Weekly News Roundup - 7/31/26
Iran attacks U.S. water infrastructure // Fires blaze in Europe
Quotes of the Week
Where a strictly worded definition closes down thought and can be shallow, a story opens the hearer’s mind and is endlessly deep. Stories carry meaning without having to be converted into a rigid statement.
The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.
There are two traps: first, relativism, which says, “There is no truth, only your truth or my truth”; and second, fundamentalism, which says, “There is truth, and I have it, and you do not.” We have to find our way between relativism and fundamentalism, toward truth that is ultimately deep and mysterious.
Week in Review
Saturday, July 25
One person is killed and many more are injured by an attack on a Pride parade in Berlin, in which a man drives a van into a crowd.
Sunday, July 26
A shootout between suspected teenage gang members in Seattle at a food festival kills three and injures several others, including a toddler.
Monday, July 27
French President Emmanuel Macron says that the wildfire in the nation’s Gironde region is “completely unprecedented,” having displaced over 250,000 people and injured more than 90 firefighters.
More than 30 Minnesota municipal water systems are targeted in a coordinated cyberattack. “In at least one case, a city’s well and treatment plant were temporarily knocked offline Monday. Other cities reported that the attack targeted communications and automated operations within their water system — forcing a move to manual workarounds,” MPR reports.
Tuesday, July 28
Iran launches a surprise ballistic missile attack against a U.S. troop base in Jordan. The missiles are intercepted.
Massive wildfires threaten major cities like Bordeaux in France and Madrid in Spain. Over 300,000 people are evacuated and more than 450 structures are destroyed.
Wednesday, July 29
Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Todd Blanche, faces opposition from key Republican senators, stalling his path to confirmation. The GOP lawmakers want to see
Video is released showing three National Guard soldiers in combat fatigues going onto the property of a U.S. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient and handcuffing her without explanation. The Army veteran, Anna King, files a lawsuit against the Idaho National Guard and the Defense Department for her treatment, which she alleges caused her injuries.
The Federal Reserve keeps interest rates steady, despite calls from some members and expectations from analysts and economists to raise them to fight inflation.
Thursday, July 30
U.S. intelligence analysts say Iran was likely behind the cyberattack on Minnesota’s water supply.
The U.S. military conducts a “heavy wave” of strikes on targets in Iran, and conducts a joint exercise with Saudi Arabia against Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq.
A 55-year old Georgia man is sentenced to 15 years in prison for giving his 14-year old son a rifle and scope despite signs of his son’s deteriorating mental health. The boy, who was recently sentenced to life in prison, shot and killed two students and two teachers at a high school in 2024.
Friday, July 31
Tens of thousands of migrants return to Morocco after a dramatic influx into a Spanish territory on the northeastern tip of the north African country, which is separated from the Spanish mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar. The rush of migrants, which produced alarming video images and led to at least 57 deaths, was sparked by a misinterpretation of a ruling by the Spanish Supreme Court. The Spanish Interior Ministry says that of roughly 50,000 people who had crossed into the Spanish territory of Cueta on Thursday, more than 48,000 had returned to Morocco.
The Trump administration ends a two-year subsidy that had lowered prescription drug costs for about 25 older Americans.
Interesting Reads
Centrist Democrats Are Staring Down Disaster in a Michigan Swing District, by Alex Roarty for NOTUS
Neither Saint Nor Villain: The all-too-human story of a masterful operator, Tony Fauci, by Andrew Sullivan for The Weekly Dish
A U.S. Citizen Deleted His Phone’s Data. Now He Faces a Felony Charge, by Adeel Hassan for The New York Times
The Senate’s Absurd Conflicts of Interest Bill, by Bob Bauer for Executive Functions
Being Christian Means Being Alive An interview with Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP, by Vincent Ray M. Daut for Commonweal
Scrutiny of WNBA intensifies as mounting discord around the league looms over All-Star festivities, by Alanis Thames for The Associated Press
Cut the number of choices you make each day. Your brain will thank you, by Albert Stumm for The Associated Press
Matt Damon’s Biceps in That ‘Odyssey’ Fight Scene? They’re Hers, by Alisha Haridasani Gupta for The New York Times