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Saudi Arabia has joined U.S. strikes against Iran-backed militias, opening a new chapter in the expanding regional conflict, while Russia has charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism.

Elsewhere, civilians brace for a possible siege in Sudan, Apple briefly reaches a $5 trillion valuation, and the White House targets more Chinese technology imports.

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Saudi Arabia joined US strikes on Iran-backed militias across Iraq overnight, marking the first time the kingdom has entered the fighting directly. Central Command said the proxy groups had hit American bases and Saudi energy sites, pulling both governments deeper into a widening war.

Hours earlier, US forces intercepted an Iranian missile barrage aimed squarely at troops in the region, according to the Pentagon. Washington and Tehran resumed strikes after a brief, uneasy pause, and oil markets are already pricing in a much longer confrontation.

Russia charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and added him to its international wanted list this morning. Russia's FSB alleges the app failed to remove channels that Ukrainian intelligence used to coordinate sabotage and cyberfraud.

Durov, a dual French-UAE citizen based in Dubai, could face up to life in prison if he is ever convicted. Kremlin critics see the case as Moscow's boldest move yet against a messaging platform it has never managed to control.

Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the Sudanese city of el-Obeid as RSF fighters close in. Aid groups warn of a massacre echoing last year's slaughter in el-Fasher, where thousands of people were killed.

The UN says more than 83,000 displaced people have crowded into the army-held city under a functional siege. Drone strikes have knocked out fuel and power, and the G7 is urging the militia's foreign backers to pull their support.

Ukraine's top negotiator told NPR that Kyiv now firmly believes it holds the upper hand over Russia at the bargaining table. Sergiy Kyslytsya pointed to recent battlefield gains and mounting economic pressure as reasons Moscow may finally deal.

Keiko Fujimori was sworn in as Peru's president after a narrow election win, pledging an "iron fist" against the crime wave gripping Lima. The 51-year-old conservative — daughter of the late Alberto Fujimori — inherits a fractured congress and a country impatient for results.

A major new study recorded the biggest rise in antisemitism across the Jewish diaspora, with the UK among the hardest hit. Researchers called 2025 the deadliest year for Jews outside Israel in more than three decades.

The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, replacing Bill Pulte after a contentious hearing in which Clayton declined to state clearly that Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the 2020 election. He shed most Democratic support in the process and takes over an 18-agency portfolio at a tense geopolitical moment.

The Trump administration will unveil bans on imports of the newest Chinese-made robots and power inverters, citing national security threats to the American AI buildout. The rules aim to reshore two industries the White House considers foundational to data-center expansion.

Governor Larry Rhoden, who took office last year when Kristi Noem left for the Trump cabinet, won a runoff to claim the Republican nomination for a full term. He emerged from a crowded primary field that had turned unusually personal in its final weeks.

UK regulators gave Heathrow the green light to recover the costs of its long-delayed third-runway project by charging airlines higher fees — a move carriers say will be passed straight to passengers. Analysts expect ticket prices out of Europe's busiest hub to climb noticeably by next summer.

Banijay Entertainment reported half-year revenue of €1.37 billion, down 2.2% from a year earlier in its first update since the All3Media merger, as scripted production volume slipped. The bright spot was live events, where revenue jumped 49.8% on the FIFA World Cup and Winter Olympics.

Apple briefly touched a $5 trillion market capitalization, a milestone no public company had ever reached. Investors piled in eagerly despite an otherwise jittery, uncertain week for the broader market.

Researchers in China have built a memristor chip that reconstructs the cortical surface at millisecond speed — a feat that had previously required racks of supercomputers. The advance could accelerate work on brain-machine interfaces and next-generation neural simulation.

A new CdS@polydopamine nanoreactor copies two tricks living cells use to control reactions, producing hydrogen peroxide efficiently under ordinary visible light. If it scales, the design could displace the energy-hungry industrial process that supplies today's global peroxide market.

Engineers at the University of Michigan built a semiconductor device that steers electrons in a chosen direction using only two laser beams — no external voltage required. The technique opens quiet new options in sensing and ultrafast telecommunications hardware.

Denzel Ward agreed to an extension with Cleveland that once again makes him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. Ward had held the title after his last deal before other cornerback contracts crept past him.

Fernando Tatis Jr. recorded the first five-hit game of his career and Xander Bogaerts drove in the winner on a ninth-inning sacrifice fly as San Diego beat Colorado 8-7. The Padres needed every run of it to keep pace in a jammed National League West.

Paramount+ will be the exclusive English-language home of the Concacaf Champions Cup through 2030, adding 137 annual matches across three tournaments. The deal cements CBS Sports as the dominant U.S. rights holder for the region's club soccer.

Four women have come forward with criminal sexual conduct allegations against Jared Leto, part of a broader set of accusations from ten women who say the actor and musician mistreated them as teenagers. Leto's representatives have denied wrongdoing.

Pop star Madison Beer and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert announced their engagement on social media, sharing photos from the proposal. The pairing has instantly become the offseason's most-photographed couple.

Pioneering assemblage artist Betye Saar has died at 99, just days short of her 100th birthday. Saar spent decades transforming discarded everyday objects into powerful art that reclaimed and celebrated Black identity.

What it is: Borgata Sportsbook is running a new-user promo code that hands first-time depositors $100 in bonus bets after a $20 wager. It's the latest entry in a summer arms race among legal U.S. sportsbooks fighting for share of a market that now stretches across 38 states.

The detail: The offer is structured as an instant-credit bonus rather than a matched-deposit rebate. Translation: the $100 in bonus bets shows up in the account whether the initial $20 wager wins or loses. The bonus bets carry standard playthrough restrictions and expire after a set window — a design that has become the industry norm following regulatory pushback on more aggressive "risk-free" language. Promotions like this have become increasingly targeted as operators look for efficient ways to attract new customers without offering open-ended incentives. The strategy reflects a broader shift toward simpler, more transparent promotions that are easier for bettors to understand and regulators to oversee.

Why it matters: Sportsbook promos are now one of the largest categories of consumer marketing spend in the country, and the returns have narrowed as customer acquisition costs climb. Operators like Borgata, DraftKings and FanDuel are increasingly leaning on baseball's late-July trade deadline and the run-up to the NFL season to lock in the season-long bettors who drive the bulk of annual revenue. Competition has become especially fierce as the pool of first-time bettors shrinks in more mature markets.

What to watch: Regulators in several states have signaled fresh scrutiny of promotional structures ahead of football season. Industry analysts expect at least one major operator to trim its bonus offers before Labor Day. If Borgata's $20-for-$100 structure survives that review intact, competitors will match it within days. How sportsbooks balance aggressive promotions with tightening regulation could shape customer acquisition strategies well into the NFL season.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team