 Emergency service workers at Sergiev Posad in Russia’s Moscow region yesterday after an explosion on the grounds of the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant.Reuters |
| Drone attacks on Moscow |
| Russian officials have reported intercepting at least 12 drones headed for Moscow over the last three weeks, including two overnight on Tuesday, suggesting that such attacks are now taking the war to Russia’s capital on a near-daily basis. Not every drone appears to have been intercepted: Last week, a government building in central Moscow was twice struck in 48 hours. |
| The claims could not be independently verified. But Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that some attacks were orchestrated by Kyiv, making it increasingly clear that they will not allow the war to be limited to their own soil. |
| While the Russian authorities have largely tried to play down the risks of drone attacks, Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, spoke last week of “a clear threat,” adding that “measures are being taken” to build up defenses around the capital. |
| Context: Since the beginning of May, Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported at least 28 drone attacks on Russian soil. The assaults have reached deep into Russian territory and have been aimed at symbolic and military targets, including the strike near the Kremlin. |
| Repercussions: Shock waves from a drone attack along the Danube River last week, mere yards from Ukraine, shattered windows in Plauru, a Romanian hamlet with just a dozen tumbledown homes. |
 President Biden appeared in Albuquerque, New Mexico, yesterday.Kenny Holston/The New York Times |
| Biden orders ban on U.S. investments in Chinese tech |
| President Biden yesterday signed an executive order banning American investments in key tech industries that could be used to enhance Beijing’s military capabilities. The order will prohibit venture capital and private equity firms from pumping money into Chinese efforts to develop semiconductors and other sensitive technology. |
| Administration officials stressed that the move was tailored to guard national security, but China is likely to see it as part of a wider campaign to contain its rise. It comes at perhaps the most fraught moment in the U.S.-China relationship since President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger opened a dialogue with Beijing in the early 1970s. |
| Chinese economy: Consumer prices fell in July for the first time in more than two years, raising fears of deflation in the world’s second-largest economy. |
| For more: Why the largest Western law firm in China is leaving the country. |
 A pile of wrecked boats in Sfax, Tunisia, of the type often used by migrants.Laura Boushnak for The New York Times |
| 41 perish off the coast of Sicily |
| Dozens of migrants died after their makeshift boat capsized in the Strait of Sicily, with just a handful rescued, survivors reported yesterday. Four people, including a child, were saved, according to Flavio di Giacomo, a spokesman for the U.N. migration agency. The survivors arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily. |
| The authorities did not immediately release further details, such as when the boat had left Tunisia; where the shipwreck had taken place in the strait, a section of the Mediterranean that separates the African country from Sicily; and exactly how many people had died. Survivors told the U.N. migration agency that 41 had drowned out of a total of 45 onboard. |
| Related: Four Nigerian stowaways hopped on a cargo ship not knowing where it was going. They landed in Brazil. |
| THE LATEST NEWS |
| Around the World |
 Kola Sulaimon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
| A mutiny in Niger has tested a commitment from other West African nations to stand up to coups in the region.A presidential candidate in Ecuador was assassinated at a political rally last night, days before an election that has centered around the country’s security situation.Scores of arrests have been made in the U.S. and Australia in a child abuse inquiry that followed the killing of two F.B.I. agents.Eleven people died after a blaze ripped through a vacation rental in northeastern France where 28 travelers were staying.Fast-moving wildfires on the island of Maui have killed six people, damaged the historic town of Lahaina and forced some residents to flee into the Pacific Ocean. |
| Other Big Stories |
 Doug Mills/The New York Times |
| Prosecutors working for the special counsel who has twice brought indictments against Donald Trump have obtained a search warrant for the former president’s long-dormant Twitter account.Disney’s streaming operation lost $512 million in the most recent quarter, bringing total streaming losses since Disney+ was introduced in 2019 to more than $11 billion. |
| The striking actors’ union in Hollywood is granting waivers allowing some projects to continue, raising questions about who qualifies and why. |
| What Else Is Happening |
| Britain’s vegetable producers are hoping this high-inflation moment is time for the humble frozen pea to shine.Three people died and a fourth fell ill after a family lunch last month in Leongatha, Australia. The police said the symptoms were consistent with mushroom poisoning. |
| A Morning Read |
 Peggy Jones |
| In an improbable occurrence, a snake fell from the clear blue sky, wrapping itself tightly around Peggy Jones’s right forearm. It hissed and lunged at her face, at times striking her glasses. |
| That was strange enough — before a hawk joined in. |
| Lives Lived |
| Robbie Robertson, the chief composer and lead guitarist for the Band, has died at 80. |
| SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC |
| Barcelona’s temporary home: Preparing for life at Montjuic. |
| Soccer and the environment: The conflicts of being an elite player and caring about the world we live in. |
| Fantasy Premier League: Ahead of a new season, our expert explains “the wild card.” |
| From The Times: On TikTok, fans of the literary subgenre “hockey romance” are creating divisive content that blurs the line between fictional players and real-life ones. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
 Adrienne Raquel for The New York Times |
| The female future of rap |
| As their male counterparts turn depressive and paranoid, female rappers are having all the fun. Household names like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, the City Girls and Doja Cat all incorporate some degree of sex-positivity, playfulness and exuberance into their music. And then there are the upstarts — including Coi Leray, Latto and Ice Spice, to name just a few. |
| Not only is this music popular and crafty, but it has vitality and comedy in spades. And its lyrics — though too explicit to print here — are deeply colorful and hugely creative. |
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
 Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. |
| Feed a crowd with eggplant Parmesan. |
