Senior ExxonMobil Lawyer Retires, Joins Trump Administration

A top attorney at ExxonMobil is joining the Trump administration. Robert Levy, executive counsel at the fossil fuel giant, recently announced he’s retiring after 17 years at ExxonMobil and will join the Justice Department’s newly renamed Energy and Natural Resources Division. It was previously the Environment and Natural Resources Division. In November, Levy was one of a few major oil company executives to attend the COP30 United Nations climate talks in Brazil, where he promoted the continued burning of fossil fuels. Darren Woods: “Crude, crude oil, and hydrocarbons are going to play a critical role in everybody’s life for a long time to come.” In response, Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, wrote, “Big Oil’s capture of the U.S. government is now complete. … The Justice Department that should be fighting to protect clean air and water and avert catastrophic climate change will now work on behalf of polluters to advance the poisoning of people and the planet.” www.democracynow.org

Extreme Weather Rocks China, Europe and U.S. Amid Searing July Heat Wave

In China, at least 21 people are dead after heavy wind and rain triggered a landslide in the western province of Gansu. The disaster was caused by the remnants of Typhoon Maysak, which spawned rare tornadoes in central China, leaving tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes. In the Pacific, recovery efforts are underway in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands from severe damage caused by a Category 5-equivalent typhoon that made landfall on Monday. In France, more than 10,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes as a fast-moving wildfire sweeps across the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains. Firefighters are also battling blazes in Portugal, Spain, Greece and the Balkans. Here in the U.S., more than 1,200 firefighters are battling the Babylon Fire, which has consumed over 100,000 acres, becoming the largest wildfire in Utah in nearly a decade. According to Climate Central, July is the hottest month for most of the United States, and it’s getting hotter as the planet warms. U.S. cities have seen average temperatures rise by more than two-and-a-half degrees since the 1970s. www.democracynow.org

85-Year-Old German National Becomes 21st to Die in ICE Custody This Year

Deaths in ICE custody also continue to rise under President Trump’s second term in office. In the latest reported case, Adrian Andreas Florian, an 85-year-old man from Germany, died in late June while hospitalized in Texas. According to immigration researcher and data analyst Austin Kocher, ICE had transferred Florian to the hospital in November over signs of dementia and other health issues. He was then pronounced dead on June 24 after about 10 months in ICE custody. He is at least the 21st person to die in ICE custody this year alone. In more immigration news, the GEO Group, one of the nation’s largest private prison and immigration detention contractors, has agreed to pay a fine of more than $100,000 in a landmark case over the company’s abusive and dangerous treatment of immigrant workers detained in at least five of its California ICE jails. The case had been ongoing for more than four years. www.democracynow.org

ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Mexican Father During Houston Traffic Stop

In Texas, immigration and civil rights advocacy groups are demanding an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican father who was killed by ICE during an attempted arrest in Houston Tuesday morning. Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, said in a statement his father was driving to work and was in Magnolia Park, a historically Latino neighborhood in Houston, picking up workers in the area, when ICE agents targeted him. His son added, “My father has been in this country for nearly 35 years, working in construction to provide for myself, my two brothers, and my mother. … My father did not deserve this.” ICE claimed — as it has in previous shootings — that Araujo had attempted to drive away, ramming an agency vehicle when he was shot in the abdomen. This is Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group. Cesar Espinosa: “We are calling for an independent — fully independent — investigation from the authorities. We are calling for transparency from ICE. And we are calling for justice for this person. ICE does not get to be judge, jury and executioner whenever they want to.” Advocates are also demanding the release of video footage. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s fatal shooting came on the six-month anniversary of the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. www.democracumpw.org

Israeli Strike Kills Gaza Aid Official Who Organized World Cup Screening

In Gaza City, an Israeli strike on the Sabra neighborhood Tuesday evening killed Palestinian aid official Mohammed al-Wahidi, along with a taxi driver and two children — 10-year-old Hamza al-Deri and his 8-year-old brother Fari. Al-Wahidi was director of public relations for the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza and had just organized a public screening of the Egypt-Argentina World Cup match. Israel killed him less than an hour before kickoff. Since October, when Israel agreed to a so-called ceasefire, it has killed at least 1,027 people in Gaza, including 258 children. www.democracynow.org

U.S. Renews Attacks on Iran and Reimposes Oil Sanctions

The United States has renewed its attacks on Iran, with multiple explosions reported in southern regions, including the port city of Sirik, Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas and Kharg Island. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran’s military pledged a “crushing response.” Soon after, air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait as U.S. military sites came under Iranian drone and missile fire. The U.S. strikes came hours after the Treasury Department revoked a temporary sanctions waiver that allowed Iran to sell oil on the open market. That led to a surge in oil prices and a steep decline in Asian stock markets, which shed more than $700 billion in value during a broad sell-off. www.democracynow.org

Family of Cuban Who Died of “Likely Homicide” at Texas ICE Jail Sues for Wrongful Death

The family of Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban immigrant whose death in ICE custody was ruled a likely homicide, is suing four guards and the companies that oversaw Camp East Montana — a sprawling immigration detention tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas — at the time of Campos’s death. The Washington Post reports his family is seeking more than $1 million in damages from Acquisition Logistics, the company that oversaw Camp East Montana when Campos was killed; Akima, which employed the guards accused of killing Campos; and NANA Regional Corp., Akima’s parent company. Earlier this year, an autopsy report released by the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded Campos had died from asphyxia caused by neck and torso compression, ruling his death a homicide. Before his death, Campos had complained of not getting the right dosage of medication to treat his bipolar disorder and anxiety. He had also expressed having suicidal thoughts. But instead of receiving proper care, Campos was placed in solitary confinement, where guards shackled and handcuffed him, repeatedly “putting pressure on his neck and chest until his body went limp.” www.democracynow.org