Death Toll from Nepal-China Border Floods Rises to 903

Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said Monday morning that 903 bodies had been recovered amid the disastrous flooding along the Nepalese-Chinese border, with over four thousand people remaining missing. Chinese authorities reported 16 dead and 546 missing in Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region as of Saturday evening.

Chinese officials said a glacier on the south slope of Mount Langtang Lirung in Nepal fractured at an elevation of about 5,200 meters, triggering an ice-rock avalanche that scoured the mountainside and developed into a massive debris flow. Chinese scientists said the flow reached Gyirong Port in about six to seven minutes.

A barrier lake formed by the landslide had largely drained by Sunday, Chinese authorities said, but a new landslide farther downstream created another barrier and lake, prompting continued monitoring and safety measures. Nepali scientists have also been examining the chain of events behind the flooding.

Indian, Chinese and South Korean tunnel-rescue specialists were mobilized over the weekend to support the search and rescue effort. Further rain and rising river levels remained a threat in affected areas.

 

English Actor Tim Curry, Known for His Comedic Roles, Dies at 80

Tim Curry, the English actor whose relish for outsize characters made Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Pennywise the Clown fixtures of popular culture, died on Aug. 25 at his home in the Toluca Lake section of Los Angeles. He was 80.

His longtime manager, Marcia Hurwitz, confirmed the death through a publicist with no cause was given, but Curry had previously suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012, limiting his mobility.

Born April 19, 1946, in Grappenhall, Cheshire, he was the son of a Royal Navy chaplain who died when he was 12. He studied English and drama at the University of Birmingham and joined the original London cast of "Hair.” He achieved international fame in the 1975 film ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ which initially flopped in its initial release before becoming a midnight-movie staple. He also appeared in the films "Clue," "Legend" and "Home Alone 2," and played Pennywise the Clown in the 1990 miniseries "It."

Curry later appeared in several children’s entertainment pieces, including as Long John Silver in “Muppet’s Treasure Island” and as Nigel Thornberry in the “The Wild Thornberrys.”

He received three Tony nominations and two Olivier nominations, and won a 1991 Daytime Emmy for voice work. His memoir, "Vagabond," was published last year. Curry never married and had no children.

King Harald V of Norway Dies at 89

King Harald V of Norway, Europe's oldest reigning monarch, died Friday at Oslo University Hospital at 89. The palace said he had been admitted on Aug. 17 with fluid retention, a complication of cortisone treatment for a blood disorder, and that he later developed an infection.

Born Feb. 21, 1937, at Skaugum in Asker, he was the first Norwegian prince born in the country since Olav IV in 1370. After Germany's 1940 invasion he fled with his mother and two sisters to Sweden and then to the United States, while his father and grandfather went into exile in Britain. A lifelong sailor, he carried Norway's flag at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and competed again in 1968 and 1972, winning the One Ton Cup world championship in 1987. In 1968, after a nine-year courtship, he married Sonja Haraldsen, a commoner, having worn down his father's long resistance to the marriage.

Harald succeeded his father Olav V on Jan. 17, 1991, and reigned for 35 years, declining to abdicate as several other again European monarchs elected. Among his most remembered addresses was the one he gave after Anders Behring Breivik's 2011 attacks, which killed 77 people; he told Norwegians he had faith that freedom was stronger than fear. He is survived by Queen Sonja, two children and five grandchildren. His son succeeds him as King Haakon VIII.

 

Dolly Parton, Country Music’s Defining Figure, Dies at 80

Dolly Parton, the songwriter and performer who rose from poverty in the Smoky Mountains to become one of the most recognizable figure in country music, died Aug. 25 at 80 at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, surrounded by loved ones. Her publicist, Marcel Pariseau, said she died after a brief battle with cancer (the type was not disclosed).

Ms. Parton was born Jan. 19, 1946, in Sevier County, Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children of a sharecropper who could neither read nor write. She sang on local radio as a girl and moved to Nashville the day after graduating high school in 1964. Her breakthrough came on Porter Wagoner's television program. Wagoner continued producing her records for two more years after she left the program, and Parton marked her farewell to Wagoner with "I Will Always Love You," a song that became a worldwide standard after Whitney Houston recorded it in 1992. "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors" and "9 to 5" rank among Parton’s other enduring compositions.

By most estimates she sold more than 100 million records, and she won 11 Grammy Awards, including a lifetime achievement honor. She acted in several films, including "9 to 5" and "Steel Magnolias."

