KUSI News, by Farnoush Amiri, Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, and Konstantin Toropin: The stop-start fighting between the United States and Iran appears to have entered a new phase as Saudi Arabia has publicly joined military escalations against Tehran-backed proxies. At the same time, an already untenable diplomatic effort to end the war has faltered once again as mistrust deepens between the longtime adversaries.

Despite several days of relative calm, both sides carried out military strikes in the last 24 hours that once again risk a return to all-out war — and further expansion in the region — while little is clear about what strategy, if any, American or Iranian officials have for a path forward.

While President Donald Trump and his allies have spent recent days arguing that Iran is begging to return to the negotiating table, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Tuesday that his country has made no requests to restart the diplomatic track in more than two weeks.

Following a thwarted attack on the U.S. base in Jordan, Trump turned back to threats Wednesday even while sustaining the prospect of continued talks.

“They’ve already apologized, but, you know, we got to smack them a little bit,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. He added: “It’s our turn, and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point. But we’re going to hit them very hard.”

Hours later, the strikes followed as the U.S. military said it launched a “a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East” in a social media post. It did not immediately disclose the targets of the attack.

There’s a sense of déjà vu as the Republican president has vacillated for the past several months between insisting a deal was near to end the war and Tehran’s nuclear program and then using vulgarities and threats to get Iran to capitulate to U.S. demands — to no avail.

The stakes for continued U.S. military action have never been higher for Trump and his party as the conflict, unpopular among many Americans, has jolted the world economy just months before critical midterm elections in November. The renewed fighting also has killed and injured more American troops and been complicated by concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down stockpiles of key air defense systems needed to defend its bases and allies.

In the past day, Iran said it fired ballistic missiles at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key U.S. military hub for the region, which Trump said were intercepted. And Saudi Arabia joined the U.S. in striking multiple logistics and weapons sites used by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

The first publicly announced joint U.S.-Saudi strikes followed drone attacks on the kingdom, complicating a conflict that now includes nearly every country in the region. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations, said the two attacks were not connected.

Saudi defense minister makes White House visit

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met separately Wednesday with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly about the private meeting.

The defense minister conveyed the view of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, that Iran has lost leverage in Syria and Lebanon but is still managing to provide support to the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq, according to one of the people familiar with Prince Khalid’s talks with Trump and Vance.

The Iran-aligned Houthi group earlier this week said it fired ballistic missiles at a Saudi oil tanker, days after declaring it was imposing a naval blockade on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

The Saudi decision to join the U.S. attacks against the Iraqi militias was meant to send a message to Iran that it wouldn’t tolerate Iran or its proxies targeting the Saudi oil industry and other critical infrastructure, the person added.

At the same time, the defense minister underscored to Trump and Vance that the Saudis want to see a de-escalation in the war and want Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations.

Drone strikes also ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at a port in Egypt, a close U.S. ally and regional mediator that is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have been spared from direct military action during the war. A strike by Iran or its allies, if confirmed, would mark a significant widening of the conflict.

The U.S.-Saudi strikes came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed his first meeting with Trump since they launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28.

An Israeli official briefed on the meeting Tuesday at the White House said Netanyahu assured Trump that it is the U.S., not Israel, that is in the driver’s seat with Iran, attempting to push back on the notion that he’s increasingly out of step with his closest ally on the way ahead.

Yet, Israeli officials also have privately expressed concern that Trump, with midterm elections looming, is trying to “keep this war on a low flame,” according to a person familiar with Netanyahu’s government’s internal deliberations. The person and the Israeli official were not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The person added that Israeli officials have become increasingly concerned about Trump’s sensitivity to surging oil prices as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to global energy shipments and about the growing trepidation among some in the U.S. administration about the burn rate of critical missile interceptors.

The recent fighting with Iran used up more of the U.S. military’s already diminished stockpiles of Patriot and THAAD interceptors, potentially putting American troops at more risk if hostilities resume, according to an analysis released this week from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told Trump that the state of the munitions stockpile could have an impact on military operations in Iran, according to another U.S. official. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations, said the message was delivered as part of Caine’s regular duties of providing military advice and options to Trump.

A history of failed diplomacy plagues US-Iran prospects

The Trump administration does not seem to have a strategy to resume negotiations with Iran over ending the conflict.

Despite efforts by some mediators to get talks restarted — or at least find a point at which they could begin again — the administration is not actively pursuing talks at the moment, a senior U.S. official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the latest developments in the region suggested that any resumption in direct diplomacy was not imminent.

Analysts called the uncertainty and lack of strategy a result of deep, growing mistrust between Washington and Tehran, especially after an interim ceasefire proposal signed in mid-June collapsed in recent weeks.

Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, said senior Iranian officials were nearly unanimous in their decision to approve that memorandum of understanding with the U.S.

“But now none of them believe that Trump is a reliable negotiating partner,” he said. “The problem, I think, is that Trump also has now the same impression about the Iranians.”

In some respects, the on-again, off-again nature of talks and back-and-forth military attacks should not be surprising.

The history of U.S. negotiations with Iran after 1979 is littered with failure, false starts and stops, and military actions that have nonetheless stopped short of the kind of conflict the two countries are now in.

Despite its flaws, the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran secured by the Obama administration was the first major agreement between the two countries since the Algiers Accords in 1981 that ended the American hostage crisis and laid a patchwork path for the resolution of other issues, including the unfreezing of Shah-era Iranian assets seized by the U.S. after the Islamic Revolution.

However, even from the beginning, both sides accused each other of violating the terms of these deals.

