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U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday unleashed a new wave of strikes on Iranian targets. The attacks, on Iran’s Greater Tunb Island, came as the newly restored blockade on Iranian ports entered its first full day and the command began ordering ships headed to Iran to turn around. Meanwhile, Iran claims it damaged several U.S. military facilities in new rounds of missile and drone attacks in the region.

“CENTCOM launched precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island during the 90-minute wave,” the command stated on X. “The strikes further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.” The island, located at the western mouth of the Strait, sits about 30 miles south of the Iranian coast and about 50 miles northwest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which also lays claim to it, along with the Abu Musa and Lesser Tunb islands that Iran seized in 1971.

US Central Command carried out a 90-minute wave of strikes against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island on Wednesday, further degrading Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM said. pic.twitter.com/8GpPtZKAIW

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 15, 2026

Greater Tunb Island was a frequent target during Operation Epic Fury. A little more than two miles across at its widest point, it hosts a “vast network of underground bunkers,” created by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the Israeli Alma Research and Education Center think tank. “These underground facilities are believed to be storing anti-ship missiles and other weapons threatening freedom of navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz.”

Greater Tunb Island. (Google Earth)

In a subsequent X post, CENTCOM stated that since “restarting the naval blockade against Iranian ports 17 hours ago, U.S. forces have redirected 2 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade. The U.S. military remains vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance.”

Since restarting the naval blockade against Iranian ports 17 hours ago, U.S. forces have redirected 2 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade. The U.S. military remains vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance. pic.twitter.com/E00JAlmBua

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 15, 2026

In its announcement on Tuesday that the blockade had been reimposed, CENTCOM stated that there are “currently more than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East. American forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”

U.S. forces resumed the naval blockade against vessels transiting to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas today at 4 p.m. ET.

There are currently more than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East. American forces remain… pic.twitter.com/ATRJHlLQNo

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 14, 2026

Control over the Strait has been at the center of most of the flare-ups of violence that have taken place after a shaky ceasefire was agreed to by the U.S. and Iran on April 8. They’ve often involved Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait followed by U.S. kinetic responses. However, these kinetic encounters have been intensifying over the past five days, leading President Donald Trump to order the resumption of the naval blockade on Iranian ports. It went into effect at 11:30 PM local time on Tuesday.

President Trump on the blockade on the Hormuz Strait: "I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the Strait or for any other Strait-relationship in terms of other sections of the world… but we were doing it as a reimbursement." pic.twitter.com/ZNAdSa7wSl

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 14, 2026

As we have frequently noted , the blockade was lifted on June 17 when the U.S. and Iran signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU provided a 60-day extension of the ceasefire to iron out an agreement to end fighting throughout the region, including Lebanon, prevent Iran from seeking nuclear weapons, end U.S. sanctions and resume the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, among other points.

Iran, as we noted earlier in this story, said it carried out a number of retaliatory strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as it has over the past five days. All three nations host an array of U.S. military facilities.

The Iranian Army’s public relations office said it “launched a seventh wave of drone strikes on U.S. bases in the region on Wednesday, targeting F-18 facilities and support infrastructure at al-Azraq in Jordan,” Iran’s official Mehr news outlet stated on Wednesday . The strikes “were part of ‘Operation Thunderbolt’ and followed six earlier waves of drone attacks on U.S. positions since the American violation of the ceasefire and the start of ‘brutal attacks’ on Iranian territory.”

The Iranian army launched a seventh wave of drone strikes on U.S. bases in the region on Wednesday, targeting F-18 facilities and support infrastructure at al-Azraq in Jordan. https://t.co/hpqsv0WImA

— Mehr News Agency (@MehrnewsCom) July 15, 2026

TWZ cannot independently confirm Iran’s claims and CENTCOM declined comment.

“Jordan’s military intercepted three Iranian missiles,” The New York Times reported, citing a statement carried by the official Petra news agency. “The Kuwait Army said earlier that its air defenses were intercepting hostile targets, while Bahrain’s interior ministry said warning sirens had been activated. None of the countries have reported damage or casualties from strikes on Wednesday.”

However, images and videos have emerged online purporting to show damage at several installations in the wake of Iranian attacks over the past several days.

The following post on X uses satellite imagery from Iranian state media to claim damage to an anti-drone radar system at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan; however, its low resolution makes it hard to confirm that claim.

