Wednesday, July 15, 2026

World

Trump threatens Iran power plants as conflict escalates

Trump has declared US strikes on Iran will continue until he decides otherwise, with power plants and bridges next in line if Tehran refuses a deal over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has already responded by attacking US forces in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, and Trump's earlier retreat on Hormuz shipping tolls signals the conflict — now over four months old — has no clean exit. The threat to civilian infrastructure marks a sharp escalation from the war's initial phase.

MarketWill the U.S. invade Iran before 2027?20%

Tech

Microsoft Secure Boot broken for a decade undetected

Microsoft's Secure Boot — the firmware-level protection designed to prevent tampered software from loading at startup — has been bypassable for most of its existence due to old cryptographic "shims" the company forgot to revoke. The flaw sat unnoticed until now, meaning attackers with the right knowledge could have silently undermined one of Windows' most fundamental security guarantees on virtually any machine. Microsoft has now patched a record 570 security flaws in the same cycle.

Climate

UK climate report flags 2025 as hottest year on record

The annual State of the UK Climate report has confirmed 2025 was the hottest year in records stretching back to 1884, with the four most recent years all ranking in the top five. Scientists warn further records are likely to fall soon as extreme weather events — heatwaves, wildfires, flooding — increasingly become the baseline rather than the exception. The findings land as seven Britons are confirmed dead in Spanish wildfires and the UK endures an ongoing heatwave with temperatures holding above 30°C.

Health

Americans barred from returning home amid Congo Ebola outbreak

The Trump administration has placed US citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a "do-not-board" list, requiring them to spend 21 days in a third country before they can return home amid an active Ebola outbreak. The measure effectively strands American citizens abroad without a direct path home, a highly unusual use of public health powers that raises immediate legal and humanitarian questions. The 21-day quarantine threshold matches the maximum incubation period for the Ebola virus.

Economy

Data centers have pushed electricity bills up by $23 billion

The explosive growth of AI infrastructure has quietly transferred $23 billion in additional electricity costs onto ordinary consumers and businesses, as data centers gobble up grid capacity and force utilities to invest in new supply. The burden falls disproportionately on households near major data center clusters, who bear higher rates without sharing in the economic upside. The figure comes as a BIS paper simultaneously flags the sector's growing dependence on debt financing to sustain the AI build-out.