Accusations of violations of the Algiers Accords, which led to a period of great animosity, including U.S. support for Saddam Hussein’s Iraq during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, became the norm.

Despite the semi-rapprochement around the 2015 nuclear deal, Trump’s withdrawal from it in 2018 during his first term, his imposition of a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Tehran, and the U.S. assassination of Iran’s top military leader Qassem Soleimani in early 2020, sent the relationship to new lows.

Prophetic Link:
“The judgments of God are in the land. The wars and rumors of wars, the destruction by fire and flood, say clearly that the time of trouble, which is to increase until the end, is very near at hand. We have no time to lose. The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecies of the eleventh of Daniel have almost reached their final fulfillment….” Maranatha, 25.5

Source References

• US-Iran conflict enters new phase as Saudi Arabia helps hit proxies and diplomacy stalls again

USA Today, by Doyle Rice: A new study appearing in the peer-reviewed science journal PLOS Water on June 24 suggests that cloud seeding could eventually allow humans to disrupt or steer natural disasters, like hurricanes.

If that sounds like far-fetched science fiction, some scientists would agree with you. But study authors say current strategies to help tame weather disasters may not be suitable.

“The growing impact of weather extremes on society highlights that traditional approaches such as dams, levees, and insurance alone may not be sufficient to address the widespread consequences of these hazards,” the authors say.

Their proposed solution: Use existing technology (often used to extract rain from clouds), and supercharge it with high-tech data and analysis. Done correctly, humans might be able to disrupt huge weather systems and protect densely populated areas.

In the study, scientists suggested that small, carefully-timed cloud seeding operations applied days before the peak of an extreme weather event could have shifted the track of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 by about 300 miles to miss New York City, raised the low temperature of the 2021 Texas freeze by about 18 degrees Fahrenheit and reduced the amount of precipitation carried by a 2022 atmospheric river that caused flooding in California by about 5%.

Critics say it’s a far-fetched idea with little proof.

Katja Friedrich, an assistant professor in the department of atmospheric and oceanic science at the University of Colorado, told USA TODAY via email that “there is currently NO scientific evidence” supporting the idea that existing cloud-seeding technologies “can modify large-scale weather systems, in particular severe weather systems like hurricanes and thunderstorms, that are driven by large dynamic forcing.”

Weather ‘jiu-jitsu’

Study authors say they’re hopeful the research will yield results. They offer the martial art of jiu-jitsu as an analogy.

“The basic principle of jiu-jitsu is to achieve maximum efficiency with minimal effort,” said study coauthor Upmanu Lall of Arizona State University, in an email to USA TODAY. “It relies on the core philosophy that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend themselves against a larger, stronger attacker using leverage, proper weight distribution, and momentum rather than brute strength.”

Authors think humans might just be able to leverage a few tools at our disposal to change the course of huge weather events.

Controversial cloud seeding at the center of study’s proposal

Cloud seeding is a decades-old approach to modifying weather that uses a range of supporting technologies for research and operations, according to the Government Accountability Office, or GAO.

Nine U.S. states are using it, while 10 have banned or have considered banning cloud seeding or weather modification in general, the GAO said. This includes Florida, which banned it in 2025.

The most common uses of cloud seeding are to increase precipitation or suppress hail, usually by adding tiny particles of silver iodide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Cloud seeding alone isn’t enough

For the study’s theory to work, it would take a high density of observations, available in near real time, artificial intelligence models that can rapidly process them to identify locations that are suitable for nudging, and a delivery mechanism for a nudge, Lall said.

And researchers aren’t even sure cloud seeding is the right technology to physically nudge weather systems.

“We are still working on the best technology for delivering the nudge,” Lall said. “A very large-scale cloud seeding effort at the right time and place is a possible mechanism, but not necessarily the definitive one.”

Previous research on the topic has proven tricky. Researchers tried something similar decades ago with cloud seeding to weaken hurricanes and found it hard to measure the effect of their experiments.

They found it “is very difficult to separate the effects of human intervention from the natural variability of hurricanes,” said Kara Lamb, an associate research scientist at Columbia University, in an email to USA TODAY.

Study authors, however, hope modern technology and AI computing will make future efforts more successful.

Controversy upon controversy

In a best-case scenario, the notion of steering a natural disaster is an ethical dilemma.

Saving New York City from a direct hit could, theoretically, put people in New England in harm’s way. Is that ethical?

Authors say that’s a question for others in the future.

“We are focused for now on developing the science and engineering capacity, and are cognizant of the ethical and control issues, but not focused on them at this point,” Lall said.

Critics say that hurdle is gigantic.

Storms involve complex flows originating over a wide region and evolving in complicated ways. “And even if humans could move storms, the political, international and legal fallout would be so great that it would never happen,” said Robert Rauber, a director emeritus in the Department of Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois, via email.

Previous cloud-seeding controversies

Cloud seeding is now at the center of the rise in weather‑control conspiracy narratives after disasters, such as the tragic Texas floods of 2025 that killed dozens of people, many of them children. After the floods, viral claims alleged a nearby cloud‑seeding operation caused the disaster, according to CBS News. Meteorologists said there was “zero evidence” of that claim, and that seeding can only modestly enhance rainfall – not create catastrophic floods.

Internationally, after record rainfall and flooding in the United Arab Emirates in April 2024, social media widely blamed cloud seeding, according to AFP. However, scientists and officials said no seeding occurred during the storm, and pointed instead to natural weather systems and climate change.

