“At least 930 people have died in Congo’s Ebola outbreak, the country’s Ministry of Health said Monday, with 37 new deaths recorded in a 24-hour span Friday into Saturday, one of the highest totals. The deaths were recorded out of the 2,344 cases confirmed as of Saturday, the health ministry said. The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo on May 15 is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.” (07/20/26)
“The Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that a Taylor Farms lettuce sample initially reported as positive for Cyclospora should be considered a false positive following an additional laboratory review. ‘Due to the complexity in detection of Cyclospora, FDA laboratory experts re-reviewed the sample results and have concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive,’ the agency said. The FDA said no product samples had produced a confirmed positive result for Cyclospora as of Sunday.” [editor’s note: I predict that FDA will eventually just announce what we already knew — explosive diarrhea is a frequent and long-known side effect of eating food from Taco Bell – TLK] (07/20/26)
“India’s riot police baton-charged protesters in New Delhi as they tried to march to parliament on Monday, escalating a protest over irregularities in major examinations. Protesters ran for cover as police in blue riot gear charged at them near the Jantar Mantar protest site. The protesters are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches.” (07/20/26)
“A woman was medevaced off a Carnival cruise ship last week after she showed signs of having a stroke, the Coast Guard said. … A MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew flew 45 miles off Humboldt Bay to reach the vessel. Video taken by the crew shows Coast Guard members lowered from the helicopter onto the deck of the Luminosa. … The medevac was conducted ‘despite 8- to 10-foot seas and 40-mph winds,’ the Coast Guard said in a news release.” (07/19/26)
“Drivers can expect pump shock déjà vu as the national average gas price again climbed over $4 per gallon today, as President Trump appears poised to escalate the war in Iran. … The national average is now $4.00 a gallon, per AAA. Last month, prices slipped back below $4 per gallon, giving some relief following months of pain at the pump.” (07/20/26)
“The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes early Monday targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member, hitting around a northwestern city believed to be home to underground missile bases. Iran responded by launching an attack targeting Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait. … As the strikes began, a vessel caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said.” (07/20/26)
“Ukraine fired more than 400 drones toward Moscow in its latest major attack on the Russian capital, the city’s mayor said Monday. The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscow’s more than 4-year-old all-out invasion appear a distant possibility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold ‘key talks’ on Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis after last week’s government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military’s old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war. Zelenskyy needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief won’t derail the fight against Russia. Days of street protests in favor of Fedorov and against Syrskyi followed Zelenskyy’s decision.” (07/20/26)
“Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and new leader of the Labour Party, is taking the final steps on Monday to succeed Keir Starmer and become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade. The affable Burnham returned to Parliament in June by winning a risky special election and was sworn in as a member on July 12, hours after the unpopular Starmer announced his resignation to end a tenure of just two years in office. Starmer will travel the mile from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to formally tell King Charles III that he is resigning. Soon after, the 56-year-old Burnham will go to the palace and Charles will ask him to form a government. That is when he will officially become prime minister, a moment known as ‘kissing hands.'” (07/20/26)
“Hundreds of protesters have rallied in Houston in the US state of Texas to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican man [murdered] by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent this month. … Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national, was [murdered] by an ICE agent on July 7 while he was driving his construction crew to a job site in Houston. The protests came amid mounting scrutiny of United States President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. … After the shooting in Houston, ICE claimed Salgado Araujo had used his vehicle to try to ram an agent who fired his weapon in self-defence. But witnesses contradicted ICE’s version of events, and a statement issued on Thursday by the US attorney for the Southern District of Texas made no mention of any collision between Salgado Araujo’s van and a law enforcement vehicle nor did it explicitly state that the officer feared for his life.” (07/20/26)
“Péter Magyar, the prime minister, has invited Judit Polgár, the most successful female chess player the world has ever seen, to become Hungary’s president. … On Saturday evening, President Tamás Sulyok announced that he would sign the 17th amendment to the Fundamental Law. His mandate will end on the day after the law is promulgated, meaning that from midnight on Sunday he is no longer Hungary’s president. For one month, the office will be held by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ágnes Forsthoffer.” (07/20/26)
