140: Palestinian health officials say Israeli air strikes killed over 140 people in Gaza Sunday, raising accusations of ethnic cleansing by the UN. Israel subsequently began a ground offensive in the territory after peace talks stalled in Qatar, with officials saying that the strikes were part of its plans to “achieve all of the war goals in Gaza” and establish “operational control” of parts of the territory.
36 trillion: Moody's bond rating agency downgraded US sovereign debt Friday citing continued uncertainty over US Republicans’ "Big Beautiful Bill", a combination of tax cuts, spending hikes and entitlement reductions which could further bloat Washington’s $36 trillion debt. The agency warned that US debtcould hit 134% of gross domestic product by 2035, compared with 98% in 2024.
200,000: An estimated 200,000 well-wishers, including a slew of world leaders, packed St. Peter’s Square in Rome for the first sermon of Pope Leo XIV - and the pontiff didn’t leave out the politics. Leo stated that his role is to serve without “yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat”, remarked on Ukraine being "martyred", and deplored the people of Gaza being "reduced to starvation."
160 million: Austria took top prize in the 69th Eurovision song contest Saturday, with classically trained countertenor JJ wowing an estimated 160 million viewers with his soaring pop-opera ballad, Wasted Love. Second place went to Yuval Raphael of Israel with a moving trilingual performance ofNew Day Will Rise, while Tommy Cash of Estonia came in third with his frothy fast-dancing confection,Espresso Macchiato.