Our Comments:
Attempts at weather manipulation was a feature of the builders of the Tower of Babel.

Prophetic Link:
“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

Source References

• Scientists mull controversial plan to steer hurricanes

USA Today, by Christopher Cann, Natalie Neysa Alund, and Michael Loria: Authorities on July 27 continued to search for a third suspect in the shooting at a Seattle food festival, after detaining a 15-year-old boy who police said opened fire in the incident that left two people and another alleged gunman dead.

The gunfire erupted the evening of July 26, the final night of the Bite of Seattle food festival at the Seattle Center, an outdoor park home to the Space Needle. The shots sent the large crowd of families and vendors into a frenzy as people ran for cover.

In total, seven people were struck by gunfire and possibly an eighth person was hit as a barrage of bullets flew, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said during a July 27 late morning press conference.

According to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, the two people killed in the incident were Ashley Whitehead, 56, and Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44. Officials believe Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19, who was also killed in the shooting, was an associate of the suspect in custody.

Villalba died at the scene of the shooting, and Whitehead died after being transported to a hospital. The wounded included a 2-year-old boy, who authorities said was listed in “satisfactory condition.”

Seattle authorities now believe three people fired in the shooting, according to court documents reviewed by the New York Times and Associated Press. The three suspects include: the 15-year-old boy taken into custody, Semo and an additional “unknown suspect.”

The medical examiner’s office reported Whitehead died of a gunshot wound to the pelvis and Villalba of a gunshot wound to the torso. Semo died of multiple gunshot wounds, the office said.

As of July 27, medical staff had discharged three adults taken to hospitals, said Susan Gregg, a spokesperson for the University of Washington School of Medicine, including a 23-year-old man and 39-year-old woman from Harborview Medical Center. At UW Medical Center-Montlake, medical staff discharged a 27-year-old man.

A 40-year-old woman with minor injuries was treated at the scene, but she wasn’t transported to a hospital.

Police say the shooting was likely ‘gang related’

Seattle Police Assistant Chief of Investigation Nicole Powell said in an update on the evening of July 27 that police believe the shooting was “gang related.”

“There were two groups firing in the area,” Powell told reporters.

She noted the information released is preliminary, and the investigation of the shooting continues.

What do we know about the Seattle shooting suspects?

Wilson said that Seattle police had detained the 15-year-old boy in connection to the shooting on firearm and assault charges after the teenager allegedly fired into the crowd outside the Seattle Center Armory. The teen appeared in court the afternoon of July 27 for his first appearance. Police said he surrendered himself to authorities.

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes, who also addressed reporters, urged people who witnessed the shooting to contact police.

“We need to figure out who that other person is,” Barnes said.

Authorities confirmed they recovered two firearms from the scene and said they believed the incident stemmed from a shoot-out.

So far, Wilson said no homicide charges had been filed in the case. The mayor said investigators were in the process of reviewing video surveillance from the area.

‘Worst moment of their lives’

Wilson described the shootings as “an act of horrific violence” that shook the region.

“Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives, and an entire community is trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire,” she said.

Founded in 1982, Bite of Seattle has been a summer tradition in the Northwest for over 40 years and features more than 130 food and beverage vendors, along with live cooking demos, live music and other activities.

Prophetic Link:
“Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord’s appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.” Desire of Ages 636.1

Source References

• 15-year-old boy arrested, other suspect sought in Seattle shooting that left 2 dead

CBS News, by Riley Moser: The Trump administration says it is investigating the Minnesota Department of Education over allegations about the use of “transgender dolls” in schools, which the state disputes.

The U.S. Department of Education launched the investigation to ensure compliance with the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, which requires parental consent for the collection of certain sensitive information, including sexual behavior or attitudes.

The Department of Education says it received complaints from Minnesota parents claiming they were not notified or allowed to opt their children out of an activity using “transgender dolls” in the classroom.

The Trump administration says MyGender Dolls will be available for educators in Minnesota classrooms with students as young as 4 years old. 

MyGender Dolls are a “therapeutic play approach designed for gender diverse children ages 4-10,”  and provide “developmentally appropriate, evidence-informed resources,” according to the company’s website.

In response to the investigation, the Minnesota Department of Education said it “has no involvement” with the program and that it is a University of Minnesota study.

The University of Minnesota said in a statement that it is “firmly committed to supporting the innovative research of our faculty and students.”

University officials also disputed the Trump administration’s claims that the dolls were developed using taxpayer funds, saying MyGender Dolls “participated in privately funded review competitions and received no state or federal dollars to support the development of the dolls or commercialization efforts.” 

Tim Walz’s office says the governor has no connection to the program and it is not being implemented in Minnesota schools under his administration.

“This entire story has been manufactured by right wing media to distract from President Trump’s flailing economy and never ending war,” a spokesperson for Walz’s office said.

The complaint about the dolls was submitted by Defending Education, a national organization “working to restore schools at all levels from activists imposing harmful agendas,” according to its website.

Prophetic Link:
“Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” Luke 17:28, 30

Source References

• Trump administration probes Minnesota over “transgender dolls” in schools

WFTU, Thousands of commerce workers across Greece sent a strong and militant strike message on Sunday, 19 July 2026, demanding the protection of Sunday as a day of rest and the signing of a sectoral Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The nationwide strike, called by the Federation of Private Employees of Greece, was marked by strike rallies, demonstrations, and interventions outside shops, supermarkets, and shopping centres.

Mobilisations took place in 18 cities throughout the country, from Athens and Thessaloniki to Crete, Epirus, Thessaly, Central Greece, Evros and the Greek islands. Commerce workers made it clear that they will not accept the transformation of Sunday into yet another working day.

