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5 big questions in the battle for the Senate after Graham Platner drops his bid

2026-07-09T21:42:48.897Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/politics/senate-control-graham-platner

Graham Platner’s announced exit from the Maine Senate race Wednesday concluded one of the longest-running — and most-consequential — sagas of the 2026 battle for the Senate.

But many questions remain — both in Maine and in races around the country — that could shape how much of a chance Democrats have of flipping that chamber.

Here are some of the big ones.

1. How quickly – and thoroughly – can Maine Democrats turn the page on Platner?

Getting Platner to leave the race after the emergence of a rape allegation this week was the big first step for Maine Democrats; Monday is the deadline for being able to replace him on the ballot.

But that doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing from here on out.

For one, Platner’s announcement that he’s suspending his campaign — two days after the allegation, which he denies, came out — wasn’t exactly a kumbaya moment. Instead, he aired a series of grievances over the course of an 11-minute video. His base might not be as strong and passionate as it once was, but Democrats would be wise not to alienate the 72% of primary voters who backed Platner with the replacement process.

The other big factor is whom Democrats replace him with.

The Maine Democratic Party announced that the replacement is expected to be selected by an impromptu 600-person convention, and a number of candidates — including gubernatorial runner-up Nirav Shah, Platner/Bernie Sanders ally Troy Jackson and others — have already thrown their hats in the ring.

Whoever is selected will likely be an improvement over Platner and his declining poll numbers.

But does the party try to get someone with a similar populist appeal (à la Jackson) or does that risk allowing Republicans to tie him to Platner? (Also: Even Platner wasn’t doing as well with working-class voters as you might have thought.) Do Democrats go with a more traditional — even generic — candidate who can better keep the focus on President Donald Trump rather than themselves, but might not be as exciting to Platner devotees? And how happy are people with the process that produces the nominee?

All of these are major questions. GOP Sen. Susan Collins has proven resilient in the blue-leaning state, and the stakes are high for Democrats to get the next steps right. They need a net gain of four seats to win the Senate majority, and Maine — the one state Kamala Harris won where a Republican is up for reelection — is supposed to be among their best shots.

Maine wasn’t the only place where some Democrats have feared their nominee might jeopardize what’s likely a must-win state. That’s also increasingly the case in Michigan.

And all eyes will be on whether Abdul El-Sayed wins the primary on August 4.

Democrats have nominated candidates like El-Sayed — a Sanders ally with pretty far-left positions — in deep-blue areas, but generally not in swing areas. That could change in this high-profile race, where El-Sayed has gained traction in the primary.

The race did shift recently, with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s decision to drop out. That means it’s now one-on-one between El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, whom Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has signaled support for.

But it’s not clear that McMorrow’s exit helps Stevens. Nor, it’s worth emphasizing, is it clear that El-Sayed would necessarily perform worse in the general election.

And again, the stakes are high for Democrats to get this right. Just like with Maine, it’s hard to see how they win the majority without holding Michigan.

3. Are Iowa and Texas really in play?

Democrats’ most likely majority path goes like this: They flip Maine, hold Michigan and Georgia and flip North Carolina. But then they have to flip at least two states that Trump carried by double digits in 2024.

The most likely possibilities are these four: Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas.

Alaska and Ohio appear to be pretty solidly in play, but it’s not so clear that’s the case with Iowa and Texas.

In Texas, state Rep. James Talarico has generated lots of buzz and just raised an astounding $30 million in the second quarter. But somewhat similar to Platner, it’s not totally clear he can match the hype. Democrats think he can speak to conservative-leaning voters as a man of faith and pick off voters from state Attorney General Ken Paxton, but Talarico has also previously adopted a number of positions that the GOP is eager to blast as too “woke” for Texas.

In Iowa, state Rep. Josh Turek looks like a great recruit in an open-seat race — a Paralympian who has held down a Trump district in the state legislature. And Democrats also have a strong nominee for governor in state Auditor Rob Sand. But Iowa has swung pretty hard to the right in the Trump era. And there’s not a baggage-laden candidate like Paxton on the GOP side.

What’s clear for now: Both Texas and Iowa are polling competitively. Recent New York Times-Siena polls showed Talarico tied with Paxton at 47% among likely voters, and Turek running about even with GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson.

