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15-year-old arrested at Seattle food festival shooting was armed with a ghost gun, police say SEATTLE (AP) — The 15-year-old arrested after a shootout at a food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend was armed with a ghost gun with an extended magazine, police said Tuesday. https://apnews.com/article/seattle-center-shooting-food-festival-space-needle-b4c73c1745663fe5b3e656a64602ddb2?

🇯🇵 Dozens of people are missing or hurt after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan, causing part of a shopping center to collapse. Get the latest.

Canadians skip U.S. travel Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios Canadian travel to the U.S. fell 25% last year, Axios' Rebecca Falconer writes from a new report. The decline has persisted into 2026, the Canadian government report finds. The findings offer the clearest look at the pain the U.S. tourism industry is suffering amid trade tensions, tariffs and President Trump's repeated "51st state" comments. Canada is typically the largest source of international visitors to the U.S., making the decline especially painful for tourist towns near the border. 📉 By the numbers: Statistics Canada says that Canadians' return trips from the U.S. declined year over year for 11 consecutive months in 2025. That's the longest sustained decline since digital records began in 1972, aside from the COVID-19 pandemic. 💸 Canadians' spending on visits to the U.S. fell to about $13.3 billion in 2025, down from about $15.7 billion in 2024. They replaced many U.S. trips with domestic vacations or overseas travel, the report finds. What we're watching: More recent data suggests the decline in Canadian visits to the U.S. may be easing, driven by a bump in car trips. Explore the data ...

Trump’s Oval Office Humiliation of RFK Jr. Is Leaked The president is pressuring his health secretary to prove a debunked claim surrounding vaccines. An irate Donald Trump told Robert F. Kennedy Jr. he would be considered a failure if he could not prove a long-debunked link between vaccines and autism, according to a report. During an Oval Office meeting in June, the president chastised the health and human services secretary for not doing enough to prove an alleged connection between childhood vaccines and autism, and felt he should have accomplished more over the past year and a half leading the Department of Health and Human Services, sources told The Wall Street Journal. Trump had also pointedly asked Kennedy why he wasn’t doing more to investigate the alleged connection between vaccines and autism during a lunch at the president’s golf course in Virginia in May. Trump accused the health secretary of getting the “yips” for not investigating the issue more aggressively. Kennedy was said to be taken aback by the pressure from Trump. The White House had previously urged the health secretary to tone down his public distrust of vaccines, fearing it could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections. Trump, 80, is not a vaccine skeptic on the same level as the 72-year-old Kennedy. During his first term in office he advised people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and publicly revealed that he received a booster shot. The president has also frequently complained that he does not get enough credit for the rollout of Operation Warp Speed, the first Trump administration’s effort to rapidly accelerate vaccine development in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Trump has long been skeptical about vaccinating children, including questioning whether there is a link between vaccines and autism—a claim that has no scientific basis.The Journal reported that Trump is so obsessed with the issue that he “steers nearly every conversation” he has with Kennedy back to investigating the claim. In May, Trump signed an executive order to drastically reduce the number of vaccines administered to American children. The order backed an HHS report recommending reducing the number of routine childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11. Trump has also considered changing the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine by splitting it into three separate shots. This is despite there being no scientific justification for doing so and multiple studies showing there is no connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. In a statement to the Journal, White House spokesman Kush Desai said concerns from parents about “America’s skyrocketing autism rates have long been ignored if not mocked,” and that Trump is now changing this. “The Trump administration is committed to leaving no stone unturned to finally address these concerns with Gold Standard Science,” Desai said. A HHS spokesperson said they would not comment on purported private discussions between Kennedy and Trump. “Secretary Kennedy and President Trump are aligned in their commitment to confronting the chronic disease epidemic affecting America’s children through rigorous, gold-standard science,” the spokesperson told the Daily Beast. “HHS will continue to pursue evidence-based research to identify the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases, advance prevention strategies, and improve the health of the American people.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-oval-office-humiliation-of-rfk-jr-is-leaked/? ps:How pathetic!!