Satellite imagery released from Iran's state media shows damage to an anti-drone surveillance system at Prince Hassan Air Base, Jordan. The imagery was georeferenced by our community on Soar Atlas.

Explore and Compare: https://t.co/IbkWzagvbI #IranWar #Iran #MiddleEast pic.twitter.com/5xBjsiuM4s

— Soar (@SoarAtlas) July 15, 2026

Video shared on social media and verified by The New York Times showed an Iranian drone hitting the area surrounding an already burning warehouse in Kuwait late on Tuesday night local time.

“The IRGC claimed that the warehouse in Mina Abdulla was a logistics and supply hub for U.S. forces in the region,” the publication noted.

A drone hit a warehouse in the port town of Al Shuaiba in Kuwait. Kuwait Army confirmed in a statement that several vital and civilian facilities were targeted by Iranian forces https://t.co/uiaGIraLIa pic.twitter.com/1WJGdBKhB2

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 15, 2026

Iranian officials also claimed that “seven members of the 388th Iranshahr Brigade, including permanent personnel and conscripts, were killed during a U.S. strike on one of the Iranian Army Ground Force bases in Bampur early on Wednesday,” according to the IRGC-connected Tasnim news outlet .

Located in southern Iran, Bampur is about 120 miles north of the Gulf of Oman. TWZ cannot verify these claims either.

Seven personnel of Iran’s Army Ground Force were martyred after the US military launched a missile attack on an Army base in Bampur, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the Army said, vowing a decisive response to the “heinous crime.” https://t.co/v8v7DwAps3 pic.twitter.com/kED98QGljV

— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) July 15, 2026

This latest wave of strikes came after Trump on Tuesday warned that the U.S. would strike bridges and power plants in Iran “next week” unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.

“We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night,” Trump proclaimed in an interview with Fox News . “We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them, because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Ultimately, we'll hit energy targets in Iran. Next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all of their power plants. We'll knock out all of their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate” pic.twitter.com/CwbiDxHcwx

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 14, 2026

The U.S. leader also rescinded his threat to impose a 20% toll on Strait of Hormuz transits.

“I was called by different people, different countries, kings and emirs,” Trump said Tuesday, shortly after announcing the fee reversal. “And they’ve said, ‘We’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars. I like that actually because I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the Strait or for any other strait.”

President Trump said Tuesday he changed his mind on charging 20% Strait of Hormuz cargo fees after many countries called him.

"I was called by different people, different countries, kings and emirs,” Trump said shortly after announcing the fee reversal. “And they’ve said, 'We'd… pic.twitter.com/8IaHfltzKT

— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 14, 2026

Trump, as we reported yesterday , has also again raised the specter of a strike on a very hardened Iranian nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, saying it is ripe for a “nice big fat shot right in the front door.” You can read more about that in our deep dive here .

Trump’s Threat To Strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain Bunker’s “Front Door” Underscores Targeting Challenges

Pickaxe Mountain is Iran’s hardest-to-reach facility and Trump saying he may take a “shot right in the front door” wasn’t likely just small talk. https://t.co/SsDnvtAGXZ

— TWZ (@thewarzonewire) July 14, 2026

Iranian officials on Wednesday reacted to Trump’s statement about attacks on bridges and power plants, saying that: “Wherever the Americans strike, our Armed Forces will respond in the same manner.”

In addition, the Islamic Republic has no intention of returning to the bargaining table, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Iranian media on Wednesday .

“We currently have no plans for negotiations and remain focused on defending the country,” Baghaei told reporters.

BREAKING

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister on the U.S. striking Power Plants and Bridges:

“Wherever the Americans strike, our Armed Forces will Respond in the same Manner

This Strategy by Washington has already Failed once” pic.twitter.com/PiYymrgeqk

— Iran Observer (@IranObserver0) July 15, 2026

While Trump and Iran are ramping up the rhetoric, there is also tremendous global and domestic pressure on the American leader to refrain from expanding the fighting. In just one example of that playing out, the per barrel price of Brent crude jumped from a recent low of just over $75 a barrel on July 13 to more than $84 a barrel this morning as the attacks are intensifying.

Meanwhile, the MarineTraffic maritime tracking organization reported a slight uptick in Strait of Hormuz transits yesterday. However, the outlook for future traffic is grim given the unfolding security situation, including the renewed blockade, the organization posited.

