The Supreme Court backed President Donald Trump's effort to carry out mass firings and reorganizations at federal agencies, putting on hold a lower court order that had temporarily blocked the president from taking those steps without approval from Congress (LINK) 8 July 2025

Trump announces new tariffs of up to 40% on a growing number of countries: Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Myanmar, Laos, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia and Thailand (14 in all) (LINK) 7 July 2025

Trump threatens extra 10% tariff on countries that align with 'Anti-American' BRICS policies (LINK) 7 July 2025

US to resume shipments of weapons for Ukrainian defence: Deaths as Kharkiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia come under attack; Ukraine hits Russian warhead plant. What we know on day 1,231 (LINK) 7 July 2025

US revokes foreign terrorist designation for Syria's Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (LINK) 7 July 2025

Migrants who were sent to CECOT mega-prison are the responsibility of US, El Salvador tells UN: appears to contradict what U.S. officials have been saying (LINK) 7 July 2025

The U.N. General Assembly adopts a resolution over U.S. objections calling on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to reverse their worsening oppression of women and girls and eliminate all terrorist organizations (LINK) 7 July 2025

RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed (LINK) 7 July 2025

— Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raved in social media posts on Monday about the $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees.

Fox News: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi faces scrutiny over Jeffrey Epstein case comments as DOJ and FBI conclude inquiry and press secretary Leavitt addresses contradictions about client list. (LINK) 7 July 2025

— Bondi's remarks appeared to contradict a memo the DOJ and FBI released earlier in the day stating that their Epstein review was complete and that they had nothing further to share with the public about it. Bondi during a television interview was asked if the DOJ planned to release a "list of Epstein's clients." "It's sitting on my desk right now to review," Bondi said at the time. "That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that."

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, did not have client list: DOJ memo — (LINK)

IDF says it killed Hamas commander in cafe strike that killed dozens of civilians on 30 June (LINK) 7 July 2025

— Meanwhile, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas began in Qatar on Sunday to discuss the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Russian transport minister found dead hours after being fired by Putin: domestic media reported that he died in an apparent suicide (LINK) 7 July 2025

Swiss federal prosecutors have indicted a Kosovar and a Swiss-Macedonian dual national on terrorism-related charges and spreading the ideology of the banned extremist group Islamic State in Switzerland (LINK) 7 July 2025

Tesla loses $68 billion in value after Elon Musk says he is launching a political party (LINK) 7 July 2025

Tesla forced to reimburse Full Self-Driving in arbitration after failing to deliver (LINK) 7 July 2025

New Swiss 3D simulation tool offers better landslide forecasting (LINK) 7 July 2025

— The model, developed by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), proved its worth during the landslides in Brienz and Blatten. It enables more accurate forecasts to be made of the course, height and propagation of alpine mass movements such as snow, ice and rock avalanches.

— After a first conclusive practical test in 2023 on the village of Brienz (Graubunden), which had been evacuated because of a landslide threat, the researchers carried out simulations in Blatten last spring. Their aim was to unofficially test their forecasting model in a more complex and unstable scenario than that of Brienz. At Blatten, in addition to the rocks and water, the ice also played a role and the terrain is very complex. As in reality, the results of the 3D simulation showed that most of Blatten was destroyed and that the hamlet of Weissenried was barely spared by the mass of collapsed rock and ice.

— The model also showed that the mass of the fall had spread by 1.2 kilometres on the south-west side of the valley and by 700 metres on the north-east side — very accurate values compared with the actual disaster. These results stunned the researchers at the time, but seemed rather implausible.

— Avalanche and debris flow modelling tools are generally based on two-dimensional "medium-depth" methods. They assume that the flow of rock and water is shallow and remains in constant contact with the ground, resulting in continuous friction. But the 3D model allows the particles to detach themselves from the surface, reducing friction on the ground and enabling the phases during which the material flies through the air to be accurately captured. This is a decisive factor in simulating the flow behaviour and propagation of flows in steep or complex terrain.

— Swissinfo: In the case of Blatten, the scientific simulations have not been shared with the Valais authorities, and are not part of the official studies currently under way, nor of risk management. The researchers' aim is not to replace existing 2D tools, but to offer a complementary solution when conventional models reach their limits.

French city of Aix-en-Provence has trademarked 'Cézanne' for year-long celebration of the artist's life and legacy (LINK) 7 July 2025

23 "blatantly out of touch" celebrity moments that stuck on the Internet even years after they happened: e.g. Gwyneth Paltrow said that a cure for hangovers is getting an IV (LINK) 7 July 2025