Trump Costs America Billions as Canadians Snub the U.S. Canadian visitors spent $2.3 billion less in the U.S. in 2025. President Donald Trump is costing America billions as Canadians increasingly turn their backs on the U.S., according to new data. A report released by the Canadian government last week shows that Canadian visitors spent $2.3 billion less in the U.S. in 2025 as travel across the border plunged. According to the report, total spending by Canadians on U.S. trips dropped to C$18.8 billion ($12.8 billion), down from C$22.1 billion ($15.6 billion) the year before, as Canadian travel to the U.S. dropped by 25 percent. The decline in Canadian travel to the U.S. marked an unprecedented shift, with return trips falling year over year for 11 straight months in 2025—the longest sustained drop outside the pandemic era since records began in 1972. That is a huge blow for the Trump administration, with Canada traditionally sending the most tourists to the U.S. But Trump’s recent antics have upset his closest neighbors, according to the report. So now Canadians are opting to travel domestically or to go to other countries outside of the U.S, taking roughly 5 million more domestic trips within Canada and 1.3 million additional trips overseas. It comes after Trump slapped tariffs on Canadian-made goods, ramped up immigration enforcement, and repeatedly threatened to swallow Canada as America’s “51st state.” “Following the change in the U.S. administration in early 2025 and the implementation of America First policies, Canadian travel sentiment shifted abruptly,” the report says. Similar research by the University of Toronto from May also found that visits by Canadians to major U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Houston and Grand Rapids, have crashed by a staggering 42 percent during Trump’s second term. The president’s trade war with Canada has also been blamed for a sharp drop in Canadian tourism to Las Vegas, a city where Canadian visitors typically make up a major share of international travel. After Trump imposed tariffs on Canada last year, visits from Canadians fell by 17 percent, contributing to a 7.5 percent overall decline in tourism, Politico reported. But it’s not just Canadians who are snubbing the U.S. A CNN report from May showed that the U.S. had roughly 4 million fewer international visitors in 2025 than the year before, marking a 5.5 percent decline in overseas tourism, with foreign visitor spending falling by more than $8 billion. Visitor numbers declined from several countries, including Germany, India, France, Australia, Chile, and China, but the largest drop came from Canada. Aside from the collapse in travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, it represents the sharpest annual drop in international tourism in roughly 20 years. The decline in U.S. tourism stands out globally. International travel increased sharply globally in 2025, with roughly 80 million more people traveling abroad than the year before. But people are opting to travel elsewhere other than the U.S. And that is a concerning trend, according to Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. “We used to be a country that others wanted to emulate. That narrative no longer exists,” Kayyem told CNN. “The long-term harm is that the world will not know America… the narrative of the United States is now a country that is at best, not to be respected, and at worst, a democracy that is floundering.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-costs-america-billions-as-canadians-snub-the-us/?

Green Slime Pool Case Witness Makes Bombshell Admission The government’s own witness called its case against a former Olympian into question. A key witness in the case against a former Olympian charged with vandalism at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool admitted that the landmark was already damaged—and would have needed thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs anyway. The president spent months hyping his renovations of the famed monument, only for the $16 million “repairs” to result in peeling blue sealant and a record-breaking algal bloom that turned the water slime green. Instead of blaming the companies that received no-bid contracts to complete the work, Trump claimed the damage was the work of vandals and ordered a law-enforcement blitz at the site. Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was arrested and charged with felony destruction of property—a charge that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison—after he stopped at the Reflecting Pool during a bike ride and put his hand in the water. But during the grand jury proceedings that led to his indictment, the sole government witness who testified about the damage Hearn allegedly caused “could not quantify any loss” attributable to Hearn’s conduct, according to a new court filing from Hearn’s legal team. The witness, who was not identified, testified the property was already damaged before Hearn touched it, and that about $6,000 to $15,000 was needed to fix the immediate area. Those repairs would have still been necessary “before the defendant interacted with the pool,” according to the witness, who could not answer a grand juror’s question about the difference in estimated costs before and after Hearn’s actions, according to the filing. “Simply put, the government’s witness could not identify any additional cost caused by Mr. Hearn’s alleged conduct,” the filing said. “Indeed, the witness did not even say or suggest that the alleged conduct had compromised the liner at all.” The testimony was included in partial grand jury transcripts provided to the defense, which is now seeking the full transcripts and legal instructions provided to the grand jurors. The witness’ answers raised questions about whether the grand jury was properly instructed about elements of the case—including the fact that the felony charge required Hearn to have caused more than $1,000 in damages, Hearn’s lawyers argued. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. The case was brought by the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, which is headed by former Fox News host and staunch Trump ally Jeanine Pirro. Over the past several months, federal judges have found that prosecutors with Trump’s DOJ engaged in—and at times tried to cover up—grand jury misconduct, including improperly speaking to jurors outside the courtroom, coaching them on the evidence presented, and dismissing grand jurors who refused to indict defendants. In asking for the release of the full transcripts, Hearn’s lawyers argued that the historic “presumption of regularity” afforded by courts to the DOJ “has been thoroughly eroded by current Department leadership, including in the District of Columbia.” The DOJ has previously said that reported cases of jury misconduct were isolated incidents that did not reflect on the department’s overall record. https://www.thedailybeast.com/witness-in-david-hearns-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-case-makes-bombshell-admission/?

