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Iran and the U.S. appear no closer to a breakthrough as nuclear negotiations stall and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to keep energy markets on edge. Elsewhere, world leaders gathered in Normandy for one of the last major D-Day commemorations featuring surviving veterans, while Washington saw fresh battles over immigration, Iran policy, and the FBI. We'll also cover a milestone for small nuclear reactors, a sharp drop in Bitcoin, and a major new AI proposal involving OpenAI and the federal government.

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World View

CDC Warns Ebola Outbreak Could Rival Worst on Record

New modeling from the CDC projects that the current Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda could sicken more than 20,000 people within three months without urgent international action. The trajectory would put the outbreak in the company of the deadliest on record, straining a global health response already stretched thin.

Seven Mozambicans Killed in Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa

Seven Mozambican nationals were killed in anti-immigrant violence in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, with about 800 Mozambicans caught up in the attacks. Three hundred have been repatriated; the remaining 500-plus are sheltered in safe locations as analysts describe a dangerous resurgence of xenophobia across the country.

Armenia Heads to Election Under Russian Pressure

Armenians vote in a tense general election as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan seeks a third term amid falling domestic support and mounting pressure from Moscow on his pro-Western government. The result will shape whether the small Caucasus nation continues drifting toward Europe or swings back into Russia's orbit.

Need To Know

Schumer Quietly Backs Stevens in Michigan Senate Primary

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has privately told donors he supports Representative Haley Stevens in the contested Michigan Democratic Senate primary. Schumer remains publicly neutral, but the signal could shift money and endorsements in one of next year's most important races.

House Votes to Direct Trump to End Hostilities With Iran

A bipartisan 215-208 House vote directed Trump to end U.S. military hostilities with Iran, with four Republicans crossing the aisle. Senate action remains uncertain, and Trump has not signaled any intention to comply.

Pentagon Cuts 180 Religious Identities From Personnel Records

The Defense Department has trimmed the list of recognized religious identities for service members from 211 to 31, with 22 of those remaining categories falling under Christianity. The Pentagon describes the change as an administrative consolidation, while faith advocates question what it means for chaplaincy and religious accommodation.

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Money & Markets

Trump Administration in Talks for Government Stake in OpenAI

The Trump administration and OpenAI are discussing the possibility of a U.S. government equity stake in the AI company, an idea CEO Sam Altman first floated in 2025. A deal would mark an unusual federal entanglement with a private tech firm and reshape Washington's role in the AI race.

Bitcoin Cracks $60,000, Down Over 50% From Its All-Time High

Bitcoin fell below $60,000 — its lowest since October 2024 and more than 50% below its record near $126,000 set last fall. Strategy's decision to sell holdings and the coming SpaceX IPO absorbing available liquidity are both cited as structural headwinds.

Marvell and Flex Join S&P 500

Marvell Technology and Flex will enter the S&P 500, replacing Pool Corp. and Campbell's in the benchmark index. The swap is another data point in the technology sector's continued dominance of U.S. equity market weighting.

Future Frontiers

Small Modular Reactor Hits Criticality in First U.S. Test

A small modular nuclear reactor has reached criticality in its first U.S. test, a milestone for a technology long pitched as the future of clean baseload power. If the design proves commercially viable, it could give utilities a faster, cheaper alternative to traditional gigawatt-scale plants.

NASA Captures Typhoon Jangmi's Massive Eye From Space

A NASA satellite captured a striking nighttime image of Typhoon Jangmi's enormous eye as the storm crawled northwest through the Philippine Sea toward southern Japan. The slow track has dumped heavy rain across the region, raising flood and landslide risks even where winds aren't catastrophic.

Cellular Shift May Help Explain Why We Get Sick as We Age

Researchers have identified a hidden cellular remodeling process that may help explain why so many chronic illnesses pile up in later life. The finding could point toward new therapeutic targets for conditions tied to aging rather than treating each disease one by one.

The Score

Knicks Take 2-0 Lead Over Spurs in NBA Finals Thriller

Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left to seal a 105-104 Knicks win in Game 2, after a late Victor Wembanyama turnover gave New York the chance. New York's playoff win streak now stands at 13 consecutive games — second-longest in NBA Finals history.

Hall of Fame NHL Executive Cliff Fletcher Dies at 90

Cliff Fletcher, the longtime NHL executive who built the Calgary Flames into 1989 Stanley Cup champions and later helped turn the Toronto Maple Leafs into contenders, has died at 90. Nicknamed "Trader Cliff" for his deal-making, he shaped two of hockey's most storied franchises across decades in the league.

NCAA Baseball Super Regionals: Oregon at Texas Headlines Saturday Slate

Super Regionals are underway across the country, with No. 5 Oregon visiting No. 3 Texas in Austin in a prime-time clash with College World Series berths on the line. USC already punched its ticket Friday, routing North Carolina 9-5 in Chapel Hill.

Life & Culture

Reed Hastings Officially Exits Netflix Board

Reed Hastings is officially no longer affiliated with Netflix following Thursday's shareholder vote, which confirmed a new board chairman 29 years after he co-founded the company. His departure closes the book on one of Silicon Valley's defining founder-to-streaming-giant arcs.

'Among Us' Surprise-Drops Animated Series on Paramount+

All ten episodes of the animated 'Among Us' series quietly dropped on Paramount+ after a surprise announcement from stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Liv Hewson at Summer Game Fest. Emergency meeting indeed: the stealth release is a bet that fandoms still respond to old-fashioned weekend bingeing.

Ariana Grande Kicks Off First Tour in Seven Years; Taylor Swift Drops Toy Story Video

Ariana Grande launched her Eternal Sunshine tour in Oakland tonight — her first concert run in seven years — calling it a "last hurrah" with no plans for future touring. Taylor Swift also dropped a new music video composed entirely of Toy Story footage for her contribution to the franchise's fifth film.

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Deep Dive

China Builds an Economic Fortress as Global Tensions Rise

What it is: Beijing has rolled out a sweeping new set of investment and security rules that tighten the government's grip on capital flows, foreign deals, and the activities of Chinese companies abroad. Officials describe the changes as essential to safeguarding national security.

The detail: The rules expand reviews of outbound investment, broaden the definition of sensitive sectors, and give regulators more discretion to block or unwind deals deemed risky. They sit alongside earlier measures restricting foreign access to Chinese data, technology, and rare earth supply chains, forming a tighter regulatory perimeter around the world's second-largest economy.

Why it matters: Chinese firms have spent years searching for growth overseas as the domestic economy slows, and the new framework could complicate that push just as Western governments tighten their own screening of Chinese capital. The result is an increasingly walled-off global economy, with Beijing and Washington each building rules designed to insulate themselves from the other.

What to watch: How aggressively regulators apply the new powers will signal whether this is mostly a defensive posture or a more active tool to steer Chinese capital. Watch for early test cases involving outbound M&A in semiconductors, EVs, and biotech — the sectors where U.S.–China friction has been sharpest.

Extra Bits

- Three men were jailed 47 months each for stealing a 2,500-year-old golden Romanian helmet from a Dutch museum, proving heist movies still happen, just with worse getaway plans.

- A Virginia man was sentenced to life without parole for killing his wife in a plot with the family's Brazilian au pair that also involved luring a stranger to the house to serve as the fall guy.

- Canada banned Texas cattle imports after a second calf turned up infected with flesh-eating screwworm and the state declared a disaster, because nothing says summer trade policy like maggots.

Today’s Trivia

The man who designed one of the world's most iconic snack containers had one very specific — and very literal — request about what to do with his remains after death. What happened to Fredric Baur, inventor of the Pringles can?

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