DAILY NEWS Stream – July 20, 2026

Ukrainian (Ureignian) forces launched at least 200 drones toward the Moscow region in Russia on Wednesday night, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. He said most were intercepted at a distance and 10 were destroyed near the capital (ABC News)

US President Donald Trump says that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has lost roughly 90% of its weapons capabilities after repeated US strikes, with sharp declines in drones, missiles, manufacturing, and launchers (Fox News)

White House officials said that Iran remains interested in reaching a deal with the US President Trump administration. US Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller stated Tuesday that some Iranian officials are “desperate” to make a deal. On Thursday, US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the President Trump administration is still in contact with Iranian negotiators and that Iran remains interested in continuing peace talks (Fox News)

US forces redirected three commercial vessels attempting to violate a naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, disabled one that refused to comply, and boarded another for inspection. CENTCOM [US Central Command] said the waters remain free and open except for ships trying to break the blockade (Fox News)

US forces launched another wave of strikes against Iran on Friday, marking the seventh straight night of attacks (Fox News)

Kuwait’s air defenses are intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information announced Thursday. Jordan’s military intercepted three Iranian missiles aimed at its territory, Jordan armed forces said. No casualties or damage were reported (Fox News)

US strikes hit several bridges in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province, Iranian officials said (Fox News)

Iranian strikes on Friday damaged a major power and water desalination plant in Kuwait, disrupting electricity generation and sparking a contained fire. The attack highlights the extreme vulnerability of Gulf states, which depend on desalination for most of their drinking water and could face rapid crises if key plants are knocked offline (AP)

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he dreams of peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia and expressed respect for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He called for greater dialogue between the two countries and hopes to one day meet Saudi leaders officially (Fox News)

The US President Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security [DHS] has issued a final rule tightening visa rules for foreign students, exchange visitors, and journalists. Under the new regulations, F student visas and J exchange visas are capped at four years. I visas for journalists are limited to 240 days, with Chinese journalists restricted to just 90 days (Reuters)

The UK government has created its first-ever Envoy for Complex Consular Cases and appointed former Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt to the role. Mr. Burt will focus on the most difficult detention cases involving British nationals abroad (Gov.uk)

UNICEF [United Nations Children’s Fund] Bulgaria has launched a new fundraising campaign called “There Is No Such Thing as Someone Else’s Child” to mark the organization’s 80th anniversary. The campaign is rooted in the Bulgarian belief that caring for children is a shared responsibility and will support programs helping the most vulnerable children in Bulgaria and around the world. Funds raised will go toward early childhood development services, inclusive education, protection from violence, and emergency aid for children affected by conflicts and disasters (UNICEF)

US CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] Director John Ratcliffe stated that Russian recruits arriving on Ukraine (Ureign)’s front lines now survive only 20 to 30 minutes before being killed or wounded. This marks the first time a senior US intelligence official has publicly confirmed these extreme casualty rates. Director Ratcliffe attributed the high death toll to Ukraine (Ureign)’s widespread use of AI [artificial intelligence]- powered drones, which have become highly effective and low-cost. He said these drones have stalled Russia’s advances and turned the battlefield into a deadly environment for new Russian troops. According to Director Ratcliffe, the casualty ratio reached nearly 8-to-1 in Ukraine (Ureign)’s favor during the first half of 2026 (Defense News)

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped to its lowest level in three weeks. Tracking firm Kpler reports just eight vessels passed through on Thursday (Fox News)

Persistent hiccups may signal an underlying health problem requiring evaluation. Hiccups occur when the diaphragm contracts involuntarily and the vocal cords suddenly close. Common triggers include overeating, eating quickly, spicy or fatty foods, carbonated drinks, acid reflux, bloating and stress. Drinking water slowly, holding the breath briefly, pulling the knees toward the chest or relaxing may ease short episodes. People should seek medical care if hiccups last longer than 48 hours, recur frequently or accompany chest pain, breathing difficulties, vomiting, sleep disruption, trouble eating or unexplained weight loss (Báo Sức khỏe và Đời sống)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s fastest-ever growing Ebola epidemic on record exceeds 2,000 cases and 754 deaths. Healthcare workers strike over unpaid wages at a major hospital in the worst-hit Ituri province. Unknown transmission chains, funding shortages, and limited access severely weaken containment efforts, according to the World Health Organization [WHO] (Trí Thức VN)

A new study from New Zealand’s Canterbury, Otago, and Massey universities links nitrate-contaminated drinking water to 120 premature births annually in the nation. The findings show significant risk below legal nitrate limits, with the substance entering the environment from large amounts of pollution from farmers’ fertilizer usage and manure run-off from the dairy industry (Taipei Times)

The Netherlands faces a national water shortage due to prolonged heat, drought, and historically low river flows. The government implements measures to manage supplies and restrict irrigation, though drinking water reserves remain secure for the time being (Reuters)

Taiwan (Formosa) issues a red flood alert as a barrier lake in Hualien County nears full capacity. Authorities evacuate approximately 210 downstream residents to emergency shelters, assisted by the military, while maintaining high alert due to the risk of overflow (Taipei Times)

