Published: Jul 31, 2026, 22:42 IST | Updated: Jul 31, 2026, 22:42 IST
Federal investigators are probing a suspected cyberattack on more than 30 community water systems across Minnesota, after malicious digital activity disrupted operations and forced several utilities to switch to manual controls. According to state officials, four cities publicly confirmed the attacks, while investigators are examining whether the hackers have links to Iranian cyber groups. The FBI has cautioned that the findings remain preliminary, and officials are also considering whether the attackers intentionally tried to appear Iran-based amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions. The incident has once again raised concerns over the security of America’s critical infrastructure, including water, wastewater, energy, and transportation systems. Previous cyber incidents involving alleged Iran-linked hacking groups have already placed U.S. utilities on high alert.
Trump blames “grossly incompetent” Minnesota for cyberattacks, despite feds investigating Iran’s role
Story by Anthony Bettin
• 38m
Though federal authorities in his own administration are investigating Iran’s role in recent cyberattacks on Minnesota’s water systems, President Trump on Friday said he blames the state itself.
The Trump administration plans to cut the operating budget of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by $707 million for the fiscal year 2027.
The administration said it plans to restore CISA to its core mission of protecting federal networks and enhancing the cyber security and resilience of critical infrastructure.
The proposed budget cuts followed remarks by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing the agency of straying from its core mission of “what it was created to do: hunt and harden systems.”
However, critics say the budget cuts would have significant national security implications at a critical moment when the country faces increased nation-state cyber threats.
American Water, the largest publicly traded United States water and wastewater utility, recently experienced a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to disconnect key systems, including its customer billing platform. As the company’s investigation continues, there are growing concerns about the vulnerabilities that persist in the water sector, which has increasingly become a target for cyberattacks.
The breach is a stark reminder of the critical infrastructure risks that have long plagued the industry. While the water utility has confirmed that its operations and water quality were not affected, American Water’s shutdown of its billing system and customer portal highlights the critical intersection between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) vulnerabilities in essential services.
The state of the water and wastewater industry
Water and wastewater systems in the U.S. are vital to public health and the environment, but they also suffer from chronic underfunding, legacy infrastructure and an expanding attack surface. The reliance on OT systems, many of which lack modern security protections, has made these utilities particularly susceptible to cyber threats.
According to a report by CISA, pro-Russia hacktivists have increasingly targeted industrial control systems (ICS) within water utilities, often exploiting default passwords, unsecured remote access points and other weak cyber hygiene practices.
UK Brings New Trafficking Charges Against Tate Brothers
News
British prosecutors brought 38 additional charges against Andrew and Tristan Tate after identifying four more alleged victims. The brothers were arrested in Miami, and the U.K. has requested their extradition.
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service has brought 38 additional charges against social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, including rape and trafficking for sexual exploitation, and requested their extradition from the United States.
The brothers were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on Saturday, July 18, according to a CPS statement published the following day. British prosecutors said the new charges concern four additional alleged victims and bring the total number of alleged victims in the U.K. case to seven.
Andrew Tate, 39, faces seven additional rape counts, three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, and three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm. He also faces 19 additional charges involving indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.
Tristan Tate, 38, faces two rape counts, one count of sexual assault, and three counts of arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The alleged offenses took place between July 2010 and August 2017, prosecutors said. The new charges bring the total number faced by the brothers in Britain to 59, including 21 previously authorized charges involving three alleged victims.
Tate brothers are being threatened, treated like Jeffrey Epstein in jail, their lawyer says
Story by Alex Diaz
• 2d
New York Post
Tate brothers are being threatened, treated like Jeffrey Epstein in jail, their lawyer says right now, that doesn’t play well for anyone
MIAMI –– The Tate brothers are being harassed by other inmates and treated like Jeffrey Epstein while they await extradition in a Miami lockup, their lawyer has claimed.
