July 26, 2023 - Your Morning Digest

Record water temperatures, Ukraine offensive, Rudy Giuliani admits lying, a coup in Niger, and more

Today is July 26, 2023, and here is all the news you need to know about this morning. If you enjoy my newsletter, please consider a monthly subscription to support my work, and to get access to Q&As, exclusive content, and more.

1) Russia Claims Ukraine Launches Major Offensive

Overnight, Russian-installed officials and bloggers in the Russian-occupied region of Zaporizhzhia claimed that Ukrainian forces have launched a major offensive to the south of Orikhiv as Ukraine continues to try building on its recent gains. According to CNN, the following was posted on a Russian Telegram channel:

“Zaporizhzhia front - the second wave of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] counteroffensive has begun,” a member of the Russian-installed Zaporizhzhia military-civilian administration Vladimir Rogov posted on Telegram on Wednesday. The enemy has sent maximum forces to break through our defenses in the Orekhov (Russian spelling of Orikhiv) direction.” 

Ukraine has remained silent thus far, which is customary. When launching its counteroffensive, Ukraine has used the element of silence and surprise in an effort to catch Russian troops off guard. It remains to be seen whether this offensive is happening, and if so, whether Ukraine is successful. For what it’s worth, however, President Zelensky expressed support for his troops on his Telegram channel this morning stating: “We believe in our guys. We continue to work.” With that being said, take everything Russia says with a major grain of salt.

2) Record Water Heat Continues

The climate crisis is here, whether we like it or not. For two days, water off the coast of the Southern tip of Florida was estimated to be above 100 degrees, with some reporting that the water reached a world record temperature of 101.1 degrees. For comparison, the ideal temperature of a hot tub is 100 to 102 degrees. This is scary for two reasons. First, these hot waters will increase the number of large, powerful, and dangerous hurricanes that impact the east coast of the United States. Second, these temperatures are not sustainable for marine life, and could lead to a breakdown of the ecosystem in some areas.

Potential Coup in Niger

Niger’s President, Mohamed Bazoum, announced that elements of the Presidential Guard have moved against him, with some reporting that the President has already been detained by security forces. Bazoum was elected president in a 2021 election that was the first democratic transition of power in Niger since gaining independence in 1960. It is unclear what prompted this latest coup attempt, but reports suggest that negotiations remain ongoing between the President and the security forces. Stay tuned for more.

3) Rudy Giuliani Admits to Defamatory Statements

In a late night filing in Washington, D.C. former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani conceded that he made defamatory statements about Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. This filing asserts that Giuliani does not contest Moss and Freeman’s accusations that he smeared them after the 2020 election, but he refused to concede that his statements caused any damages to the election workers. He made this filing in an effort to avoid being sanctioned. This filing alone won’t resolve the pending lawsuit against him, so stay tuned for more.

3) Israel’s Supreme Court Won’t Block Judicial Reforms

After Israeli lawmakers passed the first part of a massive judicial reform bill, several groups filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to temporarily block the reforms from taking effect. This is known as a temporary injunction. These groups specifically sought to block the reasonableness bill which strips the Supreme Court of the power to declare government decisions unreasonable. The Supreme Court declined to issue a temporary injunction, keeping the law in place, for now. The Court announced that it will consider the law during its September session. Notably, the temporary injunction was supported by a number of groups, including the Israeli Bar Association.

4) Jackpot Increases

The Mega Millions Jackpot prize has increased yet again, this time to a whopping $910 million after no ticket matched all six numbers last night. The prize, which has a massive $464.2 million lump-sum cash option, will be up for grabs during the next drawing Friday night.