Global Pulse

标签： North America

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  • Bystander video shows teen lifeguard’s dramatic ocean rescue

    Bystander video shows teen lifeguard’s dramatic ocean rescue

    On a sun-soaked Southern California beach, what started as a routine day of recreation quickly turned into a life-or-death emergency, when a 10-year-old child was pulled out to sea by a powerful rip current. In a remarkable display of quick thinking and courage, 16-year-old local lifeguard Jaxson Meeks sprang into action, launching an immediate ocean rescue that has since been immortalized in raw bystander footage shared across social media.

    Rip currents are a persistent, dangerous hazard at many California coastal destinations, capable of dragging even experienced swimmers far from shore in minutes. On the day of the incident, the young victim had been wading in shallow water with family when the unexpected current pulled him offshore. Witnesses on the beach reported panicked screams from the child’s relatives, drawing immediate attention to the struggling 10-year-old.

    Meeks, who had completed advanced lifeguard training just six months prior, did not hesitate. He grabbed his rescue buoy, sprinted into the surf, and swam out against the strong current to reach the child before he could be swept further into open ocean. The bystander video, filmed by a beachgoer waiting on the sand, captures the tense moments of the rescue: Meeks pulling the panicking child onto the buoy, then battling the pull of the current to bring both of them safely back to shallow water. Once on shore, the child was checked by waiting emergency medical personnel and found to be unharmed, aside from minor shock.

    Local lifeguard services have praised Meeks for his calm response and adherence to safety protocols, noting that his quick action likely prevented a tragic outcome. The video of the rescue has circulated widely online, with thousands of viewers celebrating the teen lifeguard’s heroism. Coastal safety officials have also used the incident as a reminder to beachgoers of the importance of swimming near lifeguard stations and heeding current safety warnings.

  • Zelensky and Netanyahu meet Trump as wars in Ukraine and Iran drag on

    Zelensky and Netanyahu meet Trump as wars in Ukraine and Iran drag on

    Two key Middle Eastern and European leaders traveled to Washington D.C. in late July 2026 for back-to-back closed-door meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, held on the sidelines of the funeral of longtime Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent cross-partisan advocate for both Israeli security and U.S. military assistance to Ukraine who passed away earlier that month.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used his high-profile White House meeting to press the Trump administration for progress on a longstanding Ukrainian defense priority: securing U.S. approval to domestically produce American-made Patriot air defense interceptors, a capability Kyiv says is critical to countering intensifying Russian aerial assaults on Ukrainian civilian and infrastructure targets. Zelensky noted ahead of the meeting that Trump had previously raised the possibility of granting production licensing at the recent NATO summit, and Ukrainian officials have repeatedly emphasized that expanding domestic access to the advanced interceptor systems would drastically improve Ukraine’s ability to shield its population from Russian drone, cruise missile, and ballistic missile attacks that have ramped up in recent months.

    Following the closed-door discussion, no formal binding commitment on the Patriot license or new U.S. military assistance packages was announced by either side. Still, Zelensky struck a constructive tone in a public post on the social platform X, thanking Trump for ongoing U.S. support and confirming that the pair had addressed the Patriot licensing request alongside other bilateral defense and diplomatic priorities. He added that the two leaders agreed on the need to reinvigorate diplomatic efforts to end the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    Beyond his talks with Trump, Zelensky also held a separate meeting with executives from Lockheed Martin, the U.S. defense prime contractor that manufactures the Patriot system, to outline a path forward for deepening bilateral defense industrial cooperation. In a follow-up post, Zelensky noted that discussions covered joint production capabilities for Patriots and other air defense systems, with working-level teams already advancing concrete proposals to speed up the launch of co-production and expand Ukraine’s air defense capacity.

    The Ukrainian leader also planned to meet with a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators advancing new legislation that would impose harsh secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, a measure designed to increase economic pressure on Moscow for its ongoing invasion.

