HARD NUMBERS: Houthis attack ships again, US Measles cases reach new high, message in a bottle finally arrives, & More
3: The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group is once again attacking cargo ships passing through the Red Sea, killing three people while snatching a Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned cargo vessel on Monday night. This was the Houthis’ second such attack over the last few days. Until this past weekend, the group hadn’t targeted cargo ships since late 2024.
33: Measles cases in the US have already reached a 33-year high in 2025, with the disease spreading most rapidly in parts of New Mexico and Texas. At least 1,288 cases have been reported in the first half of this year, surpassing the 2019 full-year total of 1,274, when there was an outbreak within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of New York. The spread has come amid falling nationwide vaccination rates, driven in part by skepticism about vaccines from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
52: A South Korean court on Thursday issued another arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol,who faces trial on a range of charges related to his decision to place the country under martial law back in December. Yoon has already spent 52 days in jail, but was previously released on technical grounds. Prosecutors are now expected to expedite their probe into Yoon, who was impeached and officially removed from office back in April.
5.2: A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, with authorities urging residents of the Central American country to evacuate. Some of the aftershocks have registered even higher on the Richter scale than the original quake, reaching magnitudes of 5.6.
13: While most of the world now has instant communication, some people have sought out alternative ways of getting their message across the globe – even if it takes a little longer. Thirteen years ago, a young couple in Newfoundland, Canada, placed a message into a bottle and dropped it into the Atlantic Ocean. This week, it was found on a beach on the west coast of Ireland. The note included a request to contact the original writers. After an appeal on social media, they were found: Anita and Brad Squires are now married with three children.