When there are wave elections — like 2026 could be for Democrats — there tend to be races that surprise us.

So, which could those be?

Keep an eye on Montana and Nebraska, where the leading opponents for Republicans appear to be independents rather than Democrats. (This is an increasingly common strategy for Democrats — effectively stepping aside for independents — though to this point it’s mostly just made the races closer rather than caused Republicans to lose.)

Also keep an eye on Kansas, where renowned methodist pastor Adam Hamilton is setting records by raising millions in a long-shot Democratic bid against GOP Sen. Roger Marshall.

On the flipside, if the 2026 battlefield narrows and Republicans start doing better, don’t forget that two former GOP senators, Scott Brown and John E. Sununu of New Hampshire, are battling for the right to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in that blue-leaning state.

The last month has featured a big to-do in Alaska over whether a second Republican Dan Sullivan will appear on the ballot, running against GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola.

The state Supreme Court ultimately cleared the way for the second Dan Sullivan last week. The incumbent senator and his allies fear this could cost them some votes if voters get confused, which could certainly happen.

But Alaska has ranked-choice voting, meaning anybody who is confused could rank both Dan Sullivans and their vote would eventually go to the incumbent. At the same time, someone could pick only one candidate and pick the wrong Dan Sullivan.

Also keep an eye on whether the challenger Dan Sullivan will be one of the four candidates to advance past the August 18 primary. Republicans would prefer he didn’t, but Democrats could vote for him to try and push him through.

It’s worth following this quirk — especially given how close this race is polling and how it could decide the Senate majority.

39 killed in southern China flooding after days of heavy rain

July 9, 2026 / 5:13 PM EDT / AP / AP

Authorities in southern China said Thursday that 39 people died in flooding after a tropical storm dumped heavy rainfall, as the country’s east coast and Taiwan prepared for a typhoon expected to make landfall in the coming days.

Most of the deaths were in Hengzhou, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam sent torrents of water into the city and claimed 26 lives, said Ding Wei, the vice mayor of Nanning city, which has jurisdiction over the area. Nine people remained missing in the broader Guangxi region.

Tropical Storm Maysak brought record rainfall to Guangxi starting Saturday, breaching reservoirs and stranding people for days in homes and other buildings. The previously announced death toll on Tuesday was six people.

A second storm, Typhoon Bavi, was at sea on a northwest track that would take it over some remote Japanese islands and then just north of Taiwan before making landfall in China’s Fujian or Zhejiang province on Saturday. Fishing boats could be seen tightly packed at ports in northern Taiwan on Thursday in anticipation of heavy rain hitting the island of 23 million people.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial view shows flooded areas after tropical storm Maysak passed Liujia Village in Qinzhou, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 7, 2026. Ao Shuaichang/Xinhua via AP

Bavi, which brought violent winds to Saipan and other U.S. territories earlier this week, was downgraded Thursday from super-typhoon strength but still had maximum sustained winds of 114 miles per hour, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. Classes were suspended in several cities and towns in the Philippines and ships were prohibited from leaving northern ports as the typhoon passed east of the northern island of Luzon.

In southern China, military rescue teams finished bringing out more than 10,000 trapped students and teachers from a cluster of schools in Guigang city, about 40 miles northeast of Hengzhou. Video on state broadcaster CCTV showed the students, wearing bright orange life vests, clambering onto boats that took them away from the surreal scene of school buildings rising out of a lake of muddy water.

Animals were also stranded or swept out by the floodwaters.

A zoo in Guigang said more than 100 animals were missing, including two zebras, four porcupines and dozens of tropical birds. In Hengzhou, encounters with snakes that reportedly escaped from a farm prompted authorities to stock up on antivenom and advise residents on what to do if they were bitten.

An animal shelter operator in Binyang county, about 50 miles northwest of Hengzhou, struggled in recent days to rescue about 200 cats and dozens of dogs, bringing the dogs two at a time through deep water. The cats climbed up to the rafters as the water level rose.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers evacuate stranded teachers and students at Xijiang Education Park in the aftermath of tropical storm Maysak in Guigang City, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2026. Zhou Hua/Xinhua via AP

Drones and some 5,700 boats have been used in a massive relief and rescue operation to deliver drinking water and other supplies and bring out trapped residents. About 130,000 people have been evacuated.