Dozens of sectoral trade unions participated in the strike, alongside workplace unions representing employees at major companies, including IKEA and Lidl amongst others.

With banners, slogans, and organised strike action, workers highlighted the harsh conditions prevailing throughout the sector, wages that have remained frozen while the cost of living continues to rise, work intensification, widespread part-time employment, split shifts, constantly changing schedules, and Sunday work that deprives thousands of workers of their free time, family life, and the ability to plan their lives.

“We are workers, not machines. Sundays belong to workers and their families, not to the large retail corporations,” was the message heard loudly during the strike mobilisations.

These conditions are not accidental. They are the result of policies consistently implemented by successive liberal and social-democratic governments, which have dismantled workingtime protections, expanded flexible employment, facilitated Sunday trading, and kept wages at extremely low levels.

Despite their differences in name and political rhetoric, these governments have followed the same strategic direction, serving the profitability and competitiveness of major business groups and multinational corporations. European Union policies have promoted the liberalisation of working hours, labourmarket flexibility, and the weakening of collective bargaining rights.

Commerce workers are being asked to work longer, harder, and under increasingly unstable conditions so that multinational retail chains, supermarket groups, and large employers can increase their profits.

The strike placed at the centre of the struggle the demand for a sectoral Collective Bargaining Agreement providing substantial wage increases, the legal protection of Sunday as a day of rest, stable daily and weekly working hours, the abolition of split shifts, and effective health and safety measures in every workplace. Workers and trade unions sent a mass and determined message that the strike of 19 July was not an isolated mobilisation, but an important step in the continuation and escalation of the struggle. The effort will continue inside shops, supermarkets, shopping centres and warehouses, with the aim of organising more workers in the unions, strengthening collective action and developing new militant initiatives against employers and government policies.

The next major point of mobilisation will be the nationwide mass rally on 5 September in Thessaloniki, during the Thessaloniki International Fair. Commerce workers will join their voices with workers from other sectors, the self-employed, farmers, pensioners, and young people.

No sacrifice for the profits and wars of the EU – NATO – US!

Money for wages, healthcare, and education!

Prophetic Link:
“It is God’s great plan that the Sunday question shall be agitated and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment be exalted as the Lord’s memorial sign of the creation of the world, and that a knowledge of truth upon the Sabbath question shall be brought before many minds as a witness. This brings the first-day sabbath question and its weak foundation before the world.” Letters and Manuscripts, Volume 8, Manuscript 59, 1893, par. 11

Source References

• Militant Nationwide Strike by Commerce Workers in Greece on July 19th for the Right to Sunday Rest and a Sectoral Collective Agreement

USA Today, by Mary Walrath-Holdridge: Cases of cyclosporiasis, a stomach-churning parasitic infection known for causing explosive diarrhea, have now reached 45 states as infections climb well into the thousands.

There have been 6,707 laboratory-confirmed cases of the illness since May 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its weekly update on July 28, a more than 2,500 increase since its last report on July 21. Cases have also now been recorded in 45 states, up from 41 last week. More than 11,500 additional cases, primarily in Michigan and Ohio, have not yet been confirmed by laboratories, the CDC said.

There have been 423 hospitalizations and no deaths, per the agency.

Federal health authorities are still investigating the sources of what they believe to be multiple separate outbreaks, the largest of which is centered in Michigan. The state reported more than 10,000 cases of cyclosporiasis on July 29 – numbers which differ from the CDC because they have not yet been officially confirmed and reported back to the federal agency for counting.

This largest outbreak has been linked to iceberg lettuce grown by produce giant Taylor Farms in central Mexico, prompting the company to initiate a recall on July 17.

“Cyclosporiasis cases may not be limited to these states with known cases,” according to the CDC update. “The true number of people sick with cyclosporiasis was likely higher than the number reported. This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Cyclospora.”

Only Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Mexico and South Carolina have been spared thus far from the outbreaks. Michigan and Ohio remain the two states most impacted, and Washington, DC, has also reported a handful of cases.

The CDC only reports lab-confirmed cases that occurred on or after May 1 in people who did not travel internationally within 14 days of illness onset. Its numbers often lag behind those cited by state health officials because of tracking, verification and reporting processes. There’s typically a six-week reporting lag between an illness and the case being reported to the CDC.

What is cyclosporiasis? What are the symptoms?

Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic infection that causes unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms often associated with food poisoning, such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. It is caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, also known simply as cyclospora, and is usually contracted through contaminated food or water.

While unpleasant, it is not generally known to cause death, and many cases go unreported, as people recover at home without visiting a doctor. It can cause more serious complications in people with compromised immune systems or other underlying health issues.

The most common symptom is watery, frequent and sometimes “explosive” diarrhea, according to the CDC and Cleveland Clinic, though other troubles can include:

– Vomiting.
– Loss of appetite.
– Bloating, including burping and gas, or stomach cramps.
– Extreme tiredness (fatigue).
– Fever.
– Nausea.

Largest outbreak linked to lettuce hits 9 states as Michigan reports 10,000 cases

The Michigan-centered outbreak linked by the Food and Drug Administration to recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms has been identified as the largest nationwide, with the state reporting 10,077 cases as of July 29.

Illnesses from the lettuce outbreak have been confirmed in nine states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, according to the CDC.

