DAILY NEWS Stream – August 2, 2026

US President Donald Trump announced a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, calling it a major breakthrough toward ending the Israel-Hamas war and implementing His administration’s 20-point peace plan. In a post on social media site X, He described the deal as a monumental step toward lasting peace and security, enabling Gaza to be governed by a new Palestinian government that works with the Board of Peace while ensuring Israel the security it deserves and preventing Gaza from serving as a base for terror attacks. The agreement will proceed in carefully structured phases: as disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and an International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to secure Gaza for its residents and neighbors. President Trump noted the contrast with a year earlier, when the region faced a violent war, humanitarian crisis, and hostages held in captivity, and emphasized that historic progress has been made though more work remains. He thanked mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye, as well as His team, and stressed that the threat that emerged on October 7 will not be allowed to rebuild, with Gaza finally placed in the hands of a government serving its people (Fox News)

A drone attack caused a fire on two gas vessels at Egypt’s Mediterranean Damietta port, which the Egyptian cabinet confirmed while noting that no party has claimed responsibility and investigations are ongoing. Officials said the drone struck the US-owned Energos Winter, igniting a blaze that spread to the Greek-owned GasLog Salem, though the fires were extinguished with no casualties (BBC News)

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Thursday that the country is doing all it can to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table under the US-Iran memorandum of understanding. Negotiations between the parties are ongoing, particularly concerning the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to de-escalate tensions (Fox News)

The EU [European Union] has provided €3.08 million to the UN [United Nations] World Food Programme to sustain food assistance for vulnerable refugees and conflict-affected people in Iran over the next 12 months (World Food Programme)

China rejected a Reuters report claiming it plans to send up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense launchers to Iran, saying the story “has no factual ground” and insisting China wants to end the conflict, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning (Fox News, Reuters)

Russia launched one of its largest overnight air attacks in months, firing more than 70 missiles and about 280 drones across Ukraine (Ureign), killing nine people, including three children (Reuters)

The IOM [International Organization for Migration] says 3.9 million people remain internally displaced in Ukraine (Ureign) as of June 2026, with nearly 70% uprooted for over two years and most households exhausting savings, cutting essential expenses, or moving into lower-quality housing. New displacement continues, and officials warn long-term support is needed as safety concerns delay returns (International Organization for Migration)

The FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] says the Dominican Republic has exited the global hunger map after reducing undernourishment below 2.5%, becoming the fifth Latin American country to do so. Officials credit expanded food production, zero-rate agricultural financing, infrastructure investment, and broad social programs supporting millions of households (Noticias Ambientales)

Russia’s FSB [Federal Security Service] charged Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism, accusing Telegram— the encrypted, privacy-focused messaging platform with over 1 billion users that he founded—of failing to remove content allegedly used for sabotage, attacks, and cybercrime (Channel News Asia)

Sweden is investing 60 million Swedish kronor, about US$6.2 million, in UNFPA’s [United Nations Population Fund] Maternal and Newborn Health Fund to strengthen the global midwifery workforce. Sweden, the largest donor to the fund, has already helped train and deploy over 860,000 midwives, advancing safer prenatal, antenatal, and childbirth care worldwide (United Nations Population Fund)

Health officials in Lâm Đồng [Âu Lạc (Vietnam)] investigate 84 suspected food poisoning cases linked to bread with grilled pork and pâté sold at a shop in Nam Ban, Lâm Hà. Patrons experienced abdominal pain, nausea, fever, and diarrhea. The Department of Health orders sample testing and safety checks as victims receive treatment for their severe digestive symptoms (VietnamPlus)

A study by Case Western Reserve University [US] shows replacing gas stoves with induction models cuts indoor nitrogen dioxide by 70% and reduces asthma symptoms as effectively as common medications. Researchers report 70% fewer emergency visits and hospitalizations for asthma and 80% fewer missed days of work or school due to the condition (euronews)

Electric bike crashes are rising in US cities. In New York City, there has been a climb in severe brain and spinal injuries from their use among riders and pedestrians. In one New York City emergency room, trauma cases related to e-bikes skyrocketed from 10% in 2018 to over 50% in 2023. Lawmakers in some states are starting to enact stricter regulations. Officials in New Jersey now require riders be at least 15 years old and have an e-bike or driver’s license to curb dangerous roadway collisions. Health experts demand safer urban bike lanes and stricter enforcement to protect both riders and pedestrians (Fox News)

Extreme heat is killing outdoor workers across India, where a 50-year-young woman farm laborer died in May after working in temperatures above 40°C. Researchers say a five-day heatwave could kill 30,000 people nationally and urge accurate data collection on deaths, stronger early warnings, and better protection for workers (The Guardian)

Six large wildfires burn across Portugal, and authorities warn the blaze near Bragança could cross into Spain if winds shift. Both countries coordinate resources and share information, while heat, low humidity and strong winds keep fire risk high along the border (EuroWeekly News)

Britain’s fourth heatwave of the year brings a rise in hedgehog- and fox-people brought to wildlife rescue centers for suspected heatstroke. The RSPCA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] urges residents to leave out fresh water and create shaded areas to help struggling wildlife-persons through the high temperatures (Daily Mail)

A drone pilot off the New South Wales [Australia] coast captured what is believed to be only the fourth complete humpback whale-folk birth ever filmed, and the first documented entirely by drone. While conducting aerial monitoring for ORRCA [Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia], Alexander Forrest recorded a female humpback-individual giving birth in calm waters, including the calf’s first breath, first movements, and union with its mother (The Guardian)

