FINANCIAL TIMES
-Israel has killed senior Hizbollah commanders in an air strike on the militants' stronghold in southern Beirut, raising fears of a full-blown war. Hizbollah's special operations commander, Ibrahim Aqil, was killed along with at least 10 members of the Radwan Force, an elite unit within the group. This is the most damaging blow Israel has struck against Hizbollah since its formation in the early 1980s. The Radwan Force is responsible for cross-border operations into Israel and defending southern Lebanon against a ground invasion. Striking Hizbollah's top commanders would also deal a blow to Iran, which considers the Lebanese group its main proxy and closest ally in the region.
-Steven Eisman, a managing director at Neuberger Berman, has been put on indefinite leave of absence after he criticized the destruction of Gaza. Eisman, who has been involved in the Michael Lewis book The Big Short, was involved in a graphic post on his X account, which included the Neuberger Berman logo. The post showed burning buildings and people shouting in agony, possibly due to an Israeli attack. Eisman responded to the post, saying "We are not silent. We are celebrating." He later apologized, stating he had intended to refer to Israel's attacks on Hizbollah in Lebanon. Eisman has since deleted the account involved.
-The European Central Bank (ECB) president, Christine Lagarde, has warned that the global economy is facing similar challenges as the Great Depression of the 1920s, a collapse in global trade, and the pandemic. Lagarde cited the worst pandemic since the 1920s, the worst conflict in Europe since the 1940s, and the worst energy shock since the 1970s as the reasons for these disruptions. She argued that global trade integration and technological advances have been setbacks in both eras. Lagarde emphasized that central banks are better equipped to address these structural changes than their predecessors, as pegging the currency to gold and fixed exchange rates was not robust in times of profound structural change.
-Donald Trump's chances of winning North Carolina in the November presidential election are threatened by allegations of racist comments by Republican governor candidate Mark Robinson on a pornography website. Robinson has denied making the comments and blamed his Democratic opponent Josh Stein for a leaked story. The allegations come as Trump faces criticism for being too close to the radical fringes of the Republican party, and he faces calls to distance his campaign from Laura Loomer, a far-right social media influencer, and disavow baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.
-Indonesia is considering a moratorium on building more hotels and nightclubs in Bali, a tropical holiday destination, due to congestion, rowdy tourists, and the conversion of paddy fields to luxury villas. The provincial government has asked the central government to suspend new commercial construction in four tourist hotspots. The timing and length of the ban are yet to be finalized. President Joko Widodo's administration is in agreement with the move, aiming to make Bali a clean destination with a good environment. The moratorium could last five to 10 years. Bali joins other tourist destinations addressing overtourism, such as Greece cracking down on short-term holiday rentals and Italy mulling a sharp rise in tourist tax.
-Constellation Energy is set to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to power Microsoft, as the tech giant seeks to meet its growing energy demand while reducing emissions. The 20-year power supply deal will see Constellation reopen Unit 1 of the facility, which was closed in 2019, marking the second such reopening in the US. The second unit, which was closed in 1979 due to a nuclear accident, will remain closed. The decision is seen as a symbol of the rebirth of nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy source.
-Boeing's defense business head, Ted Colbert, is leaving the company due to years of losses from fixed-price contracts and a space capsule debacle that left two astronauts in space. Colbert's departure marks the first change in the company's executive ranks since Ortberg took over the top job last month. Boeing's defence business reported losses in 2022, 2023, and the second quarter of 2024. The division has worked under fixed-price contracts for several large programs, which represent just 15% of revenues but have racked up nearly $14bn in charges over the past decade. The fixed-price programmes include the KC-46 refuelling tanker, T-7A Air Force training aircraft, MQ-25 refuelling drone, US president's Air Force One jet, and CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
-Kamala Harris's surprise endorsement from Taylor Swift, the world's biggest pop star, is expected to shift the dial in Harris's favor. Swift, who previously shied away from wading into politics, wrote on Instagram that she was voting for Harris "because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them". She signed her post "childless cat lady" — a thinly veiled reference to Trump's running mate JD Vance, who had lamented that the country was being run by "childless cat ladies". Swift included a link to the website of non-profit group Vote.org for her 272 million followers to register to vote. The endorsement is expected to move the dial in Harris's favor.
