As various events unfold globally, significant updates arise across multiple sectors—from environmental challenges to economic shifts and geopolitical tensions. Here’s a concise overview of the latest developments.
Winner of Florida python hunting contest nabs 96 snakes: ‘I was on a mission’ The Guardian
BMW Is Showing Commercials On Their Car’s Dash Screens And They Want You To Think It’s A Treat The Autopian
Weathering population decline with Smart Decline EurekAlert!
Kill the Ticks The Atlantic
Climate/Environment
How the EU adaptation framework vastly underplays the risk of a 3°C world New Climate Reality
A New Ocean Anomaly Joins Super El Niño, Reshaping the Winter 2026/2027 Forecast Severe Weather Europe
Extreme heat breaks temperature records in central and eastern Europe The Guardian
European wildfires cause up to $22B in total damage Anadolu Agency
Boiling Point: Toxic underground fires are spreading at California landfills Los Angeles Times
Spokane fires could be latest disaster to unsettle property insurance market Washington State Standard
More disasters are coming. How should cities respond? Progress and Poverty
Pandemics
Water
Where’s The Water? The Brockovich Report
The Koreas
Seoul seeks exemption from U.K. sanctions on Russian LNG: official Yonhap
Japan
Yen Surrenders Nearly Half Its Gains From US-Japan Intervention Bloomberg
Japan weighs use of Palantir, Anduril AI systems for defense forces Nikkei Asia
China?
This speech on the state of the Chinese economy by Li Daokui is a pretty accurate representation of how the actual economics profession *in China* views the current situation. In short, it’s not optimistic. In fact, there’s very little resemblance between their views and the… pic.twitter.com/j7wl7vtWNq
— Taisu Zhang (@ZhangTaisu) August 6, 2026
***
✨🇨🇳In China, many children start learning to fly drones at an early age.
It has become a popular after-school hobby among children and teenagers. pic.twitter.com/ozAQlGcRvQ
— 🇨🇳XuZhenqing徐祯卿 (@XueJia24682) August 5, 2026
Syraqistan
As the Board of Peace Cosplays Diplomacy, Israel Once Again Ramps Up Killing in Gaza Drop Site
Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace issues first building contract – for a military base The Guardian
Israel wipes genocide evidence in Gaza, carting off rubble and remains in 100 trucks daily Euro-Med
Eight Wounded Overnight as Israel Escalates Lebanon Airstrikes to Highest Rate Since June Antiwar
The Phantom Proxy: How the West Delegated the Dirty War in West Asia to Ukraine Vanessa Beeley
YAF preemptive op. surprises Saudis, thwarts ground offensive: Source Al Mayadeen
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey to sign defence pact to set up ‘Islamic Nato’ alliance First Post
Iran War Renews Concerns About the Lasting Toll of Traumatic Brain Injuries to US Troops AP
VA launches psilocybin trial for Veterans with treatment-resistant depression U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
European Disunion
US euro sale to prop up yen blindsided European Central Bank FT
EU authoritarianism on the rise in Hungary Thomas Fazi
Africa
Khartoum After the Storm Equator
Sovereign rot Africa Is A Country
Some Concerns about U.S. Policy towards West Africa after Trump Sawahil
Old Blighty
UK government rules out public inquiry into Epstein for now Reuters
Labour ministers’ criminal records to be kept SECRET from British public Europe Says
New Not-So-Cold War
The costs of total attrition Events in Ukraine. Desperation mounts:
Sadly, Ukraine may soon be forced to begin the mass slaughter of Russian civilians as last resort to stop the war.
Russia is now committing massacres several times every day, while Ukraine still refrains, despite having even MORE capability to do so. https://t.co/WGq70IYxrg
— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) August 6, 2026
NATO is being installed into Ukraine’s military RT
Russia assembles unprecedented Arctic oil convoy to bypass global shipping hotspots gCaptain
Ukraine’s ex-ambassador to Washington charged with illicit enrichment in widening corruption purge Intellinews
L’affaire Epstein
New Mexico AG sues Todd Blanche, U.S. DOJ for unredacted Epstein records Santa Fe New Mexican
CBP and Epstein Jenn Budd
Trump 2.0
COULD NEXT YEAR DELIVER A PRESIDENT VANCE? Seymour Hersh
Trump orders limits on birthright citizenship, targets ‘birth tourism’ The Hill
Elon Musk’s DOGE made big errors in claims of government savings, GAO finds WaPo
Trump comes up short with Ogles in Tennessee: 3 takeaways from Thursday’s primaries The Hill
Democrats Suck
1. After Abdul El-Sayed’s win in Michigan, a DC-based advocacy group Third Way will now spend $15 million to attack ‘the left.’ They frame themselves as moderate Democrats. Why aren’t they that spending money attacking the GOP?
The answer requires explaining who they are. pic.twitter.com/Zgy6yLaDwi
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) August 7, 2026
Jeffries-skeptic Democrats face Black Caucus hostility Axios
Progressive William Lawrence, after winning Michigan’s 7th District Democratic primary, pledged to vote for Hakeem Jeffries as House speaker, reversing a position he held earlier during his campaign.
In October, Lawrence was among a group of progressive candidates refusing to… pic.twitter.com/CIqWBBXzQ8
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 6, 2026
“You’re not going up there to make friends with House leadership, you’re going up there to represent your constituents…I’ve been very clear since last fall that I was running in opposition to Hakeem Jeffries as House leader.” –@OliverALarkin https://t.co/NB9GiIL9zi
— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) August 6, 2026
“Real Talk” from Kamala Harris on the Voting Rights Act Says the Quiet Part Out Loud Black Agenda Report
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Cities Are Ditching Flock, Immediately Replacing It With Axon License Plate Readers 404 Media
Healthcare?
Hospitals feel the pinch as more patients lose insurance Healthcare Dive
Economy
Nutrien, Mosaic Squeezed as Farmers Cut Fertilizer Use After Prices Surge Reuters
Boeing
FAA orders inspection of hundreds of 737 Max jets for cracks CNN
Supply Chain
How the US-Iran war has redrawn Asia’s energy map Nikkei Asia
DR Congo bans copper and cobalt concentrate exports Al Mayadeen
Horse, Anyone? Binoy Kampmark
Shoppers are buying less meat, data shows Food Dive
Imperial Collapse Watch
The New Big Three Landmarks: A Journal of International Dialogue
Messy versus Tidy Dublin Review of Books
Reader Distress from Global Conflict Limits to Progress
The Accelerationists
The Argentine ranch where tech CEOs plan to ride out the apocalypse FT
AI
This A.I. Just Created Viruses Not Found in Nature New York Times
Jane Street in talks to shift its $11bn in debt to investors including Pimco FT
Time Magazine has a separate version of its website with ads only AI can see The Register
Class Warfare
US workers’ share of GDP skids to fresh record low Reuters
The Dog Days of Summer and the Workers Who Can’t Escape Them Confined Space
Anti Communism Is Class Warfare Decline and Fall
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus:
Stray dog greeting devotees outside the temple pic.twitter.com/OMSC3pMiA7
— B&S (@_B___S) August 5, 2026
For previous updates, see yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
