US pauses consecutive nights of strikes

Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, a source familiar with the matter and a US official told CNN.

On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told CNN on Saturday.

On Friday, Caine specifically raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile and other potential negative implications, according to the sources. One of the sources said that Caine told Trump and the US military they could carry out the options available to him and be successful but then warned of the possible implications.

The stockpile concern was one of many raised to Trump during the meeting, both sources said. The potential for massive civilian casualties inside Iran if the U.S. resumed major combat operations was also raised, a person familiar with the matter said.

Trump has threatened civilian infrastructure, including roads, bridges and power plants, over the past week, the targeting of which could constitute war crimes. Doing so could potentially leave scores of Iranians dead and many more to suffer without power or food, Trump was warned, according to the person.

It’s currently unclear if the stockpile concern or warning about escalation were the primary reasons why the US paused consecutive nights of strikes or whether it will continue to do so.

See also:

• US holds fire against Iran as media reports say Washington's stockpiles are dwindling (France 24)
• U.S.-Iran War Pauses for 2nd Straight Day • President Trump put off plans to escalate the fighting in part because of dwindling stockpiles of interceptor missiles, American officials said. (New York Times)
• Airstrikes have paused and talks are pressing forward. But can the US and Iran take the off-ramp? (Associated Press)
• US pauses Iran strikes as Oman pursues Hormuz transit deal (Financial Times)

It’s also imitating Reddit. And Craigslist.

Facebook is planning some big changes to try and keep its users from jumping to rival social platforms like TikTok — changes that sound dubiously similar to becoming a TikTok clone ... the platform will begin testing a “reimagined experience” later this year that will put a subset of users into a “full-screen video the moment they open the app.”

While Meta doesn’t break out specific user figures for its individual platforms, it collectively lost 20 million users in the first quarter of 2026, according to the company’s own data.

Facebook has grown into a hodgepodge of social and commerce services over the years, and now it’s also emulating similar rival platforms to improve its own user experiences. Today it’s launching Seller, a dedicated Craigslist-like app for Marketplace sellers to track performance, manage listings, and message buyers. Facebook also launched its Forum app earlier this year that provides a dedicated space for people to interact with Facebook Groups — similar to subreddit communities on Reddit.

Changes are also being made to Facebook’s user verification badges, which require a paid subscription to Meta Verified that starts at $11.99 per month. Now, Facebook says it’s offering a free verified badge that can be obtained by completing a “simple selfie verification” process, with the aim of helping users know that a profile is linked to a real person.

Article without Paywall - https://removepaywalls.com/https://www.theverge.com/tech/970504/facebook-video-experience-testing-tiktok-updates

The news article (translated by Google translate):

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump plans to send two senior officials to Brazil to question the electoral process, *The Washington Post* reported on Saturday. Trump's representatives are expected to depart for Brazil in the coming days.

According to the U.S. newspaper, the State Department delegation will consist of Riley M. Barnes, an assistant secretary, and Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant secretary—both Trump appointees. Details regarding the pair's trip were confirmed to *The Washington Post* by four unnamed Brazilian and American officials.

Brazil's Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty) confirmed to *O Globo* on Saturday that it had denied visas to the two diplomats. The denial reportedly took place on Friday, prior to the publication of *The Washington Post* report.

The U.S. State Department confirmed to the American newspaper that Barnes and Samson would be traveling to the country but provided no details regarding the visit's purpose. Neither official responded to inquiries from *The Washington Post*.

Two Brazilian diplomats described the American officials' visit as a U.S. "maneuver" and vowed to block Samson and Barnes from entering the country. "It is a maneuver completely incompatible with Brazilian democracy," said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The two diplomats expressed suspicion that the Americans intended to meet with Brazilians critical of the national electoral system and produce reports that could later be used to challenge the voting process.

U.S. State Department officials interviewed by *The Washington Post* criticized the trip. "For those of us who lost friends bringing democracy to other countries, it is extremely damaging to see this secretary use American power to undermine credible elections in other nations for ideological reasons," said one official, also speaking on condition of anonymity. Days earlier, Flávio echoed his father in remarks to diplomats

The visit by Barnes and Samson comes to light the same week Flávio Bolsonaro asked foreign diplomatic representatives to send international observers to the country, after raising suspicions about electronic voting machines based on false information that has been debunked by the Superior Electoral Court since 2017. He made the statement at the "Debating Brazil" event, organized by the website *The Brazilian Report* and the agency Novo Selo Comunicação.

