NEWS - THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2026 - NEWS
What will happen to the world if artificial intelligence bots break free from our control and act independently? LA Times
VOA VIEW: Everything is up in the air.
Court filings allege federal immigration agents in L.A. used racial slurs in body camera footage and text messages when referring to Latinos. LA Times
Mayor Daniel Lurie on Tuesday publicly backed a proposal in Congress to reel in any unruly, autonomous vehicles. New York Post
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New tech could help lifeguards monitor great white sharks in real time as scientists expect increased shark activity off California’s coast. New York Post
The city's largest business advocacy group, the Partnership for New York City, is putting together a plan for action. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Mamdani is an idiot.
The renewed fighting in Iran risks dwindling America's already diminished stockpiles of interceptor missiles, with nearly a third of its most advanced weapons burned through. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Trump is messing up bad.
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday focused on "big three" options for ending the war with Iran on Wednesday, coming up with new ideas — such as cutting off Iran's trade by ground. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Iran must be oblished.
The kingdom’s defense ministry said airstrikes in Iraq targeting Iran-backed militias were in retaliation for attacks on Saudi oil facilities this week. New York Times
Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis accused the attorney general nominee of refusing to put on paper his promise to kill aspects of the deal he cut to settle President Trump’s suit against the agency. New York Times
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In the latest example, the Energy Department will convert a shuttered Cold War-era uranium enrichment facility into a data center campus and gas plants. New York Times
A bipartisan bill in the Senate would allow President Trump to impose tariffs on the biggest importers of Russian energy. New York Times
Prosecutors alleging that 23-year-old Tyler Robinson assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk have presented their most detailed argument to date regarding a political motive, asserting in court filings that Robinson targeted Kirk due to the influencer's public "opposition to gay marriage and transgender rights" -- in addition to Kirk's politically conservative ideology. OANN
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former White House chief medical adviser, repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying during his appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. OANN
VOA VIEW: Fauci is a fool.
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Although thousands of people nationwide continue to donate blood, supply levels are still failing to match critical hospital demand, leading the American Red Cross to declare a second national blood supply crisis this year. OANN
Maine Democratic Senate nominee Troy Jackson has deleted multiple social media posts supporting his ill-fated predecessor, Graham Platner. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: It shows he is a lier.
Behavioral experts are sounding the alarm about a rise in young adults staying home on weekends to "bed rot" in front of digital screens -- a money-saving trend they say has worsened post-pandemic loneliness. Washington Times
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A single ticket sold in Florida matched all six numbers in Tuesday night's drawing to claim an estimated $800M Mega Millions jackpot, the 10th-largest prize in the game's history. Washington Times
Federal Reserve policymakers are losing patience with inflation, but they may not be ready to turn their frustration into action -- not this week anyway. Washington Times
The U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday it was investigating allegations that a high school teacher in the Denver school district required students of the same sex to kiss in front of a class and a district in Washington state displayed vials of testosterone in a Pride month exhibit. Washington Times
Five states have agreed to accept nuclear waste from around the country in exchange for federal help developing nuclear energy to create thousands of jobs. Washington Times
Trees and power lines collapsed around cars as a tornado with winds of 140 miles per hour tore through central Wisconsin on Monday. The National Weather Service found a 12-mile-long swath of damage. CBS
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According to the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, all airports and facilities were being impacted by the IT outage. CBS
Friends, family and politicians remembered Sen. Lindsey Graham at his funeral in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Graham spent over 30 years on Capitol Hill, and President Trump eulogized him at the service. Nikole Killion reports. CBS
More than 50 million people are at risk of flash flooding as storms batter the Northeast. The storms unleashed a nightmare chain reaction of airport backlogs at the peak of the summer travel season. CBS
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The Consumer Price Index rose last month at a 4.2% annual rate amid a spike in U.S. energy prices. CBS
Wholesale prices for frozen turkeys are expected to be $1.32 per pound this year, a 40% increase from last year's average. CBS
Centcom in a post on X said that the attack originated from Iran, but all missiles were intercepted. CNBC
VOA VIEW: Iran is looking for trouble.