NEW YORK TIMES
-North Carolina Republicans are facing anxiety due to the expansive posts of the Republican candidate for governor, Mark Robinson. The state party, which has long been tactical and disciplined, is now facing damage to years of gains. The Republican wave that swept the South in the late 20th Century, which Lyndon Johnson predicted after signing the Civil Rights Act in 1964, came relatively late to North Carolina. However, when it finally hit in 2013, Republicans controlled both the legislature and the governor's mansion for the first time since Reconstruction. Led by a group of savvy, tactically skilled state lawmakers, North Carolina Republicans set out to undo decades of center-left policy enshrined by Democrats and remake the rules of the political game in their favor.
-Vice President Kamala Harris visited Wisconsin after giving a speech in Georgia, signaling her closing campaign message would focus on the life-or-death risks of abortion bans and the argument that former President Donald J. Trump is to blame. In Madison, Wisconsin, a crowd that had been ebullient suddenly grew hushed as Harris spoke about her visit with the family of a Georgia woman who died of sepsis after waiting for over 20 hours for medical care to treat an incomplete medication abortion. Harris promised her mother that she would say her name every time. The rally was her fourth visit to Wisconsin since becoming the Democratic nominee, but it was her first in Madison, the state's capital.
-Israeli fighter jets bombed an apartment building in Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, killing at least 14 and injuring more than 60. Lebanese officials said the attack killed at least 14 and injured more than 60. The Israeli military's chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the senior commander, Ibrahim Aqeel, had been killed, along with around 10 others from Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit, who were meeting underneath the residential building. Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militia backed by Iran, confirmed that Mr. Aqeel had been killed.
-Israel is increasing the intensity of its attacks on Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia, to force them to back down. This strategy is a significant escalation in the 11-month war between the two sides. For nearly a year, Israel and Hezbollah have fought a low-level conflict, mostly along the Israeli-Lebanese border, that has gradually gathered force without ever exploding into an all-out war. Now, Israel is attempting a riskier playbook by increasing the intensity of its attacks. Israel has sabotaged Hezbollah's communications devices, blowing up hundreds, if not thousands, of them in a widespread cyberattack. Its fighter jets have pounded southern Lebanon with rare intensity. On Friday afternoon, they struck Beirut, the Lebanese capital, for the first time since July, killing a senior Hezbollah military commander and collapsing two buildings.
-The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken legal action against three of the largest pharmacy benefit managers, CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx, alleging that they favored more expensive insulin products and forced patients to pay more. The three collectively control 80% of prescriptions in the United States. Pharmacy benefit managers (P.B.M.s) are responsible for negotiating prices with drug makers, paying pharmacies, and helping decide which drugs are available and at what cost to patients. The agency has filed an administrative complaint accusing P.B.M.s of distorting competition and harming consumers.
-Sri Lanka is set to hold its first presidential election since its strongman president fled the country two years ago due to protests over an economic collapse. The country has faced issues such as defaulting on foreign debt, shortages of imported fuel and food, and a dry foreign exchange reserves. The interim government has introduced austerity measures to stabilize the economy, a condition for receiving a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The central issue in the election is how Sri Lanka should correct the imbalances in an economy warped by too little taxation, too many subsidies, and excessive borrowing. Opponents are attempting to paint incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe as placing an unfair burden on the poor through increased taxation and letting off the hook the elites whose corruption and mismanagement wrecked the economy.