These states were identified after health officials tested sick people and traced the “DNA,” so to speak, of the infections to determine if they were related. Those that are related are considered part of the same outbreak, likely stemming from the same source. Thus far, these nine states are the only ones the CDC has been able to confirm as related to each other and trace back to the lettuce.

The source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak is more difficult to track than foodborne illnesses because of a long incubation period, difficulty obtaining samples and the inability to use the same genetic tracking tools available for pathogens like E. coli and listeria, as previously reported by USA TODAY.

Health authorities tracking several potential outbreaks

Several other, separate case clusters have been identified by the CDC and FDA, with no common cause yet named. And while Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a July 21 news briefing that the outbreak was “under control,” critics have pointed toward cuts to relevant health agencies, with some saying that scaled-back surveillance and limited staffing enabled not only the cyclospora spread, but other recent outbreaks like screwworm.

Last year, the CDC scaled back a decades-long federal-state partnership that monitors foodborne illnesses, including those caused by cyclospora.

Mexican health authorities, meanwhile, have also said there has not yet been ample evidence to support the FDA’s assertion that the outbreak originated over the border, as reported by USA TODAY.

Prophetic Link:
“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “The haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5.” Great Controversy, 589

Source References

• Explosive diarrhea parasite cases rise by thousands, now in 45 states

Axios, by Barak Ravid: Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles toward a U.S. military base in Jordan on Tuesday in what U.S. Central Command described as an “attempted surprise attack.”

– All of the missiles were intercepted, CENTCOM said in a statement.

Why it matters: This marks Iran’s first ballistic missile attack against a U.S. base in the region since President Trump paused strikes against Iran on Friday to give diplomacy another chance.

– The attack threatens to unravel the fragile pause and could force Trump to decide whether to resume military action.

What they’re saying: Trump told Axios on Monday that the U.S. was in “very deep talks” with Iran but warned that he would return to “very strong military action” if diplomacy failed.

– “Not much time,” Trump said when asked how long he was willing to give the negotiations. “Either it goes fast or not at all.”

State of play: CENTCOM said forces from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched the missiles at 5:45pm ET.

– “U.S. forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness,” the command said.

The latest: CENTCOM said Tuesday evening that U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple logistics and weapons sites in eastern Iraq in response to what it described as more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks over the previous 72 hours.

– Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry later confirmed it participated in the strikes, saying they were coordinated with CENTCOM.

– CENTCOM said the attacks on U.S. forces were unsuccessful.

– There were more than 600 attempted attacks on U.S. citizens and facilities in Iraq by Iran-aligned militias between February and April, according to CENTCOM.

– “The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response,” CENTCOM added.

The big picture: Earlier this month, Iran targeted a U.S. airbase in Jordan, killing two U.S. service members in a missile and drone barrage, prompting Trump to intensify what became a 13-night campaign of strikes.

– Tuesday’s ballistic missile attack by Iran came hours after Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for talks focused heavily on Iran. The White House described the meeting as “positive and productive.”

Prophetic Link:

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:6, 7

Source References

• Iran launches missiles at U.S. base for first time since Trump paused strikes

CNN: Here’s the latest –

• Death toll rises: At least 13 people have been confirmed dead after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday.

• Mall collapse: CNN is outside a shopping mall where many people are trapped after the building partially collapsed and then likely suffered a gas explosion.

• Rescue mission: Takaichi says “every second counts” as thousands of military personnel mobilize to reach those who are trapped.

• Struck before: Several people are also unaccounted for at a paper factory. Bridges have buckled, and a historic castle has once again been damaged in a region still reeling from a larger 2016 quake.

Prophetic Link:
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:7

Source References

• ‘Every second counts’ as rescuers scramble to reach people trapped by deadly quake, Japan’s leader warns

BBC, Dearbail Jordan Sofia Ferreira Santos:Firefighters are struggling to contain wildfires in south-west France as strong winds push flames towards the city of Bordeaux, with one official saying they “are far from having the fire under control.”

More than 300,000 people in France and Spain have fled fires which have been raging for days, as winds and high temperatures hamper efforts to contain them.

In Spain, where a state of emergency has been declared, a change in weather conditions has helped firefighters outside Madrid.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez admitted there were “complex times ahead”. Meanwhile, authorities in València confirmed the death of a man in a fire.

The man, believed to be in his 70s, was found dead in his car by firefighters as they extinguished a fire in the Salt de l’Aigua ravine in Manises, according to local media reports.

In France, a further 55,000 were ordered to evacuate late on Saturday, taking the total to around 250,000 people in south-western regions of Gironde and Landes regions.

Firefighter Captain Nicolas Braz told AFP news agency that the fire had created “its own winds – complete with whirlwinds”, adding it was “erratic and unmanageable”.

It is set to be another “difficult night,” he said.

France has mobilised its military to help with the response and extra reinforcements from the army have been sent to help firefighters by clearing brush and creating fire breaks.

President Emmanuel Macron said France would “rebuild” and his government would “be there for as long as is needed”.

The wind blew smoke towards the city of Bordeaux on Saturday and people reported an acrid smell in the air.

One tourist who fled an approaching wildfire near Bordeaux with his family described the scale of the blaze as “frightening”.

Spencer Randall told the BBC his family evacuated in the early hours of Saturday to an area 100 miles east, but they can “still smell the wildfires from here”.

“It’s quite strong winds fanning the flames, just terrifying,” he said.

A British couple holidaying in Bordeaux said they noticed the flames get worse on Friday night, as the fire approached.

“At about seven o’clock you could smell smoke. We thought someone was having a barbecue,” Maisie told BBC Newsbeat from their holiday rental.

