The Largest Operating Steam Locomotive in the World Weighs 1.2 Million Pounds. Now, the Historic Train May Be Coming to Your Town Smithsonian Magazine
The missing sublime of nature Mini Philosophy
Astronomers Detect Sugar in Interstellar Space for First Time Sci News. But no spice?
Climate/Environment
Talk slide deck: Have we entered a new normal? Climate Uncovered
How to Handle a Rain Bomb New York City Policy Forum. “In New York City, the four most extreme precipitation events have all happened in the last four years.”
Wildfires ravage Spain, France and Italy, killing three firefighters France24
Pandemics
Measles cases in the U.S. hit a new 34-year high Science News
Why the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history is becoming more challenging AP
Water
‘A five-alarm fire’: Western reservoirs that supply California fall to record low levels Los Angeles Times
Japan
JPMorgan, other US banks set to help finance Japan’s $550 billion US investment plan, say sources Reuters
China?
‘Falling apart’: Trump’s Boeing deal hits turbulence with Beijing Politico
Made “with” China? — Shi Zhan on RMB Appreciation and Building a “Shadow China” Abroad Sinification
The Gulf’s China Problem Foreign Affairs. Least of its problems?
Southeast Asia
When the Indonesian Middle Class Takes to the Streets FULCRUM
India
Student protests against Modi surge, spread across India TRT World
India’s fertiliser dependence leaves its agriculture vulnerable East Asia Forum
Syraqistan
Israel Firebombed a Family Home Where Children Were Sleeping in Latest Killing Spree Drop Site
This has been getting almost no coverage, but deserves far more. Israel has destroyed the medical facilities in Gaza. Patients are dying daily. It will not let Gazans rebuild their hospitals and will not let them evacuate the patients either.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court, the… https://t.co/0dzd2YITkj
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) July 20, 2026
Nearly half of Israel’s government joins march vowing Gaza settlements +972 Magazine
I’m a Scholar of Genocide. We’re Entering a Terrifying New Era. New York Times
***
With no safeguards, Trump approves Saudi nuclear deal with uranium enrichment New Arab
Houthis Resume Attacks on Shipping, Claim Strikes on Two Saudi Tankers gCaptain
Islamabad condemns Houthis’ threats to Riyadh, warns against targeting Pakistani maritime interests DAWN
Aurangzeb seeks $10bn support facility from US DAWN
***
Iranian Missiles Alone Will Not End America’s Presence in the Middle East Kautilya the Contemplator
As Iran-US war escalates, Kurdish incursion ‘plot’ gets renewed attention Amwaj
Africa
ECOWAS Backs Morocco-Nigeria Atlantic Gas Pipeline Project L’Intelligencer
Trump administration weighing military options in Mali, officials say WaPo
Old Blighty
Thinking more about Andy Burnham as PM Cooper Lee Press
European Disunion
EU set to bow to fresh US tariffs after current regime lapses Euronews
Washington doesn’t want Europe to talk about American tech “kill switch” Reuters
Chartbook 460 Greedflation meets China shock: Can Europe’s car industry be saved without making the cost of living crisis worse? Adam Tooze
New Not-So-Cold War
Exclusive-Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role Reuters. Consequences suck.
U.S. committed to helping end Ukraine war but no quick deal, Rubio says after meeting with Russia’s Lavrov NBC News
Front-month Euronext #wheat just hit the highest since June 2024 and CBOT is approaching $7 handle again.
The market is finally paying attention to the Black Sea / Azov Sea disruption.
Here’s what we wrote last week: “Until Russia finds an effective way to repel Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/H1v39jysPG
— Andrey Sizov (@sizov_andre) July 22, 2026
A military revolution? Events in Ukraine
Imperial Collapse Watch
U.S. Polar Security Cutter Delayed to 2033 as Costs Top $6 Billion, GAO Warns gCaptain
Private equity’s influence in U.S. manufacturing Private Equity Stakeholder Project
GM is quietly becoming a subscriptions company Business Insider
Own nothing, upgrade everything: Apple’s new Klarna deal Computer World
iOS 27 code suggests Apple could restrict leased devices after missed payments 9to5 Mac
L’affaire Epstein
Epstein case: French model scout and alleged recruiter found dead Le Monde
South of the Border
Why won’t the Pentagon say if it’s using AI to blow up boats in the Caribbean? The After-Action Report
Latin America’s rightward shift bolsters investor confidence, BMI says Intellinews
The Greatest Democracy
The billionaires behind Ramaswamy’s smear campaign Oligarch Watch
An ‘Exponentially Different Level’ of Billionaire Spending in California Capital & Main
Pentagon proposes new secrecy power to withhold unclassified records from public-access laws CBS News
REVISITING THE CONSTITUTIONAL BIND DURING THE INTERREGNUM LPE Project
Trump 2.0
House passes reconciliation framework for Pentagon boost, voting restrictions The Hill. And House Passes 2027 NDAA With Section to Integrate US and Israeli Militaries Antiwar
‘A politically impossible situation’: New poll shows Trump voters losing patience with Iran war Politico
Little Red Scare 2.0 Unpopular Front
Trump official asked how they’re targeting Antifa as a Foreign Terrorist Organization—given it’s unclear what “Antifa” even is:
“Basically, a foreign terrorist organization, we have to have 3 components: It has to be foreign; it has to be terrorist; it has to be an organization.” pic.twitter.com/CsHZCCMU2O— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) July 21, 2026
Democrats Suck
This is the dumb trick the Dem Party has been using on their followers for years now.
When something they pretend to oppose “must pass” (like the NDAA), they ensure there are just enough Dem votes for it to pass, even if it’s just by one vote.
Then they tell all other Dems:… https://t.co/jsN3YHVGSX
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 22, 2026
GOP Funhouse
The fossil fuel money behind the GOP’s wildfire blame game HEATED
AI
What just happened to TheNumbers.com should worry us all Stephen Follows
OpenAI’s disconcerting hack of HuggingFace Gary Marcus
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Flock ‘Objects to Our Removing Their Equipment’: Emails Reveal Why a Town Put Bags Over Its Flock Cameras 404 Media
Police State Watch
ICE Quietly Arresting More People Than Ever According to Latest Data Austin Kocher
Groves of Academe
Rural NY School District Will Be One of First to Bring Humanoid Robot Into Classroom New York Focus
“MAHA”
RFK Jr. says cyclosporiasis outbreak is ‘under control’ as Mexico casts doubt on link to Taylor Farms facility NBC News
You Can Blame the Government for the Diarrhea Lettuce Bon Appetit
Casino Nation
Kalshi comes for biopharma, with prediction markets for clinical trials and FDA approvals STAT
America’s Future Nurses Are Betting on Kalshi to Pay for School Clasp
The Only Thing Congress Has Banned Is Itself, Kinda Can We Still Govern?
Class Warfare
A homeless man was charged with a felony for camping. He’s one of the first NPR. Crossing yet another Rubicon on the return to serfdom.
SoCal cities made landlords pay when rent hikes pushed out tenants. Then courts stepped in LAist
BREAKING: HUD IS PLANNING ON HOBBLING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HOUSING BY BURYING IT IN PAPERWORK Notes on the Crises
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By