Trump’s Tribute to Lindsey Graham Immediately Goes Off the Rails There were a few awkward moments when the president called into Fox & Friends to discuss the legacy of his former golfing pal. Donald Trump began an awkward tribute to the late Lindsey Graham by trashing the MAGA Senator’s golf game.As memorial services for Graham began on Tuesday, the president called into Fox & Friends to discuss the legacy of his former golfing pal. But things immediately went slightly off the rails when co-host Steve Doocy asked Trump to tell viewers about what it was like teeing off with the 71-year-old senator, who died suddenly earlier this month with heart complications. Trump began by saying Graham “loved golf”, “worked hard at it”, and was “getting better all the time.” But the 80-year-old added: “Let me put it this way. He loved it—but he wasn’t born to be a golfer.” The president then went on to talk about Graham’s bloodlust, declaring that the Senator “never met a war he didn’t like.” “I’d say: you’re a nice guy, how come you like war so much?” Trump recalled. “He was very much into that.” But this, too, became somewhat awkward when co-host Ainsley Earhardt pointed out that Graham’s sister, Darline, had said the opposite during an interview with Sean Hannity last week. “She said he didn’t love war,” Earhardt, who is dating Hannity, told the president. “He loves peace and he loves the end of the war, but sometimes war is necessary.” The interview kicked off two days’ worth of services honoring Graham, starting on Tuesday morning with a ceremony with his casket in the Capitol Rotunda, followed by a funeral at the Washington Cathedral. The services will continue on Wednesday in Graham’s home state, South Carolina. Trump is expected to deliver remarks on Tuesday afternoon at the funeral of his longtime ally, which will also be attended by congressional and military leaders. Among them are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, two world leaders who Graham consistently supported. Indeed, the MAGA Senator had just returned from his 10th trip to Ukraine hours before he died overnight July 11, not long after emergency personnel responded to a report of cardiac arrest at his Washington, D.C., home. The sudden death sent shockwaves across Trumpland as major MAGA figures raised questions about its apparently suspicious timing, so soon after Graham’s visit to Ukraine to publicize his drive to step up sanctions on Russian oil and gas sales. Almost instantly, wild theories began surfacing across the internet, fueled a few hours later by a post by FBI director Kash Patel declaring that “the FBI is assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available.” However, a medical examiner subsequently ruled that the cause of death was an aortic dissection resulting from cardiovascular disease. Graham’s sister Darline was appointed to fill the vacancy in his South Carolina seat, and intends to run for a full term after Trump’s endorsement. “There would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey,” he wrote in a Truth Social post. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-tribute-to-lindsey-graham-immediately-goes-off-the-rails/?

