In 2016, 18-year-old Andrej Ciesielski secretly climbed the Great Pyramid of Giza with a GoPro, filming the whole thing.

Halfway up the 146-meter pyramid, police noticed him but he kept going, risking three years in jail. At the top, he enjoyed an amazing view before climbing… pic.twitter.com/CxxDQL927M

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 19, 2026

Viagra’s Next Act Could Be Stopping Cancer From Spreading ZME Science

A Master of the Traveling Salesperson Problem Finds His Own Path Quanta Magazine

Eye Implant That Restores Vision to the Blind Cleared for Sale Futurism

South Korea’s Navy puts a humanoid robot at the helm for the first time Cryptopolitan

COVID-19/Pandemics

Long COVID Brain Scans Reveal Damage to Dopamine Neurons SciTech Daily

More health workers strike as Ebola cases in Congo near 3,000, including over 1,300 deaths RFI

Climate/Environment

Wildfire smoke is crossing borders as climate change intensifies Europe’s blazes Euronews

The 2026 western US snow drought was about four times more likely due to climate change PNAS

South of the Border

Can Cuba outlast Marco Rubio? Responsible Statecraft

How much will it take to rebuild Venezuela after the earthquakes? Global Voices

De la Espriella eyes inauguration at army base in southern Colombia in break with tradition The Bogota Post

China?

China’s self driving electric trucks are reshaping the future of logistics pic.twitter.com/qtLll0sUBq

— ViralRush ⚡ (@ViralRushX) July 22, 2026

China lures away 105 top American minds in bid to dominate med, tech fields NY Post

Is this China’s Next Sixth Generation Fighter Prototype? Rapid Progress in Development Brings Service Entry Estimates Closer Military Watch Magazine

China bans rare earth exports to 14 European companies S&P Global

China Keeps Beating Renewable Targets And Missing Nuclear Ones Clean Technica

India

India’s Cockroach Protests End as Modi Government Bows to Demands Drop Site News

Vaishali Sinha: Creating India’s Renewable Energy Giant Sustainability Magazine

Ghost flats explained: Why some fully built homes remain empty despite India’s housing shortage The Times of India

Africa

The Economics of Solidarity: Why Social Stability is Africa’s Greatest Investment Risk Africa Brief substack

Kenya: What Dangote’s new refinery means for East Africa DW

Africa’s minerals are not the problem. Weak governance is The Africa Report

European Disunion

Millions of British holidaymakers facing nightmare at airports and Channel ports due to new EU checks Daily Mail

EU naval mission will now intercept Russian shadow tankers in the Indian Ocean Defense News

EU Backs Off Methane Rules as Energy Security Fears Mount OilPrice

Old Blighty

The UK has its first Catholic PM – but don’t expect a US-style religious culture war to follow The Guardian

UK government considers fast-track approval for North Sea oil, gas projects : Report Andolu Agency

US/Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria,

This Week in Palestine: Francesca Albanese Calls Escalating Israeli Attacks in West Bank ‘Pogroms’ After Deadly Week Zeteo

Why Israel now sees Turkiye as a strategic threat The Cradle

Yemen’s Houthis fire missiles, drones at Saudi Arabia CBC

Yemeni air force hit Houthi missile, drone launch sites after Saudi-led Coalition forces strike targets Arab News

Syrian Intervention In Lebanon Is Militarily And Politically Infeasible, Experts Warn Forbes

Iran War

“For now”. Netanyahu’s visit is Monday-Wednesday for, among other things, Lindsey Graham’s wake. The wake means Trump will be surrounded by hawks. Will they succeed in changing his mind?

Chickened out like a little bitch. I stick by my thesis that it was the Iranian counter-personnel deterrent threat. But we’re still looking at $150, even if oil crashes when markets open tomorrow evening. The fundamental geopolitical impasse remains: Iran won’t let go of Hormuz… https://t.co/EzPmmJARyW

— Policy Tensor (@policytensor) July 26, 2026

Did Trump TACO Again on Iran? Why? Larry Johnson

US-Iran conflict: Apparent airstrike pause as Oman talks advance on Strait of Hormuz Gulf News

Iran slams Ukraine’s ship attack as Israeli settlers torch West Bank mosque Aljazeera live feed

Iranian strikes forced US to halt, revisit regional strategy: Army spokesman PressTV

‼️🧵 Rumors are swirling that the Pentagon is pressuring Trump to call off the war with Iran because the US has nearly exhausted its stockpiles of air-defense interceptors and stand-off strike missiles.

Imagine that.

