First Thing: Trump urged to end Iran escalation as US deaths and injuries rise

US-Iran Conflict Continues With Strikes and Reported Casualties; Senate Races and Other Developments Reported

US military operations against Iranian targets entered a tenth consecutive day on Tuesday, with Iranian Revolutionary Guards reporting strikes on US military sites including air defense systems and a radar installation in Bahrain and Kuwait. A crew aboard a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz separately reported being struck by an unknown projectile. Officials in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan stated that defensive systems were activated in response to the reported attacks.

The exchanges form part of a conflict that began on 28 February involving joint US and Israeli operations against Iran. The current phase followed the termination last week of a memorandum of understanding reached with Iran in June. US service members have sustained additional fatalities and injuries in recent Iranian strikes. The deaths of three US troops brought the total number of US service members killed since 28 February to at least 17, with nearly 100 injured in the preceding two weeks. Estimates of Iranian civilian deaths exceed 1,700.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut stated that the president had “frighteningly lost control of this war.” The White House has described the operations as necessary responses to Iranian actions.

In Maine, Troy Jackson, a logger and former president of the state senate, is positioned to secure the Democratic nomination for the US Senate seat after other candidates withdrew ahead of a 25 July special convention. Jackson’s path opened following the withdrawal of Graham Platner, the prior nominee, who ended his campaign amid allegations of sexual assault from a former partner.

Darline Graham, appointed interim senator from South Carolina to complete the term of her late brother Lindsey Graham, announced she will seek a full term. She stated her intention during an interview after receiving an endorsement from President Trump.

A study published by the civil liberties organization Liberties examined AI chatbot responses during Hungary’s parliamentary elections this year and found that the systems supplied inaccurate, inconsistent and unreliable information to users inquiring about party recommendations.

United Airlines stated it is reviewing a video recorded at San Francisco International Airport in which an employee suggested calling Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a Mexican-American passenger after a dispute over a name entry error for the passenger’s daughter. The passenger, naturalized citizen Julio Varela, had requested the employee’s name to file a report.

Alaska state police reported the arrest of Christopher Popps, 54, of Michigan, on second-degree murder charges in the 1993 death of Patrick Dearth in Fairbanks. Investigators said Popps contacted authorities with information about the location of the body that he had intended to submit anonymously.

Andrew and Tristan Tate informed a US magistrate in Miami that they will contest extradition to the United Kingdom on rape and sex-trafficking charges. Nicaragua’s president Daniel Ortega stated that the country will hold no further elections. A judge issued an order pausing the Paramount-Warner merger following challenges filed by 12 states. A Russian warship conducted a live-fire exercise in the English Channel on the day Andy Burnham was appointed British prime minister. A small dog missing for several weeks was recovered while swimming in San Francisco Bay.

The White House announced that President Trump will impose 50 percent tariffs on most Canadian goods, citing retaliation by Canada against prior US tariffs and alleged discrimination against US cars, alcohol and dairy products. The Supreme Court ruled in February that the earlier global tariffs had been imposed unlawfully through emergency executive powers, resulting in repayment of 81 billion dollars in collected tariffs during the current fiscal year.

British actor Hannah Waddingham discussed her career trajectory, including roles in Game of Thrones, Sex Education and Ted Lasso, and her current work in film projects. Reports examined incidents in which individuals have recorded and shared footage of public masturbation at retail locations, as well as the activities of an online network that has directed young participants toward violent or degrading acts across multiple countries. Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck reflected on the production of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the character traits that contributed to its continued appeal.

A study documented the end of a prior slowdown in Arctic sea ice decline, recording the largest year-to-year wintertime reduction since satellite measurements began in 1979. Sea ice area measured in September, the annual minimum, has declined by half over that period. A female bald eagle known to viewers of a nest camera at Big Bear Lake in California is believed to have been located alive though injured following an encounter with other birds.