World
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced what he called the greatest financial offensive ever mounted against Iran, threatening to isolate any nation that keeps doing business with Tehran. China, a top buyer of Iranian oil, said it will protect its legitimate interests. The United States has also raised the possibility of an indefinite blockade amid the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's foreign minister called the new sanctions threat 'desperate.' The push marks a turn from military conflict to economic warfare after Iran declared it had won the recent war. It remains unclear whether Washington will apply the measures to China directly, a step that could deepen friction between the world's two largest economies.
BBC News
Politics
The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration on new restrictions for mail-in ballots, a decision that could shape the midterm elections in November. The ruling clears the way for tighter rules on how ballots are collected and counted. Voting rights groups say the restrictions will make it harder for millions of Americans to vote, while Republicans say the rules protect election integrity. The decision lands weeks before key primary runoffs in South Carolina and as states prepare for the fall campaign. Democrats vowed to keep fighting for voting access, and legal challenges are expected to continue in lower courts.
NBC News
Business
The US federal debt has crossed $40 trillion, according to the Treasury Department, as spending on the Iran war, tax cuts and tariff refunds outpaced revenue. President Trump promised to reduce the debt burden, but the borrowing has continued. Interest payments now eat a growing share of the federal budget. The milestone arrived as the trade fight with Canada escalated, with Ottawa announcing retaliatory tariffs of up to 50 percent on US goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects inflation to retreat as the Iran conflict subsides. Economists are split on whether the debt level poses a near-term danger.
The New York Times
Technology
Groq raised $350 million to pivot from making AI chips to running its own neocloud service, and Etched doubled its valuation to $21 billion in a month. Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion in a SoftBank-backed data center developer behind an OpenAI project. The deals show investors still believe the AI boom has room to run. Researchers estimate the number of AI chips powering the technology is doubling every nine months, straining supply chains for advanced packaging, memory and vacuum equipment. Chip makers are increasingly building data centers and renting capacity directly to developers rather than only selling hardware.
TechCrunch
Science
Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer in Chile have found a star, called S301, that passes closer to Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, than any star known before. The extreme orbit makes S301 a natural probe of the black hole's rotation, a property that has stayed hidden for decades. The spin would record how the black hole grew and whether the galaxy merged with another long ago. The team plans to track S301 through more of its orbit in the coming years.
Sci.News / ESO
Sports
The Houston Astros fired general manager Dana Brown, hours after the team fell below .500 and entered a tie for the division lead. Owner Jim Crane and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell will take on bigger roles in baseball operations while the team searches for a new GM. Brown's exit caps a season of inconsistency for a roster many analysts picked to win the American League West. Injuries and an uneven offense have hurt the team all year. Around the league, at least seven other front-office leaders are seen as facing similar pressure if their teams miss the postseason.
ESPN
Health
Two unvaccinated people have died of measles in Pennsylvania, the state's first measles deaths in 35 years. Health officials said both deaths occurred in the same region and both patients developed severe complications. The deaths come as measles cases climb across the country amid falling vaccination rates in some communities. The MMR vaccine is about 97 percent effective after two doses, and public health experts called the deaths preventable. The state health department is setting up free vaccination clinics in the affected region and reviewing immunization records in schools.
MedPage Today
Environment
A Paris court ordered TotalEnergies to disclose the climate risks linked to the emissions of its products, the first ruling of its kind against a major French company. The energy giant must publish detailed information about scope 3 emissions, the largest share of an oil company's carbon footprint, and explain how they affect its business model and strategy. The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of cities and environmental groups. TotalEnergies said it will review the decision and may appeal. Legal experts say the ruling could set a precedent for other fossil fuel companies in Europe.
Earth.Org