Her partner, Caleb, said the ash has now covered the pool in the house and turned their feet black when walking outside.

The smoke “really hits your lungs right away”, they added.

Nearby, in Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, residents evacuating said the situation was “stressful”, with one local describing it a “disaster”.

The final leg of the Tour de France, due to take place Sunday, has been shortened from 133km (83 miles) to 89km (55 miles) so that security forces can be redeployed to areas affected by wildfires, organisers and police have said.

Macron is set to have an emergency meeting with ministers as 30 or so fires rage across the country – a situation which the government said is totally unprecedented.

In Spain, fires continued near Madrid.

“Today we are rather more pessimistic than we were yesterday,” Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters. “The weather conditions have not helped at all.”

Describing the situation as “complex”, he said wind gusts were expected to push the fire south.

“The night is not going to be very positive or very friendly to us,” he warned.

Since the wildfires broke out in Spain, nearly 60,000 people had already been evacuated from the Madrid and Ávila regions, while more than 28,000 remain confined to their homes, according to Spain’s interior ministry.

Late on Saturday, at least eight municipalities near Toledo were also ordered to evacuate, though it was unclear how many people that involved.

Madrid’s regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the situation as the “worst fire in the history of the region”.

Sánchez said 130,000 hectares of land had been burned in Spain so far this year, ahead of an annual average of 100,000 hectares for the country over the last decade.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 98,000 hectares have burned across the country since the beginning of 2026.

Meanwhile in Italy, more than 350 fires – including 10 major blazes – broke out on the island of Sicily, the head of the Sicilian Civil Protection said on Wednesday, prompting evacuations.

A major incident was also declared by emergency services in Scotland on Friday evening as they continue to tackle a wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park that has been burning for 10 days.

Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner for crisis management, said it is likely that the damage from wildfires in Europe will surpass previous records.

She said fires had started earlier in the year when, in April, the Netherlands activated the EU’s civil protection mechanism which triggers support and reinforcements from other countries.

Lahbib told the BBC: “Last year, one million hectares burned during the summer and so we are expecting to face another historical, sad record because the season has started earlier in the year.”

She also warned that more outbreaks are likely as the summer goes on.

“Forecasters are predicting, unfortunately, another heatwave so we can expect other wildfires,” Lahbib added.

France has activated the civil protection mechanism and will receive water bombers, comprising three Canadairs planes from Croatia and two Air Tractors from Portugal, as well as Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and 40 members of a Romanian forest fire team.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said 11 planes and helicopters have also been sent to France and Spain from the EU’s firefighting fleet.

Prophetic Link:
“What have we to bestow that we have not first received of God? Every gift, every talent, every ray of light, is ours as a sacred trust, bestowed upon us that we may win souls to Christ. If Christ shines in us, he will shine out of us to those who need the light. We have no time to lose. We can read the signs of the times in casualties, in disasters, by sea and by land. The floods, the storms, the fires, the unsettled condition of affairs throughout our world,—all testify that the day of God is at hand.” Review and Herald, February 27, 1894, par. 5

Source References

• More than 300,000 flee wildfires in France and Spain

Aljazeera: At least 25 people have been killed as floods and landslides have hit across north and northeastern India, local officials reported.

Several incidents were reported over the weekend in Indian-administered Kashmir and the northeastern state of Nagaland, following days of torrential monsoon rain, officials said on Monday.

In Kashmir, rain-related incidents in the Poonch, Rajouri and Doda districts killed at least 15 people, with several others reported missing, a senior police official said. In Nagaland, multiple landslides triggered by persistent rains killed nine people.

“We have recovered four of the eight bodies, and rescue work is ongoing,” Wennyei Konyak, the magistrate of Nagaland’s Mon district, told the AFP news agency, adding that at least 15 others had been injured.

In Jammu, a flash flood in Rajouri caused extensive damage to public and private property and disrupted countless lives, according to a statement from the office of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Army personnel and state emergency responders rescued 11 people, including five children.

In the neighbouring state of Assam, one person died in flooding on Sunday, according to the state disaster management body, which said more than 57,000 people across seven districts had been affected.

India’s weather office warned of the potential for more extremely heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir over the coming days, with active monsoon conditions likely to persist across the region for up to a week.

Authorities also announced the temporary suspension of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which drew more than 400,000 Hindus last year, and the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage in Jammu, citing the safety of devotees until routes are declared safe.

Floods and related accidents are an annual occurrence across India during the monsoon months, which follow the region’s long summers, with many parts of the country also facing severe water scarcity and drought.

Prophetic Link:
“Already the judgments of God are abroad in the land, as seen in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in peril by land and by sea. The great I AM is speaking to those who make void His law. When God’s wrath is poured out upon the earth, who will then be able to stand? Now is the time for God’s people to show themselves true to principle. When the religion of Christ is most held in contempt, when His law is most despised, then should our zeal be the warmest and our courage and firmness the most unflinching. To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test. At this time we must gather warmth from the coldness of others, courage from their cowardice, and loyalty from their treason. The nation will be on the side of the great rebel leader.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, page 136.2

Source References

• At least 25 killed as floods and landslides hit northern India

Aljazeera: Prosecutors in the United Kingdom have charged a 28-year-old man with the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former government minister and member of the far-right Reform UK party.

Joshua Kerry was charged on Monday and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home near Dartmoor National Park in southwest England on July 9, a day after she missed a television interview. Police said she had been deliberately targeted but did not disclose how she died, citing only “serious injuries”.

