New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health

• Gulf monarchies are shifting their strategy toward Iran from direct confrontation to "strategic containment," aiming to limit Tehran's regional influence without triggering a total state collapse. • This shift follows over 40 years of zero-sum rivalry characterized by Iran's nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile development, and support for non-state armed actors.

• Pakistan has offered to host renewed diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad to facilitate a resolution to their ongoing tensions. • This move signals a strategic shift for Islamabad, which is attempting to transition from a reactive player to a responsible stakeholder in regional stability.

• Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated, undermining the stability hoped for following a recently signed memorandum of understanding. • Gulf nations are increasingly analyzing the conflict in Ukraine to understand how global geopolitical shifts and converging conflicts impact their own regional security.

• Federal University Dutsin-Ma hosted its maiden International Conference on Political Science on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, focusing on regional integration and security dynamics in West Africa. • The conference addressed a wide array of critical threats, including terrorism, violent extremism, insurgency, cybercrime, and unconstitutional changes of government.

• Manoah Esipisu transitioned from a career in international journalism to high-level government service, eventually serving as the spokesperson for former President Uhuru Kenyatta. • His background reporting from conflict zones and politically sensitive regions provided critical insights into governance, humanitarian crises, and African politics.

Police say body of 23-year-old found at Eschol Park property with significant injuries, indicating he may have been attacked before deathA young man has died after a suspected dog attack at a rural property, as police begin an investigation.Authorities were alerted to the discovery of the 23-year-old’s body at a rural property in Sydney’s southwest on Wednesday. Continue reading...

While officials say proposed revisions will encourage more enrollment, advocates say it will undermine the programThe Trump administration has said it plans to overhaul Head Start, tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s neediest children.Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said on Thursday the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making, but the proposal has sparked alarm across the Head Start community, where advocates say it threatens the backbone of the antipoverty initiative. Continue reading...

Settlement ends years-long legal battle over collapse of 18-story hotel that was under construction in New OrleansA judge approved a $106m settlement on Thursday that ends a years-long legal battle over the deadly 2019 collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel that was under construction in New Orleans.The 18-story hotel project partially collapsed in October 2019 , killing three people and damaging nearby property. A grand jury ultimately decided against indicting anyone in the deadly collapse, but lawsuits were filed, including one brought by the city of New Orleans in August 2020 naming the building owners, their partners and contractors. Continue reading...

President attacks ‘terrible mistake’ of US attorney, who said in court filing damage stemmed from botched renovationDonald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Jeanine Pirro after the US attorney for the District of Columbia publicly challenged his claims that vandals had damaged the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.“She said there was no vandalism. There was tremendous vandalism,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday. “So, she made a terrible mistake. I don’t understand why she did such a stupid thing.” Continue reading...

Expansion of immigration enforcement at US airports puts employees at odds with agents seeking 2,000 daily arrests A dramatic increase in immigration enforcement at US airports has reportedly placed the airline industry at odds with the Trump administration as workers decline to help federal officials arrest their targets – many of whom have pending applications for visas, asylum or green cards.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – both part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – have expanded their collaboration to make as many as three dozen daily arrests at US airports last month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Continue reading...

Shift in monitoring methods has led to revenue boost for Geo Group, a private prison firm, that also makes the deviceThe US is tracking nearly 54,000 immigrants through GPS-enabled ankle monitors as part of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) electronic surveillance program, according to private prison corporation The Geo Group. Early last year, just 17,000 immigrants were wearing the devices..The Geo Group owns BI Inc, the company that runs ICE’s intensive supervision appearance program (ISAP), and reported the numbers in its earnings call on Thursday. Continue reading...