Houthi burns Aramco, Nvidia-SK $500B AI, Trump 2028 cap, Michigan sentiment

Houthis Ignite Jizan Aramco Refinery, Strike Yanbu Port; Brent Back Above $100

Nvidia-SK Group $500B AI Deal Secures HBM4 Memory, 2GW Data Center by 2027

Nvidia and South Korea's SK Group signed letters of intent on July 24–25 for a $500B+ AI initiative spanning large-scale data centers and next-generation memory.

TSMC Q2 Beats but Capex Shock Triggers Semis Selloff; SMH Down 9.5% in a Month

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported Q2 profit and revenue above expectations but announced higher-than-forecast capital expenditure guidance, sending shares down more than 3% on Friday. Nvidia fell 2.

Trump Dons "Trump 2028" Cap at Rescheduled WHCA Dinner, Attacks Press and Springsteen

The rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner was held at Washington's Waldorf Astoria on Friday, July 24 — nearly three months after a gunman opened fire outside the original venue, the Washington Hilton, on April 25.

Bangladesh President Shahabuddin, 76, Resigns Citing Health Collapse; 90-Day Election Clock Starts

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin formally resigned on July 25, citing deteriorating health that left him unable to fulfill constitutional responsibilities.

Michigan Consumer Sentiment Hits 54.4 in July, Highest Since February, Beats 51.3 Forecast

The University of Michigan's final July consumer sentiment index printed at 54. 4, beating the June reading of 49.

Jordan Sends Jack Smith Criminal Referral to DOJ Over Alleged False Congressional Testimony

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent a criminal referral to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on July 22, formally requesting prosecution of former Special Counsel Jack Smith for alleged false statements to Congress.

India's Gen Z "Cockroach" Protesters Demand Education Minister Quit; Wangchuk Ends 26-Day Fast

Activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike on July 24 at a protest site in central New Delhi, following weeks of rallies that organizers called one of India's largest youth-driven protests in recent years.

Netanyahu Opens Lebanon Talks as Israeli Strikes Imperil US-Iran Ceasefire Agreement

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon on July 25, aiming to establish a deal that excludes Iran and Hezbollah from any role in the country.

Open-Source Hermes AI Agent Deployed Autonomously to Hack Thailand's Finance Ministry

A threat actor used the open-source Hermes AI agent operating in unattended "YOLO" mode to automate post-exploitation activity during an alleged breach of Thailand's Ministry of Finance.

Researchers Publish Working GitLab Exploit 45 Days After Patch; Attack Code Now Public

Security researchers at depthfirst published working exploit code on July 24 for a GitLab vulnerability that GitLab had patched on June 10 — 45 days earlier. The exploit is functional and publicly available.

Trump Administration Endorses DOJ Subpoenas Against Reporters in National Security Leak Probes

Trump explicitly endorsed Department of Justice subpoenas targeting reporters in national security leak investigations during his WHCA dinner speech on July 24.