Tate brothers are being threatened, treated like Jeffrey Epstein in jail, their lawyer says
Story by Alex Diaz
• 2d
New York Post
Tate brothers are being threatened, treated like Jeffrey Epstein in jail, their lawyer says
right now, that doesn’t play well for anyone
MIAMI –– The Tate brothers are being harassed by other inmates and treated like Jeffrey Epstein while they await extradition in a Miami lockup, their lawyer has claimed.
Controversial “manosphere” influencers Andrew Tate, 39, and his brother Tristan, 38, were arrested by US Marshals at a bare-knuckle boxing event in Miami on July 18 and are being held in secure housing in federal detention.
The brothers are fighting extradition to the UK, where they face a combined total of 59 criminal charges there, including rape, sex trafficking and offenses related to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.
Andrew Tate under arrest in Miami over charges including rape and sex trafficking on July 18, 2026. BACKGRID
The charges have “put a target on their back for them to get stabbed, jumped, murdered,” their lawyer Joe McBride told reporters after a scheduling hearing in court Monday.
“Every time somebody walks by their cell they get called a word that starts with a ‘P’ that’s more appropriate to (Jeffrey) Epstein and not appropriate to them,” McBride said, speaking outside the C. Clyde Atkins U. Courthouse
“There’s a pecking order in jail, it’s very real, and when you come in with those allegations, there’s no excuses.”
McBride added that the child sex claims meant that the brothers are seen as “fair game” and the public is “greenlighting for them to get murdered in jail.”
“These allegations against them are the worst for a multitude of reasons, it’s one of the reasons why they’re in solitary,” he said. “We hope to get them out.”
Tristan Tate (pictured) and Andrew are facing 59 total criminal charges in the UK. BACKGRID
Federal Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis set a date Monday for a detention hearing on whether the brothers can be released on bail while awaiting extradition to be held on Aug. 13.
It means the Tates will remain in jail for two more weeks at the very least as they fight against being sent to the UK in a process which could last months.
McBride told The Post Monday he was hopeful the brothers will be released on bail but admitted “it’s a tall climb” because the presumption is against bail unless defendants can prove special circumstances, which he believes they can.
The Tate brothers’ lawyer Joseph McBride speaking to the media outside of C. Clyde Atkins US Courthouse in Miami on July 27, 2026. REUTERS
The Tates –– who are dual US and UK citizens –– did not attend Monday’s hearing, but they did make a brief appearance in court two days after their arrest.
Andrew Tate’s X account –– which McBride told The Post is being updated by his team as he does not have access to a phone –– has repeatedly stated that he is being held in the jail’s special housing unit and has “no commissary, no phone calls, no yard time”.
It has also claimed that his neighbor is “a cannibal who screams throughout the night.”
A courtroom sketch of the Tate brothers in Miami federal court on July 20, 2026. AP
Judge Louis gave the brothers’ legal team until Aug. 5 to file a motion for the brothers to be released on bail and prosecutors until Aug. 10 to respond before the hearing.
Prosecutors in Britain have said the latest charges were brought forward after British police investigated claims made by an additional four victims.
The new claims are the latest in a long-running international legal battle involving the Tates which has spanned the US, Britain and Romania.
The brothers are being criminally prosecuted in Romania over allegations which include having sex with a minor, trafficking minors, running an organized crime operation and money laundering.
The pair vehemently deny all the allegations against them, with Andrew’s X account claiming that he is being held as a “political prisoner.”
Joseph Daniel McBride (born June 30, 1978) is an American criminal defense and civil litigator, media personality, and international consultant. He founded The McBride Law Firm in 2019 and is widely known for his representation of Andrew Tate and those charged during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, including Richard Barnett.[1][2]
Raised in Brooklyn, McBride graduated from law school in 2014 and spent several years in Manhattan representing defendants as a legal aid attorney. Following the January 6 Capitol attack, he represented a number of those involved in the event, and appeared on behalf of U.S. House Select Committee witnesses.
He has worked as an attorney and counselor at his New York City law firm since 2019.
