A 'flesh-eating' bacteria just claimed its first victim this year

Plus: Settler attacks at an all-time high  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Richard Hall | August 06, 2026   Hello there. Today I was mortally offended on behalf of my profession to learn that people may actually prefer AI-generated writing to the real thing. So I assembled this edition of The Brief with the goal of proving those people wrong. Read on for some of the best writing humans have to offer on flesh-eating viruses, Ted Lasso, and the war in Ukraine. You’ll also discover why the price of a lab monkey in China has risen dramatically this year. IN TODAY’S BRIEF What to know about a new flesh-eating virus The problem with the new season of Ted Lasso Trump’s tax dodge Why Ukraine is targeting ‘Russia’s Amazon’ Settler attacks are at an all-time high Why does a lab monkey cost $26,000? Kung fu snake killers     READ THIS FIRST What to know about the ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria that killed someone in Florida A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the "flesh-eating" bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.Getty Images/Callista Images A Florida resident has died from an infection of Vibrio vulnificus, a type of “flesh-eating” bacteria that thrives in warm coastal waters. It is the first reported death linked to the bacteria this year in the U.S. Florida has the highest rate of Vibrio vulnificus infections in the country.  Twelve Vibrio vulnificus infections have been reported in Florida this year, and the one death occurred in Palm Beach County, according to data from the state’s health department. The person was in their 80s. Florida’s health department told TIME that it is investigating the case but wouldn’t provide additional details, including how the person became ill.      PRESENTED BY Master Claude AI (Free Guide) The professionals pulling ahead aren't working more. They're using Claude. Our free guide will show you how to: Configure Claude to be the perfect assistant Master AI-powered content creation Transform complex data into actionable strategies Harness Claude’s full potential Transform your workflow with AI and stay ahead of the curve with this comprehensive guide to using Claude at work. Get The Free Guide     WORTH YOUR TIME Ted Lasso doesn’t know what to do with women’s soccer Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis, and Tanya Reynolds in Ted Lasso Season 4 Apple TV Ted Lasso is back. Like a band that makes a big deal out of doing a farewell tour, then reunites before anyone had a chance to miss it, the mega hit Apple TV sorta-comedy about a folksy American football coach hired to lead an underdog English soccer club has returned just three years after an implicit finale that sent its hero home to his son in Kansas. Season 4 takes co-creator Jason Sudeikis’ Ted, who became a nurturing father figure to the surrogate family that was AFC Richmond, back across the Atlantic to shepherd the club’s new women’s team. It doesn’t quite work. No longer a tutorial in how to be a good man, Ted Lasso returns as, in parts, a gentle rejoinder to sexism in sports, but mostly a workplace comfort show about nothing in particular.     HAPPENING NOW Todd Blanche kept Trump’s tax audit shield. It could erase a $100 million IRS bill President Donald Trump listens to questions from reporters during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David, the presidential retreat, in Camp David, Maryland, on July 31, 2026.Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images While Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally rescinded the controversial “Anti-Weaponization Fund” the Justice Department planned to create under a settlement agreement with President Donald Trump, another element of that agreement remains intact—and could shield Trump from paying as much as $100 million in back taxes and penalties. The tax audit immunity deal was included in the same settlement agreement and has raised its own concerns from lawmakers and experts. The deal means that if Trump “underpaid taxes or made misleading statements in his returns prior to the day of the deal, he gets a free pass,” David Super, a professor at Georgetown Law, tells TIME. The NYU Tax Law Center also questioned in its Monday statement whether Blanche has the legal authority to end tax audits of Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization in this litigation.     THE CONTEXT What is ‘Russia’s Amazon,’ Wildberries, and why is Ukraine targeting it? Smoke rises after Ukrainian strikes on a Wildberries warehouse in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 24, 2026.AFP—Getty Images Ukraine hit at least two warehouses belonging to Russia’s e-commerce giant Wildberries in overnight strikes on Monday, adding to a series of drone attacks that have targeted the online retailer. Ukrainian forces have repeatedly struck warehouses belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer as part of a broader campaign against logistics sites that Kyiv says support Moscow’s military. Often described as “Russia’s Amazon,” Wildberries operates dozens of warehouses across the country and plays a core role in the Russian consumer economy. Moscow and Wildberries have denied that the facilities supply the armed forces.     