“The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly a year, driving up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.55% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.75%. … Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.” (07/16/26)
“In the 1920s, the hot and arid Elk Hills west of Bakersfield were embroiled in the Teapot Dome oil lease scandal that ultimately tarnished the reputation of President Warren Harding. A century later, controversy over another energy project has returned to the region. California’s first carbon capture and storage facility became operational in Kern County’s Elk Hills oil field in May, with the aim of eventually entombing millions of tons of carbon dioxide deep underground. The California Resources Corporation’s Carbon TerraVault 1 could become the first of many such facilities proposed for the state, including the Bay Area, and is intended to play a major role in California’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. But the project is also facing a lawsuit from local and environmental groups, who are charging the county with failing to address pollution, health and safety concerns before officials allowed the project to move forward.” (07/16/26)
“A White House teleprompter operator who has worked behind the scenes of Donald Trump’s biggest speeches since 2016 is now the subject of a federal investigation into whether he used advance knowledge of the president’s remarks to win more than $100,000 on a prediction market, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to ABC News. Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant who operates Trump’s teleprompter, is reportedly in settlement talks with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegations he placed winning bets on Kalshi’s ‘Mentions’ markets, ABC News reported. Those markets let users bet on whether a speaker will say specific words or phrases during a public address.” (07/16/26)
“The Trump administration said Wednesday it will impose an additional 25% tariff on [American buyers of] many Brazilian goods, escalating a trade fight it says is rooted in Brazil’s treatment of U.S. companies. The new policy includes exemptions for key consumer staples like coffee and beef, suggesting the White House is trying to minimize the inflationary impact on American shoppers even as it steps up pressure on Brazil over disputes involving U.S. tech firms, ethanol and more. A senior administration official says the tariffs are in response to Brazil’s unfair barriers against U.S. technology and payment companies.” (07/16/26)
“An Argentine court struck down a decree by President Javier Milei that transferred the authority to grant citizenship by naturalization from the federal judiciary to the executive branch, reversing a change to a system that had existed for more than 150 years. This week’s ruling marks another setback for the Milei’s strategy of implementing institutional reforms through emergency decrees rather than legislation approved by Congress. The decision was issued by Argentina’s National Electoral Chamber, which declared Emergency Decree 366/2025 null and void. Milei signed the decree in October as part of a broader immigration reform package. The measure tightened immigration controls and shifted responsibility for granting Argentine citizenship by naturalization to the National Directorate of Migration.” (07/16/26)
“Two families are suing a North Dakota hospital, alleging hospital staff mistakenly switched two baby boys at birth more than 36 years ago. Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison were the only two babies born at Unity Medical Center in Grafton, North Dakota, on Jan. 26, 1988, the men and their families said in the lawsuit, according to KVLY. Christian Unity Hospital Corporation, doing business as Unity Medical Center, was named as the defendant. The plaintiffs allege hospital staff switched the infants and sent them home with the other child’s biological parents, the outlet reported. The two men were then raised by each other’s biological families, allegedly without anyone’s knowledge. The lawsuit says the switch was not discovered for more than 36 years.” (07/16/26)
“Protesters gathered in downtown Kyiv on Thursday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy moved to dismiss his defense minister as parliament convened to appoint a new prime minister as part of a major government reshuffle. The shake-up could become a test of Zelenskyy’s political authority as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches 4½ years. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose technological expertise is credited in part with a significant improvement in Ukraine’s military performance in recent months against Russia’s bigger army, was expected to leave the government after just six months in the post. Before he became defense minister last January, 35-year-old Fedorov was the head of Ukraine’s digital transformation policies and seen as a modernizer. He won public popularity by spearheading Ukraine’s speedy development and deployment of drone technology and introducing several successful e-government platforms.” (07/16/26)
“British Steel has been taken into public ownership in what the government said was a bid to ‘protect UK steelmaking’. The future of the steelworks, which employs roughly 2,700 people in Scunthorpe and supports many other industries in north Lincolnshire, has been dogged by uncertainty over recent years. ‘Today’s decision secures the future of steelmaking in the UK, protects skilled jobs and safeguards a vital national capability,’ Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said. The UK government took control of British Steel operations in Scunthorpe last year, though it has since remained under the ownership of the Chinese firm Jingye Group.” (07/16/26)
“International Criminal Court judges on Thursday ordered a suspect from Libya to stand trial on charges including murder, rape and torture of detainees at a notorious prison, setting the stage for the global court’s first trial to focus on the North African nation. The unanimous written decision to confirm 17 charges against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri came after prosecutors laid out a summary of their evidence at a hearing in May, where they alleged that El Hishri abused detainees at Mitiga prison between 2014 and 2020.” (07/16/26)
“United States Vice President JD Vance says the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had unspecified connections to Israeli intelligence. In a lengthy interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, released on Wednesday, Vance was asked about theories that Epstein may have had ties to Israel’s Mossad spy agency. ‘He clearly had connections to the upper, the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence,’ he said. The vice president also claimed that Epstein’s connections in Israel appeared to have a left-of-centre ideological bent. … During the interview, Vance also conceded that the Trump administration ‘absolutely’ mishandled the communications surrounding the Epstein files.” (07/16/26)