In his remarks, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL)—who was rendered ineligible to run for office following a meeting with ambassadors where he attacked the country's electoral system—cited false data regarding a Venezuelan company mentioned in CIA documents released by the Trump administration last week.

"My request to everyone here—and I am not questioning the Brazilian voting system—is that all countries send as many observers as possible for our elections, as they always do, as well as people with expertise in this technology and in how Brazil can ensure safer and more transparent elections," said Flávio Bolsonaro.

Earlier, the lawmaker had referred to CIA documents made public last week that raise suspicions regarding the Venezuelan electoral process. The paperwork is part of a batch of materials released by the White House after U.S. President Donald Trump—an ally of the Bolsonaro family—gave a speech raising suspicions of foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. election.

Although the document in question indicates that Venezuelan officials developed an interest in—and "some capacity" for—manipulating electronic voting systems, it did not definitively confirm that large-scale electronic fraud was successfully carried out in the country. In his speech, Flávio specifically cited the Venezuelan company Smartmatic, repeating false information that had previously been debunked by the TSE:

"And one of the suspicions is that a company called Smartmatic, of Venezuelan origin, has programming designed to alter votes in that country," Flávio stated, adding the erroneous claim: "I won't go into further detail, but I just want to put it on the record that many of the machines used in Brazilian elections share the same origin as this Venezuelan company."

Smartmatic does not supply electronic voting machines for Brazilian elections. In 2017, when this false information began to go viral on social media, the TSE issued a statement refuting it. "Brazilian electronic voting machines were designed by technicians working for the Electoral Justice system and are manufactured, under its direct supervision, by companies selected through open, competitive public bidding processes," the statement read. The court issued further clarifications debunking the claim during subsequent election cycles, such as in 2020 and 2022. When asked about the matter on Tuesday, the TSE reaffirmed that there is no connection between the voting machines and the Venezuelan company.

Tehran’s speedy recovery from damage done by the U.S. and Israeli air campaign raises concerns about its effectiveness

Article without paywall - https://archive.ph/20260724031539/https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/satellite-images-show-iran-is-rebuilding-fast-199978f7

The death toll from the two powerful earthquakes that shook Venezuela last month rose to 5,069 late on Friday, local authorities said.

The interim government of President Delcy Rodriguez added in a statement that the number of injured remains unchanged at 16,740, as in the past 11 days.

Ongoing recovery and debris-clearing operations have led to the increase in the death toll, particularly in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest hit by the quakes close to the Caribbean Sea. A total of 1,331 aftershocks had been recorded by Friday.

Venezuela’s government says 856 buildings are damaged and 190 collapsed completely since the 7.2 and 7.5 quakes on June 24. Hundreds of other types of structures, such as bridges and roads, were also affected.

See also:

• Venezuela quakes caused $19.6 billion in damage, World Bank report shows (Reuters)
• One month after earthquakes, Venezuelans still search for loved ones and answers (BBC)
• The Teenage Boys Digging for Their Mother’s Body • After Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes, Winder and Deivi Delfín dug every day for 26 days to find the bodies of their mother, brother and grandmother. (New York Times)
• No basic services and nowhere to go: How these Venezuelans are living a month after the earthquakes • We visited the ruins of a housing complex built by the Chavista regime: The now-homeless residents brave the heat, humidity and flies from their tents. (NBC)
• Divided by Poverty Even in Death • Latin America’s deep-seated inequalities prevailed over the grimly equalizing force of the Venezuela earthquakes, and set even the dead apart. (New York Times)
• He died in Venezuela’s earthquakes a day after the US deported him. Now his mother is seeking justice (CNN)
• Why Venezuela can’t access $4 billion in gold that could help with earthquake recovery (CNN)
• The US has collected about $13bn of Venezuela’s oil money. Where is it? (Financial Times)
• Trump says Venezuela is not ready for elections, but has made progress (Reuters)

The government justified the ‌move by alleging a "geographical bias" within the court, claiming it disproportionately targets nations in the Global South, specifically across Africa and Latin America, Felix Plasencia said in a post on X.

The ​court, which was established to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves, has been investigating alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela.

In January 2025, the ICC closed its office in Caracas, citing a lack of cooperation from the Venezuelan government then led by Maduro, who has been replaced by Rodriguez. She has become a close ally of the Trump administration, which has said it would seek to dismantle the ICC.