PRESENTED BY Short on cash? Get up to $750, no credit check. Access up to $750* from your upcoming paycheck within minutes for a small fee, or wait 3 days and get it for free. No credit check. No late fees.  Get Started Now *Not all users will qualify. Advances range from $25–$750; average advance is $170. Express transfer fees may apply.     IN FOCUS Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have reached an ‘all-time high’ Ahmed Abu Mahmoud, 64, walks at the entrance of a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026. Leo Correa—Associated Press Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged to an all-time high, according to the United Nations.  At least 18 Palestinians have died this year in attacks involving settlers, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office, compared with 17 in all of 2025. There were roughly 190 attacks per month in the first four months of 2026, which puts the West Bank on a path to reach more than 2,000 attacks by the end of the year, it said.  The pattern in the attacks is clear: large groups of settlers appear near Palestinian communities, where they often confront, harass, and attack residents. Other times, the settlers will come at night, setting fire to cars and sometimes homes.  So what is behind this surge of violence? The increase in settler attacks has coincided with a dramatic increase in the construction of settlements, which are civilian communities built by Israelis in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and are illegal under international law according to the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.  Settlement construction has risen sharply since February 2023, when the Israeli government handed authority over settlements to pro-settler finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, and then subsequently removed restrictions on their approval. Settlement construction was sped up further following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, which hardened Israeli attitudes towards Palestinians, and saw increasing calls from within the Israeli government to annex the West Bank. Today, more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory.  Annual settlement plan approvals rose from an average of 5,784 housing units a year from 2012 to 2020 to a record 27,941 in 2025 alone, according to Peace Now, an Israel-based settlement watchdog group.  Nasser Khdour, Middle East assistant research manager at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a U.S.-based organization that maps political violence worldwide, tells TIME that settlement construction and violence have gone hand in hand.  "The expansion of settlements and the establishment of new outposts, especially farming outposts, have contributed to rising violence since 2023, with an even greater impact in 2026,” Khdour says. “Many are located close to Palestinian villages and towns, increasing daily contact and confrontations between Palestinians and settlers. Smotrich is also using the period ahead of the national elections to accelerate settlement and outpost expansion as part of a broader annexation agenda,” he adds.     ONE NUMBER $26,000 The price of a lab monkey in China has surged to $26,000, nearly double the average price in 2025. The rise is being fueled by a boom in the Chinese biotech industry, which uses the primates in drug development trials, Bloomberg reports. SOURCE: BLOOMBERG     A VIRAL MOMENT Snakes hate to see the secretary bird coming Secretary birds are known as expert snake hunters. They extinguish their venomous prey, and any other animal that dares cross it, with powerful kicks from their unfathomably long legs. Chester Zoo, in the United Kingdom, has just hatched five chicks of the endangered species—a historic first.     PRESENTED BY Go from AI overwhelmed to AI savvy professional AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years. Yours doesn't have to be one of them. Here's how to future-proof your career: Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day Become the AI expert on your team Start learning AI now     Linked In this addictive word-association game, find the steps that will unite two seemingly unrelated words in just four moves. PLAY NOW     ALSO WORTH YOUR TIME POLITICS Progressives Rack Up Primary Wins, Testing Democratic Assumptions Ahead of the Midterms ENVIRONMENT  The search for accountability in California's wildfires TV  Ryan Murphy’s Teen Serial Killer Thriller The Shards Gets Stuck in the Shallow End WORLD  Europeans Are Considering Placing This American-Born Singer on a New Banknote   EMAIL US: thebrief@time.com   More Newsletters from Click to sign up. D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +HEALTH MATTERS +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME +   TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. 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