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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
YEMEN
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels yesterday attacked the Yemeni military, killing at least 30 military personnel, according to Yemen’s state news agency. The Yemeni defense ministry said the Houthis targeted “several camps and units of the Armed Forces deployed in Marib and Hadramout provinces.” The Houthis claimed responsibility for missile and drone strikes targeting what they described as Saudi military deployments in the two provinces, adding that hundreds of Saudi-aligned fighters were killed. Ismaeel Naar and Pranav Baskar report for the New York Times; Reuters reports.
Hours later, Saudi Arabia’s military said that Houthi attacks also wounded more than 10 civilians in the southern region of Najran, near the Yemeni border. Samy Magdy reports for AP News.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian online retailer Wildberries said today that another of its logistics hubs had caught fire after an attack in Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km (870 miles) east of Moscow. Reuters reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to launch a limited assault on a NATO ally in the coming years, according to new U.S. intelligence reports. The reports posit possible scenarios ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale land incursion. U.S. officials said that the United States had previously assessed that Putin would not provoke a NATO country while he is still fighting in Ukraine, but that assessment changed earlier this year as Putin is under pressure at home to secure a victory. Lara Seligman and Yoko Kubota report for the Wall Street Journal.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Ugandan authorities yesterday gained parliamentary approval to deploy troops to Gaza, if needed, as part of the international force proposed by the Board of Peace. Ugandan Defence Minister Kiryowa Kiwanuka told lawmakers that President Trump had, through emissaries, contacted Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in July seeking Kampala’s contribution to the international force. Rodney Muhumuza reports for AP News; Reuters reports.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
An Israeli settler was charged yesterday with reckless manslaughter in connection with the death of a Palestinian activist, Awadh Hathaleen, in June 2025. Hathaleen’s family said they were relieved to learn of the indictment but expressed frustration that Israeli prosecutors did not bring a more severe charge. The last time an Israeli settler was indicted on a charge of killing a Palestinian was in 2019, according to an Israeli human rights group. Adam Rasgon and Natan Odenheimer report for the New York Times.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan will sign a joint defense agreement in Mecca today, according to two regional sources and a Turkish official. It remains unclear what each state has agreed to and whether the pact will be formally announced today. Timour Azhari, Ariba Shahid, and Tuvan Gumrukcu report for Reuters.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has banned exports of copper concentrate and cobalt concentrate, according to a government order dated June 29 reviewed by Reuters yesterday. The ban was motivated by “the need to encourage mining operators to market or export commercial mineral products with high added value,” the order said. The DRC has previously imposed bans on copper and cobalt concentrate exports in 2013, 2019 and 2023, while granting waivers where domestic smelting capacity was insufficient. Ange Adihe Kasongo and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila report.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Trump yesterday signed a proclamation that would create a minimum price for imports of polysilicon and impose a 15 percent tariff on products made with the material. The proclamation states that domestic polysilicon production is essential for national security because it is a key ingredient for semiconductors used in electronics and defense systems. Ana Swanson and Brad Plumer report for the New York Times.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday that the trade negotiations with the United States were “tough,” following Trump’s speech in Las Vegas calling Canada “nasty.” Trump told the audience, “I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership.” Mira Bakhta reports for The Hill.
U.S. IMMIGRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Trump yesterday signed two executive orders aimed at limiting the number of people who are eligible for birthright citizenship and cracking down on “birth tourism.” The orders would restrict those who could qualify, such as excluding children of staff working for foreign governments but serving in the United States, and the babies of mothers who lie about their intentions for visiting the country while pregnant. A Department of Homeland Security official said there was nothing new from an enforcement perspective about the birth tourism order, adding that it simply restates existing law. Maggie Haberman and Ann E. Marimow report for the New York Times.
The State Department will vet the social media accounts of foreign journalists applying for visas to work in the United States, according to a media report yesterday. The report in the Daily Signal cited an internal memo that said an initiative requiring visa applicants to make their social media accounts public for screening would be expanded to include foreign media representatives and Mexicans and Canadians entering for work. The White House and the State Department’s official accounts on X shared a link to the article, but the State Department declined to confirm the specifics of the report. Simon Lewis reports for Reuters.
TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Over the past month, hackers have targeted employees at dozens of U.S. financial firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and KKR, such as by pretending to be IT support and tricking them into entering their login details on fake websites. Google said the attackers have recently focused on private equity and financial companies because they believe these organisations are more likely to pay ransoms. Raphael Satter, A.J. Vicens, and Anirban Sen report for Reuters.
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay a further $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms. The new penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after determining the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Barbara Ortutay and Wufei Yu report for AP News.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said today that she will vote against Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general. “The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” Murkowski said. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.” Kaanita Iyer reports for CNN.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) yesterday asked the Justice Department to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci for refusing to answer questions about the Covid-19 pandemic after a Senate committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Ahmed Aboulenein reports for Reuters.
The Justice Department said yesterday that Duke University’s law school had discriminated in admissions, using “ostensibly race-neutral tools” to seek racial diversity, according to a letter from Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon. Dhillon pointed to Duke data that she said suggested that Black or Hispanic applicants were much more likely to be offered admission than white or Asian students with similar academic records. Alan Binder reports for the New York Times.
A Government Accountability Office report released yesterday confirmed that the Department of Government Efficiency’s “Wall of Receipts” overstated how much it was saving taxpayers by billions of dollars. As of July 7, 2026, GAO found that $110 billion in claimed savings were incorrect or lacked supporting evidence. Kathryn Watson reports for CBS News.
The Federal Communications Commission yesterday voted 2-1 to eliminate the national TV ownership cap rule that bars a single broadcaster from owning stations that reach more than 39 percent of the U.S. TV households. The vote clears the way for local broadcasters to merge, giving single broadcast ownership groups far more reach. Sara Fischer reports for Axios.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
The Trump administration yesterday announced that it would move forward with a plan to eliminate hundreds of federal regulations governing Head Start, arguing that reducing requirements will save an estimated $2.2 billion and serve up to 236,000 more children. The proposed plan would remove requirements for maths and literacy curricula, class sizes, medical screenings, and home visits. Critics argue that removing these standards will undermine the program’s core mission and reduce the quality of support. Coral Davenport reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
A federal judge yesterday ordered the Pentagon to lift its freeze on reviewing proposed onshore wind projects, ruling that the renewable energy groups were likely to show the Pentagon violated statutory and regulatory deadlines that Congress established for the reviews. Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters.
Did you miss this? Stay up-to-date with our Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
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