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Leto's agency WME is standing by him following a BBC documentary where multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, which he denied.

Hollywood studios are increasingly giving preferential treatment to non-journalists with large social media followings.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made it crystal clear that he wants maverick Sen. John Fetterman to remain a Democrat even though progressives have been howling over him.

Hormuz Ship Traffic Edges Higher, But Kpler Warns Gulf Crude Exports Remain Impaired

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slightly increased as US-Iran negotiations remained ongoing in an effort to restore peace after the memorandum of understanding collapsed amid two weeks of tit-for-tat strikes, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, who provided no further details.

Still, the security situation in the Gulf deteriorated overnight after the US launched a new wave of strikes on Iran following attacks on US forces in Jordan. Additionally, reports emerged that a US-owned LNG vessel was struck at an Egyptian port.

Bloomberg cited Kpler data showing that fourteen commodity vessels transited the Hormuz chokepoint in both directions on Wednesday, up from single digits the previous week.

Kpler wrote on X:

Hormuz shipping bottleneck endures

A four-day pause in US strikes on Iran has done little to restore Middle East Gulf crude exports. Confirmed clearance remained close to recent lows, while Gulf loading activity fell by more than half for the first time in six weeks. The crude backlog has shifted between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman rather than disappeared. Persistent maritime security risks, war risk insurance costs and Iranian interdiction now appear to be the main barriers. Offshore ship to ship transfers are helping manage inventories, but not expanding export capacity. For energy markets, physical shipping data remain a clearer measure of supply conditions than geopolitical headlines.

Hormuz shipping bottleneck endures

A four day pause in US strikes on Iran has done little to restore Middle East Gulf crude exports. Confirmed clearance remained close to recent lows, while Gulf loading activity fell by more than half for the first time in six weeks. The crude… pic.twitter.com/e9aZ5cfGCP

— Kpler (@Kpler) July 30, 2026

Qatar's Al Areesh exited the Persian Gulf carrying the country's first LNG shipment in three weeks, while a supertanker was provisionally booked at nearly $500,000 a day to load Gulf crude for China.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said about 6.5 million barrels of oil a day moved through the strait over the past week with US support.

"We are using the United States military to escort out oil and gas out of the Strait of Hormuz,” Wright told Bloomberg Radio, saying about 6.5 million barrels of oil a day exited the Gulf via the strait over the past week. "We are restoring supplies of global oil and refined products to the world out of that region."

Maritime Chokepoint Developments:

Strait of Hormuz

• A Norwegian-flagged products tanker appears to be preparing to exit
• Two Iran-linked Suezmaxes, Chloe and Kariz, sailed into the strait and are now idling off Iran's Bandar Abbas
• Very large crude carrier Jamaica Prosperity was provisionally fixed by the shipping unit of a Chinese charterer to pick up a Persian Gulf cargo on Aug. 3 at 465 Worldscale points, or nearly $500,000 per day

Southern Red Sea

• Twenty-one commodity vessels crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait in either direction on Wednesday, compared to 38 a day earlier: Kpler
• Only Russian crude left via the chokepoint, totaling about 3.5 million barrels, although some vessels may have transited with transponders off
• South Korean-controlled VLCC V Glory seen approaching Gulf of Aden recently before going dark; Saudi-flagged Samha seen doing so on Thursday
• On Wednesday, some ships were provisionally booked to load from Yanbu in August, with the option of exiting via Bab el- Mandeb to reach South Korea

Northern Red Sea

• Two LNG carriers were struck late Wednesday at Egypt's Damietta port near the mouth of the Suez Canal; no one has claimed responsibility yet
• Japanese-flagged VLCC Takamatsu Maru is the latest to divert to Egypt's Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean coast as a destination from US previously; ship is currently southeast of Africa
• Bidbid and VL Prosperity have arrived at and loading from Sidi Kerir, with previously reported destinations in Asia
• Three VLCCs — Olympic Luck, DHT Gazelle and DHT Mustang — that departed Yanbu are currently idling off Sidi Kerir with no clear destination

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 09:30

A new video has emerged showing the tense atmosphere that engulfed the Fever's recent road game in Seattle amid the drama stemming from recent comments made by Indiana star Sophie Cunningham.

“She told me she is walking away from Bravo completely,” Draper divulged of the "VPR" star.

“She told me she is walking away from Bravo completely,” Draper divulged of the "VPR" star.

A 5-year-old boy died suddenly while on a family vacation after a stomachache turned out to be an extremely rare disease. “5 days in the hospital and he was gone,” said Terese Peden, the grieving mother of Justin Vu, in an interview with FOX 8. 5-year-old Justin Vu died after complaining of stomach pain on...

