Morning Briefing — August 7, 2026

World News

Russian missile attack kills 14 in Kyiv region as war escalates — A Russian ballistic missile attack on the Kyiv region killed at least 14 people and injured 27 others, the city’s military administration said. The strikes followed a week of deadly attacks in both Ukraine and Russia, with the five-year-long conflict showing no signs of slowing. Al Jazeera

Ukraine reports heavy Russian losses after overnight strikes on Kyiv — Ukraine's defence ministry logged further Russian casualties as offensive operations intensified. A massive overnight missile and drone attack on August 5 killed at least 17 people and injured 44, hitting warehouses and logistics hubs linked to Epicentr, Rozetka, Fozzy Group and Nova Poshta. RBC-Ukraine

Israeli prosecutors indict settler in West Bank killing, a first in seven years — Israeli prosecutors indicted a Jewish settler over the West Bank killing of a Palestinian community leader last year — the first such prosecution in more than seven years. The move comes as tensions continue in the West Bank amid an uneasy Gaza ceasefire secured in October 2025. Reuters (via CFR)

Trump’s Gaza roadmap wobbles as Israel voices security concerns — President Trump’s road map to disarm Hamas has run into resistance days after being announced, with Israel raising 'serious security concerns' about the new 15-point plan that would deploy an International Stabilization Force to Gaza after a phased Israeli withdrawal. Times of Israel

Ben-Gurion Airport disrupted by civilian drone incursion — Takeoffs and landings at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport were halted during peak hours after a civilian drone entered its airspace, according to reports. The disruption came the same day activists from the Uri Tzafon movement briefly crossed into Lebanon before being detained by the IDF. Jerusalem Post (via FDD)

Democracy Now headlines: New Mexico sues DOJ over Epstein probe — New Mexico filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice for what state officials described as 'stonewalling' its probe into Jeffrey Epstein. The Senate also confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche pledged to make the Dobbs abortion ruling permanent nationwide. Democracy Now

Houthis claim attack on Saudi oil tanker as Trump signals Hormuz reopening — Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for an attack on a Saudi oil tanker, adding pressure to already volatile Gulf shipping lanes. President Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen 'soon,' as the U.S.–Israel war with Iran continues to reshape energy markets. CNN

Business

Carney calls U.S. trade talks 'nasty' after Trump insults Canadian leadership — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said trade negotiations with the United States had turned 'nasty' after President Trump derided Canada during a Las Vegas speech while threatening to expand tariffs. Carney said existing U.S. tariffs on aluminum have contributed to a 58% jump in U.S. aluminum prices. Washington Post / AP

Carney says 'all strategic sectors' on the table as tariff deadline nears — Carney told CBC that Canadian negotiators are engaging on 'all strategic sectors,' including autos, ahead of Trump's August 19 tariff deadline. The prime minister said Canada could 'get tougher' in the days leading up to the deadline, with Section 338 tariffs of 50% set to hit Canadian goods. CBC News

World food prices hit three-year high in July, FAO says — The FAO Food Price Index averaged 131.1 points in July, up from 130.3 in June and the highest reading since January 2023. FAO’s chief economist warned that wars in Iran and Ukraine combined with El Niño could create a perfect storm of higher costs and lower crop yields. Reuters (via U.S. News)

Canadian economy grew 0.3% in May, second straight month of gains — Statistics Canada reported the economy expanded 0.3% in May, with 13 of 20 industrial sectors contributing. An advance estimate showed real GDP rising at a 3.4% annualized pace in Q2, marking a sharp rebound from Q1's mild contraction as oil and gas extraction helped drive the gains. CBC News

Bank of Canada holds overnight rate at 2.25% for sixth consecutive decision — The Bank of Canada kept its policy rate steady at 2.25% in July, its sixth hold, saying Canada's economy has shown signs of improvement despite energy price shocks from the Middle East conflict. Markets now price the rate remaining broadly stable through 2026 as the trade war with the U.S. continues. Trading Economics

Meta, Apple and Amazon post mixed reactions to earnings amid AI capex scrutiny — Apple beat expectations with $109.4bn in revenue but shares fell 9% on tariff-refund concerns, while Meta missed on EPS due to legal charges and severance. Amazon surged 10% while Alphabet and Meta lost significant market cap as investors demand clearer evidence that AI capital spending is demand-driven. 24/7 Wall St.