According to McBride, he was inspired to become a lawyer after his adopted brother, Anthony, was pressured into pleading guilty or facing 10 years imprisonment for a crime he claims his brother did not commit.[4]
Career
McBride founded The McBride Law Firm, PLLC, and has served as an attorney and counselor at the firm since 2019. He also received the Avvo Client’s Choice Award in 2019. In addition, he is a partner at Power Dynamic Strategies (PDS), a US-based consulting firm with a significant presence in the United Arab Emirates.[4]
January 6 clients: DOJ prosecutions
Richard Barnett
McBride became an advocate for those charged during the January 6 Capitol attack. He also operates the January 6th Legal Fund for the legal needs of his clients involved in the events of January 6.[5] McBride took Richard “Bigo” Barnett as his client, an Arkansas window installer who put his feet on a desk in the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on January 6, 2021. In April 2021, a judge released Barnett from pretrial detention,[6] deeming him not dangerous enough to remain in jail; this followed a federal appeals court ruling in March that made it harder for the Department of Justice to keep those not accused of assault or planning an attack to stay imprisoned.[7][8]
In March 2021, after an incident at a virtual hearing with U.S. District Court JudgeChristopher R. Cooper in which Barnett became frustrated because of his pretrial detention, McBride defended his client in a statement to NBC News: “Mr. Barnett’s frustration stems from the fact that he is incarcerated pre-trial, despite lacking any criminal history…Normally, facts like these are more than enough for an individual to fight their case from the outside.”[9]
Barnett was eventually found guilty of all charges and was sentenced to serve 54 months in prison.[10]
Ryan Nichols
McBride also represented January 6 defendant Ryan Nichols, who was released from pretrial detention by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan in November 2022 after 20 months of imprisonment.[11] McBride had spent months filing motions for Nichols’ release from pretrial detention, and complained that officials at a correctional facility in Washington, D.C. had stolen a thumb drive containing attorney-client privileged information, a claim contested by Judge Hogan. However, Hogan concluded that Nichols had issues with access to discovery, and that the facility holding him in Rappahannock, Virginia was not suited for the large amount of digital video evidence he had to review for his trial, and agreed to release him.[12]
Nichols was eventually found guilty of all charges and sentenced to serve 63 months in prison.[13]
Christopher Quaglin
In March 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden claimed that McBride had misled the court during the trial of January 6 defendant Christopher Quaglin about the qualifications of another lawyer to whom he was transferring the case.[14][15] However, McFadden declined to discipline McBride, and only admonished him with a statement.[16][17] In April 2022, Quaglin had filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and jail superintendent Ted Hull treated him with “malicious indifference.”[18][19][20] As reported in Law & Crime that month, McBride noted that since Quaglin’s arrest a year prior he had been transferred to half a dozen different facilities, and said: “The intensity and duration of his mistreatment grows worse with each transfer.”