    Shortly after Zelensky concluded his White House visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived for his own one-on-one meeting with Trump, at a moment when U.S.-Israel relations have been strained by growing disagreements over policy toward Iran and ongoing cross-border conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. In recent months, Trump has publicly criticized Netanyahu for refusing to pursue a ceasefire in Lebanon and for expanding Israeli strikes that risk triggering a broader regional conflict.

    After their closed-door discussion, Netanyahu told Israeli reporters that the meeting produced aligned outcomes on core shared priorities, most notably preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. He described the conversation as one of the most productive he has ever held with President Trump, and an official photograph released from the meeting showed the two leaders smiling together in the Oval Office, signaling at least a public reset of their previously tense relationship. The White House characterized both back-to-back meetings with Zelensky and Netanyahu as “positive and productive” in an official readout released after the sessions concluded.

  • Lindsey Graham remembered by Trump as ‘giant of the US Senate’ at funeral

    Lindsey Graham remembered by Trump as ‘giant of the US Senate’ at funeral

    A state funeral service for sitting US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this month at age 71 from an aortic dissection, was held Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral, drawing an extraordinary cross-section of domestic and international leaders to honor the outspoken foreign policy hawk. The South Carolina Republican died just days after returning from a diplomatic trip to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – fitting, in the words of former President Donald Trump, who delivered the keynote eulogy, that Graham “died doing the work he was born to do.”

    In his 15-minute address to mourners gathered in the cathedral’s nave, Trump remembered Graham as a “giant of the United States Senate” and a “true American original” who left the nation far too soon. Trump reflected on the unlikely evolution of their relationship: the pair traded bitter public attacks during the 2016 Republican presidential primary, when both sought the party’s nomination, but Graham ultimately emerged as one of Trump’s most loyal congressional allies after Trump’s election victory. Trump recalled a viral 2015 incident where he shared Graham’s personal phone number with a rally crowd in retaliation for a profane insult Graham had leveled at him, joking that the senator’s device “exploded” – but quipped that Graham had the last laugh. “While I blew up his phone for one day, we became great friends and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years,” Trump told the crowd, eliciting chuckles from assembled mourners. He added that no major global development occurred without Graham weighing in with a clear stance.

    Notably, the funeral drew heads of state from two nations Graham championed fiercely throughout his career: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky both attended the service to pay their respects. Throughout his four years in the Senate, Graham staked out a reputation as one of Washington’s most unapologetic foreign policy hawks: he was a leading advocate for robust US military aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion, even as congressional Republicans remained deeply divided over the scale of American intervention in global conflicts. He was also one of Israel’s most outspoken supporters in Congress, and pushed publicly for US military action against Iran in his final years in office.

    Vice President JD Vance, along with multiple senior officials from the Trump administration, also attended the service, and offered his own tribute that wove personal anecdotes with a summary of Graham’s career. Vance highlighted the pair’s shared love of golf, Graham’s relentless dedication to foreign policy work, and his famously magnetic personality, marked by consistent “vim and vigour.” Fox News host Sean Hannity, another featured speaker, called Graham a “force of nature” and a “true original,” addressing his remarks directly to Graham’s sister Darline Graham, who was appointed by state officials to fill her brother’s remaining Senate term shortly after his death. “You were his life,” Hannity told Darline, who sat in the front pew for the service. The pair shared a decades-long close bond after losing both parents by the time Darline was a teenager; Lindsey Graham, then a young adult, formally adopted his sister to raise her himself.

    Washington National Cathedral, the site of many of America’s most high-profile state memorials, has hosted funeral services for sitting senators and former presidents alike. Most recently, former President Jimmy Carter’s memorial service at the cathedral drew all five living former and sitting US presidents last year. In 2018, the cathedral hosted the memorial for John McCain, the late Arizona senator who was one of Lindsey Graham’s closest friends in Congress. While Tuesday’s service was more intimate than the packed funerals for former presidents, the breadth of attendees – ranging from sitting US leaders to foreign heads of state – underscores the outsize influence Graham wielded in Washington despite his relatively short tenure in the Senate. He won his first Senate election in 2022, and represented South Carolina until his unexpected death earlier this month.