Big Tech's 2026 AI capex to hit $740B as market sentiment shifts — Combined 2026 capital expenditure from Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft is tracking toward roughly $740 billion, up 77% from ~$410 billion in 2025. NVIDIA remains the primary beneficiary with a record $81.6bn quarterly revenue, though investors are growing skeptical of returns on AI infrastructure spending. Fortune

Expand Energy to buy Twin Eagle Holdings for $1.25 billion — Expand Energy said it would acquire privately held natural gas marketer Twin Eagle Holdings from Five Point Infrastructure for US$1.25 billion. The deal is aimed at expanding Expand Energy's marketing business across North America. BNN Bloomberg

Technology

OpenAI publicly releases GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra and Luna models — OpenAI released its GPT-5.6 family (Sol, Terra, Luna) after initially limiting the rollout at the request of the U.S. government. The company also introduced GPT-Live, a new generation of voice models that can listen and speak at the same time for a more natural conversational feel. CNBC

OpenAI cuts GPT-5.6 Luna price by 80% and Terra by 20% — OpenAI slashed the price of its GPT-5.6 Luna model by 80% and Terra by 20%, sharpening its competitive pitch on price-performance. Sol, the new flagship, is billed as achieving state-of-the-art results across coding, cybersecurity and science with fewer tokens than rivals. OpenAI

AI startups devoured 81% of global Q1 2026 venture funding — Bloomberg data shows AI startups absorbed roughly 81% of global venture funding in Q1 2026 (~$242B), with OpenAI's single $122B round accounting for over 40% of Q1 deployment. Smaller VC funds unable to write $100M+ checks are struggling to raise, widening the performance gap between top- and bottom-tier funds. AI Weekly / Bloomberg

Ninth Circuit sides with Perplexity's Comet shopping agent over Amazon — The Ninth Circuit overturned a lower-court order that had barred Perplexity's Comet shopping agent from Amazon.com. The appellate court found that under the federal computer-hacking statute it was users — not Perplexity — who 'accessed' Amazon, a decision that could shape rules for agentic AI browsing. AI Weekly

SK Hynix and SanDisk unveil High Bandwidth Flash standard for AI inference — SK Hynix and SanDisk published the first OCP technical specification for High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) at Flash Memory Summit 2026. The new NAND-based memory tier sits between HBM and SSDs, supports capacities up to 512GB and bandwidth up to 3.0TB/s, using UCIe chiplet interconnect for direct CPU/GPU attachment. AI Weekly

Apple's iPhone segment jumps 23% but memory shortage threatens prices — Apple's iPhone revenue reached $85.3 billion (+23% YoY) in its latest quarter, powered by the iPhone 17 family, especially strong in Greater China. However, CEO Tim Cook warned that Mac and iPad prices will rise due to a global memory crunch, with potential iPhone price hikes to follow. TradingKey

Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft add nearly $1.5 trillion after earnings — The three tech giants collectively added close to $1.5 trillion in market value in a single earnings week as investors rewarded their AI-linked cloud and revenue growth. Apple and Meta went the other way, with Apple losing more than $350 billion as memory shortages weighed on its outlook. CNBC

Renewable Energy

World installed record 814 GW of solar and wind in 2025 — According to Ember, the world added 814 GW of new solar and wind capacity in 2025, 17% more than 2024. Total wind and solar capacity has now reached 4,174 GW (over 4 TW), with solar accounting for the vast majority — nearly 4 GW of new solar for every 1 GW of new wind. Ember / Electrek

India adds record 29 GW of solar and wind in first half of 2026 — India installed a record 29 GW of new solar and wind capacity in H1 2026, with solar rising 43% year-on-year driven by a rooftop boom under the PM Surya Ghar scheme. Gujarat and Rajasthan dominated additions as India pushes toward its 500 GW non-fossil-fuel target for 2030. Down To Earth

UK EV sales overtake petrol cars for the first time — Carbon Brief analysis shows UK consumers bought 516,490 new EVs in the 12 months to May 2026, compared with 504,010 new petrol cars — the first time electric vehicles have outsold petrol models. China’s Hainan Province separately announced it will ban the sale of new fuel-powered vehicles by 2030. Carbon Brief (via Backchannel)

