“The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is banning imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks, in a move that targets China. The measures are likely to test relations with Beijing ahead of a planned U.S. visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in September. China dominates the global market for humanoid robots with an estimated market share of roughly 85%. The FCC’s ban also includes new imports of quadruped robots – often referred to as four-legged robot dogs. … The ban on power inverters, which are used to convert direct current (DC) electricity into alternating current (AC) electricity and are used in renewable energy systems, data centers and household appliances, could have sweeping ramifications.” (07/29/26)
“An urgent investigation has been launched into the mysterious deaths of 15 elephants in southern Kenya near the Amboseli National Park. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) told the BBC that experts were examining the carcasses and said that tissue samples had been sent to laboratories to determine whether the deaths were caused by disease, poisoning or another factor. The park and its surrounds are known as the Amboseli ecosystem, a vast area that straddles the border with Tanzania, which is famous for its wildlife. Officials say this is the first time in decades that elephant mortalities on this scale have been recorded in the region where they have successfully cracked down on poaching.” (07/29/26)
“On Tuesday, Apple became the second company to pass the $5 trillion valuation mark, one day after it passed Nvidia to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company. While Apple held the $5 trillion mark for a brief time, that still leaves it in rare territory. Nvidia was the first company to hit the $5 trillion valuation mark, which it did in October. Companies calculate this valuation by multiplying a company’s share price by its outstanding shares. Apple shares have climbed 25% this year, outpacing many other tech companies, CNBC reported. The stock hit a high of $342.89 Tuesday before falling slightly.” (07/28/26)
“Two Democratic candidates locked in a race to fill the seat left by the late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., advanced to a runoff election on Tuesday evening after failing to capture 51% of the vote. The winner of the election will add another Democratic seat in a narrowly divided House of Representatives where Republicans hold 218 seats and Democrats control 212. Adding even one more Democratic member puts increased pressure on Republicans to remain united on party-line legislation. Marcye Scott, the daughter of the late David Scott, and Everton Blair, chair of the Gwinnett County School Board, will face off against each other in a runoff to represent the Peach State’s 13th Congressional District on Aug. 25. A third candidate, Caesar Gonzales, a Republican, did not advance, receiving only 8.7% of the vote.” (07/29/26)
“Algeria’s parliament elected its first-ever woman speaker on Tuesday evening, making Khalida Boufedeche the fourth-highest-ranking official in the country. Boufedeche, an allergist by training who represents the capital Algiers, is a member of the National Liberation Front (FLN), the historic party of Algerian independence and allied with the current government. The FLN was the biggest winner in parliamentary elections earlier this month, securing 91 of the body’s 407 seats.” (07/29/26)
“Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 18 people in southwestern Japan. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit a day earlier in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu, also left at least 62 people injured, six of them seriously, the prefectural government said. The tally has been steadily growing, fanning fears it may continue to rise.” (07/29/26)
“New Jersey will not cooperate with a federal demand for data on the approximately 6,600 noncitizens accidentally added to the state’s voter rolls in 2023 and 2024, Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration announced on Tuesday. … The decision escalates what has become a nationally watched dispute between Sherrill and the Trump administration, one that has exacerbated long-fraught debates over voter fraud and election integrity. [Assistant Attorney General Harmeet] Dhillon said the Department of Justice will continue to pursue the voter records ‘through all legal means,’ though it’s not immediately clear what that might entail.” (07/28/26)
“The United States military says it intercepted ballistic missiles fired by Iran across the Middle East. In a statement on X on Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched multiple ballistic missiles in an ‘attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East’. … The Iranian attacks targeting US bases came as Trump was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been pushing for war on Iran, in the White House. … On Wednesday, the IRGC said it ‘struck and stopped’ three oil tankers in Hormuz, according to Tasnim news agency.” (07/29/26)
“Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that it had charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and had issued an international warrant for his arrest. The FSB said that the charges related to Telegram’s failure to remove material ‘used by Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass killings, and cyber-fraud operations within the Russian Federation.’ Soon afterwards, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture with his middle finger. … Russia has repeatedly tried to restrict Telegram’s use in recent years, promoting its own state-backed MAX messenger service. Yet state bodies including the Kremlin and the defence ministry continue to post to Telegram on a daily basis.” (07/29/26)
“South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden fended off a primary challenge from businessman and Bitcoin evangelist Toby Doeden on Tuesday, winning the first gubernatorial primary runoff in state history and advancing to the November general election. The Associated Press called the race for Rhoden within minutes of final polls closing. He had received 70.5% of the vote compared with Doeden’s 29.5% at the time it was called, with approximately 25% of the expected vote counted. The election marked the first time South Dakota voters were asked to settle a gubernatorial nomination through a primary runoff. State law requires a runoff between the two leading candidates when no contender for governor, U.S. Senate or U.S. House receives at least 35% of the primary vote.” (07/28/26)