Ding said the floodwaters are receding but more rain is expected in some areas in the next two days. Crews have been deployed to clear mud and debris and disinfect several towns in Hengzhou.

Road repairs are ongoing and electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes, Ding said at a news briefing.

Heavier-than-expected rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with cumulative rainfall of 4 to 16 inches in some areas and more than 35 inches in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.

Severe weather also hit central China this week, leaving 11 dead and many others homeless in Hubei province after thunderstorms and tornadoes on Monday night.

Elsewhere in Asia, landslides caused by monsoon rains have killed at least 13 Rohingya refugees in camps in Bangladesh this week. Authorities were moving refugees to safer areas on Thursday.

Victor Marx, a self-described ‘high-risk humanitarian,’ will win GOP nomination for Colorado governor, CNN projects

2026-07-09T22:53:18.545Z / CNN

Marine veteran Victor Marx, whose wild claims – including saying he was forced to kill a man at age 7 – have drawn widespread attention and significant skepticism, will win the Republican nomination for governor in Colorado, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.

Marx, a ministry leader and martial arts enthusiast with a devoted social media following, prevailed over two more experienced rivals, state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and state Rep. Scott Bottoms, both of whom have said they wouldn’t endorse him if he’s the party’s nominee.

He faces difficult odds, however, in the general election to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in a state that has not elected a Republican governor in more than two decades. Marx will face Democrat Phil Weiser, the state’s attorney general, in November.

At his election night party on June 30, Marx described his campaign as “nothing shy of beyond incredible,” saying he had taken on Democrats and Republicans alike who brought up questions about his life story.

“This is a battle of good and evil. This isn’t so much parties anymore,” Marx told the crowd. “This is about Coloradans who care and want common sense, less government, stop the spending, get crime under control, let law enforcement do their job, make our state affordable, get people out of the addiction cycle. All these things that matter, that’s what we’ve talked about from the beginning. Our opponents have simply attacked me the entire time.”

A self-described “high-risk humanitarian” who leads an anti-human trafficking nonprofit and a practitioner of “Cajun Karate,” Marx’s colorful personality resonated with grassroots conservatives, powering him past skeptics who raised questions about his claims, which range from rescuing abuse victims to ordering an airstrike targeting ISIS.

In an interview with local news outlet 9News in May, Marx insisted he was telling the truth but often declined to provide details, such as how he allegedly ordered the airstrike.

When asked if that man he claimed to have been forced to kill as a child is the only person he has killed, Marx paused before responding: “Well, I would say, as a child, yes.”

“But I’ve been in other situations where, you know, possibly, people or persons died as a result of me defending myself and other countries,” he added. Pressed if he thought he had killed people as an adult, Marx asked, “Does it matter?”

He also faced scrutiny over a claim on his campaign website that said “his teams have served over 45,000 women and children, many rescued from captivity and given a second chance at life,” which was later removed. Marx suggested that the line could have come from an independent contractor when the website was first built.

When pressed about how many women and children he has saved, Marx said there is “no need to” give the number out, pointing to “security reasons.”

“I would say it’s more than one and less than a bunch,” Marx quipped.

Marx has also said he has performed hundreds of prayers to “set people free” from “demonic oppression,” which he argues is different from exorcisms. He told 9News that he doesn’t charge for the service, which he conducts in person and over the phone.

When asked if he’ll continue to perform these acts if elected governor, Marx said, “I would never stop praying for people.”

Last month, at the lone debate he attended, Marx faced a pile-on from his GOP opponents.

Bottoms, an evangelical pastor elected to the state legislature in 2022, doubled down on his previous comments calling Marx a con man, saying, “I also said he was corrupt and I also said he lies and he lied to me personally quite a few times, and so I stand by that. I can’t put somebody like that anymore than I can put a Democrat into the governor’s seat.”

Leaning into hardline conservative issues, Bottoms focused his campaign on the state’s rural residents, parental rights and culture war debates, and limiting the size and scope of government. But he’s faced scrutiny of his own in the race, as he repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that state lawmakers are participating in a child sex trafficking ring.

