Saturday, July 25, 2026
Wildfires tearing through Spain and France have forced more than 140,000 people to evacuate, with Madrid officials calling it the worst fire in the region's history. The blazes also forced evacuation of NASA's Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, leaving the agency unable to assess damage to one of its most critical deep-space relay stations.
The Trump administration has acknowledged in court filings that it terminated over $7.5 billion in federal clean energy grants to states "based solely" on whether those states voted for Trump in 2024. The admission marks a rare moment of candor about what critics call blatant politicization of federal funding, even as officials scramble to reframe it.
The International Criminal Court has voted to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan following a misconduct investigation into allegations of sexual abuse, which he denies. The ouster leaves the court's most prominent ongoing cases — including those related to Gaza and Ukraine — in institutional limbo at a particularly fraught moment for international justice.
Paramount has agreed to freeze its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery while a multistate lawsuit works through the courts, with the pause potentially lasting until June 2027. The delay could cost Paramount $1.7 billion in termination fees if the deal ultimately collapses — a significant bet on a court fight neither side wanted.
The European Union has fined Google $1 billion for favouring its own services in search results, reigniting the transatlantic tech regulation fight. Trump fired back immediately, threatening the EU will pay a "big price" — raising the stakes on an already tense trade relationship between Washington and Brussels.