Solar and wind hit record 17% of U.S. electricity in 2025 — Combined output from wind and utility-scale solar reached 760,000 GWh in 2025, or 17% of U.S. electricity generation, according to the Energy Information Administration. Utility-scale solar generation alone jumped 34% year-on-year to 296,000 GWh, while wind rose 3% to 464,000 GWh. U.S. Energy Information Administration

IEA: Renewables to overtake coal as world's top power source by 2026 — New IEA forecasts show renewable energy will overtake coal as the world's top source of electricity 'by 2026 at the latest,' making up 36% of global power against just 32% from coal — coal's lowest share in a century. Wind and solar are expected to meet more than 90% of the increase in global electricity demand. Carbon Brief

Ocean Winds secures consent for 2 GW Caledonia offshore wind farm — The EDP Renewables–Engie joint venture Ocean Winds has secured offshore consent from the Scottish government for its 2 GW Caledonia offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth. The approval adds significant capacity to the UK's offshore wind pipeline as Europe accelerates its transition. Renewables Now

China's CO2 emissions grew 2% in Q1 2026 as 'wasted' renewables rose — China's CO2 emissions grew 2% in the first quarter of 2026 after a rise in the amount of curtailed wind and solar power, Carbon Brief reported. Analysts are watching whether China's power-sector emissions will resume their decline as the country balances export competitiveness with climate commitments. Carbon Brief

U.S. to add record 86 GW of new utility-scale capacity in 2026 — The EIA reports that U.S. project developers are preparing 86 GW of new utility-scale generating capacity for 2026 — the largest single-year capacity addition in over two decades, nearly doubling the 53 GW installed in 2025. The growth is overwhelmingly driven by solar and battery storage. pv magazine USA (via Solar Now)

Soil Science

USDA rolls out $700 million regenerative agriculture pilot program — The U.S. Department of Agriculture unveiled a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program, allocating $400M via EQIP and $300M via the Conservation Stewardship Program. Participating farmers will complete whole-farm assessments, adopt at least one core soil health practice, and conduct soil health testing over the life of contracts. National Association of Counties

Critics call USDA regenerative program 'greenwashing' that diverts organic funds — Advocacy groups say the USDA's new $700M program greenwashes industrial agriculture and diverts resources needed for organic transition. The NRCS, which will administer the pilot, has lost nearly 25% of its staff since January 2025, raising concerns about capacity to deliver on soil health goals. Beyond Pesticides

FAO Food Price Index hits three-year high on weather and war — The FAO's benchmark for world food prices rose to 131.1 in July 2026, its highest since January 2023, as adverse weather and war escalation in the Gulf and Black Sea supported crop markets. FAO estimates 41 countries currently require external assistance for food. FAO / Reuters

Michigan launches combined Soil and Agricultural Stewardship Unit — Michigan's Department of Agriculture merged its Regenerative Agriculture Program and MAEAP into a single Soil and Agricultural Stewardship Unit. The state's regenerative program — one of the first embedded in a state agriculture agency — focuses on healthy soils that improve water infiltration, reduce erosion and support nutrient cycling. MDARD

Report: Seven regenerative practices to boost soil health in 2026 — A Farmonaut analysis outlines cover cropping, no-till and other regenerative approaches as central to 2026 soil strategy, citing 10–20% yield gains over conventional methods. The practices are increasingly seen as levers for carbon sequestration, water retention and profitability as climate risk rises. Farmonaut

Michigan forests under pressure from climate change, deer and disease — New seedling data show Michigan forests facing regeneration challenges from climate change, deer browsing and disease. Climate change could favor red and white oak, red maple and black cherry, while making it harder for sugar maple and American beech to regenerate. Bridge Michigan (via KCCC)

Q&A: Does the world need carbon capture and storage to reach net-zero? — Carbon Brief examines the role of carbon capture and storage in reaching net-zero, noting that influential bodies including the IPCC describe CCS as 'critical' for cutting emissions from key sectors and for helping avoid dangerous global warming. The piece considers both the promise and the limitations for soils and land-use sectors. Carbon Brief

Cover photo by Matt Popovich on Unsplash.