The Spatial Update

Morning Edition · Sunday, July 26, 2026
Port Orchard☁️62°Fovercast · H71° L60° · 11% rain
Lebanon, OR☁️62°Fovercast · H80° L58° · 1% rain
China has put a Polish university on its European dual-use exports blacklist. Why?
scmp.com · 21m ago

In an unprecedented move, China has placed a Polish university alongside defence contractors on an export control list targeting entities linked to the European security sector. Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (PWr) was among 14 European Union entities added to a dual-use export control list by the Chinese commerce ministry on Friday. The ministry said the additions, effective immediately, were in response to EU sanctions imposed on Thursday against 14 mainland Chinese and Hong Kong...

Israeli settlers set fire to West Bank mosques, graffiti and arson reported
scmp.com · 28m ago

Israeli settlers attacked ⁠Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday, setting fire to two mosques and scrawling graffiti on buildings, Palestinian officials said. The attacks followed an incident on Friday when four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers – one of them acting as a security coordinator for a nearby Israeli settlement – were killed when a crowd of Israeli settlers, some armed, approached the Palestinian village of Tal, southwest of Nablus. During the incident,...

Typhoon Noul: Shenzhen girl, 6, blown away by gale, runs back to safety
scmp.com · 35m ago

As Typhoon Noul barrelled into southern China on Sunday with winds reaching 160km/h (99mph), violent gusts ripped a cot from indoors and flipped it over several metres away, sending the child inside flying to the ground. Hongxing News, a Chinese media outlet, reported that a six-year-old girl lying in her cot in the southern city of Shenzhen was blown from inside a building onto the grass verge outside. Footage released by Hongxing showed a ground-floor grocery shop being battered by the gale,...

Chinese scientist faces probe after girl, 6, dies ‘following experimental gene therapy’
scmp.com · 51m ago

A leading Chinese scientist is under investigation by his university after a six-year-old girl reportedly died following experimental gene-editing therapy. The girl, named Mei, died days after receiving a treatment designed to correct a genetic mutation affecting her neurodevelopment in March last year, according to a report published by Science following a joint investigation with Retraction Watch, a non-profit organisation that monitors retracted research. Her parents said she had suffered a...

The vertical video takeover is here
theverge.com · 2h ago

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things vertical video, follow David Pierce. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started For a while, every social and media platform […]

The best way to save giant sequoias may be more fire
sciencedaily.com · 1h ago

Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly four times more likely to survive. Researchers estimate the controlled fires prevented about 1,900 deaths and could have saved thousands more if used across every grove.

Firefighters in France battle to prevent huge blaze from approaching Bordeaux
theguardian.com · 1h ago

Efforts to contain wildfire that has consumed an area of four times the size of Paris impeded by windy conditions Europe wildfires live – latest updates Authorities are battling to contain a huge wildfire near Bordeaux in south-west France that has consumed an area of land four times the size of Paris. Efforts to extinguish the blaze in the Gironde region, where nearly 220,000 people have been evacuated, were hampered by windy conditions on Saturday night. Continue reading...

NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Crewmates Return from Space Station
nasa.gov · 3h ago

Concluding an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Chris Williams returned to Earth on Sunday alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. The crew made its safe, parachute-assisted landing at 5:27 a.m. CDT (3:27 p.m., Kazakhstan time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, after departing the space station at 2:03 a.m., aboard the […]

Inside the Backrooms: The internet’s creepiest place is becoming a tourist attraction
sciencedaily.com · 6h ago

The Backrooms began as a single eerie image of empty yellow rooms, but internet users transformed it into a vast fictional world that feels disturbingly real. Through videos, games, maps, survival guides and social media stories, audiences do more than watch the horror unfold. They help build and explore it. Researchers suggest this popularity reflects a new kind of digital tourism, where people emotionally enter imaginary places filled with mystery, nostalgia and unease.

