For today, links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, Tass, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, the Moscow Times, Kyiv Post, and National Public Radio; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE 7-20-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  GAZA and 9/11 TRUTH entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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Russia launches a major aerial attack on Kyiv hours before high-level talks on support for Ukraine, by Emma Burrows and Illia Novikov | AP  Overnight and not today Russia unleashed one of its largest aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, hours before the U.K. and Germany are to chair a meeting to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for NATO allies to provide Ukraine with weapons. READ MORE . . .

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Russian troops pound Ukrainian military-industrial sites in overnight strike. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops delivered an overnight strike by precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles on Ukrainian military-industrial sites over the past 24 hours in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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What is known about the aftermath of Ukraine’s overnight drone strike on Russian regions. From Tass. MOSCOW — Air defense systems intercepted 74 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The fall of drone debris on an infrastructure facility at the Kamenolomny station in the Rostov Region caused delays for 26 passenger trains. READ MORE . . .

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Russia says it favours new round of peace talks with Ukraine, highlights gulf between them. From Reuters. MOSCOW — The Kremlin said today that Moscow was in favour of a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but the two sides’ positions were diametrically opposed so there was a lot of diplomatic work to be done. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that . . . READ MORE . . .  and click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Russia and Ukraine may hold new round of peace talks this week, reports say. From the Moscow Times. Russian and Ukrainian delegates could meet for a third round of peace negotiations in Turkey this week, Turkish and Russian media reported today, citing sources familiar with the matter. READ MORE . . .  and click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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A look at President Trump’s foreign policy 6 months into his second administration. Reported by Tamara Keith and Sacha Pfeiffer | NPR  As a candidate, President Trump promised to change America’s foreign policy. Six months into his second administration, where do things stand? Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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For today, links to reports from National Public Radio and the Associated Press, and to an interview from SGT Report; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (9/11 TRUTH 5-31-25 is HERE; it would take awhile to scroll down.  GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up.) — MCM

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FROM JULY 20  After plea deals are canceled, what happens next with the Guantanamo 9/11 trials? Reported by Sacha Pfeiffer, Gabriel J. Sánchez and Tinbete Ermyas | NPR  Georgetown University Law professor Stephen Vladeck explains where things stand with the 9/11 Guantanamo cases now that the plea deals have been canceled. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM JULY 11  Appeals court throws out plea deal for alleged mastermind of Sept. 11 attacks, by Mark Sherman and Jennifer Peltz | AP  WASHINGTON — A divided federal appeals court on July 11 threw out an agreement that would have allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 19  WTC-7, a fifth plane & the whole truth. Sean Turbull of SGT Report hosts architect Richard Gage and engineer Kamal Obeid to discuss evidence ignored by the National Institute of Science and Techonology (NIST) pertaining to the collapses of three World Trade Center skyscrapers on Sept. 11, 2001. Click HERE  for interview, and HERE for related info from Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth.

NOTE: Entries today later and briefer than usual, or missing. Visitors are encouraged to scroll down to previous ones and click on sources of news and opinion for fresher news and opinion.

For today, links to three articles from Harper’s Magazine; others are accessible (I hope) by clicking on its name below, or by buying or borrowing a copy. (MEDIA 7-15-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  GAZA and UKRAINE entries are HERE and HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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FROM AUGUST 2025 ISSUE  Playing dead: Do the Democrats really want reform? by Andrew Cockburn | Harper’s Magazine  On April 25, I arrived in Grand Island, a city of some fifty thousand in the heart of rural Nebraska, for a People’s Town Hall. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUGUST 2025 and JULY 1970 ISSUES  The démodé party, by John Kenneth Galbraith | Harper’s Magazine  The Democratic Party has, within a relatively short span, lost its purpose; it has become a defender of the status quo, a role in which . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUGUST 2025 ISSUE  Casus belli: The origins of the war in Ukraine. A review of two books, by Samuel Moyn | Harper’s Magazine  Does ending a war depend on rethinking how it began? Head-spappingly fast after the United States initiated direct talks with Russia in February [2025], the question of . . . READ MORE . . .

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NOTE: Entries today later and briefer than usual, or missing. Visitors are encouraged to scroll down to previous ones and click on sources of news and opinion for fresher news and opinion.

For today, the first reprint, lightly edited, of a July 19 message to a friend in the U.S. Southwest who used to work in New York State government, included here only because of the outspokenness of the NYC Democratic mayoral primary victor, state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, against Israel’s U.S.-supported genocide in the Gaza Strip. (GAZA 7-19-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  MEDIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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You may know someone who knew the winner of the Dems’ NYC primary from his time in the Assembly. I have not followed his political pursuits of recent months, haven’t known how to spell or pronounce his name, or what he looks like — most dark-haired bearded males his age look alike to me.