👋 Good morning! Happy (Taco) Tuesday. In today's edition: Mayo breaks the curse, Stanford football sparks union push, Peacock in the black, what losing out on LeBron means for the Warriors, squirrel on the field, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🇮🇪 ACROSS THE POND MAYO BREAKS THE CURSE Mayo players celebrate with the Sam Maguire Cup. (Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images) The year of the sporting exorcism continues. First, it was Indiana football breaking through after decades of futility. Next it was Arsenal winning its first Premier League crown in 22 years. Then it was the Knicks ending a 53-year NBA title drought. And now it's Mayo breaking a 75-year curse to win the All-Ireland title in Gaelic football. Victory at last: Mayo won the All-Ireland final in 1951 but legend has it that they upset a priest when doing so. That resulted in a curse being placed on the team, which had lost 11 straight finals since 1989 before finally breaking through on Sunday with a win over Kerry. The scenes were absolutely incredible at Dublin's Croke Park, with tens of thousands of fans breaking down in tears and announcers losing their minds on the radio broadcast. Mayo supporters celebrate their side's first goal on Sunday. (Ben McShane/Sportsfile via Getty Images) Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times: Nothing else feels like this. Croke Park untethered, the whole place afloat for an hour on a lake of the sweetest tears that were ever cried. The people of Mayo, raddled and belittled all their lives, looking at each other in wonder and collapsing into each other's arms. The decades of hurt and hope and loss all melting away forever. They gave a Kerry team boasting the greatest player of the age a seven-point head start and still turned it around. They sent out a couple of teenagers to play in the forward line and watched them run all the old truths ragged and turn all the ancient voodoo inside out. Mayo 1-20, Kerry 1-17. Chisel it on the gravestones, scribble it in the sky. Congrats from across the pond: Joe Biden, who pledged his allegiance to the team when he visited his ancestral home in County Mayo in 2023, toasted the win on Instagram. He was joined by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, who called himself "a proud son of County Mayo" in a congratulatory post on X. Wait, what is Gaelic football? The strictly amateur sport* combines elements of football, soccer and rugby. 15 players per side compete on a rectangular pitch with an H-shaped set of goalposts at either end. Teams advance the spherical leather ball up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking and hand-passing. There are three types of scores: Goals (ball goes into the net under the crossbar), points (ball goes over the crossbar between the posts) and 2-pointers (same as points, but the ball must be kicked from outside the 40 meter arc). *Gaelic football is completely amateur in Ireland, meaning players compete for pride rather than pay. The funds generated from ticket sales (there were 82,300 fans at Sunday's match) are directly reinvested in local clubs across the country, many of them pillars of community life, particularly in rural areas, notes The Athletic.   🎓 FIRST CHAPTER STANFORD FOOTBALL SPARKS UNION PUSH (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) The momentum for collective bargaining within college athletics took another significant leap this week. Driving the news: A group of Stanford football players are establishing the first-ever chapter of the College Football Players Association in a move intended to create a foundation for eventual unionization and collective bargaining, the association and players announced on Monday. In the fifth year of the CFBPA's existence, Stanford became the first school to reach the membership threshold of players necessary to elect representatives. What lies ahead is a long, arduous process of rallying players at more ACC schools and beyond to create chapters, eventually sign union cards and then, as a group, present to conference leadership. CFBPA leaders are in active conversations with players from at least three other schools and executives are confident in the announcement of more chapters in the coming weeks. Ross Dellenger, Yahoo Sports: The creation of the Stanford chapter is noteworthy in a time of upheaval as multiple players association leaders, college executives and even congressional lawmakers attempt to bring stability and regulation to a college sports industry crippled by legal losses. Conference commissioners, NCAA leaders and university presidents for years have publicly condemned any employment or bargaining model, but many of their coaches, and even athletic directors, are gravitating toward the concept out of frustration with the current environment. In a way, some believe that bargaining may be to the benefit of the schools and conference, which for now find themselves in a rudderless environment of unlimited athlete movement, loose compensation restrictions and growing legal woes around athlete eligibility. What they're saying: "The time is now to do something," said Stanford senior center Fisher Anderson, who expects players at other schools to follow their lead. "This is college football and it's increasingly becoming more like the NFL. At some point, we're likely going to need a CFBPA."   🦚 FEATHER IN THE CAP CHARTED: PEACOCK TURNS A PROFIT It took only six years, but NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service finally turned a quarterly profit. Sports, man: It's a monumental occasion for a platform with a rich array of sports rights, and it was on the shoulders of the NBA Playoffs and World Cup additions that Peacock finally clawed into the black. This chart first appeared in Yahoo Sports Biz, our new newsletter authored by Dylan Dittrich. Sign up here to start receiving it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.   📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images) 🏀 Dan Devine: What losing out on LeBron James means for Stephen Curry and the Warriors James' decision disappointed suitors in Cleveland, Miami and Minnesota, among other locales. But it might not have hurt anybody more than Golden State, arguably the biggest loser of the whole saga, both for losing out on adding James and for what coming up short in his decision-making calculus represented about the current state of play in the Bay. (Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images) 🏈 Jay Busbee: What the NFL can (and will) learn from the World Cup's global takeover As popular as the NFL is — and make no mistake, the NFL is still America's most popular form of entertainment in any medium — it's a minnow in the ocean compared to the World Cup. Millions more viewers, billions more in revenue. Here are a few lessons that The Shield will likely incorporate from the inspiring, thrilling and so, so lucrative tournament that comes around every four years. (Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) 🏀 Candace Bucker, The Athletic: Cathy Engelbert may be unpopular with WNBA players, but she's not paid to be their bestie Engelbert might never be considered as chill, down for the cause, or the kind of boss the players would want to sit down with and sip a cocktail. But last we checked, the WNBA is booming. The average WNBA salary has risen 450% under her watch, from roughly $130,000 in 2020 to $600,000 now. If money is the marker for progress — and yes, in professional sports, money is always the main thing — then she's doing her job.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, JULY 28 (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) The WNBA returns from the All-Star break tonight with a five-game slate. The national spotlight will be on Caitlin Clark and the East-leading Fever as they go for their fourth straight win in Seattle. Schedule: Sun at Mystics (7:30pm ET); Tempo at Lynx (8pm); Fever at Storm (9:30pm, ESPN); Liberty at Sparks (10pm); Fire at Aces (10pm). More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Cubs at Cardinals (7:45pm, TBS) … Chicago (60-46) leads the NL Wild Card race; St. Louis (53-53) is 1.5 games back of the third spot. 🎾 Tennis: Mubadala DC Open (11am, Tennis) … Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton and Venus Williams headline today's action in Washington, DC. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.   🎨 NAME GAME BIG FOUR TRIVIA (iStock/Getty Images Plus) Question: Can you name the 10 "Big Four" sports teams with a color in their nickname? Hint: 5 NHL, 4 MLB, 1 NFL. Answer at the bottom.   🐿️ RALLY SQUIRREL PHOTO FINISH (Duane Burleson/Getty Images) A black squirrel managed to break onto the field at Comerica Park on Monday during the Tigers' loss to the Orioles, and it led the grounds crew on a chase in the outfield. On the call: "No, I won't be hemmed in! I have freedom on my mind!" yelled Tigers broadcaster Jason Benetti from the booth.   Trivia answer: Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Blues, Golden Knights, Red Wings (NHL); Blue Jays, Reds, Red Sox, White Sox (MLB); Browns (NFL)

