“Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to make a Louisiana landfall later this week—possibly Wednesday—before a more disorganized system impacts the Texas Gulf Coast on Friday and Saturday. If that turns out to be true, the biggest impact for Texas could turn out to be low levels of rain from one to four inches. … If Bertha heads to Texas, it will most likely do so as a tropical depression or weaker. That could mean rain for portions of the Texas coast. The 4 a.m. update downgraded that rain chance and mostly erased predicted rainfall south of Victoria. Houston would still get potentially two inches of rain.” (07/21/26)
“The deposed leader of Turkey’s main opposition announced plans on Tuesday to create a new political party to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ozgur Ozel ‘s announcement came months after he was removed as leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, by a court order — a ruling critics say was a politically motivated effort to weaken the opposition. His ouster, and the reinstatement of the party’s former and unpopular leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, sparked outrage among many CHP supporters. … The new political movement, which is expected to be called Yeni Parti, or New Party, will be formally launched later this week, according to reports. Many of the CHP’s 135 legislators in the 600‑seat parliament were expected to defect and join the new party, which Ozel said would become the parliament’s main opposition ‘by a wide margin.'” (07/21/26)
“Former President Joe Biden lost his bid Monday to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of interviews with his longtime ghostwriter that were used in special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s unlawful hoarding of classified information. A divided federal appeals court ruled the 46th president’s privacy claims did not outweigh the ‘substantial’ public interest in the material, though it suspended its decision until Aug. 3 to allow the former chief executive to consider additional action. … The Heritage Foundation initially sued the Justice Department in March 2024, seeking the transcripts and recordings under the Freedom of Information Act. The former president is arguing the material isn’t subject to FOIA because it’s personal property.” (07/21/26)
“A judge granted Washington’s request to block Kalshi from offering its so-called event contracts in the state, saying the prediction markets platform likely violated the state’s gambling laws. In a decision on Monday, Judge John McHale of the King County Superior Court granted Washington’s motion for a preliminary injunction. … The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, meanwhile, has claimed exclusive jurisdiction over the industry, and challenged regulatory activity in at least nine states. In April, a divided federal appeals court cited the CFTC’s authority in blocking New Jersey gaming authorities from regulating Kalshi’s sports event contracts. ‘States don’t have jurisdiction to regulate prediction markets,’ Kalshi said in a statement on Tuesday. ‘We’re disappointed to see Washington state continue wasting taxpayer dollars.'” (07/21/26)
“Ghana’s main opposition party has reacted with anger after one of its most influential leaders was sentenced to 20 years in jail, with hard labour, for illegal mining offences. The New Patriotic Party (NPP) alleged that the landmark judgement against Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the party’s chairman for the Ashanti region, was politically motivated. Popularly known as ‘Chairman Wontumi’, Boasiako is the first senior politician in Ghana to be convicted of illegal mining since the government began a crackdown on the practice in 2017. As well as receiving a jail sentence, Boasiako, who had denied the charges, was ordered to pay more than $10,000 (£7,450) in fines.” (07/21/26)
“A descendant of an executed opponent of the Nazis tried to remove a wreath from the far-right Alternative for Germany party at an event in Berlin marking the 82nd anniversary of a failed attempt to kill Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Tobias Korenke, a great-nephew of Protestant pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, attempted to remove the wreath from the parliamentary group of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, at Monday’s event at the site where the main plotters were executed, German news agency dpa reported. Security officers intervened, and the wreath was damaged in the scuffle. ‘Many descendants, myself included, feel really great anger when we see AfD laying wreaths here,’ Korenke said. ‘We will not accept this.'” (07/21/26)
“Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega said the Central American country would no longer hold elections, further closing off any potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with his wife, Rosario Murillo. Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has remained in power since 2007 after previously governing during the 1980s. His current presidential term is scheduled to run through 2027. ‘There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,’ Ortega said. He delivered the remarks Sunday during a speech commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which Ortega participated in the overthrow of the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.” (07/21/26)
“A suspected gas explosion triggered a collapse inside an under-construction tunnel at a hydropower project in India’s northeastern Himalayan state of Sikkim, near the Chinese border, leaving least 10 people dead and 17 others missing, officials said on Tuesday. The blast ripped through the tunnel on Monday at Samardung village, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the state capital, Gangtok, where multiple workers were carrying out construction work on the 500-megawatt Teesta hydroelectric project, Anupama Tamling, a civil official in the area, told reporters. Survivors who managed to escape told authorities they heard a loud explosion before debris came crashing through the tunnel, trapping dozens inside, she said.” (07/21/26)
“With Valley fever cases climbing in California, physicians have struggled to treat the increasing number of patients grappling with the deadliest version of the disease. When Valley fever, or coccidioidomycosis, spreads from the lungs, it can cause infected joints, scarred lungs and even deadly meningitis. Now, researchers appear to have found a major breakthrough studying an experimental drug that helped the sickest patients, who otherwise had run out of treatment options. The study’s results, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at whether an experimental antifungal medication called olorofim could help relieve symptoms of people with disseminated Valley fever, meaning their disease has spread beyond their lungs. The team found a significant number, over 70%, of patients with the stubborn and potentially deadly form of disease were helped after taking the new drug.” (07/21/26)
“Italian police clashed with demonstrators in the northern city of Bologna on Monday, ANSA news agency reported, during a protest over the death of a Moroccan man who died while being forcibly restrained by police during an attempted arrest. Abderrahim Fakir, a Moroccan-born entrepreneur who ran a small removals and cleaning business, died on Sunday after police were called to deal with a man behaving aggressively and damaging a vehicle …. video showed Fakir lying face down on the ground while two officers restrained him. Fakir – who reportedly suffered from heart issues and asthma – repeatedly calls out ‘aiuto, aiuto, basta’ (‘help, help, that’s enough’) as the officers sit on him and ambulance workers look on. After he stops moving, the police bind his ankles together. Only after a moment or two do they and the ambulance workers check his vital signs, the video shows.” (07/21/26)