Kirkmeyer, a veteran of Colorado GOP politics who previously served as a Weld County commissioner and was seen as the more traditional candidate in the race, also cast Marx as a “fraud.”

“He makes up these tall tales, these tall stories, and I just don’t believe them,” she said. Directly addressing him, she added, “I can’t trust you. You’re unfit. You’re unqualified.”

When pressed by moderator Kyle Clark of 9News about how voters could trust he was telling the truth, Marx said, “I can’t help it if I’ve had an extraordinary life,” and argued that thousands of people could testify to his claims.

Amid a chorus of criticism, however, Marx was able to separate himself from his rivals to his advantage, gradually overtaking Kirkmeyer’s early lead as votes continued to be tallied.

“Listen, it ain’t over,” Marx said to cheers and appreciative laughter on election night as he told supporters they would have to wait to see who won. “And if you know our life story, this is our normal.”

Company hired to check air quality after L.A. warehouse fire accused of downplaying health risks in past

July 9, 2026 / 5:54 PM EDT / CBS News / By Josh Boswell

The company hired to check air pollution after a giant warehouse fire in Los Angeles has been accused in the past of downplaying the public threat during high-profile environmental disasters.

The June 17 fire broke out at a 500,000-square-foot cold storage facility owned by logistics behemoth Lineage. It burned for a week and sparked a state of emergency, with residents raising concerns about the risks posed by plumes of smoke that spread across the city.

A crew cleans up after a massive warehouse fire in the Boyle Heights neighborhood on Monday, June 29, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

To answer those concerns, the warehouse company hired Arkansas-based Onterris to test air quality. Onterris reported “good” air quality and low levels of hazardous gases.

But now, independent air pollution experts and local activists are telling CBS News that they believe the environmental testing, which is still ongoing, has been inadequate.

“It’s like the fox guarding the henhouse,” Lesley Pacey, an environmental investigator for nonprofit Government Accountability Project, told CBS News.

The public profile of Onterris is limited. The company was tied to some controversial cases before it underwent a rebrand in April.

But a search of its former name, Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, or CTEH, reveals a more complicated story.

The company has existed for 29 years, and has been hired by oil companies, rail carriers and heavy industry. On several occasions, environmental advocates have complained that the firm produced findings that downplayed the health risks to the public from polluted water and air after major disasters.

When a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023, the railroad brought CTEH in for environmental testing.

CTEH officials, monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency, took samples and told families their homes were safe. Residents later suffered migraines, nausea and seizures.

Independent experts claimed CTEH’s tests failed to look for the full range of dangerous compounds potentially released by the crash and sampled the air for too short a period to get accurate readings.

“If you have the polluter doing the testing and sampling, they have a built-in financial interest in not finding problems,” Judith Enck, a former regional EPA administrator told CBS News in 2023. “There’s absolutely a conflict of interest.”

At the time, CTEH disputed those claims, saying it conducted extensive testing and “pride ourselves on accurately representing the facts.”

Other controversies around the company’s testing on behalf of polluters date back decades.

Murphy Oil Corp. used the firm in 2005 to test for oil spill contamination after Hurricane Katrina at its Chalmette, Louisiana, refinery.

The New York Times reported that CTEH did not follow the EPA plan for soil sampling, produced clean toxicology reports and used the data to dissuade locals from filing lawsuits.

CTEH said at the time its tests were under EPA supervision, and that it followed “best practice” methods.

When oil giant BP hired CTEH after its 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, two members of Congress wrote to warn its CEO.

“CTEH has a history of being hired by companies accused of harming public health and releasing findings defending the corporate interests that employ them,” then-Reps. Lois Capps, of California, and Peter Welch, of Vermont, wrote in a letter to BP.

Onterris officials disputed that past critique, telling CBS News the company in fact “identified numerous situations where air quality was negatively impacted by the [Deepwater Horizon] spill” and its data “was used to ensure the protection of human health.”

Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin hired CTEH in 2006 to investigate claims of hydrogen sulfide in its products. CTEH found none were emitted, nor other noxious gases.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission subsequently ranked two Knauf products as No. 1 and No. 4 in its top 10 list of hydrogen sulfide-contaminated “problem drywall.”

A class action lawsuit against Knauf over the drywall gas led to a $1.1 billion settlement for around 5,000 U.S. homeowners in 2011. The company admitted no wrongdoing or liability.