Strait of Hormuz risks deepen despite slight rise in crossings

Vessel activity through the Strait of Hormuz increased slightly on 14 July, with 21 confirmed crossings recorded, according to #MarineTraffic data. Commercial traffic accounted for most movements, including vessels… pic.twitter.com/oIkrtu2kGl

— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) July 15, 2026

Trump also faces domestic headwinds, with the November mid-term elections fast approaching and the conflict is unpopular among American voters.

Still, the fighting rages on, and the fact that the U.S. Navy is once again forcing ships away from Iran is a significant step back up the escalation ladder given that the now tattered MoU called for the blockade to end. We will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates when warranted.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

The post First Full Day Of Resumed U.S. Blockade On Iranian Ports Erupts In New Attacks appeared first on TWZ .

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Rebecca Yarros, author of the widely popular fantasy romance book series Fourth Wing (The Empyrean series), announced the title of a new book called Threshing Day, which will be released on September 29, 2026.

Yarros originally revealed the hotly rumored book without a title, but with the ability to preorder back in April. Fans instantly speculated on what it was; Yarros had disclosed it was an "Untitled Empyrean" book, but that it was not book 4. Despite the lack of details, the preorders shot the book to #2 on Amazon .

It turns out the official title reveal was being held for Conscription Day, July 15, which is a day in the series where cadets need to prove themselves by surviving through a life-or-death challenge in order to become dragon riders.

Yarros shared the announcement and details in an Instagram post , stating the book will contain a collection of 13 stories from fan-favorite characters during their Threshing Day (the day they get their dragons).

The deluxe edition will have 16 original art pieces in full color by the artist Joe Requeza .

Yarros also confirmed Xaden's story – one of the main characters of the series, which has been a long-time POV request from readers – will be included in the book, as well as published on her website.

Yarros confirmed she is still in the process of writing book 4, and readers are waiting patiently for any release date news. Book 1 in The Empyrean series, Fourth Wing, was published on May 2, 2023. Book two, Iron Flame, came out on November 7, 2023, and book 3, Onyx Storm, released January 21, 2025.

Due to the bursting popularity of The Empyrean series and the fantasy romance genre in general, a Fourth Wing TV series is in the works at Amazon MGM Studios and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society. It's unknown if any character details from Threshing Day will be included in the show.

For more on The Empyrean series, check out our Fourth Wing hub with everything from latest news to how to buy the books to cool board games to play with fellow dragon riders!

For those looking to get your gloved hands on Threshing Day, you can preorder the book right here , which will release in stores on September 29, 2026.

Jessie Wade is Associate Director of Editorial Programming at IGN. You can find her playing cozy games on her Switch or watching the latest rom-com and drama shows, as well as getting lost in way too many fantasy romance books. She would be a dragon rider at Basgiath War College (even though a Scribe also sounds cool).

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Scientists have identified a new species of monkey that has orange lips and makes unique roars and snorting sounds. The distinctive monkey lives in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

It is only the fifth new monkey species to be identified in Africa in the past 75 years, and there might be more unknown monkey species in the region, scientists behind a new study suggested. Researchers named the newly identified species of monkey Colobus congoensis , after the region, and it is known by the common name "lik­weli" in the local Kilanga language.

"This is remarkable because it's not very common these days to find a new, never-before-documented primate species, let alone a relatively large species of monkey," said Joshua Linder , an anthropologist and president and co-founder of the The Forest Collective , a nonprofit that aims to conserve and restore tropical rainforests.

In 2008, conservationists in the dense rainforests of Lomami National Park , within the Congo Basin in the DRC, photographed an unidentified monkey, but it was partially obscured. Then, in 2018 a similar-looking animal was captured on camera, prompting study co-author Junior Amboko , a Lomami National Park researcher and a Florida Atlantic University anthropologist, to set out to find the mysterious monkey.

To see what was already known, Amboko and his colleagues showed the pictures to people from 52 villages around the park.

"These people really know the fauna and flora in the forest," Amboko told Live Science. "In only eight villages, people knew the monkey ‪—‬ and these were hunters, who know the economic value of animals or how much food each animal can provide, but even they didn't know much."

The researchers worked in the Lomami National Park, within the Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Image credit: Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society ) Hunters of the Balanga ethnic group called the monkey "likweli," although the meaning of this name isn't known. Some in the Mituku local communities called the species "kasaba nkoni," which Amboko said means "the branch shaker." This refers to the way colobus monkeys leap from branch to branch, Amboko said.