The 76-year-old journalist went public with his diagnosis last month, saying his first symptom was “forgetting people’s names and places."

The 76-year-old journalist went public with his diagnosis last month, saying his first symptom was “forgetting people’s names and places."

Yankee fans are having a field day eviscerating catcher Ali Sanchez, but manager Aaron Boone has his catcher’s back.

'Coordinated Cyberattack' Hits More Than 30 Minnesota Water Systems

Authored by Owen Evans via The Epoch Times,

A “coordinated cyberattack” targeted more than 30 community water systems ‌in Minnesota on July 26 and July 27, the state’s information technology agency said in a statement.

Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) stated on July 28 that it activated its incident response capabilities immediately after learning of the attack. MNIT stated that an investigation remains active, and responders continue to “assess affected systems.”

“At this time, they are not aware of any active requests from Minnesota cities to have their residents modify their drinking water usage,” the agency stated.

John Israel, MNIT assistant commissioner and Minnesota chief information security officer, said such attacks require “a coordinated, whole-of-government response.”

“[The agency] is working side by side with our partners to share intelligence, support affected communities, and help utilities restore operations safely while strengthening defenses against future attacks,” he said.

Emily Zimmer, a spokesperson for the agency, told Reuters in an email that while the investigation remains ongoing, “the timing, methods of access, and targeted infrastructure share characteristics with other coordinated cyber incidents our federal partners have observed involving critical infrastructure.”

Zimmer said the agency could not yet discuss formal attribution or specifics of the incidents. She noted that ‌the agency used the term “attack“ to describe the situation ”because investigators identified unauthorized access with malicious intent directed at these systems.”

The FBI said in a statement that it ‌was ⁠aware of the incident and was in contact with the victims “to resolve the matter.”

In a June 16 article about safeguarding critical water infrastructure, Microsoft stated that while cyberattacks typically “wreak havoc” on digital systems, at a water utility, a network breach “can move quickly into the physical realm.”

“Online systems can give an attacker access to operational technology—physical equipment like pumps, sensors, and chemical treatment systems,” it stated.

It stated that local utilities make prime targets because of their size and that most U.S. water utilities are tiny operations.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 97 percent of the nation’s 156,000 public water systems serve fewer than 10,000 customers.

While it is not yet clear who is responsible for the attacks, Iranian-linked hackers have, for years, targeted U.S. water systems to varying levels of success.

Handala Warning

Iran’s state-run Press TV, which the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned for acting as a propaganda arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported on July 23 that the Handala hacking group warned that it will continue targeting U.S. industrial control systems.

Handala is one of several public personas used by a hacking unit operating ​under the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) as part of the agency’s psychological ⁠operations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

An April 7 U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ​advisory warned that Iranian-affiliated ​hackers were attacking internet-facing ⁠programmable logic controllers, computer devices used to interact with machinery and other critical infrastructure networks, manufactured by Rockwell Automation.

The group said on July 23 that attacks targeting programmable logic controllers and supervisory control and data acquisition systems represented only a portion of its capabilities and warned that wider campaigns could target sectors including water, electricity, and transportation networks, Press TV reported.

A July 22 update to the advisory expanded the ​scope of the targeting to include devices manufactured by Schneider Electric, Siemens, and ​potentially other manufacturers.

CISA stated in its advisory that some hacking activity resembles operations previously attributed to CyberAv3ngers, also known as the Shahid Kaveh Group, which is affiliated with the Cyber Electronic Command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

CISA acting Director Nick Andersen told The Epoch Times by email: “CISA is aware of multiple potential incidents affecting local water utilities and is coordinating with the EPA and other government and industry partners to understand the scope and provide any information or technical support to help critical infrastructure owners and operators protect their systems.”

On June 11, the cybersecurity company Dataminr issued an alert about Handala, stating that the hacking group had claimed to have compromised California Water Service (Cal Water), one of the largest investor-owned water utilities in the United States, serving approximately 2 million customers across 100 California communities. The hackers published 5 gigabytes of data.

“CISA’s ⁠updated reporting shows a worrying expansion in Iran-linked critical infrastructure targeting focused on the United States,” Joe Slowik, director of threat research and cyber engineering at Dataminr, said in a July 27 blog post on the company’s ⁠website.

CyberAv3ngers struck a small water utility in Aliquippa, Pa., in November 2023, gaining control of a device at the Municipal Water Authority, according to a 2025 report by the Maryland Cybersecurity Council.

Cyberattacks on Water Systems

According to Xylem, a global water technology provider, there’s “no lack of examples” of cyberattacks involving water systems.