Parton helped launch the Dollywood theme park in 1986, and in 1995 founded the Imagination Library, which has mailed more than 332 million books to children from birth to age 5 across five countries. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Her husband of nearly 59 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025.

 

Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister as Starmer Exits

Andy Burnham became Britain's prime minister on July 20, appearing outside 10 Downing Street shortly after Starmer's departure. "I go with good grace, I go with a smile," Starmer told his wife, cabinet and colleagues on Monday, ending a premiership that began with a landslide win just two years earlier.

Starmer resigned as Labour leader on June 22, having clung on after May elections in which Labour lost nearly 1,500 English council seats and power in Wales, where it fell to third with nine of 96 Senedd seats. Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until his automatic disqualification in June, was blocked by Labour's NEC from contesting a February by-election but entered Parliament by winning Makerfield on June 18, after its MP resigned to make way. He was declared leader unopposed on July 17, backed by 379 of Labour's 403 lawmakers. Burnham is Britain's seventh prime minister since 2016. He inherits a sluggish economy, a cost-of-living squeeze and overstretched public services, though Labour has since drawn level with Reform UK in the polls. "I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it," he said on becoming leader. The next general election is due by August 15, 2029.

 

Spain Wins Second World Cup, Beating Argentina 1-0 in Extra Time

Spain won its second World Cup title on July 19, beating defending champion Argentina 1-0 in extra time before a crowd of more than 80,000 at MetLife Stadium.

Substitute Ferran Torres scored in the 106th minute, finishing a header back from Nico Williams after a cross from Pedro Porro, early in the second period of extra time. Argentina had been a man down since second-half stoppage time, when midfielder Enzo Fernández was sent off for a second bookable offense. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez was credited with 11 saves, a record for a World Cup final, though Argentina became the first finalist not to attempt a shot in regulation time.

Spain, coached by Luis de la Fuente, completed the tournament unbeaten, conceding one goal in eight matches. Rodri won the Golden Ball, Unai Simón the Golden Glove and defender Pau Cubarsí the Best Young Player award. France's Kylian Mbappé took the Golden Boot with 10 goals. Lionel Messi, 39, became the oldest outfield player to appear in a final. England beat France 6-4 for third place.

The tournament, held June 11 to July 19, was the first men's World Cup with 48 teams and 104 matches, and the first co-hosted by three countries, with matches played in 11 U.S. cities, three Mexican cities and two Canadian cities. FIFA reported 6.8 million spectators, nearly double the 1994 total across twice as many matches, at 99.7% of capacity.

All three hosts reached the knockout stage and exited in the round of 16: Canada to Morocco, Mexico to England, the United States to Belgium. Bank of America reported host-city spending up 6.3% year over year from June 10 to 21, though economists noted international arrivals trailed projections and most tournament revenue accrued to FIFA.

 

Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, who led the Federal Reserve for nearly two decades and shaped the contours of modern American economic policy, died June 22 at his home in Washington at 100 from complications from Parkinson's disease. He is survived by his wife, NBC correspondent and journalist Andrea Mitchell. 

Born in 1926 in New York City, he received three degrees from New York University after a stint at Juilliard. Greenspan served five terms as Fed chairman under four presidents, from Ronald Reagan through George W. Bush, stepping down in January 2006 after the second-longest tenure in the institution's history.

His chairmanship was widely celebrated during his tenure. He allowed the unemployment rate to fall well below levels that would typically have prompted rate increases, helping sustain one of the longest expansions in American history. But his legacy grew complicated after his departure in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, with some arguing his promotion of financial deregulation and failure to discourage risky mortgage lending helped lead to the financial crisis. Greenspan himself acknowledged mistakes in his own statements after his Fed chairmanship ended.

 

World Cup 2026 Recap

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams and to span three host nations, completed its group stage Saturday, with the Round of 32 starting Sunday. Through 66 matches, 196 goals have been scored, for an average of nearly three per game. Lionel Messi became the tournament's all-time leading scorer. Cape Verde, in their World Cup debut, became the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout rounds. The United States and France each won their groups, while defending champion Argentina advanced.

 

Venezuela Earthquakes Kill More Than 1,400

Two powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela within seconds of each other on the evening of June 24, killing at least 1,430 people as of Saturday and leaving rescuers racing to find survivors buried beneath collapsed buildings across the capital and the coast.

The first earthquake, measuring magnitude 7.2, struck near Yumare, in Yaracuy state, at 6:04 p.m. local time and was classified as a foreshock. It was followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5-magnitude mainshock that was the strongest tremor to hit the country in more than 125 years. At least 3,200 people have been injured, and 13 hospitals were damaged across the country.