Hidden genetic diversity helped inbred brown tree snakes conquer guam
sciencedaily.com · 7h ago

A notorious snake invasion that devastated Guam’s native birds may have succeeded because the reptiles carried hidden genetic advantages. Using advanced long-read DNA sequencing, researchers uncovered more than 19,000 large genetic differences in brown tree snakes, many concentrated in genes tied to immunity and smell. This overlooked diversity may have helped a population founded by only a few snakes survive inbreeding, adapt to a new environment, and multiply to extraordinary densities.

‘Scandalous, irrational and irresponsible’: French beekeepers’ fury at lifting of pesticides ban
theguardian.com · 9h ago

Allowing use of two neonicotinoids to combat crop-ruining disease will kill bees and reduce harvests, union says Beekeepers and environmentalists in France have reacted furiously after parliament approved a bill reauthorising two banned pesticides scientists say can poison bees. “There are no words to describe the frustration,” said Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne, greater Paris. “Bee populations have already been badly compromised by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. And now this.” Continue reading...

Scorching US heatwave to hit 70 million people with third ‘heat dome’ in month
theguardian.com · 19h ago

Temperatures of 95-105F (35-40C) are expected, spanning Gulf of Mexico coast to the Great Plains and the midwest About 70 million people in the US are set to face excessive heat advisories as dangerously hot temperatures scorch much of the country’s southern and central states. The third major “heat dome” event to hit the US in the past month is gathering strength over the weekend, spanning a vast swathe of the country, from the Gulf of Mexico coast to the Great Plains and the midwest. Continue reading...

France and Spain race to control wildfires as more than 250,000 evacuated – as it happened
theguardian.com · 21h ago

Meanwhile, in the UK, a blaze in the Cairngorms national park has been described as ‘very serious’ by Scotland’s first minister Tell us: have you been affected by wildfires in Europe? The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has requested the armed forces to deploy an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft earlier than originally planned to help tackle the major wildfires in Gironde, according to Le Monde. The French newspaper reported the aircraft’s use was not originally expected until the end of the month due to the technical preparations and tests required beforehand. While the fires raging across forests in France are a dramatic reminder of three successive heatwaves in as many months, the state of the country’s rivers provides another, no less worrying insight into the…

New North Sea oil drilling faces delay after gear accidentally dropped in sea
theguardian.com · 22h ago

Exclusive: Blunder at Rosebank, UK’s biggest undeveloped oilfield, comes as government considers granting licence Production at Britain’s biggest undeveloped oil and gasfield could be delayed for months after equipment from a rig was accidentally dropped in the North Sea, the Guardian can reveal. Andy Burnham’s new government is under pressure from the fossil fuel industry to allow oil to be retrieved from the Rosebank site despite opposition from climate campaigners and some Labour MPs . Continue reading...

Good News in History, July 26
goodnewsnetwork.org · 7h ago

134 years ago today, Dadabhai Naoroji was elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain. A merchant, scholar, writer, and political leader who served as a founding member of the Indian National Congress, Naoroji is particularly known for formulating the “drain theory,” which argued that economic exploitation under British rule led to the […] The post Good News in History, July 26 appeared first on Good News Network .

Heatwave Reveals ‘Lost’ 17th Century Garden Design Under Parched Grass
goodnewsnetwork.org · 11h ago

The outline of a ‘lost’ 17th century garden has been revealed at a stately British home following the record heatwave and long drought. Beneath the parched grass was an ornate garden design being rediscovered after more than 350 years at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. It turns out, the ornamental arrangement of flower beds and paths […] The post Heatwave Reveals ‘Lost’ 17th Century Garden Design Under Parched Grass appeared first on Good News Network .

On Brink of Extinction, the Vaquita Porpoise is Being Preserved By Digital Image
goodnewsnetwork.org · 13h ago

The elusive vaquita porpoise swims in the wild only in shallow northern waters of Mexico’s Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez)—and it’s one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals on Earth. With a wild population numbering as low as ten, the vaquita is perilously close to extinction—an outcome caused […] The post On Brink of Extinction, the Vaquita Porpoise is Being Preserved By Digital Image appeared first on Good News Network .