  • US accuses France of ‘disingenuous grandstanding’ at UN

    US accuses France of ‘disingenuous grandstanding’ at UN

    A sharp diplomatic clash has erupted between two long-time Western allies at the United Nations, after the United States publicly rebuked France for controversial comments comparing U.S. human rights voting behavior at the global body to that of authoritarian nations. The verbal sparring, which underscores growing rifts over human rights policy between the two major powers, was initiated when French representatives made the unflinching comparison during UN proceedings. The U.S. delegation did not hold back in its response, launching a forceful pushback that labeled France’s statements as nothing more than disingenuous performance politics designed to garner global attention rather than advance constructive dialogue on human rights. This public confrontation is unusual for two close NATO partners, highlighting underlying disagreements over how global human rights issues should be framed and addressed within multilateral institutions. While neither side has yet announced further diplomatic action following the exchange, the public rebuke signals that tensions over human rights diplomacy are now spilling out into the open at the UN.

  • Drone footage shows Wisconsin tornado damage

    Drone footage shows Wisconsin tornado damage

    Recently, a powerful EF-2 tornado tore through multiple communities in Wisconsin, leaving a trail of damaged infrastructure and disrupted lives in its wake. Dramatic drone footage, captured in the immediate aftermath of the storm, offers a sweeping bird’s-eye view of the destruction, showing uprooted trees, damaged residential structures, and debris scattered across large swathes of the affected Midwest region. Emergency management teams have already deployed to the hardest-hit areas to conduct preliminary damage assessments and support local residents whose properties have been impacted. As of the latest updates from state emergency officials, there have been no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries connected to the twister, a outcome that has brought relief to response coordinators and local communities bracing for potential loss of life. Crews are now working around the clock to clear roadways, restore essential utilities, and begin the long process of rebuilding for affected households.

  • ‘A narcissist’: Family hit out at Bryan Kohberger for challenging murder conviction

    ‘A narcissist’: Family hit out at Bryan Kohberger for challenging murder conviction

    More than three years after four University of Idaho students were brutally stabbed to death in their off-campus Moscow home, a shocking new development has reignited agony for the victims’ loved ones. Bryan Kohberger, the former criminology PhD student from Washington State University who was sentenced to four consecutive life terms last year for the November 2022 killings, has announced he is withdrawing his guilty plea – a deal he originally accepted to escape the possibility of capital punishment. In an exclusive interview with *The New York Times*, Kohberger claimed his original 2023 plea was based on “false promises and blatant disinformation” from his legal team, and he now intends to enter a plea of not guilty. He even went so far as to say prosecutors are welcome to pursue the death penalty against him again if they wish. For the family of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four young victims killed in the attack, Kohberger’s latest move is nothing more than the manipulative act of a narcissist who is once again stealing the spotlight from the people whose lives he cut short. In a scathing public statement, the Goncalves family pointed out that Kohberger voluntarily made the choice to forego a jury trial, turning over control of his fate and the presentation of the case’s facts to the court. They emphasized that in the two years preceding his sentencing, Kohberger and his legal team had full access to all discovery materials, reviewing every piece of evidence compiled in the case. At no point prior to the sentencing did he raise objections to the process, claim he was pressured or misinformed, or challenge the evidence shared with his defense. “The real tragedy,” the family wrote, “is that Kohberger continues to receive an outsize amount of public attention, all at the expense of the four victims who can no longer speak for themselves.” The 2022 murders sent shockwaves through the tight-knit college community of Moscow, Idaho, and dominated national news headlines for nearly two months before Kohberger’s arrest in December 2022. To this day, investigators have not identified a clear motive for the attack: Kohberger had no documented connection to any of the four victims, and he has never publicly explained why he drove across state lines to the University of Idaho campus to carry out the brutal stabbing. While prosecutors never established a personal link between Kohberger and the victims, they did present overwhelming forensic and circumstantial evidence that placed him at the off-campus home where the killings took place, leading to his conviction. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador has expressed solidarity with the grieving families, acknowledging that they have already “endured unimaginable loss” and now must grapple with fresh, devastating pain from Kohberger’s decision to reverse his plea. “My office stands ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure justice is fully carried out,” Labrador said in a formal statement reaffirming the state’s commitment to upholding the original conviction. Separately, one of the victims’ aunts has made public a surprising personal revelation, saying she has already forgiven Kohberger for the killing of her niece – a stance that has added another layer of complexity to a case that continues to grip the American public.

