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MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional tensions:

• Amidst ongoing talks over Iran's nuclear program and a buildup of U.S. forces in the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned yesterday that "the strongest army in the world might sometimes receive such a slap that it cannot get back on its feet" and that "more dangerous than the carrier is the weapon that can send it to the bottom of the sea." [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,453 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here is your update:

• A second straight day of U.S.-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war ended after only two hours of discussion in Geneva, Switzerland, today. Russian envoy Rustem Umerov, without providing details, said today's talks involved "clarifying the parameters and mechanisms of the decisions discussed yesterday," while U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff characterized the talks as having shown "meaningful progress," and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately delaying progress toward a deal. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Nine backcountry skiers remain missing following an avalanche yesterday in the Lake Tahoe region of northern California. Authorities note that six other skiers in the group were rescued and that an update on search and rescue efforts has been scheduled for later this morning. [more]

TRUMP TRADEMARK | The Trump Organization – the family company overseen by President Donald Trump's children – has filed an application with the federal trademark office to protect the use of the president's name on airports. The application was filed amidst consideration of a Florida bill that would rename the Palm Beach International Airport after Trump and recent reporting that Trump had tied funding of a tunnel between New Jersey and New York City to renaming Dulles International Airport in Virginia after him. [more]

U.S. DRUG WAR | The U.S. military's Southern Command said yesterday that strikes were carried out Monday against three boats believed to be smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people. Reports note that at least 42 boat strikes and 145 deaths have been linked to U.S. anti-drug-trafficking operations since September of last year. [more]

ROUNDUP CANCER SETTLEMENT | Agrochemical maker Bayer has reportedly agreed to a proposed $7.25 billion settlement to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits claiming that the company failed to warn consumers that its popular Roundup weedkiller could cause the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma. [more]

COLORADO | Four people were killed, and more than 20 others were injured, in a mass crash involving at least 30 vehicles yesterday on Interstate 25 near Pueblo, Colorado. Authorities say there was little to no visibility along the highway at the time of the crash due to airborne dirt and dust kicked up by strong winds. [more]

U.S. AND JAPAN | The first three Japan-financed industrial projects in the U.S. under an agreement reached last year that limited Trump administration tariffs on Japanese goods have been announced. The projects, worth a combined $36 billion, include a 9.2-gigawatt natural gas power plant in Ohio, a $2.1 billion deepwater crude oil export facility in Texas, and a $600 million synthetic industrial diamond factory in Georgia. [more]

AUSTRALIA | In what is believed to be the first use of such authority, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke today issued a temporary exclusion order that bans an Australian citizen with alleged ties to the Islamic State militant group from returning to Australia from a detention camp in Syria. [more]

PERU | After just four months in office and amidst corruption and influence peddling investigations into his actions, interim President José Jerí was removed from office by Peru's Congress yesterday and will be replaced by a member of Congress who will lead the country until a newly elected president is sworn in on July 28. [more]

CHINA | The official Xinhua News Agency reports that at least 12 people were killed early today in China's Hubei province in an explosion at a fireworks shop – the second fatal fireworks explosion in the country amidst celebrations of the Lunar New Year. [more]

CAMBODIA AND THAILAND | Reuters cites Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet as saying in an interview yesterday that, despite a U.S.-brokered peace deal in October, Thai forces continue to occupy Cambodian territory along the countries' shared border. Hun Manet said the situation is a violation of Cambodia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for a joint boundary commission to begin work resolving territorial disputes as soon as possible. [more]

SOCIAL MEDIA | Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify today in a closely watched Los Angeles County Superior Court case in which Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube face claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children. [more]

SPACE | A two-day fueling test of NASA's Space Launch System rocket began yesterday ahead of next month's scheduled Artemis II mission that will send four astronauts around the moon. A previous fueling test was halted two weeks ago due to a liquid hydrogen leak. [more]

OLYMPICS | As of publication time, Norway leads the overall medal count on Day 12 of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games with 32, followed by host country Italy, the United States, Germany, and Japan. [medal tracker] [competition schedule] [more]

ELEVATE PRIZES | Among the winners of this year's Elevate Prizes for social impact leaders, each of whom receive $250,000 for their organization and $50,000 for the leader, are a developer of AI systems to reduce judicial delays, a program to promote healthy food in schools, and an education initiative for Afghan girls. [full list of winners] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1930, using a 13-inch telescope at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, Clyde W. Tombaugh, a 24-year-old American with no formal training in astronomy, discovered the dwarf planet Pluto. [more history]