“Pakistan naval search and rescue teams battled rough seas on Thursday as the search for five crew members who went missing after their cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea entered its second day, officials said. Wreckage from the aircraft was recovered on Wednesday, with no sign of the missing crew members. The aircraft, operated by private carrier K2 Airways, reported a malfunction in its navigation system before losing radio and radar contact late Tuesday, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority. Ships and aircraft have continued to comb waters nearly 300 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Karachi, where the plane disappeared from radar while approaching Pakistan’s largest city from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.” (07/09/26)
“The European Commission is proposing tough measures to reduce imports from illegal Israeli [squats] in the West Bank, as part of options presented to national capitals this week. A paper from the EU’s executive branch, marked confidential and seen by POLITICO, states that ‘strengthened enforcement may reduce imports from [squats] channelled into the EU in violation of existing rules, without requiring new EU legal instruments.’ Among the ideas being considered are an import licensing system, whereby goods from illegal [squats] would need special permission to be exported to the bloc; tariffs targeting goods originating in the [squats]; or an outright ban on imports from illegal s[squats].” (07/09/26)
“The suspect in the murder of a New York mom who recently moved to Ireland is a Middle Eastern asylum-seeker who met her at an anti-Israel protest — and who may have already fled the country, according to reports. The bloody body of Jamey Carney, 43, was found Tuesday afternoon by her 13-year-old daughter at her rented home in Killarney, where she had moved five years ago from Westchester County, the Irish Sun reported. She was beaten to death and suffered multiple head injuries, with cops probing reports that a loud argument was heard the night before at her home on a luxury housing estate.” (07/09/26)
“Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in June, but a key measure of home prices climbed to an all-time high, adding to prospective homebuyers’ affordability challenges. Existing home sales fell 2.4% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. Sales rose 2.8% compared with June last year. The latest sales tally fell short of the roughly 4.21 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Home sales have been mostly hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023, far short of the historic norm that is closer to 5.2-million. Sales have remained sluggish as mortgage rates have mostly trended higher in the months since the war between the U.S. and Iran started, fueling expectations of higher inflation amid surging crude oil prices. Still, mortgage rates remain below where they were a year ago.” (07/09/26)
“New York’s attorney general is suing several large chemical and agricultural companies, alleging they knowingly sold harmful so-called forever chemicals used in cosmetics, non-stick cookware and other products. The lawsuit against 3M, DuPont de Nemours, The Chemours Company and Corteva and other manufacturers is the latest legal action over PFAS, which have been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers and developmental delays in children.” (07/09/26)
“Australia will begin to sell uranium to India for peaceful purposes after the two countries’ leaders signed an administrative deal Thursday, enacting an agreement on exports of the material that was held up for years over concerns about weapons use. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the joint announcement after a meeting in Melbourne. The leaders didn’t immediately supply details of how much uranium would be sold, or when. Exports of Australian uranium to India stalled after an agreement to do so in 2014, because of concern that the material could be used to make weapons.” (07/09/26)
“Utah prosecutors plan to play audio clips in open court Thursday of law enforcement officials interviewing the roommate of the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Defense attorneys fought against the public release of the statements from Tyler Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, Lance Twiggs. They said prosecutors would characterize the statements as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial if the statements are broadcast by the media. Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. … Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note left for Twiggs that read: ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it’. Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he ‘had enough of his hatred’.” (07/09/26)
“The Trump administration is preparing a list of Spanish goods to potentially embargo, after President Donald Trump ordered officials to cut off trade with the European nation Thursday morning. The Treasury Department will be working with the U.S. trade representative and Commerce Department to provide Trump ‘a menu of Spanish products that may be embargoed in the coming days,’ a U.S.official said via email. Such a move would potentially blow up the trade deal the U.S. struck with the European Union last year. Spain is a member of the 27-country bloc. The European Parliament recently passed legislation implementing the terms of the deal that includes a clause allowing the bloc to pull out if any breach of what is known as the Turnberry Agreement.” (07/08/26)
“For Adaleia Cross, the Supreme Court’s ruling in the West Virginia women’s sports case was not just a legal victory. It was personal. Cross, a Bridgeport High School student in West Virginia, said the ruling gave her ‘a sense of peace’ after years of speaking out about the transgender athlete at the center of the case. Cross has alleged the athlete made comments to her in the girls’ locker room that amounted to sexual harassment when both were students at Bridgeport Middle School. Fox News Digital is not naming the trans athlete because the athlete is a minor. ‘I definitely have a sense of peace about all of it,’ Cross told Fox News Digital after the ruling.” (07/09/26)
“South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a seven-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in the first case to reach the country’s highest court from his several criminal trials related to his brief imposition of martial law in 2024. The court upheld an April ruling by the Seoul High Court that found Yoon guilty of infringing on Cabinet members’ right to deliberate before he declared martial law, falsifying the official proclamation to cover up the lapse before later destroying the document, and deploying presidential security forces to illegally resist law enforcement efforts to arrest him weeks after his impeachment.” (07/09/26)
