*Top World News Headlines — Thursday, July 16, 2026*
*1. Middle East escalation*
- US and Iran are trading more strikes. The US imposed a new blockade on Iran’s ports after Iran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week
- Iran hit two UAE tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving 1 dead and 8 injured
- Explosions reported in southern Iran as officials say four sites in Bushehr were struck
- Oil prices climbed above $85/barrel and hit a 1-month high after attacks resumed in Hormuz
- Trump threatened further attacks on civilian infrastructure including bridges and power plants eb68f68e5920
*2. US politics & economy*
- President Donald Trump will address the nation tonight at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT on "free and fair elections" and newly declassified intelligence on voting machine vulnerabilities
- Senate Democrats blocked a $1 trillion defense bill over opposition to restarting the war
- US inflation: headline CPI drop may reverse in July due to Gulf hostilities, but core CPI fell 0.02% — first monthly drop in 6+ years, taking annual core to 2.6%
- Fed Chair Kevin Warsh testified, restating the Fed’s goal to get inflation back to 2% ef16eb685920
*3. Business & tech*
- PayPal shares surged ∼20% in premarket on report of potential $53B takeover offer from Stripe and Advent International
- IBM plunged 25% — its biggest one-day drop on record — after missing earnings and citing AI spending eating into software budgets
- ASML reported blockbuster results and raised annual revenue forecasts, citing continued chip demand
- TSMC earnings due Thursday, expected to give clearest read yet on AI chip demand eb6859200f4c
*4. World & sports*
- UK hails rapid progress on a trade deal with India
- Russia stepped up strikes on Ukraine
- World Cup 2026 buzz: Mbappé criticized post-exit, England vs Argentina semi-final under shadow of Falklands, France vs Spain semi also in focus
- Indian-origin astronaut Anil Menon began his first space-
Comments