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🚗 Used EV prices spike Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios Used electric vehicles are actually rising in value amid surging demand for more affordable cars, Axios' Joann Muller reports from new Recurrent data. Prices are up more than 5% since January, with the biggest gains at the sub-$20,000 end of the market. 📈 By the numbers: A typical used 2023 Chevrolet Bolt cost less than $18,000 back in January. Now it's going for over $21,000. A 2021 Volkswagen ID.4, which could be had for less than $19,000 in January, now costs over $21,000. A 2022 Tesla Model 3 that cost around $23,750 earlier this year now runs nearly $27,000. The bottom line: Even with these higher prices, used EVs could spur adoption and help car buyers find affordable options. Go deeper.

Measles smashes 2025 levels Data: Johns Hopkins; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals The number of reported U.S. measles cases this year has already surpassed last year's final total, Axios' Tina Reed writes from the latest Johns Hopkins University data. 2,295 cases have been reported so far in 2026, a 35-year record. 2,286 cases were reported across all of 2025. 💉 Measles is rebounding in areas with low vaccine coverage, threatening the country's elimination status. 95% of reported cases are among people who are unvaccinated, or whose vaccination status is unknown. While overall vaccination rates are still relatively high, public health officials say they must remain above 95% to maintain herd immunity. William Moss, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells The Washington Post: "The fact that we've reached this total this early in the year is really a reflection of those large outbreaks earlier in the year, particularly in South Carolina and Utah." "It's very frustrating. This is a reflection that we have been unable to stop measles virus transmission in this country." (Gift link.) 🤧 Measles symptoms often include a cough, high fever and conjunctivitis, plus a telltale rash. It can escalate into severe ear infections, pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain that can lead to permanent brain damage and even death). On average, measles kills 1–3 of every 1,000 infected children. The rebound comes as a number of key public health positions — including CDC director and surgeon general — remain vacant, and after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initially downplayed the virus' threat. He's since said that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles spread, while noting that vaccination is a personal choice. Go deeper. ps:Just imagine we had Measles beaten and this administration just undid all the good that previous ones had done!!

France recorded 5,700 more deaths than usual during its historic June heat wave PARIS (AP) — France recorded at least 5,700 more deaths than usual during a historic heat wave last month, the public health agency said Wednesday, sharply increasing its estimates of the feared toll from record-shattering temperatures. https://apnews.com/article/france-heatwave-extra-deaths-health-agency-dff2ed624e0cdad02f836d30ae3e878f?

US military carries out strikes on Iran as both sides threaten civilian infrastructure DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military announced Wednesday that it was conducting a 12th night of strikes against Iran as both sides increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-22-2026-42ff3de8d135ad72ff3ba4d94cc0921d?

