Top U.S. & World Headlines — July 30, 2026

U.S. Strikes Iran Amidst Regional Escalation [0:00]

• The Pentagon announced strikes on dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets in Iran, including command centers and drone facilities.
• This action was in retaliation for Iran targeting U.S. bases in Jordan.
• Iranian state media reported that a couple and their two-year-old child were killed in U.S. strikes on Qashem Island.
• The U.S. also issued new sanctions on Iran, designating 10 entities and 8 tankers.

  "The Pentagon said it struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets inside Iran, including military command centers and drone facilities in retaliation for Iran targeting U.S. bases in Jordan."

War Threatens to Spread Across Region [0:47]

• Jordan reported intercepting an Iranian missile attack.
• In Egypt, a drone struck a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at the port of Damietta.
• In Iraq, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia conducted strikes on what they claim are Iranian-backed militia groups.
• The Iraqi president condemned the air raids as a "blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty."

  "Well, the one thing we don't want to see, again, is any expansion of the conflict."

Anti-War Protests Erupt in New York [1:32]

• Dozens of people attended an anti-war rally in New York City, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Iran.
• The demonstration was organized by PANNYC, a group of Iranian diaspora members.
• Nahid Siamdust, a professor of Middle East Studies, expressed anguish over U.S. funds being used to harm her family in Iran.

  "I'm an Iranian-American who is working hard and paying my taxes and seeing that money going into Iran to killing my own family."

Protests and Violence in Libya and West Bank [2:15]

• In Libya, demonstrators stormed an energy complex and closed gas lines to protest power outages.
• The United Nations reported that Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has reached an all-time high, with 18 Palestinians killed this year.
• Israel approved funding for new settlements in the West Bank.

  "The United Nations is warning Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has hit an all-time high."

Israel Expands Control in Gaza Amidst Evacuations [2:52]

• Israel continues to advance its "yellow line of control" further into the Gaza Strip.
• Residents in several areas report being forced to evacuate their homes.
• Israel currently controls an estimated 64 percent of Gaza, with plans to expand to 70 percent.

  "Every day they advance more. We settle, they advance again."

Trump Campaign Linked to Israeli AI Influence Operation [3:20]

• Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale is reportedly working with Israel on a $46.5 million contract.
• The project aims to influence how AI chatbots discuss Gaza by creating websites and blog posts.
• A chatbot cited a website created by Parscale's firm as a top source when asked about enhancing U.S.-Israel military cooperation.

  "The target audience for the sites is AI chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT."

Ukraine Under Heavy Russian Attack; Hunger Crisis in Congo [3:57]

• Russia launched over 70 missiles and approximately 280 drones at Ukraine, killing eight people.
• Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace.
• The U.N. is warning of a growing hunger crisis in eastern Congo, exacerbated by the Ebola outbreak, with millions facing emergency levels of food insecurity.

  "Some 10 million people, I mean 10 million people, that's the population of Sweden, the country I come from, are acutely food insecure in the eastern DRC."

Political Turmoil and Legal Battles in the U.S. [4:46]

• Pakistan authorities are accused of killing 30 people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir after security forces fired on protesters.
• The Federal Reserve voted to maintain interest rates at around 3.6 percent, with three officials dissenting.
• A vote on Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general was postponed due to concerns about a settlement with the IRS over Trump's lawsuit.
• Jeffrey Epstein survivors lobbied senators against Blanche's nomination.
• The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution opposing a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell.
• President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn an $83.3 million jury award against him for defaming E. Jean Carroll.
• Congressmember Max Miller faces allegations of domestic abuse.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times during a hearing with Senator Rand Paul.

  "Given Senator Paul's obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me, the only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, behind bars, unquote."