Bill Pulte had been serving for months as DNI after Tulsi Gabbard resigned the post. CNBC
VOA VIEW: It should be Trump's choice.
The Supreme Court recently rejected President Donald Trump's bid to hear his appeal of another $5 million verdict in favor of Carroll. CNBC
VOA VIEW: It should be tossed.
The reserve has an authorized storage capacity of 714 million barrels, according to the Department of Energy. CNBC
The Supreme Court denied stays of execution for two Florida death row inmates, clearing the way for the state's first double execution since 1964. FOX News
A Secret Service agent allegedly served as "dean of pledges" during Kappa Alpha Psi hazing sessions that left two victims needing emergency care. FOX News
Kristopher Karolkiewicz is believed to be the suspect in the Grand Haven Township murder-suicide that killed his wife and six children, officials say. FOX News
Tropical Storm Fausto weakened Tuesday morning, said the National Hurricane Center. UPI
Hurricane Genevieve weakened further Tuesday morning but maintained its major hurricane status as it moved west of Baja California, the NHC said. UPI
Americans' approval of the job performance of the U.S. Supreme Court has dropped to a record low of 33%, a Gallup poll released Tuesday shows. UPI
VOA VIEW: Very disappointing.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday at the White House, where the two leaders discussed Iran. UPI
VOA VIEW: Iran should be destroyed.
Paraguayan anti-drug authorities seized 311 kilograms of high-potency marijuana concealed inside two pickup trucks imported from Miami,. UPI
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COMMENTARY OF THE DAY
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Voice Of America
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The United States murder rate has plummeted to what experts project is its lowest level since at least 1900.According to an extensive annual crime trends report released by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), homicides nationwide have fully reversed their staggering pandemic-era spikes. Thanks to Trump.
Data analyzing major American municipalities suggest that murders plummeted by roughly 21% from 2024 to 2025, marking the single-largest one-year percentage drop recorded in modern U S history. Although the CCJ report states that the projected 2025 rate of ~4.0 per 100,000 would be “the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement or public health data going back to 1900,” FBI data (uniform crime reports) provides the most commonly cited modern national homicide/murder statistics, and reliable, standardized national FBI estimates begin around 1960.
The previous modern low was 4.4 – 4.7 in 2014, and similar levels in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Pre-1960 data, going back to 1900, comes primarily from public health records. These are not as complete or nationally representative as later FBI data — as early 20th-century coverage was limited to certain states and had underreporting issues. Adjusted historical estimates often put early 1900s rates higher than the raw reported figures, which sometimes looked artificially low. Critics of the report have called the phrasing misleading since FBI’s consistent apples-to-apples national tracking starts later, and the true modern-era lows are in the 1950s–60s and 2014.
“The United States almost certainly had the lowest murder rate ever recorded in 2025, with the FBI having data back to 1960,” stated crime data analyst Jeff Asher. “And the available evidence suggests that we’re going to go even lower this year.” The massive drop in lethal violence is part of a sweeping, broad-based decline across nearly every category of criminal offense. Alongside the historic drop in homicides, the CCJ data revealed that 11 of 13 tracked crimes fell significantly over the same period. Gun assaults dropped by 22%, robberies declined by 23%, and carjackings fell by an astonishing 43%.
Criminologists note that the data signals a complete deflation of the sudden, chaotic crime wave that gripped the country between 2020 and 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted social institutions and pushed the national murder rate to a modern high of 6.8 per 100,000. The year 2020 also saw a significant surge in civil unrest, marked by widespread protests and outbreaks of violence tied to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Nonetheless, public safety officials who previously feared that the country had settled into a permanently violent “new normal” are now looking at unprecedented peace across major hubs, with cities like Richmond seeing a 59% drop, Los Angeles down 39%, and Atlanta recording fewer than 100 homicides for the first time since before the pandemic. While politicians across the ideological spectrum have been quick to claim credit for the positive shift, CCJ researchers argue that the record-low numbers are driven by a “complex, multifactorial web of social recovery and focused intervention” rather than a single policy.
While the drop to a 125-year low is a major achievement for public safety, crime data analysts remind the public that a rate of 4.0 per 100,000 residents still equates to roughly 13,000 to 14,000 preventable American deaths per year.