Quaglin was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 144 months in prison.[21]
January 6 clients: Select Committee
McBride also appeared on behalf of January 6 select committee witnesses Alexander Bruesewitz and Ali Alexander, as reported by Politico in January 2023.[22]
Keith Raniere
McBride worked as a defense attorney on the legal team of NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere.[23][24][25] In 2021, before Raniere’s appeal to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, McBride expressed concern with how the FBI was handling the case. In a February 18, 2021 appearance on the Law & Crime Network, he said: “We have a lot of questions about the FBI’s work in this case. People here were hurt on some level but the question…is about proving each element of each crime beyond a reasonable doubt. We don’t think that the government did that in this case.”[26][27]
McBride also spoke to Channel 13 news in Tucson, Arizona about the case in February 2021, stating: “There is a system of laws and procedures set in place and if somebody’s going to lose their trial, it’s got to be a fair trial. They’ve got to lose on the facts, by the rules.”[28]
Views
McBride was described by the Washington Examiner as a supporter of Donald Trump.[29] He has accused the FBI of discriminating against Catholics and compared defendants accused of crimes during the January 6 attack to Jesus.[30] From January 3 to 5, 2023, McBride undertook a three-day fast on behalf of the January 6 detainees.[31] excommunicated Catholic ex-Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò sent McBride a letter voicing support for the fast and stating: “I can only encourage and bless this commendable gesture of penance.”[32]
In May 2022, he spoke against prolonged solitary confinement on his Twitter account, stating that it “violates a prisoner’s human rights every time it is used,” and thanked U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert for opposing the punishment of January 6 detainees during pretrial confinement.[34]
Media
McBride has appeared on Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News, among other outlets.[4] He was featured on Part 3 of Tucker Carlson’s Patriot Purge, a three-part series that concluded in November 2021. On March 9, 2023, McBride appeared with Donald Trump Jr. on an episode of Trump’s online video series Triggered. While appearing on Tucker Carlson’s program, McBride said that a man whose face was obscured by red paint at the January 6 attack was “clearly a law enforcement officer”; a HuffPost reporter later produced evidence showing the man to be fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.[35]
Urgent cuts to global greenhouse gas emissions needed to avoid worst sea-level rise flooding in the UK, study shows
Press release issued:21 July 2026
A pioneering study has revealed that by the turn of the next century at least half a million more people in the UK will be exposed to risk of coastal flooding – a 25% increase compared to now.
The research, led by the Met Office and the University of Bristol, quantifies for the first time the scale of the UK population at threat from coastal flooding under future sea-level rise projections.
Even if current global carbon emissions pledges are met, around 1.4 million more people in the UK look set to be affected by coastal flooding risk by 2200. This rises to 1.7 million by 2300, according to the study published in Nature Communications.
Study lead author Matt Palmer, Associate Professor of Climate Science at the University of Bristol Cabot Institute for the Environment and Met Office Science Fellow, said: “The oceans and ice-covered parts of the world respond very slowly to global warming, which makes sea-level rise the ‘sleeping giant’ of climate change. The result is that sea-level rise is ‘locked-in’ for centuries to come; our study quantifies the scale of the adaptation challenge and highlights how reducing greenhouse gas emissions can help avoid the worst outcomes.
“The findings highlight the importance of global action on emissions – as set out in the Paris Climate Agreement – to de-risk future sea level rise and the need to adapt to unavoidable sea-level rise in the coming decades.”
The research showed sea-levels are set to rise by between 0.4 and 0.6 metres across UK coastlines by 2100, resulting in a 13% increase in areas classified as at risk of coastal flooding. By 2300, these levels triple to between 1.2 and 1.8m, with coastal flood risk areas growing by more than half (56%).
Just two years later, the new study has found the slowdown in sea ice decline is now over.
Using the most recent satellite observations of sea ice coverage, the researchers found that the 2005 to 2024 slowdown was “temporary rather than sustained”.
Dr Duo Chan, lead author of the paper from the University of Southampton’s School of Ocean and Earth Science, said that what “looked like a pause in the early 2020s now appears to have just been a temporary slowdown within a longer-term decline”.
Sea ice area in September, when it reaches its annual minimum, has halved since 1979, when satellite measurements began.
The researchers found that between 2024 and 2025 Arctic sea ice declined by 5.8%. This is the largest year-to-year wintertime drop ever recorded.
Dr Alessandro Silvano, co-author of the paper at the University of Southampton, said this sharp drop in 2025 was unusual, but physically plausible under current Arctic warming.
Because the winter sea ice acts as an insulator between the relatively warm Arctic ocean and the much colder atmosphere, a reduction in ice will mean more ocean heat and moisture will enter the atmosphere.
Researchers drilled deep into an East Antarctic glacier and uncovered direct evidence of a process that could accelerate ice loss as the climate warms. Credit: Shutterstock
A new study uses boreholes drilled deep beneath Antarctic ice to investigate why the continent’s glaciers are accelerating.
