Entering this year’s Super El Niño, it’s worth remembering we live on a water planet, and “the ocean is the atmosphere, but upside down and wet.” / Our Blue Frontier Ninety percent of energy building in the United States in the first half of 2026 was either solar, storage,
The USS Abraham Lincoln is headed home following its nine-month deployment—the same ship where sailors reportedly attempted to jump overboard. / NBC News, Navy Times A new aircraft carrier scheduled to be named after a Black war hero may be renamed for President Trump. / The Guardian Jamelle Bouie: It
The regional order that has prevailed in the Middle East since 1991 is said to be crumbling, if not finished. / Foreign Affairs Israel bombs an airbase in Syria to stop Turkey from rebuilding it. Turkey, it would seem, decides not to feel attacked. / The Associated Press, Reuters Related: Why did
Since the start of the summer, nearly 500 people have been arrested in France on suspicion of starting wildfires. / The Guardian Drought is declared in three-quarters of England and all of Wales. / NPR A new study finds that swapping even a two-year-old gas car for an electric
Nearly two and a half million girls have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power five years ago. / DW UNESCO says over 90% of 10-year-olds in Afghanistan can’t read, with national literacy rates around 37%. / Reuters Regarding this summer’s record-breaking
Turkey says its new pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is basically the same as NATO’s mutual defense agreement. / Reuters Worth noting, the accord doesn’t appear to include Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities. / NBC News Iran says it won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States
Israel approves a plan to seize some 70 historic sites in the West Bank, looking to sever Palestinians from any historic connection to the land. / Al Jazeera Iran-linked hackers are attacking water utilities in the United States only a few years after opponents scuppered Biden-era proposals to ramp
Europe is having a low wildfire year at the same time that some parts of the continent are battling huge outbreaks. Meanwhile, its rivers are drying up. / By the Numbers, The Week Ice areas on Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-highest peak, have shrunk 96% in the past 115 years.
Oil prices fall after a pause in Donald Trump’s war on Iran. Why the pause? The United States is running out of missiles again. / Semafor, The Week Ukraine and Russia trade strikes on civilian sites associated with supply chains, including a Kyiv arms exhibition and warehouses belonging to Russia’
The United States military completes its 12th straight night of strikes on Iran. / Al-Monitor Surprising no one, President Trump is really upset that his war isn’t over yet. / The Wall Street Journal [$] If the White House decides to bomb Mali, it’ll be the eighth nation Trump has
