5 Big News Stories Overnight - Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Evacuated Manhattan Building Remains Unstable as Officials Warn of Partial Collapse

The New York Times reports:

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said a high-profile housing project under construction near Grand Central Terminal, and at risk of collapse, was still unstable Tuesday afternoon and warned New Yorkers to avoid the area.

Fire officials said they received a call just before 8 a.m. about falling bricks near 235 East 42nd Street, a 37-story building where the former headquarters of Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, is being converted to a residential complex with more than 1,600 apartments. The project, which architects said would be the largest of its kind in New York City history, was scheduled to be completed in 2027.

PHOTO: City of New York

U.S. Attacks Iran

Al Jazeera reports:

The US military says it has launched new strikes on Iran in response to the targeting of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Two tankers have been struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, says the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says negotiations on a final deal will not begin if threats continue, after US President Donald Trump warned that Washington will reach an agreement with Tehran or “finish the job”.

Funeral prayers for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family are under way in the holy city of Qom.

Hamas announces it will no longer govern Gaza, paving the way for a technocratic committee to take over, as Israeli forces keep up deadly attacks on the Palestinian territory as well as Lebanon.

Prince Harry loses £50m phone hacking case against Daily Mail

The Telegraph reports:

The Duke of Sussex has lost his £50m privacy claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail in a humiliating legal defeat.

In an excoriating High Court ruling, handed down on Tuesday, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed in full all 97 claims against Associated Newspapers.

The Duke and six others – including Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and Baroness Lawrence – sued the publisher over allegations of phone hacking and blagging private medical records.

The result will be a bitter blow for the claimants and also Hacked Off, the campaign group that had hoped to use the case as a stepping stone to push for Leveson Two, a second public inquiry into press standards.

The claimants relied on testimony from Graham Johnson, a convicted phone hacker, but the judge said Mr Johnson’s credibility was “materially undermined” in cross-examination and that his account was often “shaped by reconstruction rather than reliable recollection”.

PHOTO: Royal Family

What to know about the electronic monitor Marine Le Pen must wear

France 24 reports:

The electronic monitor that Marine Le Pen now must wear, even if she decides to run for the presidency, is a measure that’s common in France, in part to ease prison overcrowding.

A Paris appeals court on Tuesday declared the far-right leader guilty of embezzlement and fined her €100,000 ($114,000). But it reduced her ban on elected office from five years to 45 months — two-thirds of which are suspended.

It also cut her prison sentence from four years to three, two of which are suspended. The court said the one year is to be served under house arrest with an electronic monitor.

France suffers from persistent prison overcrowding and worsening detention conditions, according to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. Monitors keep from adding to that problem.

Waymo reports teen riders for bad behavior and delivers them to the police

LA Times reports:

Robotaxis could be turning into robocops.

A self-driving Waymo reported two teens to San Mateo, Calif., police on Monday after they were found drinking alcohol and shooting toy guns in the back of the vehicle.

According to a social media post from the San Mateo Police Department, officers detained two 15-year-olds after the Waymo they were riding in contacted the department and stopped in a parking lot until law enforcement arrived.

“Parents do you know where your teens are?” the San Mateo Police Department wrote on Facebook following the incident. “Waymo does!”

Santa Monica resident Rojia Shahsavani witnessed three boys sitting on the windowsills of a Waymo along Olympic Boulevard, between Santa Monica and West LA. on Friday, June 19, 2026, The boys were taking selfies and generally chilling as the car was traveling between 30-40 miles per hour. Shahsavani said she called Waymo to stop the car but they didn't do so.

PHOTO: Clement Proust, Unsplash