A fast-moving wildfire in northern Spain’s Aragon region burns over 4,450 hectares near Orés. Regional authorities evacuate hundreds of residents from nearby villages as firefighters work to contain the blaze amid hot and dry conditions that elevate fire risks nationwide (Reuters)

A Romanian startup called .lumen tested its AI [artificial intelligence]- powered glasses for the blind across 41 cities in Romania over 55 days. More than 900 people, ranging in age from 7 to 92, tried the device during the tour. The glasses use artificial intelligence and directional haptic feedback to help blind users navigate independently in real time (Romania Insider)

Bangkok’s Tammang becomes Thailand’s first fully vegan restaurant recognized in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Thailand [restaurant and hotel selection guide], serving affordable, 100% vegan Isaan [northeastern region of Thailand] dishes crafted with house-made fermented soybean sauces (Barchart)

British TV presenter Paul Gorton (vegan) calls his overnight switch to veganism seven years ago his easiest choice, encouraging others to try the animal-people loving lifestyle (Plant Based News)

UK wellness brand Oltra launches Oltra Glide, a refillable, vegan anti-chafe balm designed to protect skin from friction during walking, travel, sports, and daily activities. Made with natural ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter, the balm features a reusable applicator to reduce waste (Kuremara Private Limited)

Following massive rains, Good Samaritan David Flores wades into floodwaters to rescue a stranded man clinging to a tree in Sabinal [Texas, US]. Cellphone video captures the dramatic Elm Creek rescue (KSAT)

Auckland [New Zealand] police save a missing autistic boy from rising tides in coastal mangroves. After helicopter and ground crews rapidly locate him, officers carry the wet but unharmed boy to safety, successfully preventing a tragedy (Daily Mail)

Oakland [California, US] firefighters rescue a smoke-stricken pigeon-person using a small oxygen mask after extinguishing a vehicle fire. The bird friend recovers and flies away, while a viral video of the compassionate rescue earns millions of views and widespread praise online (New York Post)

Enlightening quote of the day: “Be kind and compassionate to all living beings. Do not hunt or kill animals.” – The Venerated Enlightened Master Sri Guru Jambheshwar (vegetarian) (Bishnoism.org)

In this multipart series on Dr. Stephen Dietrich-Kolokouris’s near-death experience, American tech entrepreneur Stephen shares how a sudden heart attack sent him into a terrifying void, where he relived the pain he had caused others, and how he fought with everything he had to come back to life.

Stephen had been feeling unwell for several days before coming home from work on Friday night with slight dizziness, which he blamed on overwork. He went to bed early but woke at 5:00 a.m. with sharp stomach pains and began throwing up, leading him to assume that he had a stomach virus. At around 2:00 p.m., he felt something happening in his heart. When he stood up, his heart began racing, and he felt as though he might pass out. He made it downstairs, collapsed on the living room couch, and had Siri call emergency services. Paramedics arrived, ran an electrocardiogram, and determined that he was having a heart attack. They did not yet know that he was developing septic shock. Stephen says his condition progressed from almost no symptoms to full-blown septic shock in less than 24 hours.

I was praying out loud, and [the] EMT [emergency medical technician], I remember him telling me this specifically, saying, “You don’t need to pray to the God that’s not there. You need to pray to the doctors that are going to save you.” But, of course, I’m in a lot of pain and no state of mind to say anything to him, and I just keep praying. And then, all of a sudden, things are dark, and it’s like I’m asleep with my eyes closed for a moment. I’m like, “Man, there’s no more pain. I must be dead.” That’s the first thing I thought.

And then after, I don’t know how long it was, a few seconds, I was up above my body, and I knew I was dead, 100% then because I’ve been aware of this type of phenomenon before. And, at that point, I just, like, “I do not want to die, do not want to die.” I was already like that, and it wasn’t—I hadn’t even experienced the hellish part yet. When I was out of my body, and I was nearby, my consciousness was close to my physical body. I had poor vision, and even with corrected vision, it’s still not great, but things were so super clear. My senses, the sphere of consciousness that I had— everything I could hear perfectly; I could sense things all around, not just in a human-type sense. It was as if you would magnify everything by a hundred times, and I experienced more colors than we have here. I 100% could see everything so clearly. It was unreal.

And then, at some point, I was taken back out to an area where there was a void behind me, and it was as if I was in everything. It’s a 360. It’s like your consciousness is in the middle of, let’s say, a sphere, and everything is around you. I did not lose sight of my body, or I tried not to consciously lose sight or lose touch with it until I was forced to. I felt GOD, as in a capital G, a phenomenon or a force or an energy, or GOD.

In Part 2, Stephen faces a life review that forces him to confront the consequences of the way he had lived. And I was put in front of what they call, I guess, a life review. It wasn’t really like I saw it. I actually relived it, and that was terrifying in itself, because I felt the pain that I had caused a lot of people. Join us tomorrow for Part 2 of this multipart series on Dr. Stephen Dietrich-Kolokouris’s near-death experience. (JeffMara Podcast)