-A local Sheriff in eastern Kentucky has been charged with the murder of Judge Kevin Mullins, who was seen getting ready to go to lunch on the day of the shooting. Mullins was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Sheriff Shawn Stines, known as Mickey to the community, surrendered to the police and is now in a nearby county jail, facing a charge of first-degree murder. The violence has shaken the county, a tight-knit Appalachian community of about 21,000 people, which has been battered in recent years by the demise of the coal industry and a series of devastating floods in 2022. The violence has shaken the county, which has been battered in recent years by the demise of the coal industry and a series of devastating floods in 2022.
-A new study suggests that Earth might have had a ring 466 million years ago, as it was surrounded by a ring of debris from an asteroid. The study links an increase in impact craters during the Ordovician Period, an era before animals lived on land, to a ring made of asteroid debris that encircled our planet for millions of years. Previous research implicated a large asteroid that broke apart in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter and sent rocky shrapnel into the inner solar system, where it pelted our planet. Researchers led by Andy Tomkins, professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Monash University in Australia, envision an asteroid that passed within thousands of miles of Earth, close enough to be ripped apart by the planet's gravity. The debris from the breakup then coalesced in a ring around the Equator, a scenario that may be linked to dramatic changes in climate and biodiversity at the time.
-The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the at-home use of AstraZeneca's Nasal Flu Vaccine, allowing needle-shy individuals to have easy access to a potentially lifesaving nasal spray vaccine. The approval allows for an alternative to the annual flu shot that parents and caregivers can give to children and adults can use on their own outside of a health-care setting. The vaccine will still require a prescription and is expected to be available from an online pharmacy next fall. AstraZeneca will start a FluMist Home website, where people can fill out a questionnaire that will be reviewed by a pharmacist before the treatment is shipped to a person's home.
-A Secret Service internal review has found that the agency did not adequately prepare its local partners for a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump. The agency found that there were communication deficiencies between law enforcement personnel at the site, and line of sight issues were acknowledged but not properly mitigated. The mission assurance review identified deficiencies in advanced planning and implementation by Secret Service personnel, and the agency has among the most robust table of penalties in the federal government. The agency has been in this heightened and increasingly dynamic threat environment since July 13. The agency's acting director, Ronald L. Rowe Jr., cited several other failures, including complacency by some advance team members charged with securing the site and technological breakdowns that if better managed could have thwarted the gunman.
NEW YORK POST
-Legal experts suggest that the sex-trafficking case against Sean "Diddy" Combs could be stronger than the one against Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere, who is serving over a century behind bars. Combs' case could be more damning due to the "treasure trove" of evidence against him, including videos of alleged "freak offs" showing his drugged-out victims having sex with male prostitutes as part of days-long sessions. The recordings are frequently mentioned in federal court papers made public against Combs, making them a "treasure trove of evidence that is going to be used against him," said Anthony Capozzolo, a former federal prosecutor. Combs is represented by Marc Agnifilo, the same attorney who also represented Raniere in his case accusing him of luring young women to his upstate New York cult Nxivm to turn into sex slaves.
-TikTok has hired Carl Szabo, a longtime general counsel and policy expert at NetChoice, to join its government relations department as it prepares for a lengthy legal fight against a congressional ban on the app. The Chinese-owned video sharing platform is preparing for a Supreme Court battle following President Biden's bill requiring it to be sold to a US company within nine months. This move signals TikTok's anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision, given its poor showing in the DC Circuit.
-Qualcomm has made a takeover approach to chipmaker Intel, according to the Wall Street Journal. Intel's shares closed up 3.3%, while Qualcomm was down 2.9%. Intel has been attempting to turn its business around by focusing on its chip foundry unit and artificial intelligence processors. However, its shares have plummeted in recent months as it cut jobs, suspended its dividend, and faced a high-profile board member resignation. Qualcomm recently approached Intel about a takeover, but a deal was far from certain, as even if Intel is receptive to an offer from Qualcomm, a deal of that size would attract antitrust scrutiny. To get the deal done, Qualcomm could intend to sell assets or parts of Intel to other buyers.