Damage was concentrated in La Guaira and Caracas, where dozens of buildings collapsed. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello identified the Los Palos Grandes and Altamira neighborhoods as the worst-affected parts of the city. In La Guaira, volunteers dug through wreckage with their hands nearly 24 hours after the earthquakes, facing a shortage of heavy equipment and very limited government assistance.

The disaster compounds an already severe crisis:. With nearly 8 million people inside Venezuela were already in need of urgent humanitarian support before the earthquakes struck.

The United States announced $150 million in aid, deploying search-and-rescue teams and directing the amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS Billings to support relief operations. Colombia announced it would send more than 60 rescuers and four search dogs, while Spain said it would deploy a field hospital. The United Nations coordinated the rapid deployment of urban search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela.

 

Harambe Remembered Ten Years Later

Ten years ago Thursday, the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla Harambe was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo after a three-year-old boy fell into his enclosure. Born on May 27, 1999, at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, Harambe had been transferred to Cincinnati in 2014.

The zoo's decision to shoot him rather than risk a tranquilizer, which could have taken minutes to work and potentially agitated Harambe, set off a petition that collected over half a million signatures and launched what became one of the internet's most durable meme cycles. The Cincinnati Zoo director said publicly that the zoo was "not amused" by the jokes and petitions, and the zoo eventually deactivated their Twitter temporarily.

What followed over the next decade was harder to categorize. The memes, often absurdist, irreverent, occasionally pointed, became a shorthand for a particular strain of Millennial and Gen Z humor. This week, on the eve of the anniversary, the official White House account on X posted a lengthy tribute calling Harambe "an icon that became part of internet history, American culture, and an entire generation's timeline," and referred to him as a "true patriot." The post sparked immediate debate, with some finding it nostalgic and others questioning whether the gesture was appropriate for an official government account. Whatever one makes of it, the fact that the White House felt the moment worth marking says something about how thoroughly a gorilla from Brownsville worked his way into the American cultural fabric.

 

SpaceX IPO Nears Reality

SpaceX filed its S-1 registration statement with the SEC on May 20th, putting the world's most anticipated IPO on an official countdown. The prospectus targets up to $75 billion in proceeds at a valuation approaching $2 trillion. The filing revealed that Musk controls 85% of shareholder votes and that the company lost nearly $5 billion last year, driven in part by AI division spending. Starlink is the only profitable segment.

 For markets, the deal would reset expectations around private-to-public transitions and test whether retail investors, allocated 30% of the offering, three times the typical share, will absorb that risk willingly.

 

Operation Epic Fury and Its Fallout

The Middle East remains engulfed in the widening fallout of Operation Epic Fury, a joint US-Israeli military campaign aimed at dismantling Iran's nuclear and ballistic capabilities. American and Israeli forces have established air supremacy, striking thousands of targets and significantly degrading Iran's missile networks and naval infrastructure.

In retaliation, Tehran launched an unprecedented barrage of drones and missiles across nearby states, including the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, targeting energy hubs and civilian airports. Most consequentially for the global economy, the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed, with major shipping lines having suspended regional bookings, stranding numerous container ships. This blockade triggered acute volatility in global energy markets and severe supply chain bottlenecks for European and Asian manufacturing.

Internationally, the crisis has sharply divided capitals. While many European nations have broadly condemned Iran's retaliatory strikes, several Asian countries have called for immediate de-escalation to stabilize trade. Although the Trump administration has signaled hopes for internal regime change, those expectations have already faced complications: Iran's Assembly of Experts, a governing body that selects the nation’s supreme leader, still managed to convene and appoint Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as his successor earlier this month. Regional experts warn that rather than hastening collapse, the episode may instead empower the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to consolidate power under the new leadership or ultimately plunge the nation into a protracted civil war.

 

Pakistan and Afghanistan Escalate Tensions to Open War

Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan have boiled over into the most severe clashes since the Taliban's 2021 takeover, triggered by mutual accusations of harboring militants. Pakistan alleges that Afghanistan shelters fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, also called the Pakistani Taliban), who have launched deadly attacks inside Pakistan, including a February 6 suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad that killed 32 people. ISIS-Khorasan Province claimed responsibility, though Pakistan alleged planning occurred in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban denies any involvement, claiming Pakistani incursions violate their sovereignty.

