Russia launches massive strike on Ukraine capital; Sky-high proposal ends in arrests
Russia pounds Ukraine with more attacks on Kyiv. This morning, more than a dozen Ukrainians were killed, and others are trapped in the rubble.
Plus, the death toll from the Venezuela earthquakes now exceeds 2,000, but tens of thousands remain missing one week later.
And they made it to the top of the Empire State Building’s spire, kissed and the guy apparently proposed. How the two daredevils climbed nearly 1,500 feet before getting arrested.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, July 2, 2026.
13 dead after Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says search and rescue efforts are underway after at least 13 people were killed in explosions that shook the capital of Kyiv overnight into early this morning.
He says Moscow used more than 70 missiles and 500 drones to attack buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city, including an ambulance station and a hotel.
Damage is reported in every district in Kyiv, with the Darnytskyi district hit the hardest.
Officials say part of a nine-floor apartment building there collapsed.
Rescue crews are still looking for people thought to be under the rubble, including a 15-year-old girl and her family.
Reuters reports that Russia’s defense ministry claimed the strikes hit “key military plants” in Kyiv, and that the Kremlin’s top spokesman warned that more was to come.
Nearly 50,000 still unaccounted for in Venezuela as frustration mounts over government response
One week after two powerful earthquakes rocked Venezuela, some 50,000 people remain unaccounted for.
According to official tallies, at least 2,295 people have died from the devastating quakes that knocked down hundreds of buildings across the country.
But with so many collapsed buildings still unexcavated, experts say the real death toll is likely significantly higher.
One forensic pathologist told CNN the current count is “not even a third” of the actual number.
The U.S. Geological Survey says there’s a high chance that tens of thousands of people died in the back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes.
Frustration is mounting among Venezuelans over the government’s response, and opposition leader María Corina Machado has publicly accused the government of downplaying the destruction.
Machado, who fled Venezuela after winning a presidential election that was stolen by now-ousted leader Nicolas Maduro, has been trying to return to her home country since the quakes, but her efforts have been repeatedly blocked.
A senior U.S. official told Axios she’s adding “needless drama” to the situation and accused her of “grotesque” political opportunism.
Meanwhile, Democratic Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro says ICE is still trying to deport children and families to Venezuela, despite the catastrophe.
In a post on social media Wednesday, Castro claimed that children and families were woken up in the middle of the night just hours after the earthquakes and “sent to Arizona on their way to Venezuela” before ultimately being returned to the Texas detention facility they started out in.
John Brennan seeks to preserve investigative records in new lawsuit against the Trump administration
Former CIA director John Brennan is suing the Trump administration, demanding that it preserve records of their investigations into him.
Brennan has been under investigation for months in Florida, with Trump administration officials, including former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, accusing him of being part of a group of Obama appointees that committed a treasonous conspiracy about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Brennan claims he is the victim of a vindictive prosecution and is accused of “phantom criminal conduct.”
The court filing states, “President Trump has been condemning and calling for Director Brennan’s prosecution for years. Administration officials from the acting attorney general to the FBI director and the counselor overseeing the Brennan investigations have been publicly declaring director Brennan a criminal, not only before securing a conviction in court but even before a full investigation and an indictment.”
So far, no comment from the White House.
FBI investigating Nancy Guthrie ransom notes
The FBI said it’s working to determine which ransom notes are legitimate, five months after the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie.
Investigators said they’ve received several notes since somebody abducted the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie from her Tucson, Arizona, home in the early hours of Feb. 1.
They believe two of the notes, sent during the first two weeks after Guthrie disappeared, are authentic. Others may be legitimate, while some are believed to be extortion attempts.
The FBI did not specify how many notes have come in, but Tucson TV station KOLD said it received two: one demanding millions in bitcoin in exchange for Nancy Guthrie’s return, and another claiming she had died. TMZ said it also received a note.
Investigators were able to recover home security video from the night Guthrie vanished without her phone or essential medications, but so far have not identified the masked intruder.
Two climbers scale Empire State Building. Stunt ends with proposal and arrests
Two climbers reached the top of the Empire State Building’s antenna spire Wednesday, nearly 1,500 feet above Midtown Manhattan. They unfurled a black banner about love and peace, then appeared to get engaged before specially trained officers went up there and arrested them.
The police message was shorter: “Well, you can’t be up here.”
Police identified the climbers as Angelina Nikolau, who goes by the name Angela Nikolau, and Ivan Beerkus, who goes by the name Ivan Kuznetsov.
The two are known for high-rise stunts worldwide and were featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story.”
News helicopter footage showed them dressed in black, wearing masks, and balancing on the structure without tethers, ropes or nets. After several minutes on the structure, they collected the banner and started down. Video showed one of them getting on one knee on a lower platform. The two then kissed and hugged.
Police dispatched an emergency services unit to the building. They cleared the observation deck as officers responded.
Body camera video showed officers climbing up to meet the couple before arresting them for burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal trespass and other charges. Police recovered the banner. It was not immediately clear how the pair reached the top, which rises above the building’s public areas.
The Empire State Building said the stunt was unauthorized, but tenants and visitors were never in danger. The building also noted that its observation deck offers a more practical way to propose.
US advances to World Cup round of 16 for first time since 2002
It’s win-and-advance time at the World Cup. It’s the knockout round, and the Americans came up big Wednesday night, securing a 2-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Fans packed the stadium in Santa Clara, California, many donning red, white and blue.
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Folarin Balogun put the Americans up at the 45-minute mark, scoring the game’s first goal. But less than 20 minutes later, he became something of a villain. The refs issued Balogun a red card for a foul on a Bosnian player after both men lunged for the ball and the American’s cleat struck the back of the other player’s calf.
Still, with only 10 players on the field, the Americans increased their lead when Malik Tillman sent a beautiful shot into the net from a free kick.
The U.S. advances to the round of 16 for the first time since 2002 and will face Belgium on Monday. Balogun is suspended for that match.
Public schools were America’s great equalizer. What happened?
Public education is one of America’s enduring social contracts with its citizens. The public funds the schools, and the schools educate the public’s children.
Something has gone wrong with that agreement, and more people are voicing their dissatisfaction with the public school system than they have in decades. Who’s to blame for what’s become of our public schools?
In the mid-1850s, states began requiring children to receive an education supervised by a trained teacher. This baseline of smarts provided a population of educated workers that powered the country’s industrialization. Beginning in the 1970s, the federal government took a more hands-on approach through the Department of Education.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