Onterris told CBS News its tests in that instance found noxious gas levels “not high enough to cause health effects in humans” and the only harmful amounts were inside the drywall, a finding “not contradictory to studies conducted by other agencies.”

In 2008, a coal ash dam controlled by the Tennessee Valley Authority broke, releasing more than 1 billion gallons of sludge onto Roane County in one of the largest industrial spills in U.S. history.

CTEH tested the air and declared it safe. Residents disagreed.

“People were getting sick,” Matt Landon, a staffer at anti-mountaintop mining nonprofit United Mountain Defense, told The New York Times in 2010. “Eyes swelling up, rashes, ear aches, wedding bands tarnishing. They said it was taking them time to get high-volume monitors out there.”

An EPA audit found CTEH’s Tennessee tests “failed to meet quality assurance procedures.”

Onterris told CBS News it was only contracted for the emergency response phase of the disaster, and the air data it collected was “confirmed as accurate and correct.”

CTEH rebranded as “Onterris” in April this year.

“While the name has changed, the team, expertise, and services remain the same,” the firm said in a statement that month.

Now, Los Angeles residents are questioning recent Onterris reports showing a lack of harmful chemicals in the air following the devastating warehouse blaze.

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, a local environmentalist group, is working with independent air quality experts to take its own measurements.

“We’ve been out there collecting samples doing the best we can,” said Dr. Jill Johnston, a UC Irvine exposure scientist and environmental epidemiologist conducting the tests.

“Particularly because of the foam that’s used to insulate the warehouses, when it burns there’s potential for a lot of volatile organic compounds, toxic gases, to come out with that smoke,” she said. “And that data hasn’t been collected systematically.”

Johnston said she believes that no agencies, including Lineage contractors, were checking for volatile organic compounds and heavy metals during the first few days of the fire, when they were most likely to be present at harmful levels.

Onterris told CBS News that the company conducted testing at the direction of federal officials, and was only called by the warehouse’s rooftop solar panel owner Altus Power on June 20, three days after the fire began. Onterris was on site from June 21, the company said.

The firm’s published reports say it began “roaming community monitoring” and checking the air for heavy metals on June 23.

Emergency room visits from patients living within 10 miles of the warehouse spiked to three times the normal rate from the first day of the fire on June 17 through June 25, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

One federal monitoring station at Eastman Avenue Elementary School near the warehouse measured 755 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particles for more than an hour on June 19, a highly hazardous level, according to the state agency South Coast Air Quality Management District.

During the devastating fires that destroyed swathes of the city in January 2025, a Caltech air monitor in Pasadena recorded about 650 micrograms per cubic meter.

姆巴佩将功补过登贝莱补刀 法国2比0胜摩洛哥连续三届闯四强

2026年7月10日 06:52 / 联合早报

虽然在上半场罚丢罚球，但法国球星姆巴佩在下半场突施冷箭，打破场上僵局。 （路透社）

（福克斯堡综合电）凭借球星姆巴佩（Mbappe）和登贝莱（Dembele）的进球，法国在2026世界杯首场复赛中以2比0完胜摩洛哥，新加坡时间星期五（7月10日）连续三届挺进四强。他们将在半决赛中迎战西班牙与比利时之间的胜者。

这场比赛是双方继2022年世界杯半决赛后的再度碰面，当时法国以2比0击败摩洛哥，终结了后者的黑马之旅。

姆巴佩在上半场遭马兹劳伊（右）放倒，获得罚球机会。（法新社）

姆巴佩罚球遭扑出

比赛第28分钟，姆巴佩闯入禁区后遭后卫马兹劳伊（Mazraoui）放倒，但他亲自操刀的罚球被摩洛哥门将布努（Bounou）神勇扑出。

不过姆巴佩（左上白衣）的罚球被摩洛哥门将布努（中下）稳稳收下。（法新社）

不过在比赛进行到第60分钟时，再次闯入禁区的姆巴佩选择突施冷箭，用一脚弧线球破门，打破场上僵局。这是姆巴佩个人本届赛事的第八个进球、也是他世界杯生涯的第20个进球。