In their searches between 2018 and 2022, the researchers recorded 114 sightings of the species across an estimated range of about 660 square miles (1,700 square kilometers) naturally isolated between the Lomami and Lualaba rivers. They reported their findings July 15 in the journal PLOS One .

The monkeys, seen hanging out in groups of between one and 20 individuals, are mainly glossy black, but they have a conspicuous orange patch around the mouth and nose. Bare gray skin on their cheekbones makes it look as if they're wearing masks. They also have a patch of white fur around the anus.

"We're going with the face and the rump as the two distinctive traits," said study co-author Kate Detwiler , an anthropologist at Florida Atlantic University. "If you see the face, you see this unique bare skin that's orange cream. And then if you're coming from behind, you see this white patch."

DNA analysis confirmed C. congoensis was a previously unknown species. (Image credit: Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society ) The monkeys, which weigh about 15 pounds (7 kilograms), also make deep, loud roars, punctuated by distinctive snorts. These unique‬ vocalizations distinguish them from other colobus monkeys, Detwiler told Live Science.

By taking samples, and sequencing DNA, from monkeys killed by hunters and destined for the illegal bushmeat trade, and comparing the results with what’s in museum collections and datasets of genetics, skulls, teeth and pelts for other colobus monkeys, the team confirmed that C. congoensis was a previously unknown species.

"My lab got the tissue sample and did the genetics, and we were shocked by how divergent the key area of the mitochondrial genome was from other colobus monkeys," Detwiler said.

Researchers think the new species diverged up to 5.78 million years ago. (Image credit: Daniel Rosengren, Frankfurt Zoological Society ) The monkeys live in the same forest as the Angola colobus ( Colobus angolensis ), but their closest relatives are black colobus monkeys ( Colobus satanas ), which live around 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) to the west, in Cameroon, Gabon and Bioko Island.

"The fact that the results show that the closest living relative to this new species is the black colobus located 1200 km away in West Africa is equally remarkable," Linder, who was not involved in the new study, told Live Science via email.

Detwiler estimates that these close relatives diverged between 5.78 million and 3.44 million years ago ‪—‬ the longest known split between species within the Colobus genus. "The discovery is reshaping our understanding of African monkey evolution," she said.

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Given the small geographic range, rare sightings and increasing habitat loss, the researchers recommend that C. congoensis be classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List .

The discovery also emphasizes the importance of Lomami National Park, where another previously undescribed monkey, the lesula ( Cercopithecus lomamiensis ), was reported in 2012 by a team that included Detwiler.

The Congolian rainforest ranging across this part of Africa is the world's second-largest tropical forest, after the Amazon , and about 60% of it is in the DRC. "It is a paradise for biodiversity," Amboko said, adding that there might be more undescribed primate species there. "If we are able to discover two big new primate species, who knows how many other new mammals, fish, reptiles or plants there could be?"

What do you know about chimpanzees and great apes? Test your smarts with our primate quiz!

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Rex the Dinosaur is regarded as one of Jacksonville’s most lovable roadside landmark. Built in the 1960s, he was originally installed as part of Goony Golf, a mini-golf and family-fun complex which closed its doors and putting greens in the late 1990s.

When the land was purchased for redevelopment, locals protested his destruction and, in 2007, Rex was not only saved but restored with help from students in the University of North Florida's Building Construction Management program.

Rex still stands at his original location, now developed into a small shopping center. He has been featured on Jacksonville City merchandise and was a prize for a 2025 scavenger hunt where players could find 3D-printed miniature Rex replicas hidden around Duval.

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It feels like we can’t go more than a few days without hearing about some new problem Pixel phones are having; judging by user reports online, you’d think Google’s hardware is barely functional. But a lot of us use Pixel phones every day without incident, which makes it hard to gauge how widespread issues that crop up in places like Reddit really are.

In a poll running on Android Authority for the past couple of weeks, we asked readers about their experience with Google’s latest Pixel 10 Pro XL . Thousands of people responded — and it turns out that most of them haven’t had any significant problems with the phone. “There’s always background noise with Pixels,” our own Stephen Radochia wrote about his months-long experience using the Pixel 10 Pro XL , “but most of it is overblown.”