👋 Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: What we'll remember about the World Cup, Triple Crown watch, million-dollar hardwood, why we love baseball, Lewandowski's debut, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚽️ Record viewership: 39 million people watched the World Cup Final on Fox, making it the most-watched soccer telecast in American history. Nearly 24 million more watched on Peacock and Telemundo, bringing the total U.S. viewership to almost 63 million — more than every NFL game last season except the Super Bowl. 🏀 LeBron update: It's been more than three weeks since LeBron James told the Lakers that his 24th NBA season will take place elsewhere, but his decision may not be as imminent as some believed. "We're not going to be rushed," says agent Rich Paul. 📺 ESPN layoffs: Karl Ravech, one of ESPN's most recognizable anchors who's been with the network since 1993, was laid off on Tuesday as part of the company's latest cuts. NFL insider Tom Pelissero was also among the prominent names let go from NFL Network, acquired by ESPN earlier this year. 🏀 All-Summer League: Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg was named Summer League MVP and headlined the All-Summer League First Team. Joining him were Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies), Caleb Wilson (Bulls), Brayden Burries (Bucks) and Meleek Thomas (Cavaliers). ⚾️ 474 feet: Fernando Tatis Jr., blasted a 474-foot moonshot in the Padres' 8-3 win over the Braves, the longest home run hit by any player this season. Tatis is heating up, hitting three HR in his last four games after hitting just five in his first 96 games.   ⚽️ UNTIL NEXT TIME THE LASTING LEGACY OF THE 2026 WORLD CUP (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) The 2026 World Cup is gone, but those five magical weeks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico won't soon be forgotten. Here are some of the moments, players and elements of the tournament we'll be discussing for years, even decades, to come, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee. 🇦🇷 Messi That's really all we need to say, one name. If this World Cup was Lionel Messi's final run on the worldwide stage, what a run it was. There are players who rise to meet the moment, and then there are players who define the moment. Messi stands above them all. 🌎 Expansion worked You can say that FIFA's naked desire for planeloads of extra revenue is the reason behind the World Cup's expansion, and you'd be right. But that doesn't mean it didn't work, as so many of those added slots went to beloved Cinderellas like Cape Verde and DR Congo, who provided some of the best stories of the tournament. 💵 Pricey tickets Here's the problem with sticker shock: If someone else is willing to pay it, that means they weren't quite so shocked. You have to concede: FIFA correctly read the state of the World Cup ticket market. And if you want to attend a future World Cup match, you should've started saving 10 years ago. High ticket prices are here to stay. (Maja Hitij /FIFA via Getty Images) 🟥 The red card that wasn't For the good of the World Cup as a whole, it's probably best that the USMNT lost to Belgium immediately after FIFA "suspended" Folarin Balogun's red card. Yes, the original penalty was unnecessarily harsh, but the idea of a bureaucratic autocracy arbitrarily fudging its own rules set an ugly precedent the USMNT might regret in World Cups to come. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England's collapse This one will linger for years in the minds of the Three Lions faithful, who watched their beloved side come five regulation minutes from a spot in the World Cup Final before Argentina's magic flipped the script. Add this one to the ever-growing list of England agonies that we'll roll out and recount every World Cup from here on out. 🇫🇷 France's surrender The other semifinal will stick with us, too, mainly due to the fact that the overwhelming tournament favorite suddenly forgot how to score. Les Bleus stormed all the way to the semis with a combination of brilliance and brutality, looking like a champion-in-waiting until, suddenly, they weren't. The sting of their dramatic reversal of fortune won't soon dissipate. (Steph Chambers/FIFA via Getty Images) 🇺🇸 American journeys If we learned nothing else from this World Cup, let's please learn this: we've got one hell of a great country here, even if we need to hear it from visiting international tourists. The visitors to America discovered so much more to love about this nation; and, if you were paying attention, America discovered so much to love about the rest of the world. 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland The Norwegian giant wasn't exactly an unknown when this World Cup began, but he quickly vaulted himself into the Messi-Mbappé conversation with his uncanny ability to score pretty much at will. He'll be around World Cups for a while, but this was the one where he began what could be a legendary journey. 🇪🇸 Spain's dominance A World Cup defined by high-scoring stars was won instead by its most complete team. In the end, La Roja's death by a thousand passes survived La Albiceleste's Messi-led disappearing act. What a way to end a fantastic World Cup… and start the countdown to 2030.   ⚾️ AIR YORDAN TRIPLE CROWN WATCH (Maria Lysaker/Getty Images) Just one MLB hitter has won the Triple Crown since 1967. Can Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez become the second? Where it stands: Alvarez — who's had 15 hits and 4 HR during his current eight-game hitting streak — leads the American League in all three categories roughly two-thirds of the way through the season. He seeks to join Miguel Cabrera (2012) as the only other player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. AVG: .326 (second place: Rays DH Yandy Díaz, .312) HR: 33 (Rays 3B Junior Caminero, 29) RBI: 75 (Yankees 1B Ben Rice, 68) Zoom out: Despite never having finished a season as the league leader in any of those stats, Alvarez is about as likely a candidate you'll find to join this exclusive club. The 2019 Rookie of the Year has never hit fewer than 30 HR in a full season, and he's one of just three active players with a career batting average of .300 or better. The lefty suffered a frustrating setback last season when a broken hand limited him to just 48 games, but the AL MVP frontrunner has played all but two games this year and