U.S. Reimposes Iran Blockade as Tanker Attacks Widen War

S.C. Governor Appoints Graham's Sister, Preserving GOP Seat

Partisan Divide Spills Into Paramount Merger Fight

TSMC Revenue Surges Ahead of Earnings

Ukraine Pounds Moscow as Allies Build Missile Shield

U.S. Reimposes Iran Blockade as Tanker Attacks Widen War

The United States reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports at 4 p.m. EDT on July 14 after tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz reignited fighting with Iran. The United Arab Emirates said Iranian missiles struck two Emirati commercial tankers in Omani waters, while Iran said it had disabled two rogue supertankers. U.S. Central Command responded with strikes on more than 100 targets across Iran, and President Donald Trump formally notified Congress that military action had restarted. The notice invokes the War Powers Resolution, which generally gives lawmakers 60 days to authorize continued hostilities or require their end. U.S. crude rose 9.4% to settle at $78.14 a barrel as the attacks threatened traffic through the strait, which carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil. The renewed fighting ended a brief mid-June pause and raised the risk of broader energy disruptions while putting congressional authority over continued military action at issue.

CNN / Al Jazeera / Roll Call / CBS News

S.C. Governor Appoints Graham's Sister, Preserving GOP Seat

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone on July 13 to serve the remainder of her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham's term, which ends Jan. 3, 2027. Nordone, who has served as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind since 2019, will become the first woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. The appointment fills the vacancy created when Graham, a six-term Republican, died July 11 at age 71 from what his office described as a ruptured aorta. Trump publicly recommended Nordone, while an Aug. 11 special Republican primary will select the party's nominee for the November election. Filling the seat quickly restores the GOP's narrow Senate majority as Congress confronts consequential votes on U.S. military action in Iran and other national issues.

NBC News / CBS News / CNBC / S.C. Governor

Partisan Divide Spills Into Paramount Merger Fight

The partisan divide entered U.S. business law July 13 when a coalition of 12 Democratic attorneys general sued to stop Paramount Skydance's roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The state challenge follows the Trump administration's decision to clear the merger without conditions in June, placing Democratic officials in direct opposition to federal antitrust authorities over a major corporate transaction. The complaint alleges that the combination would violate the Clayton Act by reducing competition in wide-release theatrical film distribution and basic cable channel licensing, potentially raising prices and narrowing consumer choice. The coalition is seeking to prevent the companies from closing a transaction that would unite two major Hollywood studios along with their streaming and cable assets. The lawsuit is a major obstacle to a deal that would reshape the U.S. entertainment industry and shows how states can become alternative antitrust enforcers when federal officials decline to intervene.

NBC News / CNN / Variety / CNBC

TSMC Revenue Surges Ahead of Earnings

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported July 13 that consolidated June revenue reached about $13.75 billion, up 67.9% from June 2025. The monthly record lifted first-half revenue to about $74.70 billion, an increase of 35.6% from the same period a year earlier. TSMC is the world's largest manufacturer of advanced artificial intelligence chips and a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, which design leading processors but rely on outside foundries to fabricate them. It manufactures more than 90% of the world's leading-edge logic chips, giving the company a near-monopoly over fabrication of the processors at the center of the AI boom. Its leading 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer processes and CoWoS advanced packaging make the revenue surge a broad signal that AI data-center spending is still translating into demand for physical chips. TSMC plans to release complete second-quarter results July 16, when its margins, outlook and capital-spending plans will offer a broader test of how durable the AI boom may be.

TSMC / Reuters / U.S. Commerce

Ukraine Pounds Moscow as Allies Build Missile Shield

Ukraine sent more than 350 drones toward the Moscow region over two days through July 13, according to Russian officials, extending a series of attacks deep into the capital's suburbs. Russian authorities said air defenses downed 81 drones over the region overnight, but falling wreckage helped cause at least four deaths and seven injuries across Russia, including three deaths in the village of Pionersky. Kyiv said its strikes also hit an oil depot and a military satellite-communications facility, while Russia intensified missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. As the attacks unfolded, Ukraine and nine European countries announced an Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition involving roughly a dozen defense companies. Hours later, a Russian ballistic missile attack sparked fires in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, underscoring the threat the coalition is intended to address. The parallel developments show Ukraine pushing the war farther into Russia as its allies coordinate longer-term defenses, a shift likely to influence future military aid and diplomacy.

NBC News / Kyiv Post / Daily Sabah / Al Jazeera

JULY 14, 1789: FRENCH REVOLUTIONARIES STORM THE BASTILLE

Parisian crowds and mutinous troops seized the Bastille fortress, a hated symbol of Bourbon royal tyranny. The dramatic capture marked the beginning of the French Revolution and helped bring down King Louis XVI and the ancien régime.

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Sources

1. CNN / Al Jazeera / Roll Call / CBS News
2. NBC News / CBS News / CNBC / S.C. Governor
3. NBC News / CNN / Variety / CNBC
4. TSMC / Reuters / U.S. Commerce
5. NBC News / Kyiv Post / Daily Sabah / [Al Jazeera]