In October 2024, New Jersey-based American Water, the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States, which serves more than 14 million people in 14 states and on 18 military installations, had to shut down computer systems due to a cyberattack.

In January 2024, the Russian hacktivist group Cyber Army of Russia Reborn claimed responsibility for attacks on water facilities in the United States and Poland. In Muleshoe, Texas, one breach resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of gallons of water.

Authorities have assessed that a Chinese Communist Party state-sponsored cyber group known as Volt Typhoon is seeking to pre-position itself on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure.

In a 2024 statement, CISA said that Volt Typhoon uses hacking techniques that avoid installing malware, which can be relatively easily detected, and instead rely on built-in tools that are harder to spot.

This means that they exploit weak admin passwords, factory-default logins, and unpatched internet-connected devices

In a January report from the Congressional Research Service, Chris Jaikaran, a specialist in cybersecurity policy, said that the U.S. Intelligence Community assesses that China is “the most active and persistent cyber threat” to U.S. institutions.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 09:10

Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, 44, was on a three-week vacation with her pal in the picturesque beach resort neighborhood of Grand Anse when she suddenly vanished last Wednesday.

Get up to $1,500 in Bonuses + $50 BetMGM Reward Points with the BetMGM bonus code NYPMAX1550 for Mets vs. Marlins.

The 2025 season was one of redemption for Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. Going into the start of last year, skepticism remained about his ability to play at a high level at the quarterback position. After failing with the Jets and Panthers, then becoming a backup with the 49ers, he finally had a breakout season at...

The King of the Hill star follows Kevin Jonas and Mila Kunis.

AI Exhaustion? Samsung Earnings Beat Expectations But Stock Abruptly Reverses Kneejerk Gains

Samsung Electronics delivered another good quarter last night, underscoring that the AI infrastructure boom appears to continue to funneling enormous profits toward the companies supplying the memory chips powering. Shares were up 10% at one point but finished the session red.

The South Korean technology giant reported second-quarter revenue of 171.5 trillion won and operating profit of 89.5 trillion won, according to CNBC, beating analyst expectations of 79.3 trillion won and marking another record quarter. Operating profit surged more than eighteen-fold from a year ago, while revenue more than doubled, driven overwhelmingly by demand for AI memory.

The company's memory division once again carried the business, posting record DRAM and NAND sales as hyperscalers and enterprise customers continued racing to build AI infrastructure. According to CNBC, Samsung said it is rapidly expanding production of next-generation HBM4 memory, has already shipped its first HBM4E samples to major customers, and continues investing aggressively in new fabrication facilities and advanced research to keep pace with demand.

Samsung now believes industry supply constraints will likely persist through at least 2028 as AI workloads expand beyond today's large language models into increasingly compute-intensive agentic AI applications. The company said demand for general-purpose computing is accelerating alongside AI, while customers are increasingly seeking multi-year supply agreements to lock in memory capacity years in advance.

Samsung also indicated that AI infrastructure spending remains remarkably healthy heading into the second half of the year. Management expects continued strength across server DRAM, enterprise SSDs and high-bandwidth memory, noting it has already finalized supply agreements with five of the world's largest data center operators while negotiations continue with several more major customers.

Despite this, shares posted a loss for the day on Thursday as investors continue showing caution related to deals in the AI/hyperscaler space. Domestic rival SK Hynix reported record profits of its own earlier this week and also disappointed investors.

Per Reuters, SK Hynix posted operating profit of 60.5 trillion won, up more than six-fold from a year earlier, yet fell short of lofty Wall Street expectations after slower-than-anticipated HBM4 shipments delayed revenue recognition. Investors responded harshly, sending the shares sharply lower despite management insisting demand from AI customers remains exceptionally strong.

This could be starting to show just how unforgiving the AI trade has become. Neither company is describing weakening demand. Samsung sees chip shortages lasting until 2028, while SK Hynix says customers continue requesting additional memory supply and is signing five-year agreements to secure future business.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 08:55

US Savings Rate Tumbles Despite Lowest Jobless Claims Data In 57 Years

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained near its lowest levels since 1969 last week at just 197k (below the 200k exp)...

Continuing jobless claims are also falling back to cyclical lows...

Additionally, both income and spending are also trending higher...

But overall, the savings rate is tumbling...

So, the 'low hire, no fire' economy leaves Americans still spending but higher prices are forcing savings to be drawn down to maintain quality of life.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 08:49

Combs, who is serving a 50-month sentence at a New Jersey prison, was recently tossed in solitary confinement after an altercation with another inmate.

Combs, who is serving a 50-month sentence at a New Jersey prison, was recently tossed in solitary confinement after an altercation with another inmate.