The escalation began when Pakistan conducted airstrikes on alleged militant camps on February 21, killing civilians according to Afghan and UN sources. Clashes intensified on February 26 when the Taliban launched retaliatory strikes on Pakistani border posts. Pakistan responded with "Operation Ghazab Lil Haq" (Righteous Fury) on February 27, conducting airstrikes on 22 targets in Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Nangarhar, Paktia, and Paktika provinces. Pakistani officials claimed to have destroyed 73 outposts, captured 18 others, and killed 274 Taliban fighters (a figure that later increased to over 330).

Casualty figures differ sharply and remain unverified. Pakistan reports 12 soldiers killed and 27 wounded, while Afghanistan claims 55 Pakistani soldiers killed and 19 posts captured or destroyed, with 13 Taliban fighters killed and 12 injured. Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared an "open war," stating patience had run out. The Taliban expressed openness to talks amid fears of broader regional instability.

 

Israel, US Launch Strikes Against Iran, Kill Supreme Leader Khamenei

Israel and the United States launched sweeping air and missile strikes across Iran Saturday, igniting what officials in Washington and Jerusalem are calling a preemptive war against Tehran’s nuclear program and regional military reach. The operation targeted air defenses, missile facilities, command centers in Tehran, Isfahan, Qom and other key sites, according to U.S. and Israeli military statements. Strikes also targeted key Iranian regime leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who US President Donald Trump says was killed, writing on Truth Social, “Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”

Israel described the strikes  as one of the largest air campaigns in its history, aimed at neutralizing Iran’s ballistic missile expansion and support for proxy militias that have attacked American and Israeli interests.

U.S. officials justified the strikes as essential to dismantling Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons path and safeguarding forces across the Middle East. President Donald Trump framed the campaign as a stand against a “radical regime” threatening global security, urging Iranians to rise against their rulers. Tehran denounced the assault as unprovoked aggression, vowing severe consequences.

Iran retaliated swiftly, unleashing ballistic missiles and drones on Israeli cities and US bases in the Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Air raid sirens echoed in Tel Aviv after a few Iranian missiles evaded the Iron Dome and strike the city.

US lawmakers offered divided reactions, largely but not entirely along part lines. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) praised the strikes as “necessary and long justified,” calling for prayers for troops and allies. Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decried the lack of congressional authorization and demanded immediate briefings, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) praised the strikes. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a critic of US intervention, called the strikes “unauthorized” and said he would attempt to force a congressional vote on the strikes with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

 

Precious Metals Rally Signals Rising Investor Anxiety

Gold and silver extended their blistering rally this week, with gold hovering at record highs around $5,000 dollars an ounce and silver breaking $100 dollars an ounce for the first time. The surge caps a multi-year climb that has propelled gold far beyond its pandemic-era peak near $2,000 dollars and pushed silver well past prior bull-market highs.

Analysts cite a cocktail of forces: persistent inflation above central bank targets, expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates, and mounting geopolitical frictions that have undermined confidence in major currencies. Heavy buying by central banks and private investors, along with supply strains in silver, has reinforced the move. The rush into precious metals signals broad concern about stagflation risks and a continuing shift toward perceived safe-haven assets in an uncertain global economy.

 

Winter Storm Paralyzes US Travel and Leaves Several Dead

A sprawling winter storm sweeping from Texas to New England has caused widespread power outages, severe travel disruptions and multiple deaths across the United States. Airlines canceled more than 10,000 flights as snow, sleet and freezing rain shut down major hubs and left runways coated in ice.

At least seven people have died in weather-related incidents across the US as authorities warned of continued hazardous conditions and advised citizens to remain indoors as much as possible and head to shelters if heating is not available.

  

Israel Recognizes Somaliland, Spawns Pushback from African States

Israel’s decision to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state has thrust the territory in Somalia’s north into the center of a geopolitical contest, centered on the Horn of Africa.

Somaliland, which broke from Somalia in 1991, has built relatively functioning democratic institutions and security forces, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s chronic instability and aid dependence. Somaliland, in contrast to the rest of Somalia, was colonized by the British rather than the Italians.

Somalia condemned the move as a violation of its sovereignty, along with most African states, which warned it could destabilize a region already strained by conflict and shipping disruptions in the Red Sea. Taiwan, in contrast, welcomed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland. Somaliland is seen as a rare Taiwanese ally on the continent, and Taiwan opened reciprocal representative offices with Somaliland in 2020.

US President Donald Trump, in response to Israel’s decision, has said the US will not recognize Somaliland’s independence.

