Insect ‘submariners’ don’t implode at depth, leaving oceanic mystery unsolved University of British Columbia

Working memory rapidly updates its priorities after distractions, study finds Medical Xpress

Can Circularity Break the Cycle of Architectural Waste? Common Edge

‘I can’t work in the farce of climate change cruise tourism anymore’: why Antarctic guides quit their dream jobs The Conversation

Climate/Environment

Power Grids Reach Tipping Point as 100F Weather, US Data Center Boom Stress Aging Networks Bloomberg

France, Spain battle ‘monster’ wildfires with more heat on the way AFP

EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN SOUTH AMERICA
MInd blowing MINIMUM 28.7 Georgetown
GUYANA HOTTEST NIGHT IN HISTORY

40c IN WINTER
Insane winter heat in BRAZIL with 38/40C
Next days HUNDREDS of records in Brazil,Bolivia,Paraguay,Peru,Ecuador and Colombia.
Absolutely crazy. pic.twitter.com/Fa1x9HDJ6l

— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) July 26, 2026

In recent weeks, there has been a remarkable surge in large, intense, fast-moving, and unfortunately in many cases destructive/deadly wildfires in multiple Northern Hemisphere regions spanning a wide range of climates & ecologies, but they all share one key commonality. [Thread]

— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) July 27, 2026

How do scientists know if climate change made a heat wave, extreme storm or wildfire worse? The Conversation

Deadly storm in Chile disrupts copper mines and raises AI supply concerns FT

Pennsylvania roads are being coated in radioactive wastewater − here’s why The Conversation

Water

L.A.’s dangerous game of triage as aging water system hits breaking point Los Angeles Times

China?

Chipmaker CXMT vaults to top of China’s valuation with 470% surge in Shanghai debut Channel News Asia

China’s ‘K-shaped’ economy is divided not just by sector, but geography South China Morning Post

India

Sacrificing Pradhan Won’t Save Modi The Wire

Indian Farmers Protest FTAs Abdul Rahman

Syraqistan

Pentagon reports more than 600 Iran war casualties in quiet database update The Guardian

US Envoy Waltz Confirms Munitions Depleted As Iran Strikes Stay Paused Second Night International Business Times

Iran says it will halt strikes as long as US bombing pause holds Business Times

Iran accuses Ukraine of deadly attack on Caspian commercial vessel Al Jazeera

Will #Iran and #Ukraine Enter a Direct Conflict?

🔹Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, said on July 25 that Ukrainian forces had struck an Iranian vessel transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea.

🔹Later, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that…

— Hamidreza Azizi (@HamidRezaAz) July 26, 2026

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that the Ukrainians struck an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian, killing a sailor. They’re calling this attack “a sign of the Ukrainian regime’s irrational and hostile approach towards Iran”. They reserve the right to… pic.twitter.com/NP1YqUFJwp

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) July 25, 2026

‘Ready for everything’: Zelenskyy says he is not worried about Iran’s retaliation after Caspian Sea debacle First Post

***

Israeli settlers torch mosques in occupied West Bank DW

Netanyahu, Katz vow to ‘broaden’ campaign of violence in occupied West Bank The Cradle

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Lebanese army says Israeli attacks hinder its deployment in south Anadolu Agency

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President Ahmed al-Sharaa: Syria seeking security deal with Israel Al Jazeera

European Disunion

One big winner in War on Iran: US natural gas exporters. Big loser: Europe. Kevin Walmsley

The Disposable Ones: How Albania’s Land-Grabbing State Bred the Flamingo Revolution Untold Mag

China has put a Polish university on its European dual-use exports blacklist. Why? South China Morning Post

Berlin police kill suspect in Pride festival attack after manhunt NBC News

Germany failed to contain AfD. Now it’s just a matter of time before the far-right grabs power. TRT World

Old Blighty

Water outage at London’s Gatwick Airport leaves toilets out of order and restaurants closed NBC News

British water giant nears collapse as privatisation row reignites Euro Weekly

‘The government has all but forgotten that most data centres require water to cool their systems’: Industry trade board warns UK government over data center thirst for resources Tech Radar

Worker, Hipster, Banker London Review of Books

UK’s Burnham to welcome Zelensky in first foreign leader visit AFP

New Not-So-Cold War

Chevron Is Trying to Keep Its Kazak Assets Out of the Russia-Ukraine War WSJ

Tokayev Calls for Ukraine War Freeze as Black Sea and Caspian Risks Grow Times of Central Asia

Turkish cargo ship sinks near Odesa after missile strike Azer News

Ukraine’s Magura drone heads to America after sinking warships Tech Radar

Poland discusses scenario of Russian provocation using drones disguised as Ukrainian Ukrainska Pravda

Imperial Collapse Watch

Western diplomacy is dead: a post-diplomacy world Ian Proud

Vectors of Fascism: An Interview with Alberto Toscano Communis

South of the Border

Flavio Bolsonaro launches presidential bid to challenge Lula in October election TRT World

Brazil denies visas to US officials amid election interference fears India Today

Brazil Calls Its Ambassador in Argentina for Consultations After Milei Offenses TeleSur

Spook Country

Securities and Exchange Commission is acquiring AI agents to monitor cellphone locations All-Source Intelligence

Trump 2.0

The Sixth Red Scare, Not the Second Un-Diplomatic

Trump Administration Eyes Massive Coal Reserves Under Federal Lands Inside Climate News

Democrats Suck

Haley Stevens’s Palantir Consultant Scandal Draws Attention to Her Record on ICE Truthout

Why 98 Democrats ignored voters and opposed an Israel aid cut Stephen Semler

Democrats favored to win House, underdogs in Senate 100 days out The Hill

Healthcare?

Man Accused of Horrific Crimes Caught Hiding as Pharma Executive Futurism

Your health care bill is incomprehensible. Congress is stepping in. Politico

AI

Nvidia in Talks With OpenAI to Guarantee $250 Billion Financing for Data Center WSJ

OpenAI buys NVIDIA chips to do AI

NVIDIA invests in OpenAI equity

OpenAI uses money to buy more chips

NVIDIA raises prices of chips more

Capex number goes higher to buy chips

Investors are concerned

NVIDIA provides backstop to OpenAI

Investors give more money to OpenAI… https://t.co/gLHtksimWo pic.twitter.com/TQhM8cQf9n

— Boring_Business (@BoringBiz_) July 27, 2026

Emails show how Virginia regulators downplayed data center health concerns Politico

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Your Garbage Truck Is About to Start Spying on You. Your Car Already Did, and Got Fined for It. Auto Wire

US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search Tech Crunch

The Accelerationists

Orbital Enclosure Phenomenal World

Antitrust

Monopoly Round-Up: How to Stop the Enshittification of America Matt Stoller

Groves of Academe

Higher Ed Can’t Be Neutral in an Age of Brutality. It Must Choose Democracy.Truthout

Class Warfare

Kansas Amendment Battle Highlights Billionaires’ Efforts to Capture State Courts Truthout

Financial Hardship Linked To Brain Shrinkage, Cognitive Decline StudyFinds

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.