I see similarities between him and TR and so will try to find my copy of “The Bully Pulpit” by Doris Kearns Goodwin or borrow it from a library. TR served in the Assembly and (I seem to remember from that book) was out of favor with his party’s establishment or its NYC branch who wanted to get him out of the city — perhaps out of favor in some of the same ways Truman was with the Prendergast machine in Missouri, and Sanders was with the Paquette machine in Burlington. 

I haven’t yet  opened the Harper’s that came yesterday featuring something about how the Democratic Party is digging its own grave, but one example is sure to be the race in New York. I did just read “Sun Valley vs. Queensbridge,” by Patrick Lawrence, which seems to ring true though I hope not his pessimistic words near the end of it. Here’s a link: https://scheerpost.com/2025/07/18/patrick-lawrence-sun-valley-vs-queensbridge/

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NOTE: Entries today later and briefer than usual, or missing. Visitors are encouraged to scroll down to previous ones and click on sources of news and opinion for fresher news and opinion.

For today, just one link: to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (UKRAINE 7-19-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  MEDIA and GAZA entries for this date are HERE and HERE, or scroll up.) — MCM

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Politics chat: Trump gives Putin a ceasefire ultimatum, DOJ reverses course on Epstein. Reported by Adrian Ma and Mara Liasson | NPR  We look at how President Trump’s stance on Russia has shifted, as well as how he’s managing the outcry among his base, who are angered over the lack of transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For today, links to four reports: from Middle East Eye, Time Magazine, Breitbart, and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names below. (WEST BANK 7-15-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  SYRIA, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Mike Huckabee urges accountability for church attack in occupied West Bank. From Middle East Eye. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckbabee, today visited a Christian village in the occupied West Bank and urged accountability for an attack on an ancient church by Israeli settlers. In early July, Israeli settlers carried out . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 17  Israeli settler violence escalates in the West Bank, by Callum Sutherland | Time Magazine  Residents across the occupied West Bank say they have been targeted in a wave of attacks by Israeli settlers this week, following the killing of a Palestinian-American man near Sinjil. Sayel Kanan, the mayor of Burqa, said Israeli settlers “come with impunity, and . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 15  Huckabee blasts ‘terrorist’ Jewish extremists who beat Palestinian-American Christian to death, by Joel B. Pollak | Breitbart  U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee spoke out Tuesday against what he called a terror attack against a Palestinian-American Christian by Jewish extremists who have clashed both with local Arabs and the Israeli military.. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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For today, links to eight reports: from the Cradle, Anadolu Ajansi, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, and Reuters; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (SYRIA 7-17-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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NEWER  Syrian Druze confront new attacks after Sharaa declares Suwayda ‘ceasefire.’ From the Cradle. The Syrian presidency today announced an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in the southern province of Suwayda, even as heavily armed Bedouin tribes aligned with Damascus continue their attacks on the Druze-majority governorate. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Anadolu Ajansi.

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Syrian forces deploy in Suwayda for phase 1 of ceasefire agreement, by Ikram Kouachi | Anadolu Ajansi  ANKARA — Syrian government forces began deploying in the southern province of Suwayda today as part of phase one of a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending violent clashes and restoring state authority, a source from the Information Ministry confirmed. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for earlier report from Anadolu, and HERE for one from Middle East Eye. 

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Syria’s interim president urges Bedouin tribes to commit to ceasefire ending clashes with the Druze, by Sall Abou Aljoud | AP  BEIRUT — Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa urged Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes today to “fully commit” to a ceasefire aimed at ending clashes with Druze-linked militias that left hundreds dead and threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition. — this as government forces, initially sent to . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 18  Head of UN rights office urges accountability for killings in Syria’s Sweida, by Olivia Le Poidevin | Reuters  GENEVA  — The head of the United Nations human rights office called on Friday for Syria’s interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for killings and rights violations this week in the southern city of Sweida. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 18  Israel agrees to allow Syrian troops limited access to Sweida. From Reuters. BEIRUT / JERUSALEM — Israel has agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on Friday, after days of bloodshed in the predominantly Druze area that has killed over 300 people. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to five reports: from the Cradle, Axios, the Associated Press, and Anadolu Agency; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA 7-17-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up or down.) — MCM

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Mossad chief pushes for U.S. assistance in ethnically cleansing Gaza, during Washington visit. From the Cradle. David Barnea, the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, held meetings in Washington this week seeking help from U.S. officials to convince countries to take hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who Israel plans to ethnically cleanse from Gaza, Axios reported today. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Axios.