has never looked better, barreling the ball more often than any other player in the league. Even more exclusive club? Just 13 players in the modern era (since 1901) have won the AL or NL Triple Crown, but only five of them* have led the entire majors in all three categories. Well, Alvarez is currently tied for the MLB lead in HR, one back in the RBI column and just six points off the lead in batting average. *MLB-wide Triple Crown winners: Ty Cobb (1909), Rogers Hornsby (1925), Lou Gehrig (1934), Ted Williams (1942), Mickey Mantle (1956)   💰 CENTER COURT PRICEY HARDWOOD MJ stands at center court during a game in 1998. (Andrew D. Bernstein/ NBAE/ Getty Images) Sotheby's sold four pieces of sports memorabilia on Monday for over $1 million each, bringing total sales for its Summer Sports Week to $26 million as collectors continue flocking to blue-chip assets representing pivotal moments from superstar careers. The most unique piece? A section of Bulls hardwood — signed by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen — that sat at center court during Chicago's three-peat from 1996 to 1998. The price tag? A cool $1,792,000. Finally, my basement is complete. Want to learn about the rest of Sotheby's seven-figure sales? We'll dive deeper in today's edition of Yahoo Sports Biz, which hits inboxes in a few hours.   📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) ⚽️ Kari Anderson: Way-too-early 2027 Women's World Cup preview Sad that the 2026 World Cup is over? Disappointed that the USMNT didn't make it further? No sweat — we're less than one year out from the real American contenders taking the field. Here's a little taste of what's to come when the 2027 Women's World Cup kicks off in Brazil next June. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) ⚾️ Russell Dorsey: Top 25 MLB trade candidates MLB's trade deadline is less than two weeks away (Aug. 3), and with a majority of teams still sniffing at least a wild card spot, there could be plenty of action as clubs prepare for the stretch run. So let's rank the top 25 players who could be moved, starting with the two-time reigning AL Cy Young. (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Cassandra Negley: WNBA All-Star weekend could be overshadowed by laundry list of contentious issues This weekend's All-Star festivities should be a joyous celebration of the WNBA's 30th season. Instead, mere months after those contentious but ultimately fruitful CBA negotiations, the league is buckling under the weight of so many issues it's difficult to keep track.   ⚾️ READ AND REACT BASEBALL'S UNIQUE APPEAL How can you not be romantic about baseball? (Luke Hales/Getty Images) Yesterday's newsletter included a section about Twins All-Star Joe Ryan allowing an MLB record-tying six home runs, which inspired a response from a reader that was too good not to share. Jeff T. (Greenfield, MA) writes: What happened with Joe Ryan last night is a perfect illustration of why baseball appeals so much to someone like me. It is by far the least-predictable sport. SGA would never have a game where he plays 32 minutes and scores two points and turns it over 15 times. Impossible. Josh Allen will never, ever, go 4-37 passing with 9 picks. Again, impossible. But Joe Ryan on Monday happened. Cooperstown-bound sluggers can go 0-4 with 4 Ks and look, for one game anyway, like they don't even belong in the majors. Sometimes you can even pull a stunt like Bob Brenly, who once, when he was with the Giants, committed four errors IN ONE INNING, accounting for four runs against his team, but somehow balanced the ledger by going 3-5 with four runs batted in and two homers, including a walk-off shot in the 9th. "This man deserves Comeback Player of the Year for this game alone." — Giants Manager Roger Craig Read and react: If something we write inspires you, jogs a memory or otherwise elicits a reaction, don't hesitate to hit reply. We might just share your response in a future edition.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images) ⚽️ MLS After a brief return last week before the World Cup Final, MLS is back for good tonight as all 30 teams take the field to kick off the second half of the season in earnest. Debut to watch: Polish legend Robert Lewandowski makes his highly anticipated MLS debut tonight (7:30pm ET, Apple) for the Chicago Fire, visiting an Inter Miami side that will be without Lionel Messi as he takes a well-deserved post-World Cup break. Lewandowski, 37, scored 567 goals across the last 16 seasons for Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Tigers at Cubs (8pm, ESPN) … Third-year hurler Keider Montero (3.22 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) has been one of Detroit's most valuable players, moving from starter to long reliever and now back to starter again. 🏀 WNBA: Sun at Fever (8pm, USA); Wings at Fire (10pm, USA) … Final day of games before the All-Star break. 🚴 Tour de France: Stage 17 (7:20am, Peacock) … Belgium's Remco Evenepoel won his second straight stage on Tuesday, picking up 28 seconds on Tadej Pogačar, whose lead is now 4'32" with five stages left. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.   ⚾ EXCLUSIVE CLUB MLB TRIVIA Arenado stands on second base after his 2,000th hit. (Norm Hall/Getty Images) Nolan Arenado, the newest member of the 2,000-hit club, is just the sixth player in MLB history with at least 2,000 hits, 350 home runs and 10 Gold Gloves. Question: Can you name the other five? Hint: Mariners CF, Giants CF, Phillies 3B, Reds C, Tigers RF Answer at the bottom.   🏈 DRAFT ORDER YAHOO FANTASY x CAMEO With the NFL season less than 50 days away, it's time to start thinking about fantasy drafts. The good news for you? Yahoo Sports and Cameo are teaming up to make it easy for fans to get a celebrity to announce their fantasy football league's draft order. How it works: Beginning this season, fans can book personalized videos from Cameo directly within the Yahoo Fantasy experience, where a Cameo button is featured on the home screen and draft tab of the Yahoo Fantasy app, and in the game home on the Yahoo Fantasy website. When you tap on the button, you'll be able to book a celebrity on Cameo to announce or pick your league's draft order. Once the personalized video is ready, it will be available for every league member to watch on the Yahoo Fantasy app and website.   Trivia answer: Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Al Kaline

Gaza’s Catastrophic Loss Across an area only about half the size of Manhattan, the Gaza Strip features hundreds of archaeological and heritage sites, ranging in date from prehistoric times to the British Mandate. Indeed, as one of the few harbors along the southern Levantine coast, Gaza was a center of commerce and exchange for thousands of years, remembered in the Bible and ancient sources as one of the leading Philistine cities and then, during the Roman period, as a critical commercial hub that connected the Roman East with the wider Mediterranean world. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/cultural-heritage/gazas-catastrophic-loss/?

I agree and it seems like his administration not only wants to control crypto but also elections, etc.!! The reason I say this is because a billionaire heads every department in the U.S., what better way to buy up everything in the country??

Union objects to Trump administration move to privatize security at Tampa International Airport Officials with the union representing transportation security officers at more than 400 U.S. airports are criticizing the decision by the Trump administration and officials with Tampa International Airport to privatize security operations there next year. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/21/union-objects-to-trump-administration-move-to-privatize-security-at-tampa-international-airport/? ps:What's he afraid of? That those that voted for him won't protect him at his pathetic airport?????

Trump Shares Eyebrow-Raising Edit of Cringe World Cup Moment The presidential director’s cut leaves out a key moment. President Donald Trump has shared footage of his hijacking of Spain’s World Cup victory celebrations—with a very strategic edit. Trump, 80, spent last Sunday getting booed by fans at the World Cup final in New Jersey. His walk of shame across the MetLife Stadium saw the ambient crowd noise rise from 78 to 84 decibels once the booing kicked in, roughly the sound of a passing diesel truck. He then attempted to photobomb Spain as they assembled on the winner’s podium. After presenting a trophy to Spanish captain Rodri, Trump stayed on the stage as the team celebrated their victory, and loitered next to the players. At one point, his friend, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, ran across the stage to move Trump out of the way as cameras attempted to capture the traditional money shot of the winning team celebrating. During a Tuesday self-soothing Truth Social posting spree, Trump shared a video clip of himself from Sunday walking to the winners’ podium, handing a trophy to Rodri and shaking hands with players. However, Trump’s 24-second Truth Social video of the celebrations crucially concludes before Infantino’s intervention. It also removes the awkward footage of the president still standing on the side of the stage as confetti cannons exploded, and instead ends just before the cameras zoomed in on the winning team, instead of him. Trump’s face-saving edit of his presidential stage invasion comes days after Spain’s official national team account shared photos and videos of the trophy lift—including a tight crop with the U.S. president not visible.The official FIFA account also posted a picture of Spain’s trophy lift that cropped the president out.The idea of removing Trump from the victory footage was floated in real time on Sunday when an Australian soccer commentator was heard on a hot mic saying, “They can edit him out of that,” as images of Trump still lingering next to the team aired globally. Trump putting himself and Infantino in his Truth Social feed comes on the same day as the U.S. president is pitching the FIFA president for a plum new job. Sources tell the New York Post Trump wants Infantino, 56, to be elected as the next secretary-general of the United Nations. Trump believes that Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a source close to the president told the Post. The U.N. General Assembly will elect a new secretary-general this year when António Guterres, who has served as U.N chief since 2017, steps down. Infantino created a “FIFA Peace Prize” that he presented to the president to placate him after he failed to secure the Nobel Peace Prize he had pined for. At the time, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said: “There is no one else in the world more deserving of FIFA’s first-ever Peace Prize than President Trump. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-shares-eyebrow-raising-edit-of-cringe-world-cup-moment/? ps:What a hypocrite!!!!!

