelardo De la Espriella said the South American country's military and national police have been deployed to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. [more]

CANADA | Defense Minister David McGuinty says the Canadian Armed Forces have been placed on standby for potential deployment to help deal with ongoing wildfires in Canada's British Columbia province in which at least one person has died and more than 20,000 people have been forced to evacuate. [more]

TURKEY | With a 468-88 vote, the Turkish parliament approved legislation yesterday that would introduce a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, militants as part of ongoing peace initiatives. Reports note that the measure would come into effect only after authorities verify that the PKK has fully disarmed. [more]

RUSSIA | Responding to an appeal from the pro-Kremlin Motherland Party, Russia's highest court yesterday ordered the country's Yabloko party – the only registered opposition party that officially opposes Russia's military action in Ukraine – to be removed from ballots for next month's parliamentary elections. [more]

CONGO | According to the latest government data, the Democratic Republic of Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak has seen 2,011 deaths and 4,381 confirmed cases, making it the second-largest outbreak of the disease in history behind only the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak that recorded more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths. [more]

YEMEN | The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen continued attacks on the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast today, targeting the city, along with other sites, with missiles and drones. [more]

ROMANIA | Amidst record-low water levels in the Danube River, Romanian officials say the state-owned nuclear power company Nuclearelectrica may be forced to shut down its last operating reactor this week due to lack of cooling water for the plant. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Authorities say at least 14 artisanal miners are dead and dozens of others are injured at a decommissioned mine near the South African city of Rustenburg. The South African Police Service is expected to release more details on the circumstances of the deaths later today. [more]

LIBYA | Amidst ongoing conflict between rival governments in the western and eastern regions of Libya, the state-run National Oil Corporation says a drone strike sparked a massive fire today at an oil refinery in the Mediterranean town of Zawiya. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. [more]

SYRIA | A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and his younger brother to death in absentia today for crimes against humanity and war crimes during Syria’s 14-year civil war. Assad and his brother fled to Russia after the government’s fall in December 2024 and received political asylum. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1942, American actress Hedy Lamarr and composer George Antheil received a patent for an electronic device that minimized the jamming of radio signals – technology that later became a component of satellite and cellular phone technology. [more history]