The U.S. gets smoked

Reuters Weekend Briefing <dailybriefing@thomsonreuters.com>
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2026-07-18 13:00

Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. Canadian wildfires are making it hard to breathe in some parts of North America and a parasite on lettuce is causing diarrhea throughout the U.S.. Iran and the U.S. are keeping up their attacks on one another a week after the ceasefire collapse. The On Assignment podcast digs into AI data centers and the small towns that love and loathe them. And our latest edition of City Memo takes us to Vienna.

Summer weather smokes the U.S.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

It’s no vacation: Wildfire smoke from Canada blanketed the eastern United States, new fires erupted in the Pacific Northwest and floodwaters tore through Texas’ Hill Country. Donald Trump threatened tariffs on Canada for delivering “filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air.” Scientists say climate change plays a big role.
Choose your own disaster: Europe’s heatwave is receding, only to be succeeded by wildfires, droughts and storms from Spain to Germany. Scientists say high temperatures contributed to nearly 10,000 excess deaths so far this summer.

Trump threatens TV networks

Speechless: Trump threatened to pull the broadcasting licenses for NBC and ABC after they and CNN did not air his speech in which he asserted that China interfered in the 2020 presidential campaign. Truth Social’s parent company might charge traders as much as $100,000 a month for faster access to the president’s posts.
Detention: Guards beat detainees at an ICE facility in Texas, denied them medical care and prevented them from contacting their families and lawyers, a report from Human Rights Watch and the ACLU said. Trump insisted that immigration agents continue traffic stops as an arrest tactic even after administration officials ordered a pause following the fatal shootings of two drivers.

Hegseth announces testosterone screening for US troops

Manly man: The defense secretary said he wants to fight testosterone deficiency in troops over the age of 30 to ensure that military men have the proper levels to “operate at your absolute best.” Experts say it could increase the risk of infertility. Two Democratic lawmakers scoffed at the idea, given his ban on transgender service members who often depend on hormone therapy.
‘Blind spot’: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will focus international counterterrorism efforts on “far-left terror.” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said leftists were driven by envy and hatred and that they are “all deformed in some way, in their appearance, in their dress, in their mannerism.”

Zelenskiy’s changes spark protests in Ukraine

Unrest: Volodymyr Zelenskiy chose Ukraine’s former top police officer to lead the national security and defense council after his dismissal of a popular defense minister in a bid to quell a political crisis led to a second day of protests.
This bitter earth: Ukraine’s drone strikes on oil refineries and its military escalation in the Sea of Azov are pushing up the price of diesel and hurting Russian grain exports. Reuters spoke to Russian farmers who are trying to survive the squeeze.

Justice Dept. won’t share Epstein files with New Mexico

Feud: The department said it is prohibited by law from releasing files to New Mexico, where state officials are investigating activities at the late Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch, where he is accused of abusing women and girls for nearly three decades. New Mexico’s attorney general accused the Justice Dept. of deliberately obstructing its criminal probe.
‘Distasteful’: Warren Buffett offered a blunt description of his friend Bill Gates’ ties to Epstein. He also said he decided to stop donating to the Gates Foundation because it is his children’s duty to distribute his wealth.

Transporting dead bodies risks Ebola spread in Congo

Assessment: The U.N. migration agency said the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda have reported more than 700 deaths. The virus is disrupting a U.S.-backed minerals partnership, sources said. Congo’s AFC/M23 rebels are using the outbreak to showcase their ability to govern.
Attack: A crowd attacked a Congolese hospital after a woman died from severe anemia after giving birth. Relatives offered to donate blood, but the hospital refused because of a ban on transfusions during the outbreak.

Before I forget…

“There was blood everywhere”: The wife of the Ryanair passenger who was partially sucked out of an airplane window spoke to us about the incident.
French lawmakers adopted a bill to allow assisted dying for adults with incurable illnesses.
A U.S. appeals court revived hundreds of private lawsuits that allege a link between using Tylenol and autism. There is no firm scientific evidence of a link.
Kosovo declared a Serbian minister persona non grata after she said she would have engaged in ethnic cleansing during the 1990s insurgency.
Hong Kong’s national-security police arrested five booksellers on charges of importing books with “seditious intention.”
The Senate is reviewing a House bill to make U.S. daylight saving time permanent, but it is unclear if it has enough support to become law.
Tip from our columnist Marty Fridson: Companies have a lot of legal ways to make their financial results look better than they are. Here are some which you should know about.

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