Education Department opens parental rights case against Ann Arbor schools over transgender policy The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it is taking action against Ann Arbor Public Schools for what it believes to be likely violations of FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, in the district’s policies regarding transgender students. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/27/repub/education-department-opens-parental-rights-case-against-ann-arbor-schools-over-transgender-policy/?

Administration asks US Supreme Court to uphold sweeping Trump order restricting vote-by-mail The Trump administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a district court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s broad March 31 executive order restricting vote-by-mail. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/27/repub/trump-administration-sustains-defeat-on-vote-by-mail-order-in-federal-appeals-court/?

Measles cases have reached a 35-year high Measles cases this year have surpassed all of 2025 to become the worst since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, with cases now in 44 states and the District of Columbia, according to a federal report released Friday. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/27/repub/measles-cases-have-reached-a-35-year-high/?

Yes it also is a big deal!! One of my grandsons is autistic!!

Democrats urge Trump administration to rethink Endangered Species Act rollback Florida manatees and panthers are suddenly much more vulnerable, environmentalists say, thanks to the Trump administration’s recently announced rollback of Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/27/democrats-urge-trump-administration-to-rethink-endangered-species-act-rollback/? Florida judge refuses to boot Fishback from the ballot, won’t ‘decide the race’ A Leon County judge refused Monday to kick Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback off the ballot, agreeing that he hadn’t meant to establish residency in D.C. and pointing out that it’s not the court’s job to decide who becomes Florida’s next governor. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/27/florida-judge-refuses-to-boot-fishback-from-the-ballot-wont-decide-the-race/? Attorneys for Florida death row inmates seek stays of execution from U.S. Supreme Court Barring a last-hour intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court, two Florida death row inmates will be executed within hours of each other Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/27/attorneys-for-florida-death-row-inmates-seek-stays-of-execution-from-u-s-supreme-court/?

Wisconsin tornado causes extensive damage and cuts power to thousands of homes MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A tornado struck northeastern Wisconsin on Monday, blackening the midday sky and sending workers sheltering in office basements as fierce winds splintered homes, scattered twisted metal across a highway and knocked out power to more than 30,000 people. https://apnews.com/article/tornado-wisconsin-power-outages-appleton-menasha-854e3fa75280bb316f6081eaf0443798?

This week in court: 6 high-profile cases from the Tate brothers to D4vd A series of high-profile criminal cases are in court this week for hearings that could prove pivotal. Four of the six have celebrity defendants or victims. https://apnews.com/article/tate-brothers-d4vd-tupac-salman-rushdie-trial-3d1661685f9b72235ba716850ab9fdc7?

Days disrupted Across seven countries, seven people woke up to days that no longer looked the way they once did. https://apnews.com/projects/days-disrupted-after-iran-war/?

Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years Buying food to eat at home has gotten 33% more expensive in U.S. cities since the beginning of 2019, according to government figures. Couponing, comparison shopping and cutting back on favorite foods are new habits for millions of Americans. Read more. Why this matters: The historic increase happened for numerous reasons. The coronavirus pandemic snarled supply chains and raised labor and transportation costs. Droughts, hurricanes and diseases like bird flu drove down production. Tariffs raised prices on foreign products like coffee, tomatoes and chocolate. Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine disrupted oil and fertilizer supplies. The fresh conflict in the Middle East is accelerating food price inflation again this year, and affordability is a central issue in the fall midterm elections. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: How Americans cope with biggest food-price spike in decades Gas, groceries and back-to-school items are where shoppers might see higher oil prices surface

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for an executive order that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections. Read more. Why this matters: The president ordered the government in March to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters and deliver mail ballots only to people on that list. Democratic officials in 23 states and the District of Columbia sued, saying the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to set election rules, not the president. Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump demands Senate cancel August break until it passes voting bill Republicans decry a new Democratic Socialists of America platform as Dem primaries split the party US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions, documents say Federal judge dismisses a lawsuit over makeup of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Trump defends his sweeping tariffs and watches ‘America First’ drag races during Michigan stop McConnell remains in rehab and says he’ll miss key Kentucky political event Kamala Harris endorses Democrat Troy Jackson, in Maine’s US Senate race after last-minute nomination Ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool sees ‘irregularities’ in grand jury proceedings

330,000 people forced to evacuate as wildfires rage across France and Spain The blaze in France, raging since last week, has been wildly unpredictable, burning through an area four times the size of Paris. Spain entered its fourth heat wave of the summer, with several blazes still out of control, including its largest on record. Read more. What to know: French firefighters have been able to keep the blaze in check, but officials have warned that smoldering vegetation, rising temperatures and falling humidity could trigger fresh outbreaks. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness helping fires spread and intensify in France and Spain, the European Union’s Copernicus climate service said. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Wildfire created a monster cloud, unleashing lightning that ignited more fires Photos of Europe battling wildfires Wildfire survivors share stories of narrow escapes WATCH: Roof camera captures wildfires in Spain WATCH: How wildfires impact your health Wildfire closes major Oregon interstate for 70 miles US wildfire tracker