First Puffin Chick in 30 Years Spotted Emerging From Cliffs Along England’s South Coast
goodnewsnetwork.org · 20h ago

Conservationists were holding their breaths this Spring as the last remaining colony of puffins was in danger of being lost altogether, but relief turned to joy as, not only did the adult puffins return, a baby was born. For the first time in 30 years, a newborn bird—called a PUFFLING—was spotted emerging from its cliffside […] The post First Puffin Chick in 30 Years Spotted Emerging From Cliffs Along England’s South Coast appeared first on Good News Network .

MLBMariners 1–7 RangersFinal
MLBMariners 0–0 Rangers7/26 - 2:35 PM EDT
MLSSeattle 0–1 PhiladelphiaFT
MLBYankees 3–1 PhilliesFinal
MLBCubs 11–0 PiratesFinal
MLBDodgers 4–3 MetsFinal
MLBCubs 0–0 Pirates7/26 - 1:35 PM EDT
MLBDodgers 0–0 Mets7/26 - 1:40 PM EDT
MLBYankees 0–0 Phillies7/26 - 7:20 PM EDT
Premier League: club-by-club guide to transfer business so far – and what they still need
theguardian.com · 31h ago

The English transfer record has been smashed, with Elliot Anderson and Morgan Rogers on the move during a busy summer of signings For once, Mikel Arteta is not spending his summer looking for a No 9. Instead the champions have moved to strengthen out wide after the departure of Leandro Trossard with Christos Tzolis arriving for £34m having scored 33 league goals in his last two seasons from Club Brugge’s left wing. After missing out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, they will not want to be beaten to Alex Scott’s signature. Defensive cover will probably be necessary after the injury to William Saliba at the World Cup. Billy Munday Continue reading...

Japan football great ‘King Kazu’ Miura, 59, scores first competitive goal in four years
theguardian.com · 5h ago

Kazuyoshi Miura converts cross to score in 52nd minute Former Japan international preparing for his 42nd season The Japanese football legend Kazuyoshi Miura scored his first competitive goal ⁠in nearly four years on Saturday, finding the net at the age of ⁠59 as ⁠Fukushima ​United thrashed Iwaki Furukawa 7-0 to advance in the Emperor’s Cup. Miura, affectionately known ⁠as King Kazu, struck in the 52nd minute to put Fukushima 5-0 ahead, capping a trademark ⁠run into the box by meeting a teammate’s ​cutback with a first-time ‌finish at 59 ‌years and 149 days. Continue reading...

From Haaland love to Mexico’s Merlin: 26 memories from the 2026 World Cup
theguardian.com · 19h ago

Norway’s striker left his mark, as did Scotland’s fans in Boston, but Turkey’s dark horses fell at the first hurdle “I played with him on my PlayStation, and now I’ve scored against him,” Livano Comenencia said after converting Curaçao’s first World Cup goal past Manuel Neuer in their opening match against Germany. The smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup went on to lose 7-1 but that goal – their only one of the tournament – will go down in history. Continue reading...

Precise-location events from GDELT · last 6h

Manises, Valenciana, Spain — EUROPE and FIREFIGHTER — fighting / clashes (in conflict) reported near Manises, Valenciana, Spain, covered by 67 source(s) across 421 mentions. source
Tehran, Tehran, Iran — CHINESE and IRAN — intent to cooperate (engaging in cooperation) reported near Tehran, Tehran, Iran, covered by 37 source(s) across 137 mentions. source
Madrid, Madrid, Spain — EUROPE and FIREFIGHTER — fighting / clashes (in conflict) reported near Madrid, Madrid, Spain, covered by 81 source(s) across 313 mentions. source