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The Justice Department's latest leak investigation is reaching into journalists' phone records, while an alleged attack targeting ICE officials highlights mounting tensions over immigration enforcement.

We'll also explain why a Red Sea blockade threat matters for global shipping, AMD's biggest AI bet yet, and a mystery molecule scientists can't identify.

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The Big Read

DOJ Subpoenas Target Times Reporters' Phone Records

The Trump administration has sought the phone records of New York Times journalists — and in some cases their relatives — as prosecutors hunt for the confidential sources behind reporting on the president's new Air Force One. It's one of the most aggressive federal leak investigations aimed at a major newsroom in years.

The Times has asked a judge to quash the subpoenas, arguing they trample First Amendment protections and sweep in people with no journalistic role at all. The case will test how far the current DOJ is willing to push against press protections that prior administrations had largely restored.

Army Veteran Accused of Targeting ICE in NYC Federal Plaza Attack

Police say a man lit a fire and set off fireworks at Federal Plaza in Manhattan on Monday, threatening passers-by before officers detained him. Authorities identified him as an Army veteran and said he'd specifically targeted immigration officials working in the building.

No serious injuries were reported. But the incident lands in the middle of an already tense standoff over federal immigration enforcement in New York, the latest in a string of confrontations at ICE facilities as raids intensify nationwide.

Venables and Oklahoma's New AD Face SEC Media Days Together

Coach Brent Venables and Oklahoma's new athletic director showed up to SEC Media Days as a united front, a year after the Sooners salvaged a rough transition to the conference with a run to the College Football Playoff. The pairing is meant to signal stability in Norman after a season that began with doubts and ended with a resume nobody predicted.

The pair fielded the conference's hardest questions on NIL, roster construction and what Oklahoma's ceiling actually looks like in the SEC. The answers will matter less than what happens when Alabama and Georgia show up on the schedule this fall.

World View

Houthis Declare Red Sea Blockade on Saudi Arabia

The Iran-backed Houthi militia declared a Red Sea blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening a chokepoint crucial to Saudi oil exports and global shipping. The group has used the same tactic before, and any renewed disruption tends to ripple straight into oil prices and container rates.

Congo Ebola Outbreak Death Toll Passes 930

Congo's health ministry said at least 930 people have died in the country's Ebola outbreak, out of 2,344 confirmed cases as of Saturday. Thirty-seven new deaths were recorded in a single 24-hour stretch, one of the highest daily totals of the outbreak so far.

Russian Strikes on Black Sea Shipping Kill 10

Russian attacks on merchant ships and port infrastructure in the Black Sea killed 10 people over the weekend, pushing the July death toll in the Odesa region to 28. The escalation is squeezing Ukraine's grain corridor again and rattling the insurers who underwrite it.

Need To Know

Judge Pauses $111 Billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

A federal judge temporarily paused the $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger to give the court time to weigh an antitrust lawsuit challenging the combination. The delay throws sand in the gears of what would be one of the largest media tie-ups in Hollywood history.

Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder 'El Mayo' Sentenced to Life

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison and ordered to pay $15 billion after admitting to flooding the United States with drugs for decades. It closes one of the most consequential prosecutions in the DEA's history.

Arizona SNAP Rolls Plummet Under New Paperwork Rules

Arizona's food stamp rolls have dropped sharply as recipients struggle with new paperwork requirements meant to help states dodge federal penalties. Officials watching the rollout say Arizona may be an early preview of what happens nationally as similar rules take hold.

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Money & Markets

AMD Launches Helios AI Rack, Adds Microsoft as Customer

AMD unveiled Helios, its first rack-scale AI system aimed squarely at Nvidia, and added Microsoft to a customer list that already includes Meta, OpenAI and Oracle. It's the clearest sign yet that hyperscalers want a second serious supplier for training clusters.

Alphabet Pops on Report of More Efficient AI Chip

Alphabet shares climbed after a report that Google is developing a new AI chip called "Frozen v2" that would embed parts of Gemini's architecture directly into the silicon. If it works as advertised, it would sharpen Google's edge in running AI cheaply at scale.

EU Hits AliExpress With Record €550M Fine

Brussels fined AliExpress a record €550 million for allowing unsafe toys and counterfeit clothes to be sold on its platform in violation of the Digital Services Act. The penalty is the biggest yet under the EU's new online marketplace rules, and other Chinese platforms are next in line.