  • Seattle pays tribute to food festival shooting victims

    Seattle pays tribute to food festival shooting victims

    On Sunday, a sudden and deadly street gunfight shattered the final day of Seattle’s iconic annual Bite of Seattle food festival, a beloved three-day free community event that draws more than 350,000 attendees each year, held just steps from the city’s famous Space Needle. By the time the gunfire ceased, three people were left dead and four others wounded, sending shockwaves across the Pacific Northwest community that left local leaders and residents grappling with senseless loss.

    The following Monday, the entire city of Seattle entered a collective period of mourning as residents gathered to honor the three lives cut short by the violence. A candlelight vigil at a downtown fountain drew dozens of attendees, including Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and the city’s police chief, where participants laid down flowers, lit candles in memory of the victims, and observed a moment of collective silence to process their grief.

    The three victims have been identified as 19-year-old Junior Cee Niko Semo, 44-year-old Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, and 56-year-old Ashley Whitehead. According to law enforcement investigations, Semo, the youngest victim, is suspected to have been one of the active participants in the gunfight. To date, one additional suspect has been taken into police custody, while a third remains at large, with ongoing investigations continuing to unfold.

    For the two innocent bystander victims, community members have stepped forward to support their grieving families through online crowdfunding campaigns, which have already raised tens of thousands of dollars in donations from across the country. A GoFundMe page set up for Villalba paints a portrait of a kind, generous man deeply devoted to his family. “He was a devoted husband, loving father of three, and a loyal friend who would do anything for anyone,” the page reads. “His kindness and generosity touched countless lives, and everyone who knew him remembers his gentle spirit and willingness to help others. His sudden passing has left his family heartbroken and facing an uncertain future.” All funds raised through the campaign will go toward covering Villalba’s funeral costs and supporting his wife and three children as they adjust to life without him.

    Whitehead, the second innocent bystander killed in the attack, had only recently relocated from Alabama to the West Coast to be closer to her eldest daughter, Zoie. She was standing in line with Zoie waiting to buy cotton candy when the gunfire broke out, cutting her life short. After being hit, Whitehead managed to exchange heartfelt “I love you”s with her daughter before being rushed to the hospital, where she died during emergency surgery. Her family described her as a passionate lover of life, art, and above all else, family, noting that family had always been the center of her world.

    Local and state leaders have joined residents in condemning the senseless violence that disrupted a landmark community celebration. “This is not acceptable,” Mayor Wilson told the gathered crowd at the vigil. “No father, no parent should have to bury their child.” Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson echoed that sentiment in a social media post Monday, writing that the entire community was reeling from the shock of the attack. “We are struggling to make sense of how an iconic community celebration could end in gunfire,” Ferguson wrote.

