July 20 0400 UTC Brief

In international news Iran is threatening to block oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after another night of U.S. strikes, raising the risk of a wider energy shock. The Revolutionary Guard said it targeted U.S. aircraft in Jordan and stopped two tankers in the strait, while the U.S. military said it hit Iranian command centers, air defenses, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks. Brent crude briefly topped $91 a barrel in early Asian trade, a reminder that geopolitics still has a direct line to your gas bill. Elsewhere, the UK government’s takeover of British Steel has drawn a compensation demand from China, which says the move breached protections in a bilateral investment treaty. In India, new research says extreme heat is cutting income and harming the health of millions of informal outdoor workers, deepening poverty in a country that already has enough structural problems without the weather joining the management team. In Philadelphia Police are investigating two Sunday night attacks in the city. A bicyclist was injured in a hit-and-run near Jasper and East Tioga streets in Kensington, and the driver fled. In a separate case, a man was shot in the lower leg at 55th Street and Baltimore Avenue and was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. Police have not announced arrests in either case. In technology and labor AI is making Silicon Valley more efficient and some of its workers more exposed. A Washington Post report says recent layoffs, combined with the industry’s push to do more with fewer people, are leaving many tech employees financially vulnerable. More than 800,000 tech workers have been laid off since 2022, and economists say the sector is moving toward higher output with fewer hours worked. The promise was disruption. The bill came due a little faster than advertised.