他也因此在本届世界杯金靴奖的争夺中，再次追平了阿根廷巨星梅西（Messi），而在世界杯历史总射脚榜上，他目前距离后者也仅差一球。

仅仅六分钟后，队内另一位球星登贝莱也在禁区边缘完成破门。这位去年的金球奖得主在法国的快速反击中，于禁区边缘低射破门，锁定胜局。

2比0取胜的法国目前正朝着连续第三次闯入世界杯决赛的目标迈进，而摩洛哥的出局也意味着九支闯入淘汰赛的非洲球队已经全军覆没。

点击《联合早报》世界杯专页，获知世界杯比分、赛程和最新新闻等资讯。

Israel shared intelligence with US of Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, sources say

2026-07-09T23:13:29.086Z / CNN

By Pamela Brown, Kevin Liptak

Updated 8 min ago

Updated Jul 9, 2026, 7:51 PM ET

PUBLISHED Jul 9, 2026, 7:13 PM ET

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, on July 8.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Israel shared intelligence with the United States that Iran had recently devised a new plan to assassinate President Donald Trump, two sources familiar with matter told CNN, adding another layer of tension as a ceasefire deal between the countries comes under strain.

One of the sources said the warning came this week. Another source said the US had picked up a steady drumbeat of intelligence in recent weeks about possible plans to assassinate Trump, but the warning from Israel was new and concerned a specific plot.

Other American officials suggested the Israeli report could be an effort to sway Trump’s decision-making as he weighs whether to intensify American military action against Iran.

The details of the plot that Israel warned about were not immediately clear, nor was it clear if the US had detected it separately from the Israeli warning or vetted it themselves. The US government has long warned that Iran may try to kill Trump in retaliation for the 2020 drone strike he ordered which killed a top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani.

Asked for comment on the Israeli warning, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the White House pointed to Trump’s recent comments on Iran’s desire to kill him.

“They want to take out the US leader — me,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a bit lucky, but maybe that doesn’t last very long. These are evil, sick people. And we have to root out that cancer. That cancer. You know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early. And that’s the way I feel.”

Later, Trump said he’d recently learned of a new list that ranked him as Iran’s top assassination target. It’s not clear if he was referring to the new Israeli intelligence information.

Over the weekend, crowds of Iranians called for Trump’s death during funeral proceedings for the slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war.

Tensions have ramped up between the US and Iran in recent days, with the two sides trading threats and strikes as a 60-day ceasefire ending hostilities is in tatters.

Two sources familiar with recent US intelligence said that the intelligence community is tracking several actors who have discussed attacks but haven’t taken action, and one said that US intelligence agencies have been concerned that Iran would target a number of current and former senior officials. But that source said that the Israeli report is viewed — in part — as piece of a broader Israeli effort to influence Trump’s decision making on Iran. Some in the intelligence community are always skeptical of Israeli reporting, the source said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced deep doubts toward Trump’s efforts at diplomacy with Iran, and he has clashed with Trump over Israeli military action in Lebanon, which had complicated the talks. The two men spoke by phone Thursday, and Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington soon for talks with the president.

On Thursday, another US official said diplomatic efforts with Iran are still underway behind the scenes, despite a resumption of strikes between the two sides and Trump’s declaration a day earlier that the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran was “over.” Washington and Tehran are working toward reaching a nuclear deal by mid-August.

Multiple officials said there had been preparations for potential strikes if needed Thursday night, but they were foregoing them in favor of diplomacy. Earlier Thursday on the USS Abraham Lincoln, crews loaded up fighter jets with armaments and pilots did drills in the event they were called on to conduct strikes. The aircraft carrier’s Commanding Officer Dan Keeler told the thousands of crew members on board things were heating up.

As preparations were underway, fighter pilots continued to operate routine defensive operations with flights taking off throughout the day and night.

This developing story has been updated.

CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.