Future Frontiers

Mystery Molecule Detected on Pluto and Titan

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope spotted an unidentified molecule in the atmospheres of both Pluto and Saturn's moon Titan, and admitted they can't yet say what it is. Whatever it is, it's chemistry the outer solar system has been quietly doing without us.

Four New Chameleon Species Found in Mozambique

Researchers surveying isolated rainforest patches atop Mozambique's granite mountains identified four previously unknown chameleon species that live nowhere else on Earth. The find is a reminder that Africa's sky islands are still hiding entire branches of the tree of life.

Ultrathin Diamond Overturns a Century-Old Assumption

Researchers found that when diamond is made thin enough, it produces an unexpected electrical response, overturning a century-old assumption about the material. The finding could open new doors in quantum sensors and pressure-hardened electronics.

The Score

England Football Legend Kevin Keegan Dies at 75

Former England captain and manager Kevin Keegan has died at 75, seven weeks after revealing a stage four cancer diagnosis. The Liverpool, Newcastle and England icon was one of the defining figures of English football from the 1970s onward.

Le'Veon Bell Arrested in Ohio on Child Support Warrant

Former Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell was arrested in Stark County, Ohio on a warrant issued in Michigan tied to a child support case, his attorney confirmed. The three-time Pro Bowler had been quiet publicly since retiring from the NFL.

Packers Extend DT Devonte Wyatt on 3-Year, $57M Deal

The Green Bay Packers signed defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt to a three-year, $57 million extension that includes a $20 million signing bonus. The deal locks in a rising interior rusher on a defense Green Bay is betting a Super Bowl run on.

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Life & Culture

First 'Avengers: Doomsday' Trailer Arrives

Marvel dropped the first trailer for "Avengers: Doomsday" on Monday, offering fans the first real look at a film the studio is banking a phase of storytelling on. Expectations are high after several uneven post-"Endgame" outings.

Ella Langley Ties Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey Chart Record

Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" spent its 14th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the record held by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. It's the runaway hit of the year and the biggest chart moment for a country artist in memory.

Celebrity Acting Coach John Kirby Dies at 75

John Kirby, a longtime acting coach to Hollywood stars, died at 75 after a three-year fight with ALS. Kirby's Los Angeles studio was a fixture of the industry for decades, and generations of working actors passed through it.

Deep Dive

Inside the Deadly U.S. Airstrike on a Shadow Fleet Tanker

What it is: A new investigation into the U.S. airstrike that killed three Indian sailors aboard a tanker in the Gulf of Oman raises pointed questions about how the target was chosen and what the ship was actually doing at the moment it was hit. The findings add fresh scrutiny to the intelligence and decision-making process behind the operation, highlighting the challenges of distinguishing between legitimate military targets and commercial vessels operating in increasingly opaque maritime networks. As commercial shipping increasingly overlaps with sanctions enforcement and military operations, those distinctions have become harder—and more consequential—to make.

The detail: Evidence assembled by reporters suggests the tanker wasn't moving when it was struck, contradicting parts of the initial U.S. account of a vessel actively engaged in hostile activity. The ship had, however, been involved in risky offshore ship-to-ship oil transfers—the kind of maneuver that has become a signature of the so-called shadow fleet moving sanctioned crude around the world. Such transfers often obscure a vessel's ownership, cargo and destination, complicating efforts to identify legitimate targets in real time.

Why it matters: The strike killed civilian mariners from a country that is neither a party to the underlying conflict nor a sanctions target, and it happened in one of the world's busiest energy corridors. Getting the facts right on whether the vessel posed an active threat matters both for U.S. rules of engagement and for the growing legal and insurance grey zone around shadow-fleet shipping. Any uncertainty also risks making commercial operators more reluctant to transit an already volatile region.

What to watch: Whether U.S. Central Command releases fuller targeting evidence, whether India presses Washington on the deaths of its nationals, and whether owners of tankers doing similar transfers reroute traffic in the Gulf of Oman to avoid becoming the next case study.

Extra Bits

Today’s Trivia

A group of jellyfish has one of the most descriptive collective nouns in the animal kingdom. What is it?

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