Top Stories for the Week of July 19th.

These are the top stories for this week.

CENTCOM said Iranian ballistic missiles and drones killed two U.S. service members and left a third missing in Jordan, prompting a fresh round of American airstrikes on Iranian targets. See Details

Nearly 100 US Troops Injured Over Two Weeks as Iran Strikes Continue. The Pentagon confirmed continuing casualties amid the tenth night of U.S.-Iran strikes; a dignified transfer of fallen service members is set for Wednesday. Source

New Jersey Governor Mickie Sherrill revealed that the state’s automatic voter registration software at the DMV added 6,600 noncitizens to the voter rolls. 400 noncitizens then voted in New Jersey elections, prompting Republicans to call for the SAVE Act. See Details

The CDC reported more than 11,500 cyclosporiasis cases across 41 states, including a spike of over 600 new cases in Michigan. Read More

Federal health officials said Thursday they’ve identified a new Cyclospora outbreak tied to an as-yet-unidentified product, separate from the ongoing Taylor Farms lettuce investigation that has sickened thousands nationwide. Find out More

Walmart’s in 27 states pulled lettuce linked to the Cyclospora outbreak. This follows Taco Bell pulling all lettuce from Taylor Farms that was the reported cause of a parasite that leads to explosive diarrhea. Find out More

Boston police are investigating after a body was discovered at a Mattapan property owned by Conan Harris; authorities have not linked Pressley or her husband to the death. See Details

The National Republican Congressional Committee expanded its target list to 36 Democrat-held House seats, citing favorable redrawn maps. Find out More

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez surges to first place in a poll of Democratic voters for the 2028 New Hampshire primary. Source

A Fox News poll shows Democrats opening up an 8-point lead on Republicans in the question of which party Americans want to see in control of Congress. Read More

The New York City mayor said his administration is examining whether it could act on the ICC warrant against the Israeli prime minister ahead of a possible September UN visit. Find out More

Democrats are pushing back after the DCCC spent over $500,000 backing a losing candidate in Arizona, the third failed primary intervention this cycle, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling for the party to ration its resources. Source

Rep. Andy Biggs won the GOP gubernatorial nomination with 73% of the vote in a four-way field, as Trump-endorsed candidates dominated Arizona primaries. Find out More

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he believes the Iran war needs to reach a resolution and that international partners should share responsibility for ending it, though he stopped short of forcing a War Powers vote. The comments came as the Pentagon identified a fourth American service member killed in the conflict. Find out More

The House approved a war powers resolution directing Trump to end hostilities with Iran, 214-208, with four Republicans — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Tom Barrett, Warren Davidson and Thomas Massie — joining all Democrats. Read More

New WHO guidelines highlight lifestyle factors — including sleep quality — that may meaningfully cut a person’s risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Researchers estimate that addressing all the modifiable factors together could prevent nearly half of dementia cases. Find out More

Salamanca City Central School District will introduce “Sally,” an AI-driven humanoid built by Realbotix, as a STEM teaching assistant. See Details

New York City Federal Plaza Explosion Suspect Identified as Former Army Soldier. The suspect accused of igniting a fire outside a federal building housing an immigration court is a former U.S. Army soldier, an FBI official said. Read More

Trump Slaps Additional 50 Percent Tariffs on Canada. The administration imposed a new 50% tariff on Canadian goods, including wine and cement, citing discriminatory trade practices. See Details

SpaceX falls below its IPO price as lockup expiration looms. Shares dipped below the $135 offer price for the first time as investors weigh an incoming flood of newly tradable stock following the company’s first earnings report as a public firm. Source

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 6.558% Wednesday, up nearly 16 basis points from the prior day, according to Zillow lender data. See Details

Midwest Poultry Services recalled 1.6 million dozen hite shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs that were produced in Texas after the FDA warned they could be contaminated with salmonella. See Details

The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it is withholding more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments from California and Minnesota over fraud allegations. The federal government is withholding roughly $867 million from California and $200 million from Minnesota pending proof the disputed claims are legitimate. Find out More

Trump Media’s Truth Social plans early trader access to a new Wall Street API. The Truth Social parent company is preparing to give top traders early access to a new data product, according to The Hill’s business newsletter. Read More

A federal judge issued a two-week restraining order blocking the $110 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. after a coalition of state attorneys general sued. Read More