How This Fallen Teenage Soldier Puts Hegseth to Shame This is a real portrait of courage the Secretary of “War” can’t compare to. On July 17, two days shy of a year after she left her Texas home to begin basic training, Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales was killed by an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack in Jordan. “Such a young age,” former classmate Zuleyka Acosta told CBS News Texas. “I think people need to recognize that she’s still just a teenager.” The teenager from Carrollton was a year younger than Barron Trump, whose entire extended family had never spent a single day in uniform. Gonzales’ friends say she enlisted 49 days after graduating from Hebron High School with the hope of making people proud of her, and she had already accomplished that when she was killed on July 17. That was exactly 115 days after Trump’s March 24 declaration that, ”We’ve won this war.“ Also killed in the attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base was 25-year-old 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Hawaii and Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, who had initially been listed as missing in action.Gonzales could not have imagined that her sacrifice, or that of her comrades, would be repeatedly cited during the U.S. Senate hearing on the Trump administration’s request for an additional $67 billion to fund a conflict of Donald Trump’s choosing that is said to have already cost $37.5 billion. Gen. Dan “Razin’” Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, honored the fallen three, along with 30-year-old Sgt. Michael Swinton, who was killed on July 19 during the controlled explosion of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq.“I ask all of us here in the Senate and across the American people to never forget our fallen and their families who continue to show us what courage, tenacity, grit, and commitment to the nation looks like,” Caine said.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the focus of intense questioning by Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia. “On day 14 of this conflict, Mr. Secretary, day 14, nearly five months ago, you stated that Iran’s military had been, ‘destroyed,’ and “made combat-ineffective,’” Ossoff said. “Was that an accurate statement? “ “They didn’t have a navy any longer,” Hegseth replied. “It was completely sunk. Their missiles were buried underneath a lot of their underground facilities, and their defense industrial base has been almost completely destroyed.” Ossoff kept pressing. “Mr. Secretary, early in the conflict, day three, you said one of those core objectives was to ‘destroy the missile threat,’” Ossoff noted. “And, as you restated it on day five, to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s missiles and drones. Those were clearly and repeatedly stated core objectives of the campaign, which, four months ago, you declared had been completed victoriously with every single objective achieved. Were those objectives achieved four months ago?” Hegseth said, “No one ever stated that every single missile was gone. Ultimately, ‘combat-ineffective’ means they’re not able to dig them out of their UGFs [underground facilities]. …It doesn’t mean they don’t have underground facilities where they put missiles in them and hold onto them because they’re the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. So we never expected they would stop having capabilities to shoot.” Hegeseth seemed to imagine he was making sense. “The question is, at scale, against an opponent like the United States of America, which, when toe to toe with them, Iran couldn’t,” he continued. Ossoff was not done. He reminded Hegseth that on day nine of the war he had “assured the American people that Iran would surrender. “Does that remain your prediction”? Ossoff asked. Hegseth resorted to what Trump always says when pressed about the war he started with the illusion that knocking out the regime in Iran would be as easy an “excursion” as deposing the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “Ultimately, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon to threaten the United States of America,” Hegseth said. “That has been the objective, and it remains so.” Ossoff kept at him. “So just to review, you will not answer whether your statement made on the 14th day of the war that Iran’s military had been ‘destroyed’ and ‘made combat-ineffective,’ was a truthful statement to the American people, as you sit here and ask for tens of billions more.” At one point, when his warfighter testosterone seemed to fail him in the face of persistent fact, Hegseth called out, “They can lob missiles!” as if that were really nothing in the face of American lethality. But what Iran was still able to lob killed Gonzales and the three other Americans whose flag-covered caskets will be carried from plane to tarmac at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday. That will bring the total of slain American service members in Trump’s war to 18. “The most important thing that I do is make sure that the president and the other leaders understand the risks and carefully consider the Dover test,” Caine said near the conclusion of the hearing. “And that is: are we willing to go to Dover, as we will tomorrow, to bring back the fallen?” A year and five days after she left Texas to begin basic training, Gonzales will come home, never to see 20. She is no less a hero because her country failed the Dover test with a war of choice. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-this-fallen-teenage-soldier-puts-hegseth-to-shame/? ps:The most pathetic administration ever!!!!!

DSA’s new program wants a judiciary answerable to Congress. Every right it promises lasts only as long as Congress feels generous. The post DSA’s New Platform Seeks to Eliminate Senate and Checks and Balances appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

NJ voter rolls About 6,600 non-citizens were accidentally added to New Jersey’s voter rolls and about 400 cast improper ballots in recent elections, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday. Sherrill said this stemmed from a “serious” software glitch at the state Motor Vehicle Commission that began in 2023, before she took office. She added that even though these people indicated that they weren’t citizens while applying for a driver’s license, they were registered as voters “through no fault of their own.” Read more.

OpenAI says its AI technology acted on its own in an ‘unprecedented’ hack of another company AI startup Hugging Face said last week that it had detected an intrusion into its data processing systems that it suspected was caused by an AI agent autonomously acting on its own. Read more. Why this matters: The disclosure comes amid heightened concerns about the cybersecurity capabilities of powerful models. In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release. Hugging Face co-founder Clément Delangue said he spent the past 24 hours working with OpenAI, “and we strongly believe there was no malicious intent on their part. It’s quite mind-blowing that all of this happened autonomously!" Delangue added that it “might be the first incident of its kind.” RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Judge approves a $1.5B Anthropic settlement over pirated books used to train the Claude chatbot

Trump administration says it’s deferring $1B in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new actions — which come after previously announced Medicaid funding deferrals in those states — are part of the administration's strategy to “stop the fraud before it happens.” Read more. Why this matters: It’s the latest in a series of punitive steps the Trump administration has linked to allegations of fraud in mostly Democratic-led states. The tactic is part of the administration’s sweeping campaign to show it’s cracking down and saving taxpayers money when rising healthcare costs and other economic stressors have made affordability a top voter concern in November’s midterm elections. But the federal government hasn't provided “data or explanation on how the deferral amount was calculated or what it was based on” to Minnesota, said John Connolly, the temporary commissioner and state Medicaid director for Minnesota’s Department of Human Services. California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the administration of targeting it for political reasons. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Andy Biggs wins Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Katie Hobbs for Arizona governor Have progressives peaked? The next few weeks will be crucial in Democrats’ tug-of-war House passes temporary government funding bill months early to avoid election season shutdown 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote after error in New Jersey motor vehicle system, governor says Appeals court upholds White House adviser Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress convictions The Gates Foundation met with Epstein about 30 times despite staff concerns, an external review says Appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to block release of recordings of ghostwriter interviews