More than half a kilometer beneath an East Antarctic glacier, sensors detected water pressure high enough to support almost all the ice above. The measurements provide the first direct confirmation that meltwater from the surface can reach the base of an Antarctic glacier, reduce friction and accelerate its movement toward the ocean.
“The Antarctic ice sheet holds 90% of the world’s glacier ice. If it were to melt completely and drain into the ocean, sea levels would rise by about 60 meters,” says Professor Shin Sugiyama of Hokkaido University.
For the study, published in Nature Communications, Sugiyama and his colleagues drilled boreholes more than 550 meters into the Langhovde Glacier in East Antarctica. They lowered cameras and pressure sensors to the glacier bed, allowing them to observe conditions that satellites cannot see from above. “Using a hot-water jet, we could carefully and rapidly drill into the glacier and measure the water pressure right at its base,” explains Sugiyama.
Watch the episodes explaining the reason for next worsening stage of global warming:
How the Super El Niño Could Reignite the Climate Movement
105K VIEWS
JUL 20, 2026 at 12:56 PM EDT
Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben joins Carlo to break down the politics surrounding the current climate crisis. They discuss why the debate of climate change continues to circle in and out of public attention. McKibben explains the importance of energy independence and why the clean energy transition is both an economic opportunity and environmental necessity.
As one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change, Iran’s climate crisis can only increase in severity and jeopardize the country’s future and the sustainability of its resources.
Introduction
Iran is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It also bears significant responsibility for climate change globally and in the region, as it ranks first in the Middle East and eighth worldwide, for its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with annual carbon dioxide amounting to nearly 617 tons. These substantial emissions stem primarily from Iran’s heavy reliance on oil and natural gas. Nevertheless, the country’s rapid urbanization process has also contributed significantly to elevated air pollution levels and the formation of heat islands, where urban areas experience higher temperatures than their surroundings.
Climate change in Iran is primarily distinguished by reduced precipitation and increased temperatures. Given its location in the mid-latitude belt, this poses a particularly daunting challenge for the country, encompassing arid and semi-arid regions with yearly precipitation less than one-third of the global average. More than 82 percent of Iran is already classified as arid or semi-arid, and rain in the country only reaches approximately 250 millimeters. Iran is also the sixth most natural hazard-prone country in the world, frequently experiencing floods, landslides, and droughts.
Temperatures in Iran, an estimated average of 50-54 degrees Celsius during the hot seasons, continue to rise. Recent reports have indicated that Iran is projected to witness a mean temperature rise of 2.6°C and a 35 percent decrease in precipitation in the coming decades. The impact of such escalating heat was evident recently when the government initiated a two-day emergency shutdown due to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the capital.
The country also faces severe water shortages. Geographically, Iran is situated in a dry region with elevated temperatures and relatively scarce rain and snowfall. The distribution of climate categories in Iran is as follows: 35.5 percent hyper-arid, 29.2 percent arid, 20.1 percent semi-arid, 5 percent Mediterranean, and 10 percent wet. Water resources play a crucial role and serve as one of the most significant limiting factors in the country’s development, with approximately 35 percent of Iranians experiencing water scarcity since the early 2000s. By 2019, Iran ranked fourth among countries at high risk of depleting their water supplies. Rising sea levels pose another long-term challenge for the country. By 2050, it is estimated that over 300 million homes will be impacted by rising coastlines, displacing over 100 million people.
This was written 2 years ago, life has only worsened for Sudanese since:
Key Takeaways
Unprecedented Environmental Toll: The ongoing war in Sudan is inflicting untold human suffering and devastating the country’s ecosystems. The conflict poses far-reaching threats to biodiversity and ecological stability, with long-term repercussions for Sudanese society including heightened climate vulnerability, deforestation, and soil degradation.
Displacement and Environmental Degradation: One of the most significant challenges is that the concentration of internally displaced people in specific areas intensifies local demand for limited resources. This creates a vicious cycle of conflict-driven migration and environmental degradation, which can only be broken through holistic interventions.