  • Ariana Grande sues hackers who leaked music and videos

    Ariana Grande sues hackers who leaked music and videos

    Global pop superstar Ariana Grande has launched a high-profile legal action against two unknown hackers, accusing them of orchestrating a years-long scheme to steal and leak her unreleased creative work, including dozens of unheard songs and private studio footage. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles and first reported by major U.S. entertainment outlets, details how the defendants have systematically targeted the digital accounts of Grande’s collaborators—including producers, photographers and production team members—to access confidential content that they later sold for large sums on the dark web. Court documents outline a clear pattern of escalating illegal activity spanning more than a decade, stretching all the way back to the early years of Grande’s music career. Since her public debut in 2011, the filing claims, hundreds of separate leaks of her unreleased material have taken place, with 45 unfinished songs stolen and released online in 2023 alone. The most recent alleged breaches took place in 2024 and 2025: in 2024, the hackers created a fake email account impersonating a professional photographer who works with Grande, tricking a digital technician into turning over private, unreleased photos of the artist. The following year, they gained unauthorized access to a collaborating producer’s mobile device, pulling out unreleased song masters, demo recordings and behind-the-scenes video from Grande’s recording sessions. Grande has long been vocal about her frustration with the ongoing leaks, and has previously called out bad actors for stealing her work. During a 2024 interview on the Zach Sang Show, she spoke publicly about the unauthorized leak of an unreleased track called *Fantasize*, which she wrote with legendary pop producer Max Martin. The track went viral on social media after it was leaked, and Grande joked at the time, “Before I left for Wicked – [there were] a few studio sessions that I did which are all over TikTok, thank you so much, I’ll see you in jail. Literally. Those were all written for a TV show, for something that was not for me, so Fantasize comes out, crazy, was stolen… These pirates, crooks, illegal!” In her legal filing, Grande emphasizes that the leaks have violated the intimate, trusting bond between her and her fanbase, an outcome she describes as particularly harmful. She is pursuing the case on multiple counts, including invasion of privacy, violation of California state computer fraud and hacking laws, and civil conversion of stolen property. Her legal team argues that the repeated malicious intrusions into her private creative work have caused substantial, irreparable harm to both her privacy and her professional career. The lawsuit comes at a pivotal moment for Grande, who is balancing a major world tour with the upcoming release of new music and a high-profile acting project. After a multi-year hiatus from recording to film the two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical *Wicked*, Grande returned to music this year. Her eighth studio album, *Petal*, is scheduled to drop this Friday, just days after the court filing was made public. Currently, she is in the middle of her *Eternal Sunshine* world tour, which is scheduled to bring shows to the United Kingdom starting in August. Grande has previously hinted that this run of concerts will be her last for an extended period. Appearing on Amy Poehler’s *Good Hang* podcast, she shared, “I’m going to give it my all and it’s going to be beautiful. I think that’s why I’m doing it because I’m like: ‘One last hurrah’ – for now.” The primary goal of the current legal action, Grande’s legal team confirms, is to uncover the true identities of the two hackers behind the leaks, putting an end to the ongoing pattern of digital theft that has disrupted her career for more than a decade.

  • Chip stocks slide in US and Asia as AI jitters rattle investors

    Chip stocks slide in US and Asia as AI jitters rattle investors

    A deepening sell-off in artificial intelligence-linked equities has triggered sharp share drops for leading semiconductor manufacturers across U.S. and Asian markets this week, sending benchmark indexes into steep declines and activating market safety mechanisms.

    On Tuesday morning, South Korea’s primary Kospi Index saw trading temporarily suspended after plummeting 8% early in the session. The 20-minute circuit breaker halt failed to stem the downward momentum, with the index closing down a dramatic 10.8% for the day. The collapse was led by the country’s giant technology and chip sectors: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, two of the world’s largest memory chip producers, both recorded declines of more than 13% by market close. This is not the first time the tech-heavy Kospi has triggered a circuit breaker this year; the mechanism is explicitly designed to slow panic-driven selling during periods of extreme market volatility. Year-to-date, the index had surged more than 100% from January to mid-June, but has now surrendered roughly a third of that peak value. South Korean stock markets have seen unusually high volatility in recent months, driven by a flood of new retail investors entering the market.

