📊 Houthi Missiles, American Heatwave, and Grocery Prices

Yemeni retaliation, heat dome, and half-century high.

Jul 25, 2026

Greetings! Happy National Merry-Go-Round Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

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🌎 GLOBAL NEWS

🇾🇪 Houthi barrage targets Saudi oil cities. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia after Saudi airstrikes on Hodeida. Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the barrage targeted oil facilities in Yanbu and Jizan. Saudi civil-defense alerts sounded repeatedly in both Red Sea cities. The kingdom did not immediately report damage or casualties. The attack followed Houthi strikes on two Saudi tankers earlier in the week. Saudi forces then hit targets around Hodeida, a strategic Yemeni port. Houthi health officials said those strikes injured two people. The Saudi-led coalition denied striking the port itself and described its targets as military. The rebels have threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping. Roughly 12% of world trade and one-quarter of container traffic pass through that chokepoint. Iran has separately constrained shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Together, the disruptions pressure two arteries for energy and commerce. No American strikes were reported inside Iran overnight after nearly two weeks of attacks. President Trump said Washington remained ready to strike while serious negotiations continued. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for diplomacy over Yemen. Each exchange makes the region’s remaining trade routes narrower and its diplomatic exit harder to find.

🇳🇱 World court rebuilds after Karim Khan’s removal. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is charting a path forward after member states removed its chief prosecutor. A large majority of the court’s 125 members voted to oust British barrister Karim Khan. A female aide accused him of sexual misconduct. Khan has denied the allegations. Documents reviewed during the process said he had a sexual relationship with the aide and tried to deter her complaint. Several member states began planning for institutional disruption before ballots were counted. The vote concluded hours earlier than expected after a procedural motion failed. Khan’s two deputies have led the prosecution office since he stepped aside in May 2025. They will continue managing cases until a successor is selected. The timeline remains uncertain because Khan’s 2021 selection took nearly 18 months. His removal does not cancel arrest warrants, which only judges can withdraw. President Trump’s administration has sanctioned Khan and a dozen other court employees. Venezuela announced its withdrawal hours after the vote, alleging geographic bias. Khan’s attorney said he will challenge the process through available legal mechanisms. His options include a specialized labor tribunal in Geneva. The court must now replace its prosecutor while defending its cases, staff, and institutional legitimacy.

🇺🇸 LOCAL NEWS

🌡️ Heat dome puts 70M Americans under alerts. Dangerous heat expanded across the central United States with little overnight relief. Temperatures were expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit from Dallas to North Dakota. Roughly 70M people faced heat advisories. A stationary heat dome trapped hot air across a vast portion of the country. High humidity raised the apparent temperature further. Overnight lows were forecast to remain too warm for many bodies to recover. The affected zone stretched from the desert Southwest and Gulf Coast into the Midwest and Great Plains. Temperatures were projected to run 10 to 15 degrees above normal around Denver. Western Nebraska faced readings as high as 108 degrees. Normally moderate parts of Montana and Wyoming could also exceed 100 degrees. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that heat stress would accumulate over several days. Children, older adults, and people with medical conditions face the greatest danger. Officials advised residents to seek air conditioning, drink water, and reduce direct sun exposure. Texas and the Gulf Coast could experience the most severe conditions by midweek. The Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and much of the Pacific Northwest were expected to escape the worst heat. Central-state relief next weekend may prove brief.

🗳️ Troy Jackson becomes Maine Democrats’ Senate nominee. Democratic delegates selected the former state Senate president to challenge Senator Susan Collins. Jackson is a fifth-generation logger from rural northern Maine. He replaces Graham Platner, who won the June primary but withdrew after a sexual-assault allegation he denies. Maine law allowed the state party to select a replacement. The unprecedented process brought hundreds of delegates to Bangor. Jackson won 566 of the 571 votes cast. He had already secured pledges from more than 480 delegates. Jackson supports Medicare for All and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He previously ran Maine operations for Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. Jackson began his political career as a Republican candidate before serving as an independent and later a Democrat. He now has less than four months to introduce himself statewide. Collins is a five-term incumbent with a substantial fundraising advantage. Republicans immediately tied Jackson to Platner and attacked his temperament. The Senate Leadership Fund committed more than $42M against him. Democrats regard Maine as one of their best opportunities to gain a Senate seat. The contest could help determine control of the chamber in November.

🗂️ MISC

🛒 Grocery inflation rewrites American meals. Families are couponing, comparison shopping, switching brands, and cutting favorite foods. Food purchased for home consumption costs 33% more in American cities than at the start of 2019. Prices rose only 6.4% during the preceding 7½ years. Pandemic disruptions increased labor, transportation, and supply-chain expenses. Drought, hurricanes, and bird flu reduced production. Tariffs raised costs for imported coffee, tomatoes, and chocolate. Russia’s war in Ukraine disrupted oil and fertilizer supplies. The Middle East conflict is adding fresh pressure this year. Full-time workers’ average weekly earnings have slightly outpaced grocery inflation since 2019. That aggregate improvement does not describe every household’s margin. The lowest-earning fifth of households spent 33% of pretax income on food in 2024. Across all households, the average share was 12.9%. Regional inflation also diverged sharply, from 2% in St. Louis to 6% in San Francisco. Ground beef reached $6.82 per pound in June, 79% above its early-2019 price. Shoppers described buying less meat, skipping nonessentials, and relying more heavily on food banks. Grocery lists have become household balance sheets.

🏀 LeBron James chooses Philadelphia for one final run. The National Basketball Association (NBA) career scoring leader will join the Philadelphia 76ers. James announced the move after seriously considering retirement. He called Philadelphia his “last decision.” The 41-year-old is expected to sign a two-year, $8M veteran-minimum contract. He earned nearly $53M last season. James completed his 23rd season with the Los Angeles Lakers and will enter a record 24th. His eight-year Lakers tenure included the 2020 championship. The four-time champion said competition, not money or geography, drove the move. Philadelphia finished 45-37 and was swept by champion New York in the second round. James joins Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, and VJ Edgecombe. The 76ers have not won a championship since 1983. They have not advanced beyond the conference semifinals since 2001. Betting markets moved Philadelphia to roughly 9-to-1 title odds. Only Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and New York ranked ahead on many boards. James jerseys priced at $125 sold out within hours. His final choice gives Philadelphia another superstar and gives his career one last unresolved ending.