Immediate and Coordinated Action: Addressing these challenges requires rapid and coordinated actions from all stakeholders. A ceasefire is urgently needed to prevent a human and environmental catastrophe in Sudan, as well as addressing humanitarian needs in conflict hotspots and areas hosting large internally displaced populations.
Building Resilience: The conflict and associated environmental challenges necessitate urgent resilience-building strategies. These include enforcing environmental regulations, promoting sustainable land use, and investing in climate resilience and adaptation measures to mitigate the impacts of both conflict and climate change on the environment and the human population.
Gaza and the Middle East: When War Burns Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
The climate consequences of war are even more staggering when fossil fuel infrastructure is involved. An analysis estimates that the Israel–Gaza war produced around 33 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent due to military operations, fires, debris, and reconstruction demands.
Similarly, news reports found that the first two weeks of the US–Israel conflict with Iran released more than 5 million tonnes of CO₂ as oil depots, industrial facilities, and urban centres burned. These emissions are comparable to the annual output of dozens of low-emitting countries.
These conflicts demonstrate how warfare directly feeds into the global emissions total, yet remains invisible in official climate accounting
The Ukraine war provides one of the clearest case studies of conflict-related emissions because scientists have attempted to quantify its full climate impact. A study estimates that the war generated roughly 77 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent in just the first 18 months.
These emissions came from continuous explosions, widespread fires, and the vast amounts of fuel consumed by tanks, jets, and military convoys. They were also a result of extensive damage to energy grids, industrial sites, and fuel depots, many of which released additional pollutants when destroyed. Forests, farmland, and grasslands, crucial natural carbon sinks were burned or rendered unusable.
The study also warns that emissions associated with post-war reconstruction could surpass the emissions generated during active conflict, given the energy-intensive materials such as steel and cement that rebuilding requires.
Smoke rising from bombed cities signals human tragedy, but it also signals something less visible and equally dangerous- a surge of greenhouse gases warming the planet. Across Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and the Middle East, war is not only destroying homes and lives; it is rapidly reshaping the climate. In conflict after conflict, the immediate crisis overshadows a slower, quieter emergency unfolding overhead. Yet scientists warn that the climate impacts of warfare are real, measurable, and largely neglected by global climate policy.
Today’s wars inject millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through massive fuel consumption, burning infrastructure, razed ecosystems, and the carbon-intensive process of rebuilding devastated cities. This hidden climate cost intensifies global warming even as the world struggles to stay within the 1.5°C threshold.
Today’s wars inject millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through massive fuel consumption, burning infrastructure, razed ecosystems, and the carbon-intensive process of rebuilding devastated cities. This hidden climate cost intensifies global warming even as the world struggles to stay within the 1.5°C threshold.
Warfare’s Carbon Footprint: A Blind Spot in Climate Reporting
Despite their scale, military emissions remain one of the least regulated and least reported sources of greenhouse gases. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are not required to disclose the emissions from military operations, leaving an enormous blind spot in global climate action. This is described as the military emissions gap, warning that it distorts the world’s true carbon footprint.
The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report highlights the reliance on sustainable socio-economic pathways to meet the 1.5 °C or 2 °C targets. However, these scenarios lack a quantitative assessment of the impact of global military spending on CO2 emissions. Our study shows that events such as the 2001–2011 war on terrorism and the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian war led to an increase in CO2 emission intensity of 0.04 (95% CI: 0.03–0.05) kg/USD for every 1% escalation in global military expenditure as a percentage of GDP (MILEX ratio). This increase accounts for 27% of the total change in CO2 emission intensity between 1995 and 2023. In scenarios where the global MILEX ratio exceeds thresholds of 12% (for SSP1-1.9) or 24% (for SSP1-2.6), the 1.5 °C or 2 °C climate goals would become unattainable by the end of the century, highlighting the urgent need for a more peaceful international environment to effectively limit global warming.
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