New tariff rates of 10%-12.5% replaced Trump’s expiring 10% global tariff at midnight, covering 60 top U.S. trade partners. Source

Andy Burnham becomes Britain’s 7th Prime Minister in a decade. Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as UK prime minister on Monday, inheriting a country strained by low wages and internal political turbulence. Source

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea Thursday, following a naval blockade announcement, as Trump threatened to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every ship hit in the Strait of Hormuz. Source

Activists clashed with police in New Delhi and Hyderabad as the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party intensified protests demanding the education minister’s resignation over alleged exam irregularities. Source

Yemen’s Houthis Declare Naval Blockade on Saudi Arabia. The Iran-aligned group announced a blockade on Saudi shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, widening the threat to global oil supplies. Source

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is entering into a deal with U.S. Defense manufacturer Raytheon to jointly produce patriot missiles. See Details

Demonstrators tied to India’s “Cockroach” movement, demanding exam-system reforms and government accountability, refused to leave their New Delhi protest site even after police used tear gas and batons against marchers. The movement has drawn growing sympathy and now includes professionals and families beyond the original student base. See Details

Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress known for playing Jia in the “Godzilla vs. Kong” films, died early Tuesday in a car accident in Frederick County, Maryland. Her father announced her death in an emotional ASL livestream. Source

Elon Musk vows Grok AI will remake “The Odyssey” as “historically accurate.” Musk announced that his Grok Imagine AI model will produce a full-length film of Homer’s “The Odyssey” by year’s end, in an apparent jab at Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation. See Details

Ryan Reynolds Confirms Another ‘Deadpool’ Movie
Reynolds said at Fanatics Fest that another Deadpool film is coming, building on the box-office success of “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Find out More

Christopher Nolan says his next film is “at least” three years away. Nolan told “Today” that “The Odyssey” pushed him to “the limits of my own stamina,” suggesting a lengthy break before his next project. See Details

Johnny Depp Makes Surprise Comic-Con Appearance as Ebenezer Scrooge. Depp surprised fans at San Diego Comic-Con dressed as Scrooge from an upcoming film, his first appearance at the convention since 2018. Source

Tom Cruise, Jonathan Levine in talks for “Days of Thunder” sequel. Paramount is moving forward on a sequel to its 1990 racing classic, with director Jonathan Levine in talks to steer Tom Cruise back behind the wheel for the global franchise follow-up. See Details

Zendaya confirmed her marriage to her ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Spider-Man’ co-star Tom Holland during an unexpected fan conversation, following her co-star’s own confirmation of the secret wedding in a June interview. See Details

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ stormed to number one at the box office, hauling in $264 million worldwide on its opening weekend. Read More

Agent Rich Paul said LeBron James won’t be “rushed” into deciding where he will play next season. The league is waiting on James to pick a team so it can make its national television schedule for the 2026-2027 season. Read More

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time to win their second World Cup. Find out More

Three weeks after free agency opened, LeBron James still hasn’t made his “Decision 4.0,” with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers reported as the remaining contenders. See Details

Tiger Woods’ 17-year-old son Charlie shot even par to finish stroke-play qualifying at 5 over, landing him in a 14-for-2 playoff for the final match-play spots at the U.S. Junior Amateur in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The playoff was set for Wednesday morning. Find out More

President Trump honored the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a Rose Garden ceremony. Read More

France striker Kylian Mbappe scored ten goals at the World Cup to win the Golden Boot. Mbappe also broke Lionel Messi’s tournament record with 22 career goals. Source

ESPN fired controversial analyst Ryan Clark in the middle of ‘NFL Live’ after word of his impending dismissal leaked to the media. Read More

FIFA is investigating Argentinian soccer players after an on-field brawl following Sunday’s World Cup final. See Details

Ryan Fox sank a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Open Championship, the fourth and final major of the season. Read More

Daniel Ray Ballance allegedly broke into a Union Pacific locomotive and rode it, nude, through rural Sedgwick County before deputies took him into custody; he cited a fondness for “vodka, beer and playing the banjo.” Source

Yellowstone bison-toss victim speaks out: “They move faster than you’d think.” Carl McDaniel, thrown into the air by a Yellowstone bison, is recovering from multiple fractures and shared his account of the encounter. Source

An Illinois worker was trapped for seven hours inside a 130-foot-tall gas station sign. Source