Hegseth estimates Iran war has cost $37.5 billion Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, while facing fiery questions at a Senate hearing Tuesday. Read more. Why this matters: Hegseth and other officials appeared as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities including farm aid and voting law changes. Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money. The hearing came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the U.S. death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US and Iran attacks rage as officials question whether diplomacy can stop march toward war resuming Trump will attend the dignified transfer of 4 US service members killed in the Middle East What to know about Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, home to underground nuclear site threatened by Trump Trump approves nuclear agreement that may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, 2 AP sources say NYC can’t arrest Netanyahu but the federal government should, Mamdani says

The high priest bore sin or carried it away: "And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD." KJV, Lev. 28:38 "It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take on himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations; it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favor before the LORD." NRSV, Lev 28:38 This is apparently a reference to the DoA service. The context refers to the "holy place," not the "holy of holies." Sometimes, the "holy place" refers to what we usually call the "most holy place." In this passage, the expression, "tabernacle of the congregation" refers to the first apartment. So instead of the "holy" and "most holy place," we have the "holy place" and the "tabernacle of the congregation." Same is said in Leviticus 16:16, 17, 20, 23. The "holy place" and the "tabernacle of the congregation" are mentioned. Leviticus 16:2 describes the "most holy place" as "the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat." Verse 3 says simply "the holy place."