1/ https://t.co/G2BrC53nzj

— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) July 26, 2026

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump wants Iran to hand him an exit. Fmr Trump Lawyer Robert Barnes says the intel community just told him, in writing, that Iran isn't giving him one.

He laid out what leaked out of the Washington Post this week: every round of strikes has hardened Iran's position rather… pic.twitter.com/lr8FF1SsJC

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 25, 2026

Gulf countries want the war to end, but can’t agree on how Politico

What Happens When When Fake Oil Prices Meet Reality? Hard Times Chris Martensen

New Not-So-Cold War

Ukraine war briefing: Russia launches deadly attack on weapons exhibition near Kyiv The Guardian

Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes, killing 17, injuring dozens on both sides Andolu Agency

Politicians vs generals: Ukraine’s long, hidden war within Asia Times

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

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

Growing use of police drones spurs privacy debate Deseret News

Imperial Collapse Watch

As defaults on student loans surge, millions in U.S. trying to get their lives back on track Japan Today

Homeless count leaves LA voters with impossible choice for mayor — and crisis for democracy NY Post

GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson pays tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham: “We met him in 1990 approximately—there was a mission of AIPAC. We took freshman congressmen—Republican—[on paid trips] to Israel.”

“Every day, there was not a day that Sheldon [didn’t] talk with… pic.twitter.com/iePrYkjEbH

— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) July 24, 2026

MTG succinctly explains something most Americans don’t know: There are two votes on every bill in the House, and frequently the first (unreported) vote matters more than the second vote for final passage: https://t.co/Nvlyz03Zr8

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 24, 2026

Trump 2.0

Trump says full-scale war with Iran ‘if we don’t get 100% of what we want’: Report Andolu Agency

Trump bombed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner — and proved its point CNN

Trump says he will dismantle the ICC ‘brick by brick’. It could be his most chilling move of all The Guardian

US appeals court rules Trump cannot implement mail-in voting order Reuters

Musk Matters

Lucky 13! Starship Deploys Starlink Satellites and Splashes Down Intact Universe Today

Will SpaceX buy Tesla? Elon Musk is not revealing his plans Scripps News

Tesla’s once-bullish tone on robotaxis shifts Reuters

Democrat Death Watch

Andy Beshear is what’s wrong with the Democratic Party in the Trump era The Nation

Letter: Why I left the Democratic Party Napa Valley Register

Immigration

Trump’s new immigration strategy revealed in purchase of two ICE detention centers in California Times of San Diego

ICE expected to open mass detention facility in NC, sparking anger, pushback NC Newsline

Our No Longer Free Press

Wartime Pentagon goes two-plus months without media briefing U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

Press Freedom Groups Warn ‘No Newsroom in America Is Safe’ After House GOP Subpoenas Left-Wing Outlet Common Dreams

Mr. Market Is Moody

US bond yields face pressure Semafor

Global Energy Crunch Entering a ‘More Dangerous’ Phase Morningstar

Opinion: The stock market’s calm is cracking. Here’s how to prepare for an August shock. MarketWatch

AI

The Hugging Face Incident Astral Codex Ten

US lawmakers propose AI ‘kill switch’ bill Semafor

Secret Soulmates: How AI Romantic Companions Are Starting to Impact Real-Life Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood BYU Wheatley Institute

Scientists Are Designing CRISPR Gene Editors With AI Singularity Hub

Chinese researchers develop programmable plant immunity system Xinhua

The Bezzle

FBI ‘Most Wanted’ fraud suspect arrested in Jamaica over alleged $32M COVID-19 relief scheme NY Post

Poker, fraud and Spider-Man: Prominent lawyer gets 6 years in prison UPI

This is exactly how Messi should end his career, in disgrace.

Messi not only cheated in the World Cup.

He also cheated on his taxes.

Despite being a billionaire, he made gobs of money by hawking junk food to children.

And worst of all, he never used his huge platform to… https://t.co/d9BCtdPxwY

— Dimitri Lascaris (@dimitrilascaris) July 26, 2026

Guillotine Watch

Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet
1. Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet, 17th Century Antique Persian Carpet – $33 million. The most expensive rug ever sold is the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet, a 17th-century Persian masterpiece.#WorldMostExpensiveCarpet pic.twitter.com/2HGeaGkXht

— Hamza Khan (@HamzaKhan377795) June 27, 2024

#DidYouKnow this Chinese vase sold for £22m at auction in 2010? Making it the most expensive vase ever sold! https://t.co/Iy5fsbyZiu pic.twitter.com/sSqdx1AkGX

— Homes & Antiques (@homes_antiques) October 25, 2016

Antidote du jour (via)

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here