Kerry, who is from Rotherham in northern England, was arrested on July 11. He was initially held on suspicion of murder until evidence uncovered while he was in custody led to his additional arrest on “terror” charges.

National Counterterrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said that the exact motive was still being established.

“Given [Widdecombe’s] profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation,” Taylor said.

Widdecombe served as a Conservative member of parliament from 1987 until 2010 and was known for her right-wing political stances.

She later joined the Brexit Party, winning a seat in the European Parliament, and moved to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party after the UK left the European Union.

The incident adds to mounting concerns over political violence in the UK. The past decade has seen the murders of two sitting members of parliament. Labour’s Jo Cox, shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right nationalist, and Conservative David Amess, stabbed to death in 2021 by a man inspired by ISIL (ISIS).

Prophetic Link:
“Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord’s appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.” Desire of Ages, 636.1

Source References

• Suspect charged in fatal attack on UK politician Ann Widdecombe

PC MAG, by Kim Key: Did you know that all those cameras you see on street corners in your neighborhood aren’t owned (and in some cases, aren’t monitored) by your local government or police department? Instead, the cameras are leased from and operated by Flock Safety, a private company. People in communities around the country are calling for the cameras to come down, so I asked Benn Jordan, a YouTuber who recently worked with security researchers and journalists at 404 Media to uncover vulnerabilities in those camera systems, about what the company and its cameras really do.

How Flock Put Cameras on Thousands of Street Corners

The best-known of the current crop of public safety cameras is from Flock Safety, a company that creates and sells access to highly connected video hardware and software. You might remember hearing about the company following online backlash after Ring’s Super Bowl ad for Search Party. While Flock wasn’t actually involved with Search Party, the company planned to support Ring Community Requests, which allow law enforcement and other public agencies to access video recordings from Ring’s network of outdoor cameras if their owners allow it. The partnership was canceled in February, but Flock found new clients: local governments.

The Flock Safety cameras you’ve probably seen most often are automated license plate readers (ALPR) that capture 6 to 12 images of each vehicle that passes by. The cameras use a combination of AI and machine learning to record data such as license plate numbers and a car’s color, make, and model, along with extras like bumper stickers, body damage, roof racks, and temporary paper tags. Flock’s ALPR cameras can also identify vehicles with missing license plates or obscured tags.

While looking for information about the different kinds of cameras and who’s viewing the video feeds, I found Benn Jordan’s YouTube videos about Flock cameras. I contacted him for a video interview, and the musician spoke to me from a workroom littered with synths.

“I figured they were just emergency cameras for accidents or maybe to see what traffic’s doing. I finally just Googled it and found out [they were owned] by a third-party company, looked further into that third-party company, and then the rabbit hole opened. That was over a year ago,” Jordan told me.

“They have drones!” he said. “They have pan-tilt- zoom cameras that recognize people and zoom into their faces. You can even see what they’re doing on their phone. Their ALPR cameras can recognize people. They do store pictures of people. I know this because I’ve accessed the footage and found pictures of myself. I’m not a car or a license plate.”

Why Was a Flock Employee Watching Kids on Camera?

At one point, it was possible for random strangers, stalkers, and creeps of all kinds to track your movements around your city or town using misconfigured cameras connected to Flock’s network. According to a resident in a leafy Atlanta suburb, the stranger danger problem with Flock persists because some Flock employees can view camera feeds at any time.

Jason Hunyar lives in Dunwoody, GA, and attended several city council meetings over a period of months, while filing dozens of public records requests to learn more about the city’s contracts with Flock Safety. In a Substack post, Hunyar identified a Flock employee who accessed cameras in a children’s gymnastics room at the nearby Jewish community center.

In the days since the post went live, Flock responded by saying the sales employee accessed the camera in a children’s gymnastics room because he was demonstrating the camera’s content moderation features to a potential client:

“In Dunwoody, a Flock employee performed a demo of this content moderation policy by searching for both “Star of David”, which our search moderation tool blocked, and “Cowboy hat,” which the search moderation tool allowed.”

The statement is part of a blog post that also alleges “claims of inappropriate conduct by our employees are false,” and frames Hunyar’s concerns as “accusations used to win a political argument.”

Benn Jordan’s response: “If I owned a business, and a company was trying to sell me a surveillance camera, and they just showed me little girls working out in a gymnastics center, I would be like, ‘Call the police!’ ‘Get out of my office.’”

Sales demonstration or not, it’s doubtful that most parents would be OK with a stranger accessing a live video feed of their kids without expressed consent. Flock employees aren’t the only ones accessing live feeds, either. Hunyar’s public records requests revealed that Dunwoody police department employees were accessing live video at baseball fields, gyms, libraries, playgrounds, and pools.

What Researchers Found Inside Flock Safety’s System

In a February blog post, Flock pushed back against being labeled a mass surveillance tool, stating that misuse of its cameras accounted for a “small fraction” of overall network activity. It’s worth noting that Flock’s US patent describes it as a “system and method for object-based query of video content captured by a dynamic surveillance network.”

The Flock Safety patent also states that it will use neural networks to identify and track humans, and then filter them into searchable databases using a person’s age, clothing type, gait/posture, gender, height, race, and weight.

We’ve also seen some significant security concerns regarding Flock cameras. I mentioned it earlier, but while conducting research, Jordan’s team successfully accessed misconfigured Flock cameras via the open web. He told me he found 70 cameras accessible without a username or password, and browsed the video feeds for a month.

Thirty days’ worth of video is more than enough time to learn someone’s daily habits, and that’s what Jordan did while watching.