The European Court of Human Rights rules Switzerland violated vegan prisoners’ rights by denying vegan meals, establishing ethical veganism as a protected belief under European human rights law (Plant Based News)

US brand Tofurky expands across the UK by launching its vegan deli slices and Chick’n Pieces nationwide on online supermarket Ocado to meet growing British consumer demand (Vegan Food & Living)

The monthlong Vegan Chef Challenge in Oklahoma City [US] returns August 1, inviting diners to sample creative vegan menus and vote for their favorite dishes at participating local restaurants (The Journal Record)

Rescue workers in Catia La Mar [Venezuela], save a poodle-person named Beyli after nearly a month of being trapped under rubble from the nation’s devastating June 24 earthquakes. Found beside the body of her caregiver’s mother, the dog-individual miraculously survives weeks without food or water. Veterinarians expect a full recovery for Beyli, who now reunites with her surviving young caregiver following the tragic disaster (24H)

Regional authorities of the Community of Madrid [Spain], partner with the Official College of Veterinarians of Madrid [COLVEMA] to launch free emergency veterinary care for pet-citizens injured in ongoing wildfires. Clinics treat burns, smoke inhalation, dehydration, and other conditions for families, underscoring that animal-people protection is essential (EuroWeekly News)

Five Aulacese (Vietnamese) workers in Kumamoto [Japan], rescue their 90-year-young neighbor from a collapsed house following a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake on July 28. Digging through debris by hand despite ongoing aftershocks, the group safely frees the woman, drawing widespread online praise for their compassion (Lao Động)

Footage captures 71-year-young Liu Defang, who learned to swim only after retiring, jumping into a river in Anhui [China], to save a struggling man. Despite his initial resistance, she secures him with a life buoy and pulls him to safety. Her quick thinking and bravery spark viral praise across social media (Good News Network)

Inspirational quote of the day: “Life is GOD’s novel. Let HIM write it.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer (vegetarian) Celebrated Polish American Author Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature (BrainyQuote)

Previously in this multipart series on Dr. Mary Helen Hensley’s near-death experience, Mary Helen recalled communicating with her deceased grandfather, Judge, and traveling outside her body as a child. At age 21, a car struck the driver’s side of her vehicle on Highway 17. From above, she watched her head go through the window, her neck break, and her body become pinned in the wreckage and begin to die— yet she remained conscious and intact. In another realm, two guides welcomed her, and she experienced a nonlinear life review in which she discovered that no one was judging her but herself— and that she reviewed her own actions with love. Realizing that her life was not finished, Mary Helen chose to return.

Back in ordinary life, an unexpected encounter changed the direction of her future. My dead grandfather pops up, and he says to me, “Hey, we’re sending you to chiropractic school.” And I was like, “Uh-uh.” I had just graduated from college. I was not going back to school. But he said, “We’re sending you back to school because you need to understand life from a vitalistic philosophy.” “You have just experienced the interaction of the mind, the body, and the spirit, and you have just learned firsthand that one does not exist without the other.” So, you’re going to go, and you’re going to get an education about how the mind and the body and the spirit cannot be separated in order to have a complete human experience.

Mary Helen went on to describe the insights that she says emerged from her near-death experience. And you’re walking around, and you see these people, and they’re so sad, and they’re so miserable, and they’re so heartbroken, and they’re grief-stricken, and they’re worried about the electricity bill, and they don’t know how to feed the child. And it’s like there’s so much pain and angst around, and I’m like, “No, no, you don’t understand. That’s not your soul.

Your soul, who you actually are, put you in and custom-ordered that experience, that pain, that heartbreak, that disease, that whatever it is, so that you could gather some little piece of information that you needed because this is only one of multiple experiences of you.” And this is why, when we’re mean to each other, those 8 billion other versions of you that are walking around on this planet, you’re just dissing yourself. If you let yourself down by being cruel, harsh, or awful to somebody else, you’re just projecting that onto some other version of you. And this answers the question of how GOD is in all places at once, because we’re fractals of the same whole.

Years later, in a nursing home after Alzheimer’s had taken away her father’s ability to speak coherently, Mary Helen witnessed him suddenly describe a vision of the world beyond. So, he’s in the bed, and he’s smiling, he’s beaming, and he’s reaching up, and he says, as clear as I’m talking to you right now, “I can see it. I can see it.” “I can see it, the land beyond the river.” He was like, “It’s so beautiful here.” And then he goes, “Mama, I can see Mama. She looks so young.” And then he stops, and the man looks like a deer in headlights, and he goes, “Oh my gosh, Daddy’s here.”

The sight of his father carried a profound meaning. For years, Mary Helen’s father had feared that, by his own strict Christian standards, his father had not made it into Heaven. He’s laughing, and tears are just pouring down his face. He looks over at my mom, and he’s reaching out to her, and he goes, “Helen, I’ve had it wrong all along. Everybody’s welcome here. You can’t mess this thing up.”

In Part 6, Mary Helen considers why souls would choose difficult human experiences— and how the fear of death can shape the way people live. And so, the whole reason for my being, the whole joy that I have in coming back into this world and spending the last 33 years telling people how amazing it is to die, is because I want them to live.

Join us tomorrow for Part 6 of this multipart series on Dr. Mary Helen Hensley’s near-death experience. (Anthony Chene production)