山东泰安决定将泰山景区现有刀片式隔离网拆除或替代

2026年7月10日 07:36 / 联合早报

有户外爱好者和市民反映，位于山东省泰安市的泰山景区周边铺设长达135公里的刀片刺绳镀锌隔离网，将非游览区域层层围堵。（互联网）

中国泰山景区周边设置滚筒式刀片刺绳隔离铁丝网，引发公众对游客安全、生态保护及野生动物迁徙受阻的担忧后，景区所在地山东泰安市决定将景区现有刀片式隔离网拆除或替代。

据中国央视新闻报道，中共泰安市委、泰安市政府星期三（7月8日）召开专题会议，研究部署泰山景区安全防护设施优化改进工作。

根据央视新闻星期四（9日）发布的这则报道，泰安市委、市政府连日来围绕社会舆论关注的泰山景区安全防护设施，特别是刀片式隔离网问题，组织召开社会各界人士座谈会和多轮专家论证会，充分听取各方意见建议。

会议研究了泰山景区安全防护设施优化改进方案，对泰山景区安全防护设施优化改进工作作了安排部署，特别是明确将现有刀片式隔离网分区域、分时段有序拆除或替代。

报道称，通过改进物防、提升技防、加强人防，对刀片式隔离网等设施进行优化提升。其中，对可能影响生产生活、消防救援、野生动物活动或与风景名胜区人文生态观瞻不相协调的先予以拆除，通过增设扫码通行、防火检查站、人脸识别等措施，加强安全管理。

此外，对临水临崖高危区域、防火重点区、开放区外围边缘等，逐步用警戒线、电子围栏、普通隔离网、绿植绿篱等替代。

对拆除后的刀片式隔离网，妥善保存、有序二次利用，统筹应用到油库、化工企业、高压电站、危险品仓库等特定安防领域，避免浪费。

报道也称，下一步，重点优化智慧管护体系，扩容全域天眼护山监测系统、智能语音劝导卡口、高清监控网络，实现远程实时预警、智能喊话、语音劝阻劝离。

Sens. Fetterman (D) and McCormick (R) form rare bipartisan fundraising committee

July 9, 2026 at 4:48 p.m. EDT / The Washington Post

The unusual cross-party fundraising committee comes amid speculation that Republicans are courting John Fetterman, who has said he has no plans to switch parties.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), in April. (Justin Merriman/For The Washington Post)

By Praveena Somasundaram

Sens. John Fetterman (D) and Dave McCormick (R) of Pennsylvania have set up a joint fundraising committee, according to a Federal Election Commission filing, a rare move for lawmakers from opposing political parties.

Called “Common Ground PA,” the joint committee has four PACs participating in it — two associated with each senator, according to the July 6 FEC filing.

With joint fundraising committees, two or more candidates, party committees or PACs can raise money together, and donors can write a single big check rather than several smaller ones. Presidential candidates have historically used joint fundraising committees to bulk up their war chests ahead of general elections. It’s unusual for the participants to be affiliated with different political parties.

The joint venture is fueling speculation that the GOP, including McCormick, has courted Fetterman to switch parties. Fetterman, who flipped his Pennsylvania seat in 2022, has at times bucked establishment Democrats and voted with Republicans on key issues, including supporting stricter immigration policies and voicing stronger support for Israel as it wages war in Gaza.

The senator recently allayed rumors that he would defect to the Republican Party. In a May essay published in The Washington Post, Fetterman wrote that he would continue working across the aisle, while acknowledging that the practice put him “at odds with the party that I have stayed committed to.”

“Plus, I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats,” he said.

Spokespeople for Fetterman and McCormick did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.

Security concerns prompted Trump to depart Turkey on old Air Force One

5:47 PM EDT, Thu July 9, 2026 / CNN Politics

Security concerns prompted Trump to depart Turkey on old Air Force One

The Lead

Col. Mark Cancian (Ret.) joins The Lead.
0:55 • Source: CNN

四川宜宾高县地震致四伤 初排房屋受损超4300户

2026年7月10日 07:52 / 联合早报

中国四川宜宾高县本周发生地震，造成四人受伤，初排房屋受损共计超过4300户。

据新华社报道，高县星期三至四（7月8日至9日）接连发生多次地震，其中星期四早上7时44分发生了5.1级左右地震。

宜宾市政府新闻办公室星期四（9日）晚间在微信公众号通报，7月8日高县地震发生后，市级相关部门、县（区）迅速行动，及时开展灾情排查和救灾工作。目前因灾受轻微伤四人，初排房屋受损共计4309户。

通报称，震区社会秩序总体平稳，后续排查评估及灾后恢复工作有序推进中。