    The global AI stock downturn was sparked by Monday’s trading on Wall Street, where leading AI chip designer Nvidia dropped 5%, erasing its title as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company and handing the top position back to Apple. The decline came following a Wall Street Journal report that Nvidia is in advanced discussions to contribute up to $250 billion to a massive data center infrastructure project developed in partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The BBC has reached out to both Nvidia and OpenAI to request comment on the reported deal.

    SK Hynix, which held a record-breaking initial public offering on the Nasdaq just three weeks ago, saw its U.S.-listed shares drop 7.5% on Monday, falling well below its $149 per share offer price. Across the East China Sea, Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei 225 index followed the regional downward trend, closing nearly 4% lower on Tuesday. Apple, which has seen its shares climb roughly 25% so far this year, benefited from Nvidia’s decline to retake the top valuation spot.

    Jun Bei Liu, founder of investment advisory firm Ten Cap, told the BBC that two key factors are driving the pullback: growing investor anxiety over the massive volumes of capital flowing into AI development, and rising competition from Chinese chip manufacturers. Against this uncertain backdrop, Liu noted that institutional investors are currently “taking some profit off the table” after the months-long AI stock rally, but many plan to reinvest in AI-related equities following the upcoming U.S. holiday season.

    In a striking contrast to the broader global sell-off, China’s largest domestic memory chip manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) saw its shares skyrocket nearly 470% during its trading debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday. The firm produces dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, a critical component for AI data centers, smartphones, personal computers, tablets and a wide range of other consumer electronics. CXMT announced it plans to allocate the majority of proceeds from its IPO to expanding production capacity and accelerating research and development into next-generation memory chip technologies.

  • ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs’ – Biden to ghostwriter

    ‘I just found all the classified stuff downstairs’ – Biden to ghostwriter

    A years-long legal battle over sensitive audio recordings tied to President Joe Biden has reached a new turning point, as House Republicans have publicly released tapes that Biden’s legal team repeatedly sought to keep out of the public domain. The recordings, captured during interview sessions between Biden and a ghostwriter working on his 2017 memoir *Promise Me, Dad*, contain explicit comments from the 83-year-old commander-in-chief acknowledging he retained classified government materials after his vice presidency ended in 2017.

    The first of the recorded conversations dates back to October 2016, when Biden was still serving as vice president under the Obama administration. During that session, Biden told co-writer Mark Zwonitzer, “I have extensive notes over this period of time… They [the White House] didn’t know I have this.” A second recording, made in February 2017 just one month after Biden left the White House, captures him stating plainly, “I just found all the classified stuff downstairs.” Later in the more than two hours of tapes published Monday, he again acknowledges, “The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified.”

    House Republicans partnered with the conservative nonprofit Oversight Project to launch a legal battle for access to the tapes, which were originally turned over to the Department of Justice as part of a 2024 probe into Biden’s handling of classified national security records. During Biden’s presidential tenure from 2021 to 2025, the DOJ repeatedly refused to release the materials. In May of this year, Biden’s personal legal team filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice to block the release, but after a series of court losses, the team was forced to drop their legal challenge.

    The released recordings remain heavily redacted, a detail that House Oversight Committee Republicans argue is intentional to hide the full scope of Biden’s disclosures of sensitive classified information. In 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur accessed the recordings and their transcripts during his official investigation into Biden’s retention of classified documents. Hur’s final report concluded Biden had improperly held onto the government records, but the special counsel declined to recommend criminal charges. Hur cited multiple factors for the decision, including widespread concerns that a jury would perceive Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and decline to deliver a conviction.

    This controversy mirrors a parallel case involving former President and now returning President Donald Trump, who faced criminal charges for illegally retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Those charges were ultimately dismissed after Trump won the 2024 presidential election and returned to the White House.

    In a formal statement responding to the release, Biden’s spokesperson TJ Ducklo framed the move as a partisan political attack. “Releasing the tapes was just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution,” Ducklo said. He added that while President Biden disagrees with the court ruling that cleared the release, “he also respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy.”