The Evening Brief: Colombia earthquake death toll rises; disease, storms, elections shift landscape

Colombia's earthquake, which struck Monday morning at 7:34 local time with a magnitude of 7.4, has claimed at least 180 confirmed dead according to BBC reporting, though aggregate figures from local officials suggest the toll may exceed 240. Nearly 2,600 are injured and almost 200 remain missing across western Colombia. President Abelardo de la Espriella declared a state of emergency as over 70 aftershocks continue to shake the region. More than 1,100 homes were destroyed and over 8,000 damaged. Rescue operations have yielded survivors: a 32-year-old woman was pulled alive from beneath four concrete slabs in Pereira on Tuesday, 36 hours after the initial quake, following a 10-hour excavation. A baby was also rescued from collapsed rubble by five men using their bare hands.

In the United States, two separate health and weather emergencies unfolded. A drug-resistant fungus, Candida auris, has been documented in 3,437 clinical cases across 27 states as of July 25, with California accounting for roughly one-quarter of cases at 873. The CDC classifies it as an urgent antimicrobial-resistance threat; the fungus spreads in healthcare settings and carries mortality rates of 30-72% in invasive infections, with over 90% of U.S. samples resistant to fluconazole, a common antifungal treatment. Meanwhile, severe storms and tornadoes swept the Midwest on Tuesday, killing at least two people and leaving over 1 million customers without power across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The National Weather Service confirmed at least three tornadoes in Chicago's south suburbs, with wind gusts exceeding 100 miles per hour recorded in multiple locations. Forecasters warned of additional rain rounds through Friday, raising flood risk across the Ohio Valley.

On the economic front, U.S. inflation eased to 3.4% annually in July, down from 3.5% in June, driven by slower food price growth and declining energy costs. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, fell to 2.5% from 2.6%. However, wage growth at 3.2% annually continues to lag inflation, eroding worker purchasing power. Month-to-month inflation rose 0.1% in July, mainly from housing cost increases.

Two consequential primaries reshaped races in battleground states. In Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a centrist Democrat, narrowly defeated state assemblywoman Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, with 39.8% to Hong's 39.4% in the Democratic primary for governor. Crowley had suspended his campaign a month prior but relaunched with outgoing Gov. Tony Evers' endorsement. He will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in the general election and would be Wisconsin's first Black governor if elected. In Minnesota, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for governor, defeating Trump-endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, despite Lindell's leading position in limited public polling. Demuth will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the general election. Party insiders pursued Demuth as a more viable nominee, with questions about Lindell's residency raised in the final weeks.

Other developments included the Justice Department charging 11 people with operating a marriage fraud scheme involving over 1,000 sham marriages between Chinese nationals and U.S. citizens from 2016 to 2026, generating tens of millions in proceeds. Attorney General Todd Blanche called it one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in U.S. history. A former U.S. Marine, Robert Gilman, was released from Russian detention after 1,666 days in custody. President Trump announced the release occurred on humanitarian grounds without a prisoner exchange. An Apache helicopter crashed near Fort Hood, Texas, killing both crew members and igniting a wildfire. Ukraine launched a drone and missile attack on Russia's Novorossiysk port, damaging two major grain export terminals. On the diplomatic front, President Trump asserted the U.S. has total control of the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran's security chief stated the strait will remain closed until the U.S. ends its military campaign and meets other conditions. Trump also secretly exited Air Force One in Turkey on July 8 via a catering truck and boarded a separate military aircraft due to Iran-related security concerns, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained aboard the decoy plane.