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Over 30 Palestinians killed trying to reach U.S. group’s food distribution sites, Gaza authorities say, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP   DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops opened fire today toward crowds of Palestinians seeking food from distribution hubs run by a U.S.-, Israeli-backed group in southern Gaza, killing at least 32 people, according to witnesses and hospital officials. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Anadolu Agency.

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FROM JULY 18  Christian patriarchs make rare visit to Gaza after deadly Israeli strike on church, by Waffa Shurafa, Julia Frankel and Fatma Khaled | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including . . . READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to five reports: from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Reuters, and Tass, and to commentary from Kyiv Post; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE 7-18-25 is HERE, or scroll down.  WEST BANK, SYRIA and GAZA entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.) — MCM

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Russian strikes kill three across Ukraine. From AFP. Russian strikes killed three people across Ukraine today, authorities said, while Moscow had to briefly suspend trains in its southern Rostov region after an overnight drone attack by Kyiv. Russia has escalated long-range . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia pounds Ukraine with over 300 drones, killing 1 in Odesa. From AP. Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine overnight into today with hundreds of drones, killing at least one person, part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 18  Russia steps up attacks on Ukrainian draft offices to disrupt mobilization, by Kateryna Hodunova | The Kyiv Independent  From June 30 to July 7 Russian forces struck five enlistment offices in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Poltava, Kremenchuk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, killing five and injuring 118 others, civilian and military, and damaging infrastructure. READ MORE . . .

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How Ukraine’s capital copes with Russia’s nighttime attacks, by Yurii Kovalenko, Anastasiia Malenko and Vladyslav Smilinets | Reuters  For the past two months, Russia has unleashed nighttime drone and missile assaults on Kyiv in a summer offensive that is straining the city’s air defences, and has its 3.7 million residents exhausted and on edge. Other towns and villages have . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for May 29 report from AP.

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Russia says Ukraine lost more than 1,195 soldiers in special operation area over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Ukrainian military units lost more than 1,195 servicemen in the special operation area over the past day, according to data from the Russian Defense Ministry. READ MORE . . .

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The blitz revisited, drone and missile data, military intelligence in the Pentagon, by Stefan Korshak | Kyiv Post  The only real perspective being outside Ukraine has given me is that, yes, really, major nations and millions of people really can have a giant conventional war in progress next door or close to next door, and for them it’s . . . READ MORE . . .

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For this date, links to 10 reports: from the Kyiv Independent, the Moscow Times, Kyiv Post, the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE 7-16-25 is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Russian attacks kill 7, injure 25 in Ukraine over past 24 hours; trains hit twice in one day, by Anna Fratsyvir | The Kyiv Independent  Russian strikes killed at least seven people, including a train driver in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and injured 25 others in multiple regions over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian regional authorities said today. Ukraine’s Air Force said . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for July 17 report from the Moscow Times.

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Zelensky taps ex-Defense chief Umerov as Security Council secretary, by Kateryna Zakharchenko | Kyiv Post  President Volodymyr Zelensky today signed a decree that appointed Rustem Umerov, previously his Minister of Defense, as Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. READ MORE . . .

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Disruptions of cellphone internet links in Russia are spreading, by Dasha Litvinova | AP  TALLINN — In the last two months cellphone internet shutdowns, which officials say are needed to foil Ukrainian drones, have hit dozens of Russian regions — from those near the fighting to parts of Siberia and even the Far East. Wi-Fi outages also have been reported. READ MORE . . .

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Russian-controlled Crimea brings in information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian drone attacks. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Authorities in Russian-controlled Crimea said today they were introducing an information blackout designed to counter Ukrainian drone, missile and sabotage attacks. READ MORE . . .

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EU approves 18th round of sanctions against Russia. From AFP. EU countries today approved a new package of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including lowering the price cap on Russia’s global oil exports. The 18th round of sanctions since the 2022 invasion . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Russia not ruling out countermeasures against new EU sanctions — Foreign Ministry. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia does not exclude countermeasures after analyzing the 18th package of EU sanctions, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Tass. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 17  Russia returns 1K bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers. From the Moscow Times. Russia returned the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat and received the remains of 19 Russian soldiers under a deal reached during last month’s peace talks in Istanbul, authorities in Moscow said Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 17  Ukraine to boost domestic arms production to counter Russia’s invasion, says Zelenskyy, by Volodymyr Yurchuk and Emma Burrows | AP  KYIV — A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country’s weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED