Long Presumed Dead, a West African Reef Is Found Thriving Yale Environment 360

Deadly Snail Venom Could Lead to Pain Relief Without Opioids, Study Shows StudyFinds

FDA investigating second, smaller cyclosporiasis outbreak USA Today

Climate/Environment

Thousands of tourists forced to evacuate as fire rages in southwest France France24

Extreme heat drives demand for Nordic ‘coolcations’ FT

Climate crisis-driven heat ‘sucking soils dry’ as extreme drought hits Europe The Guardian

Super El Niño Forecast Pushes Toward Record Strength as Winter 2026/2027 Signals Emerge Severe Weather Europe. Shorter version:

People always ask how El Nino impacts are felt this time of year. Well the biggest impacts are often in the Southern Hemisphere. BUT it’s important to note because this is how El Nino will look in the Northern Hemisphere (subtropical) jet stream in late fall/ winter/ spring… https://t.co/DjjjzEuf50

— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) July 22, 2026

Beware Media Hype. It’s Not the El Nino! Climate Uncensored

Turns out austerity doesn’t help you fight wildfires…

From Ottawa Citizen: “About 50 of the approximately 100 positions at the Government [of Canada’s Wildfire] Operations Centre have been eliminated under the federal ‘comprehensive expenditure review,’ according to the… https://t.co/zTA6GcYe6L

— Prof. Ryan Katz-Rosene (@ryankatzrosene) July 22, 2026

⛈️ Video di Local Team dei danni ai pannelli solari di un parco fotovoltaico a Chiaretto, frazione di Teramo.

La zona è stata pesantemente danneggiata dalle violente grandinate di ieri, con chicchi fino a 15 cm di diametro. pic.twitter.com/dygCVWEgo4

— Italia 24H Live 🔴 – Notizie dall’Italia (@Italia24HLive) July 22, 2026

8 Ways To Protect Your Solar Panels from Hail Storm Damage Ecoflow

Weather disasters provide lessons that could help reduce future impacts – but we aren’t looking for them Balanced Weather

Pandemics

Measles surge dramatically in California among children and young adults Los Angeles Times

HHS Changes Two Vaccine Committee Charters MedPage Today

Water

Egypt and Sudan brace for water crisis as Ethiopia tightens GERD flows New Arab

After Decades of Drought, Water Is Rising in the African Sahel Yale Environment 360

The Koreas

S. Korea seizes cargo vessel suspected of violating U.N. sanctions on N. Korea Yonhap

Japan

Japan’s “Make China Great Again” Energy Policy in Southeast Asia Japan Economy Watch

China?

Pentagon expands blacklist to include China’s top civilian universities South China Morning Post

US not getting enough critical minerals from China, Greer says as Xi-Trump meeting looms South China Morning Post

China rejects US tariff coercion, counters EU sanctions Al Mayadeen

How long can China defy history and logic with its imbalances? FT

The problems with the “China Shock 2.0” narrative Global Currents

Syraqistan

Ben-Gvir joins mass storming of Al-Aqsa compound during Tisha B’Av under Israeli police protection New Arab

Two-thirds of Gaza may face acute hunger by year-end despite improvements, global food monitor says Reuters

Trump ties Saudi nuclear deal to normalization with Israel The Cradle

IRGC finishes off Amazon data center, says US fatalities in hundreds Al Mayadeen

European Disunion

Brussels slaps €890 million fine on Google despite looming new US tariffs Euronews

Albanian police use water cannons as anti-government protesters clash in Tirana Intellinews

Energy is the exposed flank in Europe’s rearmament Semafor

EU companies: a ‘capitalism of rent’? Michael Roberts

New Not-So-Cold War

Lavrov Defies Rubio; West Ships Avoid Odessa Belitskoye Falls Dobropilia Collapse; EU Sanctions Bust The Duran

Five Takeaways From The Secret Russian-German Talks In Baku Andrew Korybko

Ukraine Bafflingly Battles Warehouse Chain as Russia Pulls Plug on Port Odessa Simplicius

European capitals approve sale of confiscated Russian oil Euractiv

Kremlin Rhetoric Hints at Escalation Jamestown Foundation

As war drags on, Ukraine’s population is collapsing Responsible Statecraft

Laura Loomer Becomes The Ukrainian Government’s New Agent Of Influence The Dissident

Humanoid Robots ‘Robert’ and ‘Matilda’ Wed in Russia’s First Robot Wedding Ceremony The Bridge Chronicle

South of the Border

Prosecutor Investigating U.S. Boat Strikes and Claims of Torture Was Murdered in Ecuador Drop Site

CIA Cutout Head Boasts About Meddling In Nicaragua. The Dissident

L’affaire Epstein

A Network Unravelling Nolan Higdon, Savage Minds

Trump 2.0

Trump to slap ‘sweeping’ new tariffs on 60 trade partners as global duties expire CNBC

THE PLOT AGAINST THE MIDTERMS Seymour Hersh

Suspicion and Doubt at the National Civics Contest NOTUS

Trump Administration Wants to Hold World’s First Deep-Sea Mining Lease Sale Inside Climate News

GOP Funhouse

Republicans Try to OSHA Heat Standard Confined Space

Democrats Suck

House Democrats Voted to End Iran War—After Giving Up Their Best Leverage to Actually Stop It Capital & Empire

The Post-Trump Iran Debate Sawahil

Would you entertain a Nazi for clout? Who Broke It

Imperial Collapse Watch

The Army Is Burning Through Its AI Tokens Wired

AI

How American AI Companies Are Colonizing Global Cultural Heritage Muftah Magazine

Oracle signs 10-year software contract with Pentagon worth up to $7 billion CNBC

Forgot your Google password? Now you can log in with a selfie. Ars Technica. What’s that scraping sound?

Mr. Market

Goldman Offers Way to Trade AI Junk Bonds $250 Million at a Time Bloomberg

Everything is going wrong for oil markets right now Yahoo! Finance

Economy

More Americans say inflation, economy are driving them to shoplift TNND

Sports Desk

Elite Young Runners Are Becoming Freakishly Fast. Welcome to ‘Trackflation’ Wired

Our Famously Free Press

NYT’s Embarrassing Anti-DSA Meltdown FAIR

Healthcare?

Man sues OpenAI for unlicensed practice of medicine Becker’s Hospital Review

Insurers Are Rejecting More Prescriptions Than Ever, New Study Finds HEALTH CARE un-covered

Immigration

Texas built a floating wall of blade studded, one ton buoys to maim people trying to cross the Rio Grande, and this week that same cruelty came roaring back to bite the state that built it, when over a hundred of them broke loose in flooding and slammed straight into Laredo,… pic.twitter.com/odgah9ntr5

— Socialist Planning Beyond Capitalism (@beyond_capital) July 22, 2026

Guillotine Watch

How America’s Corporate Class Became Legally Unaccountable (w/ Marie Gottschalk)The Chris Hedges Report

Class Warfare

SNAP Tracker: People Are Losing Food Assistance as the Harmful 2025 Republican Reconciliation Law Is Implemented Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

THE MUMMIFICATION OF THE AFL-CIO ML Today

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.