July 28, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. We’ve got the latest on the devastating forest fires in Europe. And the war in Iran is entering its sixth month. That’s below. I’m going to start, though, in Cuba. In Havana. The Cuban way Six months ago, President Trump predicted that Cuba would soon be ruined. He had just taken control of Venezuela’s oil, a lifeline for the island, and blockaded all other fuel sources. “It’s just going to fall,” he told reporters. Jack Nicas, who covers the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico for The Times, recently traveled to Cuba to report on the state of the island. With him were Alex Pena, a video journalist, and Lisette Poole González, a photographer. Jack and Alex were there on the first journalism visas Cuba had granted to The Times in seven years. As our journalists discovered, even amid Cuba’s worst ever energy crisis, with mass blackouts plaguing the electrical grid, the Cuban government — and the Cuban people — are still standing. “After a week on the ground,” they write, “we found that while Cubans are clearly suffering, they are also doing what perhaps they do best: adapting.” Out: those gas-guzzling Chevys they’ve kept running since the Communist revolution. In: electric rickshaws from China. Cubans are importing big lithium batteries to run appliances during blackouts and installing solar panels on roofs to charge them. Amateur mechanics all over the country are jury-rigging generators to run on more accessible natural gas. Lisette Poole González for The New York Times One farmer even devised a tiny backyard refinery to make gasoline out of shredded plastic, fuel for his motorcycle and cook stove. “Cubans thrive amid crisis,” he told Jack. On the ground Yesterday, I reached out to Jack to ask him a couple of questions about his reporting and the team’s experience on the ground. Stories and videos from their trip to Cuba appear on our website today, and tomorrow and Thursday as well. Sam: I want to ask you about that farmer you met, the one making his own gasoline. Did you see a lot of that kind of ingenuity in Cuba? Jack: One of the most important words in the Cuban lexicon is “resolver.” It literally means “to solve,” but in Cuba, after decades of a U.S. trade embargo, it really means “to figure things out by any means necessary.” It explains how Cubans put Soviet engines into 1950s American cars to keep them running or ate breaded grapefruit rinds to imitate meat during their economic crisis following the fall of the Soviet Union. And now they’re resolviendo again. We saw a lot of creativity during our trip across Cuba. People drilled solar panels to the tops of electric rickshaws. They are using lithium batteries to power concerts. There are even stories of people powering their cars with charcoal and cooking oil. As a result, the country is still functioning, despite the hardship. Lisette Poole González for The New York Times Sam: What was your reception in the country like? It’s been a long time since the Cuban government has allowed Times journalists to report there. Jack: Everywhere we turned there were stories, and the Cuban people were eager to tell them. We spoke to dozens of people in Havana and beyond who wanted to express their frustration and exhaustion with the status quo. It was a mixed bag on whom they blamed. Some saw the Cuban government at fault for failed economic policies and political repression, while others believed Trump was making them suffer for his own personal gain. Many blamed both. Sam: How hard was it to get your visa? Did government minders follow you around? Jack: It took a lot of convincing to get. I met with top Cuban diplomats in Mexico City, Havana, Washington and New York over six months, and sent many letters, to persuade them that we would tell this story fairly. Once we got to Havana to report, we met with Cuban officials a few times, but they otherwise didn’t bother us. We traveled around freely, decided our story targets and chose whom we interviewed. Read the team’s first dispatch here. And watch Jack in the field in the video below. Click to play. The New York Times TODAY’S WORD Pyrocumulonimbus — That is a giant, fire-generated thunderstorm that forms above an intense heat source like a wildfire or a volcano. Also known as a fire cloud, it can produce lightning, which can spark more fires, and generate high and unpredictable winds, which fan flames and spread embers. Officials say the clouds have been an “unprecedented” feature of the devastating fires in France this past week. More on the fires A new heat wave this week could make the wildfires even worse. Blazes are advancing toward vineyards and chateaus in the region. The smoke alone could change the flavor of this year’s vintage. Even as hundreds of thousands of people evacuate, some are staying behind to try to save their homes and farmland. See photos and videos. THE LATEST NEWS Politics Doug Mills/The New York Times Trump traveled to Michigan, where he blamed the high cost of living on Joe Biden and painted a dystopian picture of what the United States could look like if Democrats win the midterms. The state’s primary elections are next Tuesday. Last night, the Democrats running for Senate faced off in their last debate. Read the takeaways. Trump asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for an executive order to restrict mail-in voting, setting up a legal showdown ahead of the midterm elections. Congress Senator Rand Paul released more than 1,000 pages of a diary that Dr. Anthony Fauci kept during the Covid pandemic as part of his investigation into whether Fauci lied to Congress about the origins of the virus. Fauci is scheduled to testify before the Senate this week. Senator Mitch McConnell extended his Senate leave, saying he was not “medically cleared” to return after six weeks of hospitalization. Funeral services begin today for Senator Lindsey Graham, who died this month. War in the Middle East Trump said there was “a good chance” that a new round of diplomacy with Iran could yield a breakthrough. Iran denied that it was open to more negotiations. Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed drones launched by Iranian-backed militias. It was the kingdom’s first direct military response to such attacks since the U.S.-Iran cease-fire collapsed. Around the World A vigil for people who died in a ferry sinking this month in Georgetown, Guyana. Cesar Rodriguez for The New York Times About 100 people died in Guyana when a state-run ferry capsized this month. The police in Europe said that Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, had quietly made it more difficult to track down scammers and fight money laundering. A police officer who spent nine years enforcing China’s repression campaign against Uyghurs is seeking asylum in Germany, claiming that he is also a victim of the state policy. Crime The television anchor Savannah Guthrie made a desperate new plea for help nearly six months into the search for her 84-year-old mother. The man charged with murdering four University of Idaho students is seeking to rescind his guilty plea and take his case to trial, claiming that he is innocent and was misled into confessing. Other Big Stories Congress is considering an end to America’s spring-forward, fall-back clock changes. But making daylight saving time permanent would have serious consequences for your health and the economy, scientists say. Apple regained its title as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company from Nvidia, about two years after it lost the crown. Mia Bieniemy, the wife of the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, was shot at their home in Virginia on Sunday. The couple’s son was arrested in connection with the shooting. OPINIONS Did Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” modernize Odysseus for our times? Yes — and that’s disappointing, Maureen Dowd writes. Yes — and it’s what we deserve, B.D. McClay writes. Consider adopting the life of a tradwife, at least a little bit, JoAnna Novak writes. Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. MORNING READS Tatsiana Chypsanava for The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. Reclaiming a ritual: New Zealand’s British colonial rulers outlawed traditional Maori tattoos. Now, young people are embracing the art form. In Montana: A nurse on a hike trekked 10 miles to safety after impaling himself on a hiking pole. You won’t believe this photo. “Why Isn’t Dad at Home?” In Ukraine, new children’s books are helping families cope with the trauma of war. See the illustrations. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a Secret Service agent who took part in a fraternity hazing. Animal rescue: Thirty beluga whales are being relocated to new aquariums. See them hoisted in the air. RECIPE OF THE DAY David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks. Weeknight dinners don’t have to take up all of the weeknight. Sometimes I’ll grab a rotisserie chicken on my way home from work, rinse some rice, get it into the rice cooker and let time do its thing. I add some chopped nuts and dried fruit to the grains when they’re finished and carve the chicken — dinner is served. That’s what we call a no-recipe recipe. Try it! CALL IT A COMEBACK Johnny Depp in “Ebenezer.” Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times A decade after Johnny Depp’s Hollywood career went south — dragged down by a long and public legal fight with his ex-wife Amber Heard, in which each accused the other of abuse — Paramount Pictures believes audiences are ready to re-embrace him. The studio has made Depp the star of its forthcoming Thanksgiving film, “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol.” “The master of misfits returns,” the film’s teaser trailer declares, then cuts to Depp, made up and costumed as Ebenezer Scrooge. He rasps: “It’s good to be back.” More on culture Lindsay Zoladz, a Times pop music critic, has a banger of a review for the new Charli XCX album, “Music, Fashion, Film.” She calls it “proudly prickly,” “satisfyingly scuzzy” and “brief, barbed and unrepentantly personal.” The whole thing’s just a delight to read. Most ballet slippers are manufactured in a pale pink. But New York City Ballet’s repertoire requires a rainbow of colors. Meet the Picasso of pointe shoes. Late night hosts mocked Trump’s speech at the White House correspondents’ dinner. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Photo illustration by Mark Harris Read Ismail Muhammad’s essay in The Times Magazine about how Colson Whitehead’s Harlem trilogy has turned away from the pessimism of his earlier novels to offer a more hopeful vision for Black history. Get a facial, the Well team says. Get one regularly. Among other things, it’s a good way to get rid of stress. Stop using nonstick pans. One fanatical Wirecutter writer tested roughly one gajillion of them to discover that, eventually, they all start to fail. Embrace stainless steel or cast iron instead. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was inactivity. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