 

Trump Declares Venezuela Airspace Closed as Tensions Mount

President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post declaring Venezuela’s airspace “closed in its entirety” has escalated the standoff with Nicolás Maduro’s government, which denounced it as a “colonialist threat” to its sovereignty. The statement follows U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warnings of heightened risks from military activity and GPS interference, prompting airlines to cancel flights.

In retaliation, Venezuela revoked operating permits for six foreign carriers, accusing them of aiding U.S. “state terrorism.” This comes amid a major U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and additional warships, aircraft, and troops to interdict drug shipments and pressure Maduro over alleged “narco-terrorist” ties.

Officials describe an upcoming “phase” blending covert and overt actions against drug networks, while avoiding explicit regime-change rhetoric. The operations have involved lethal strikes on suspected drug vessels, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirming three attacks in the Eastern Pacific that killed 14 people, leaving one survivor. Reports of earlier Caribbean strikes, including a second hit on survivors, have drawn human rights scrutiny and congressional probes over legality and targeting.

Maduro frames the pressure as a prelude to invasion but has signaled willingness for direct talks with Trump to de-escalate. Regional neighbors, strained by Venezuelan migration, now grapple with potential U.S.-Venezuelan conflict.

 

Dick Cheney, Architect of Post-9/11 Wars, Dies at 84

Dick Cheney, a dominant force in Republican politics and vice president under George W. Bush, died on November 3rd in Virginia at 84 from complications of pneumonia and cardiovascular disease, his family said. A former congressman from Wyoming, White House chief of staff, defense secretary and Halliburton chief executive, he helped steer the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and expanded the reach of the modern national security state. Supporters credited him with a hard-line approach they argued kept the US safe after the 9/11 attacks, while critics faulted him for championing intelligence practices and war policies they said led to abuses and a protracted conflict in Iraq.​

At a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral, former President Bush and Cheney’s daughter Liz were among those delivering eulogies to an audience that included Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, senior lawmakers of both parties and several Supreme Court justices. Trump administration officials, including President Donald Trump, were largely absent following years of Cheney’s public break with his party over the January 6 attack and the 2024 election. Cheney is survived by his wife, Lynne, their daughters, Liz and Mary, and seven grandchildren.

 

James Watson, Co-Discover of the Structure of DNA, Dies at 97

James Dewey Watson, the co-discover of the structure of DNA along with British scientist Francis Crick, died Thursday at the age of 97 in East Northport, New York. Watson had recently been transferred to hospice care after an infection.

Born on April 6, 1928, in Chicago to James Watson, a businessman, and his wife Jean, he quickly demonstrated a curiosity in science, becoming enthralled with bird watching and ornithology. He entered the University of Chicago at 15, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1947. During his time in college, his interest in genetic research grew. He entered graduate school at Indiana University, graduating with a Ph.D. in 1950.

After completing a post-doc in Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, he relocated to the United Kingdom to work at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University, where he met Crick. In 1953, Crick and Watson proposed the double helix model of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), informed by the pivotal X-ray diffraction images produced by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins (the latter of whom they shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material.”)

Watson later joined the faculty at Harvard University and became an influential voice in the genetics research world. He became the director and president of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, which conducted groundbreaking cancer and psychiatric research during his 35-year tenure. Watson also became a noted author, writing The Double Helix on the search for the structure of DNA as well as Molecular Biology of the Gene, which became a standard textbook during this period.

Watson was also a key player in establishing the Human Genome Project, which successfully mapped out the entire human genome between 1990 and 2003, setting the stage for an explosion in human genetic research in the two decades since.

Watson’s late career was marked by controversy over his belief in the genetic influence of intelligence differences among different races. He expressed views suggesting genetic differences in cognitive abilities between racial groups, arguing that development programs in African nations needed to account for what he claimed were intelligence differences between populations. In an interview promoting his autobiography, he said, “Our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really.”

He also suggested that increased melanin content in skin led to higher sex drives, saying this during in a 2000 conference: “That's why you have Latin lovers. You've never heard of an English lover, only an English patient.”

Less controversially, he advocated that men should have children early to avoid an increased possibility their children suffering developmental issues. Scientific research has confirmed that older men fathering children does lead to an increase in such disorders, thought to be caused by increased genetic mutations in one's reproductive cells as a person ages.

Watson was also the first living Nobel Prize recipient to sell his prize, donating some of the proceeds to scientific research efforts. The purchaser of the prize, Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, later returned the prize to Watson.

Watson, was considered a living scientific legend at the time of his death and was the earliest Nobel laureate still living following the recent death of Yang Chen-Ning, the 1957 Physics prize recipient, at 103. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth and his sons Rufus and Duncan.