Twin Quakes Leave Venezuela Counting The Dead

BRUSSELS - Europe’s record heatwave is shifting east, with forecasters warning of 40C in parts of Germany and an extreme weather alert across much of the Czech Republic. France has raised its health alert to the highest level, while schools, hospitals and homes across the region are straining under the heat. The UK just logged its hottest June day on record. The air conditioning is not catching up.

BRUSSELS - The UN’s International Maritime Organization has paused its plan to evacuate more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship was hit off Oman. Several vessels had already been moved. The agency said it needs fresh safety guarantees before restarting. The attack came just as traffic was picking up again, which is not exactly reassuring.

GDANSK - Ukraine is expecting more than 160 defense, business and regional development deals worth over €10 billion in the next few days, even as its row with Poland hangs over the recovery conference. Kyiv also confirmed it has received the first €3.2 billion tranche of an EU loan, with another €6 billion due soon for drone production. Donald Tusk called for truth and mutual respect. Zelenskyy stayed home.

WASHINGTON - President Trump canceled a planned signing for a bipartisan housing bill Wednesday and said he will not sign it until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a voting restrictions package that has stalled in the Senate. Lawmakers scrapped votes as the standoff spread. Trump is expected to meet House Speaker Mike Johnson Thursday, but the housing bill's fate is still unclear.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Thursday let the Trump administration strip temporary protected status from more than 356,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants, clearing the way for deportations. The 6-3 ruling overturned lower court orders that had blocked the move. In a separate decision, the court also backed a Trump border policy that makes it harder for some asylum seekers to apply before setting foot on U.S. soil.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump opened the 16-day America 250 celebration on the National Mall with a rally that looked a lot like a campaign stop. He declared that “America is back,” while military bands played and stealth bombers flew overhead. Several booked performers had already pulled out, citing the event’s political feel. Trump, naturally, made himself the headliner.

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats are creating a program to train congressional staffers as independent election observers in states with Senate races, sending them to polling places and ballot counts. The House already does this. Senator Chuck Schumer said the point is to counter any Trump administration effort to manipulate elections. That is not a subtle accusation, which is probably the point.

HONG KONG - Chinese hardware technology stocks have been on a tear, but the market is about to ask a less flattering question: where are the earnings?

Bloomberg says the rally now has to survive contact with results. That is usually where the story gets less exciting. Investors have spent months bidding up the names; now they want proof the businesses can actually cash the checks.

HONG KONG - Lingyi iTech Guangdong Co. is set to start trading Friday after raising HK$8.3 billion, or about $1.06 billion, in a share sale. The Chinese electronics maker, which supplies Apple, lands in Hong Kong during the city’s busiest month for listings this year. That is a decent debut in a market that has not exactly been starving for caution.

NEW YORK - The WNBA suspended Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas for one game Thursday after she made contact with her fist to Caitlin Clark’s throat during Wednesday night’s 111-109 win over the Indiana Fever.

The league called it a non-basketball act and upgraded the play to a Flagrant Foul 2 after review. Clark left later with a back issue. Fever coach Stephanie White called the no-call on Thomas “egregious” and “absolutely unacceptable.”

MINNESOTA - The Timberwolves have agreed to send Naz Reid and a pile of draft picks to Charlotte for LaMelo Ball and Josh Green, ESPN reported Thursday. The Hornets get a 2033 unprotected first-rounder, three pick swaps and three second-rounders. It is a huge swing for Minnesota, and a hard reset for Charlotte after Ball’s best season and another injury-plagued run. The fit with Anthony Edwards is obvious. The risk is, too.

MANCHESTER - Manchester City have agreed a deal with Nottingham Forest to sign England midfielder Elliot Anderson for a fee reported at about £116 million. The move would be a British record if it lands at the higher end of the reports, and it still needs a medical and final personal terms. Forest had turned down two earlier bids. Anderson is with England at the World Cup, which is a busy enough schedule already.

NEW YORK - Phoebe Bridgers released her first solo single in four years on Thursday, and she did it in elf ears. “Lost Boys” arrives with a Lance Oppenheim and Pablo Rochat video that sends Bridgers and a troupe of sword-bearing suburban role-players through a Renaissance Faire daydream, then into a primitive-looking video game. The song is out now on streaming services. It follows her album announcement by one day. *Lost Weekend* is due Aug. 14, and the tour starts a month later.

LONDON - Louis Partridge says he never pictured himself as James Bond, even if the conversation is now happening. At the world premiere of *Enola Holmes 3*, the 23-year-old actor said the attention around his work and his personal life can get noisy, and that staying grounded takes effort. He called being in contention for 007 “wonderful,” then added that he still has more to do.

LOS ANGELES - Peacock has removed Alannah Keyser from *Love Island USA* Season 8 after videos surfaced of her using the n-word.

Keyser, a 21-year-old USC film student from Miami, appeared on the show Sunday as a Casa Amor bombshell. The footage and screenshots were posted online after her debut, and Peacock said they were not available during vetting. It is the second removal this season for the same reason, and the fourth such exit across the last two seasons. Reality TV keeps finding the same problem.