“I was able to find out if somebody was jogging on a trail every morning at 7:00 in the morning at dawn. I was able to see that person, see their habit of what they’re doing every single day.”

Jordan was doing it for research purposes, to be clear, but that’d be deeply creepy and invasive levels of monitoring in any other context. Before posting the video, the group shared its findings with Flock and the federal government, so rest easy, that specific problem has been fixed. That said, the team also uncovered several hardware and software vulnerabilities in Flock police cameras, as seen in this video.

The group’s most disturbing video, to me, addressed how Flock’s cameras can be used to track people through the company’s software. Jordan explained that if you’re a business owner, a law enforcement officer, or even a homeowner’s association representative with access to Flock’s network, you could search for a car’s characteristics and then find a wealth of information about the human driving it.

“It’s basically like having a GPS tracker on your car that a complete stranger can access, but the person who can access it can’t even tell you who else has access to it because it’s shared on a national network.”

Do the Stats Behind These Cameras Hold Up?

“[Flock’s sales team] shows up to the police and tells them a bunch of statistics that don’t check out. The research that they most often point to is literally written by their own employees and not reviewed or anything”, said Jordan.

It sounds like Flock’s sales team could be taking a page from Shotspotter. On its website, the company claims the technology, which continuously monitors community spaces for noises that could be gunshots, “enhances overall responses to gunfire, improves speed of response, improves spatial accuracy of response, reduces transport time and saves lives, and improves evidence recovery” in addition to impacting gun violence levels. No hard numbers accompany these very broad claims. So does it work? Well, the city of Detroit spent $7 million to use ShotSpotter over a three-year period, and recent numbers show that ShotSpotter actually increased emergency response times and increased the odds of police falsely identifying suspects.

Flock Safety’s media kit contains vague statistics extolling the technology’s efficacy, boasting that the company has cameras in more than 6,000 communities in 49 states, and that the technology helps solve 2,800 crimes each week. Flock’s website states that its ALPR technology solved 10% of reported crimes in the United States over an unspecified period, and that 700,000 crimes were solved annually using Flock.

Flock’s website also links to a whitepaper written by a Flock employee and a team of researchers, based heavily on results from a 2023 three-month survey of Flock ALPR customers, described by the research team as a “preliminary, exploratory study.”

In the end, no matter what the marketing language says, Flock’s real value to local officials comes from its vast network of public safety cameras, which are usually leased by cities and towns with a stated aim of assisting law enforcement agencies with investigative work, such as collecting crime scene evidence or tracking license plates. Flock’s software can tap into nearby internet-connected cameras, including private business owners’ security feeds, making it a powerful tool for tracking people over vast distances and for extended periods.

In November of 2025, the Electronic Frontier Foundation revealed that police used Flock’s ALPR network to track activists and protestors. Last May, Flock made headlines when a 404 Media investigation revealed that ICE agents accessed its data through local police departments.

Residents Are Starting to Fight Back

A quick glance at online discussions on local community forums in states where Flock has contracts shows that concerns around widespread video surveillance are rising. Many commenters say they didn’t know their local officials were signing expensive contracts with public safety camera companies until the poles started appearing on street corners.

“In my experiences here in Georgia, I would go as far as to call it corruption,” said Jordan.

“I’ve sat down with city council members and showed them vulnerabilities that haven’t been reported yet that are really, really concerning, and then they’ve voted along with Flock anyway. It’s like, OK, I don’t know what else to do.”

Local news outlets are telling a similar tale, as reports of taxpayers questioning government officials about contracts with Flock Safety at city council meetings and other public forums are increasingly common. For example, the city council in Weston, MO, voted this week to remove Flock cameras following significant resident pushback. San Jose residents even sued their city over its Flock Safety camera contract, claiming the license plate-reading technology is a mass surveillance system.

Among these reports, there are also signs that frustrated residents are doing more than just talking about the cameras. In Oakland, CA, this week, drivers were greeted by purple paint-splattered camera poles dotting the city, after someone paint-bombed the Flock Safety cameras. The vandalism follows the city council’s decision to renew its contract for nearly 300 ALPRs and to approve the installation of 40 livestream-enabled Flock Condor cameras. Also this week, in Auburn, CA, local police are searching for at least one person who stole three Flock cameras and dumped two of them in a nearby canal.

I don’t recommend destroying or vandalizing anyone’s property for any reason. But I asked Jordan for advice for readers who don’t want to see more camera poles in their hometown. He said to get involved in city council discussions and to follow the money Flock spends to secure contracts.

“They bring city council members and police officers out to dinner,” said Jordan. “Then, police departments recommend to city council members to keep increasing Flock cameras. They extend the contract, get better stuff, and the taxpayers foot the bill.”

Prophetic Link:
“Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: I “will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.” Revelation 3:10. If they could have the assurance of pardon they would not shrink from torture or death; but should they prove unworthy, and lose their lives because of their own defects of character, then God’s holy name would be reproached. On every hand they hear the plottings of treason and see the active working of rebellion; and there is aroused within them an intense desire, an earnest yearning of soul, that this great apostasy may be terminated and the wickedness of the wicked may come to an end. But while they plead with God to stay the work of rebellion, it is with a keen sense of self-reproach that they themselves have no more power to resist and urge back the mighty tide of evil. They feel that had they always employed all their ability in the service of Christ, going forward from strength to strength, Satan’s forces would have less power to prevail against them.” Great Controversy 619.1, 2

Source References

• More Like Stalking Than Security: The Quiet Threat of License Plate Cameras