Organizers credit the Trump administration for critical help and for new efforts targeting animal cruelty.
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| “The best way to develop courage is to set a goal and achieve it, make a promise and keep it.” |
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| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor |
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| Ivan Pentchoukov
National Editor |
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Good morning! It’s Monday. Here are today’s top stories. |
- Some of the 2,200 beagles rescued from the research-lab pipeline are beginning a new life inside loving homes.
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At least four firefighters recently perished combating wildfires in what has become the most active year for wildfires in the United States in a decade.
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Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and four others were indicted on bribery charges and related charges in connection with a lengthy investigation carried out by the state’s attorney general into allegations that Luke accepted contributions from a businessman to her campaign in exchange for a COVID-19 testing contract.
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President Donald Trump on July 26 ordered a pause of U.S. attacks on Iran for a second straight day, and Iran said it had also stopped its attacks, as efforts to negotiate a deal have intensified following nearly two weeks of consecutive daily strikes over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the White House and Iranian state media.
- 🍵 Health: Cucumbers are one of the most hydrating foods you can eat. But it’s not just the high water content—cucumbers also come bundled with other valuable micronutrients.
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Big Dog Ranch Rescue employee Rich Macklem plays with beagles rescued from the research-lab pipeline in Loxahatchee Groves, Fla., on June 29, 2026. (Natasha Holt for The Epoch Times) |
A dozen tan-black-and-white beagles romp and sniff inquisitively, tails wagging, paws padding over pristine artificial turf, noses exploring every inch of a shade-covered play yard. Before May, these dogs and nearly 2,200 like them knew only the inside of stacked metal cages at a Wisconsin facility producing puppies for research labs.
The beagles—a breed developed for hunting and known as gentle, loyal pets—never experienced sunshine, never felt grass under their soft paws. The unusually docile dogs are used in research because of their consistently sweet temperament, even when experiencing “torture,” experts told The Epoch Times. But life is changing for them now. Before the operation to free them, the beagles of Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, walked and slept on wire mesh. They produced litter after litter of puppies, bound not for outside adventures and homes filled with love, but for research facility cages to be used in medical testing.
All of that changed shortly after years of escalating protests by hundreds of animal activists at the puppy farm turned violent in March and April. In June, the facility promised to shut down its 60-year breeding program by July 1, 2026, and agreed to release the dogs to rescues for rehoming.
The negotiation involved critical pressure applied by the Trump administration’s newly formed animal cruelty task force, said Evan Nader of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, the beagle operation’s lead organizer. The task force is led by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“No one’s done more for dog welfare than the Trump administration,” Nader said. “But there’s still more work to be done.” After those negotiations, puppy supplier Ridglan Farms agreed to give up its state-issued breeding license. As of July 13, the facility still advertised “purpose bred beagles for biomedical research” on its website. Ridglan Farms did not respond to requests from The Epoch Times for comment. The company website states that “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
In 2025, a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards. (More) |
They died. They came back. This is what they saw. |
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I Voted stickers at an early voting polling site as North Carolina begins its midterm primary elections, in Greenville, N.C., on Feb. 12, 2026. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times) |
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The Democrat and Republican party committees marked 100 days until the midterm elections on July 26 with a weekend series of memos, statements, and advertising announcements that framed the final three months of the campaign around largely different subjects. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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The Department of Homeland Security said that more than $84 billion worth of civil fines have been imposed on illegal immigrants for their refusal to exit the United States.
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MORNING READ: Realizing that there were few resources for Mexican victims of human trafficking, in 2010, Alma Tucker started a nonprofit that would reach across the border from the United States to Mexico. This is her story. |
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Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodriguez has formally initiated Venezuela’s withdrawal from the U.N.’s International Criminal Court, alleging bias against nations in the “global south.” |
- Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodriguez has formally initiated Venezuela’s withdrawal from the U.N.’s International Criminal Court, alleging bias against nations in the “global south.”
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Residents trapped by catastrophic flooding in southern China’s Guangxi region survived for days on rainwater and tree leaves after reservoir failures unleashed torrents that destroyed villages, while volunteer rescuers say relief efforts have been hampered by impassable roads and shortages of supplies.
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The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials who had sought to travel to the South American nation on Monday.
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- When They Tell You Who They Are, Believe Them—by Dr. Phillip C. McGraw (More)
- We’re Measuring the Wrong Things—by Mollie Engelhart (More)
- Ukraine Is Proving That Industrial Power Still Wins Wars—by Bryan Brulotte (More)
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How American Taxpayers Funded a Substantial Portion of China’s Fintech Rise—by James Gorrie (More)
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Epoch Survey: Epoch Times readers identified election integrity, immigration enforcement, federal spending, the cost of living, and public stewardship as top priorities for the nation today. (Full Results)
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(Illustration by Ran/The Epoch Times) |
Made up of over 95 percent water, cucumbers are “one of the most hydrating foods you can put on your plate,” Dr. Joseph Mercola, a board-certified family physician, told The Epoch Times. The other five percent is made up of nutrients that help your skin age slower, and your bowels move faster.
As long as you don’t peel it. A standard unpeeled cucumber, about 6 to 7 inches long, contains: |
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Vitamin K: approximately 40 percent of the daily value
- Potassium: close to 10 percent of the daily value
- Vitamin C: about 10 percent of the daily value
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Fiber: both insoluble fiber and small amounts of soluble fiber, such as pectin, which may support regularity and help feed gut bacteria.
- Carotenoids: found mostly in the skin, carotenoids can help protect against oxidative damage.
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Cucumbers also contain a family of protective plant compounds. “Among the most interesting is fisetin, an anti-inflammatory flavonol that researchers have connected to brain health and memory,” Mercola said, adding that they also offer antioxidant flavonoids such as quercetin.
While popular claims that cucumbers detox your body or melt away fat aren’t supported by evidence, research does back several of their health benefits. Sliced cucumbers dancing in pitchers of water at spas and hotels aren’t just for show. The high water content in cucumbers can help you meet your daily fluid needs. In a 2013 study of 424 children published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that each additional 100 grams of fruits and vegetables—including water-rich foods such as cucumbers—was linked to improved hydration, even after accounting for other dietary sources of water. (More) |
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Thanks for reading 🙏 Have a wonderful day! |
—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li. |
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