The Sabbath changed in ancient Israel, a day started out in the morning and would last until the following morning when a new day would start - over time this changed into an observation of the pending sabbath (Friday night being part of the sabbath). I think other things were going on with the celebration of the Sabbath as well.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 28 1868 14th Amendment adopted Following its ratification by the necessary three-quarters of U.S. states, the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including formerly enslaved people—is officially adopted into the U.S. Constitution. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1970s 1975 Grizzly bear is classified as a “threatened” species Arts & Entertainment 1978 “Animal House” released in theaters Great Depression 1932 Bonus Marchers evicted by U.S. Army Native American History 1968 American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded Natural Disasters & Environment 1945 Plane crashes into Empire State Building 1976 One of the worst earthquakes in modern history destroys Chinese city U.S. Presidents 1929 Future first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is born Vietnam War 1965 President Johnson announces more troops to Vietnam Women’s History 2016 Hillary Clinton accepts Democratic nomination for president World War I 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia World War II 1942 Stalin issues Order No. 227—outlawing cowards

🚆 1 for the rail: Big NYC comeback Data: Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Chart: Noah Bressner/Axios Monthly ridership on the Long Island Rail Road surpassed pre-pandemic levels — the first time any of New York's transit or rail lines has exceeded pre-COVID numbers for an entire month, Bloomberg reports. About 7.9 million riders used the LIRR in June, up from 7.7 million the same month in 2019. The surge coincided with two big events: the Knicks' championship parade through lower Manhattan and the U.S. Open in the Hamptons, where the LIRR added a temporary station. Go deeper (gift link).

🌐 World's 10 biggest companies Cover: Spencer Lowell for Fortune Out this morning: Amazon toppled Walmart to take the No. 1 spot in the Fortune Global 500 ranking of the biggest companies in the world by revenue. Walmart held the top spot for 12 straight years. The top 10: Amazon (U.S.) Walmart (U.S.) State Grid (China) UnitedHealth Group (U.S.) Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) Apple (U.S.) McKesson (U.S.) Alphabet (U.S.) CVS Health (U.S.) China National Petroleum (China) 🇺🇸 Between the lines: The U.S. has the most companies on the list — 141 — since 2008. China is in second with 122 companies, its lowest since 2018. Explore the list.