Around the World
UK plummets into recession after GDP falls 20.4 percent
U.K. economy has officially plummeted into recession after official figures announced Wednesday showed a stunning 20.4% drop in the second quarter of the year – the biggest drop since quarterly records began in 1955.
'We're going to have huge problems': U.S. general warns of long-term ISIS resurgence
The Pentagon’s top general in the Middle East warned Wednesday that the U.S. is “going to have huge problems” with a massive Islamic State resurgence over the coming decade without a sweeping new international plan to de-radicalize young men and women across the Middle East.
Israel Warned the UN a Year Ago About Hezbollah Smuggling Arms Through Beirut Port
Hezbollah opposes the idea of an international inquiry into the devastating explosion in Beirut a week ago, stoking suspicion that the Iran-backed terrorist group worries an independent inquiry may draw unwelcome attention to its alleged use of the port for smuggling weapons into Lebanon.
Thousands Detained As Tensions Escalate In Belarus
Authorities in Belarus acknowledged Wednesday that they detained as many as 6,000 anti-government protestors who disputed the victory of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in Sunday's election. Clashes continued for a third straight night with police violence reported in the capital Minsk and other cities after main opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fled the troubled nation.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israel, US successfully test Arrow 2 missile defense system
Israel and the United States completed a successful test of the advanced Arrow 2 missile defense system in Israel on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Gaza arson balloons spark fires in Israel's south for 7th straight day
Two wildfires broke out Wednesday morning near the Gaza border due to balloon-borne explosives launched from the Gaza Strip for the seventh straight day.
UN Security Council at odds over peacekeeping operation on Israel-Lebanon border
The United Nations Security Council remains at odds over the way the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground, with the United States backing Israel’s demands for major changes.
Knesset gives preliminary approval for election-averting bill to delay budget
The Knesset passed in its preliminary reading Wednesday a bill to grant the government more time to pass the national budget, helping avert a fourth round of elections by pushing off the approaching deadline.

Inside the United States
Monday's derecho damaged 10M acres of crops in Iowa; 600K still without power in Midwest
More than 600,000 customers remained without power Wednesday in the Midwest due to the powerful derecho that roared across the region on Monday. Iowa was especially hard hit, as the potent windstorm devastated the state’s power grid and flattened valuable corn fields.
$5,630,859,000,000: Federal Spending Has Already Set Annual Record; Deficit at Record $2,807,295,000,000
The federal government set records for the amount of money it spent and the size of the deficit it ran up in the first ten months of fiscal 2020 (October through July), according to data released today in the Monthly Treasury Statement.
White House Shooter Charged With Assault
More details emerged Wednesday about a shooting near the White House that prompted security agents to remove President Donald Trump from a press briefing briefly.
Experts monitoring small earthquakes on California’s San Andreas Fault
Seismic experts are monitoring a swarm of small earthquakes that struck under the Salton Sea in California Monday, to assess the possibility of their becoming a large event on the San Andreas Fault, Yahoo News reports. There is a reported 20% possibility of a magnitude 7 or larger earthquake on the San Andreas Fault over the next 30 years.

Christian News
Four Christians murdered by possible cultists in Nigeria
During an ongoing slaughter of Christians in Nigeria by Islamic terrorists, last week at least four Christians were shot dead by men who may be in a cult that uses people for its rituals, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
DA declares California’s San Luis Obispo is a “sanctuary county” for worship gatherings
The central California county of San Luis Obispo has been declared a sanctuary for churches wanting to hold indoor services with singing amid COVID-19 concerns, the Christian Post reports. County District Attorney Dan Dow confirmed at the end of July that churches will not be prosecuted for going against state coronavirus restrictions on worship gatherings.