July 22, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. I’m going to start today with something really gross. (Sorry, it’s important.) Claire Merchlinsky/The New York Times; Photographs via Getty Dirty lettuce People across the country are looking at their lettuce fearfully these days. They’re scared of their raspberries. They’re anxious that the cilantro on their tacos is going to knock them down, potentially for a long time. That little iceberg salad that comes with your meal on a flight west? Hard pass. This collective freakout is tied to a summer surge in cases of cyclosporiasis, the intestinal illness caused by a parasite that travels in human feces and can end up in our food supply. As you may have heard (and fixated on), we’re in the middle of the largest recorded outbreak of the disease in United States history — more than 6,000 people in Michigan alone have gotten sick so far. Alice Callahan and Caroline Hopkins Legaspi, reporters on our Well desk, have been covering the cyclospora outbreak since it began. Yesterday, I reached out to them for guidance and, I hoped, a little reassurance. Sam: Let’s start with dinner. What’s safe to consume, besides cigarettes and bourbon? Alice Callahan: Heat kills cyclospora, so anything cooked to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit is safe. But you still have plenty of options for fresh produce. Firm fruits and vegetables like melon and cucumbers that can be scrubbed with a brush under running water and peeled before eating are much less likely to harbor the parasite. Previous outbreaks also offer clues about how to reduce your risk of exposure. They have almost always been caused by lettuce or salad mixes, raspberries, basil or cilantro — and, sometimes, snap peas or snow peas. Culprits tend to be fresh produce often harvested by hand and consumed raw. Outbreaks are also typically linked back to large suppliers, rather than farmers' markets or backyard gardens. Those local sources may be a safer bet this summer. Your reporting has frequently mentioned Taylor Farms. Has cyclospora been traced back to any produce not produced by that company? Caroline Hopkins Legaspi: As of now, no. But we can’t interpret that to mean that other products are in the clear. Traceback investigations are very difficult and time consuming, and we may be looking at a number of disparate cyclospora outbreaks with different sources. There’s strong epidemiological evidence linking the Midwest-centered outbreak to iceberg lettuce that Taylor Farms sourced from central Mexico. But some other states are seeing their own cases increase, which could be unrelated. Iceberg lettuce. Associated Press Yikes. What steps can people take to stay safe? Alice: First, check your fridge. If you purchased Marketside bagged iceberg or shredded lettuce from Walmart recently, throw it out. Those products were part of a recall of potentially contaminated iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms. Taylor also sent the affected lettuce to a number of food service distributors and establishments, including Sysco and Taco Bell, but the company says it is now off the market. Second, health officials recommend purchasing whole heads of lettuce, removing the outer two to three layers and rinsing the inner leaves well under running water. Bagged lettuce is more vulnerable to contamination, as it might have been washed with contaminated water. Can we return to the raspberries? They’re a big part of my mornings. You wrote so chillingly about how they’re a tantalizingly ‘sticky’ host for the parasite. Am I done with them for the foreseeable future? Alice: Based on what we know so far, experts doubt that berries are to blame for the current surge in cases. But if you’re worried, you can consider going with locally grown. That won’t eliminate your risk, but likely reduces it a lot. Caroline: I’d add that risk tolerance is a personal choice, and that it may hinge on your health status. Severe diarrhea can lead to dehydration, which could be risky for pregnant women, young children, older adults and anyone who is immunocompromised. One expert told me that she lost her 2-year-old son to a food-borne illness (E. coli, not cyclospora). That experience has left her with a much lower risk tolerance for this type of thing. (She also said, “Quite honestly, I don’t have time in my life for explosive diarrhea.” ) Is cyclospora ever going away, or is it going to be around for as long as we get fruit and vegetables from places that irrigate their crops with questionable water? Alice: When I talked to Frank Yiannas, a former top official at the F.D.A., he compared cyclospora outbreaks to hurricanes: We may not be able to prevent them, but we can reduce their harm by detecting them early, improving agricultural and food safety practices, and making sure that public health officials have the resources they need to respond. In this regard, the United States has room for improvement. Many local and state public health departments, which are on the front lines of responding to outbreaks, are short-staffed and have insufficient funding. Last year, the C.D.C. quietly scaled back one of its key surveillance systems for food-borne illnesses. And the F.D.A. delayed the implementation of a federal “traceability” rule designed to improve record-keeping throughout the food supply chain, which would help investigators solve outbreaks and issue recalls more quickly. That rule had been set to go into effect in January but it has now been delayed until July 2028. For more: Federal officials announced an additional 2,500 cyclosporiasis cases in the United States yesterday, making 2026 the worst year for the infection on record. The cyclospora outbreak highlights how rising temperatures and extreme weather can fuel the spread of food-borne illnesses. THE LATEST NEWS Middle East The U.S. struck a deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich nuclear fuel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States would continue attacking Iran as long as it tried to control the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon identified a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq on Friday as Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, N.C. His mom said he was “the kind of person who could light up any room.” Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said the war had cost $37.5 billion so far. On Capitol Hill yesterday, he asked for about $70 billion more. Trump reiterated his threat to bomb Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear site in Iran. His threats show he is willing to escalate the war there. Trump lifted a ban on direct U.S. flights to Lebanon after a meeting with the Lebanese president. The ban had been in place since Hezbollah’s 1985 hijacking of an American plane. Around the World Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine removed his top general after days of protests. The new general is much younger. Thousands of young people in India protested the country’s education system. The police cracked down, throwing tear gas and leaving some demonstrators bloody. France passed a law to restrict social media access for anyone under 15. A similar ban in Australia has had little success. In Britain, prosecutors revealed more details about the killing of Ann Widdecombe, a right-wing politician. A gloved man walked into her home as she ate lunch, asked for her bank cards and struck her 21 times on the head with a hammer. Japan’s prime minister wrote on social media that she got just “zero to three hours” of sleep a night. People in the country are debating work-life balance. Politics Zohran Mamdani and Benjamin Netanyahu. Anna Connors for The New York Times; Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York called Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” and “the architect of a horrific genocide” and challenged the federal government to arrest him after determining that New York did not have the authority to do so. The House approved a spending bill to fund the government through early December. It may not pass the Senate. The Trump administration is withholding more than $1 billion in Medicaid funds from California and Minnesota, accusing their public health insurance programs of fraud. The Trump administration’s funding cuts to PEPFAR, a global H.I.V. program, forced at least 1,700 treatment sites to close, a new study found. Voting Republican voters in Arizona chose Trump-backed candidates for governor and in a key House race in yesterday’s primaries. Roughly 400 noncitizens voted in New Jersey after a software error at the D.M.V. caused them to be improperly registered, the state’s governor said. Artificial Intelligence OpenAI said that two of its A.I. models went rogue and hacked into a digital library of A.I. technology that is popular among developers. Have you seen wellness influencers who are losing a ton of weight quickly? They may not be real, The Times found. Watch the video below. The New York Times MONKEY BUSINESS A baboon working on a geometry problem. Scott Hamilton/RIT Imagine a trapezoid. (Been a minute since geometry class? This is a four-sided figure with two parallel sides.) Now flip it, shrink it and rotate it. If a scientist sat you down before a parade of shapes, police-lineup-style, could you match this new shape with the original? Maybe you could. And maybe that makes you feel a little bit special. But it shouldn’t. Pigeon brains do geometry. And, scientists have now discovered, so do monkey brains. The researchers put up preschoolers against four baboons and four rhesus macaques in a shapes showdown. The stakes? Stickers and cereal. Read what happened. OPINIONS Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin have each made a big mistake — surrounding themselves with sycophants, Thomas Friedman writes. By taxing A.I. companies, the government can help Americans benefit from their success, Sebastian Mallaby writes. Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. MORNING READS In Venezuela. Pedro Mattey/Associated Press, Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images, Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters; Adriano Machado/Reuters, Fabiola Ferrero for The NYT, Federico Parra/AFP — Getty Images We’ve made these links free for you. Reunited: Many people lost everything in Venezuela’s earthquakes. Despite the odds, volunteers are reuniting some families with their pets. More on Venezuela: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about two brothers searching for their dead family members in Venezuela. Boosie BadAzz, a Southern rapper who pleaded guilty to a gun possession charge, paid $600,000 to try to get a pardon from Trump — but never got one. He wants a refund. Jimothy, a short-spined raccoon in Seattle, has become a national celebrity after videos of him went viral on social media. You’ve gotta see him. TODAY’S NUMBER Scott Olson/Getty Images 13 — That’s how many weeks of unlimited pasta and breadsticks someone can enjoy with Olive Garden’s Never-Ending Pasta Pass. The pass’s photo ID requirement has made it a hot topic on Capitol Hill. SPORTS Cycling: Remco Evenepoel, competing for Red Bull, won stage 16 of the Tour de France. Look at how some of the fastest racers do it. World Cup final: The championship between Spain and Argentina smashed TV records on both Fox and Telemundo. The numbers were outrageous. RECIPE OF THE DAY Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Here’s a dead-simple recipe for fiery, Mexicanish braised chicken with peppers. The spicing comes from Tajín, the brand name for the chile-lime salt that’s often sprinkled on fruit, and canned green chiles. Serve with tortillas, rice and loads of queso fresco. THE RETURN OF ‘LES MIS’ A scene from “Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular.” Danny Kaan Ten years after the Broadway revival of “Les Misérables,” “Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular” arrives at Radio City Music Hall this week. A few days later, a production of the original is opening at Hudson Valley Shakespeare. There’s a “Les Mis” up at the Phoenix Theater Company in Arizona and another at the Tuacahn Amphitheater in Utah. What explains the show’s appeal? Let’s see, Valjean. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Jiayue Li Read “Yellow Pine,” by Claire Vaye Watkins, a novel our critic says is filled with “gobsmacking beauty juxtaposed with gobsmacking destruction.” Stop doom scrolling. Times readers have tips. Skip the fancy noise-canceling headphones recommended by the audiophiles at Wirecutter and pick up their budget pick instead. I did, and I can’t hear you! GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was infallibly. 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

⚽ World Cup ratings record Data: Nielsen. Chart: Kerry Flynn/Axios Sunday's World Cup final drew more than 62.8 million viewers in the U.S., making it the most-watched World Cup final and soccer telecast in American history, Axios' Kerry Flynn and Sara Fischer write. Nearly 39 million U.S. viewers watched the game on Fox, which had exclusive English-language broadcast rights in the U.S. Those figures are up 132% from the 2022 final, the company said. Nearly 24 million U.S. viewers tuned into the broadcast on Telemundo, which had exclusive Spanish-language broadcast rights in the U.S. Those figures are up 166% from the 2022 final on Telemundo. Keep reading.

🌵 Trump allies win big in Arizona President Trump's candidates cruised in two of Arizona's marquee primaries yesterday: Rep. Andy Biggs, a former House Freedom Caucus chair and fierce Trump ally, won the GOP's nomination for governor by 58 points (73% to 15%) over the more scandal-prone Rep. David Schweikert and will face Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Former NFL kicker Jay Feely, also backed by Trump, beat back a more right-wing challenger for the competitive 1st Congressional District. Physician and former state Rep. Amish Shah leads the Democratic primary so far. State Senate President Warren Petersen will now face one of the more vigorous Democratic attorneys general who has been challenging the Trump administration in court: Kris Mayes, who won her 2022 race by just 280 votes. Vindman, Nixon weigh in on congressional vote to ban funding for Israel U.S. support for Israel has become a flashpoint in Democratic politics this summer. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/21/vindman-nixon-weigh-in-on-congressional-vote-to-ban-funding-for-israel/?

💰 Trump's new tariff playbook Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios The Trump administration could soon fire its next tariff salvo — possibly this week — with new duties expected to emerge from investigations covering roughly 60 trading partners under an expanding mix of legal authorities, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes. Why it matters: Just days before a temporary tariff authority is set to expire, the White House is still finding ways to pursue President Trump's tariff agenda despite its legal setbacks. The next escalation would arrive as renewed conflict in the Middle East pushes energy prices higher — an awkward backdrop for a White House seeking to ratchet up tariffs without reigniting inflation. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC to "expect to see some action soon" from an investigation into whether countries are doing enough to block goods made with forced labor. The Financial Times reported that the administration is weighing tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from a slew of nations as soon as this week — a major expansion of Trump's tariff agenda. 🎨 The big picture: After the Supreme Court struck down the president's emergency tariffs earlier this year, the administration replaced many of them with a 10% global levy under Section 122 of the Trade Act — a temporary authority that expires Friday.

🏛️ Charted: Trump's exit rate Data: Partnership for Public Service. (Includes departures of Cabinet department officials nominated during the same administration. Excludes U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals and ambassadors.) Chart: Noah Bressner/Axios Senior Trump administration officials are leaving office in record numbers 18 months after Inauguration Day — outpacing even the churn from President Trump's first term, according to data from the Partnership for Public Service. 27 Senate-confirmed officials within the Cabinet departments have left their positions, nearly 2 1/2 times the number from Trump 1.0. With departures piling up, Trump has been slow to nominate replacements. He has made fewer Senate-confirmed nominations than any president since Reagan, shifting more posts to acting officials who skip Senate confirmation. More data.