By Emma Tucker

The biggest stories we're tracking this morning all have a common theme: war. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles at two commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz — an escalation that threatens to complicate negotiations to end the war. The Journal's Yaroslav Trofimov examines how drone warfare, AI-guided weapons and other battlefield innovations are reshaping modern combat in Ukraine and beyond. And in Silicon Valley, a different kind of war is brewing: AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic are fighting to secure new business customers — and handing out tons of free computing power to woo startup founders.

Today's Headlines

Belgium knocked the U.S. out of the World Cup after a political firestorm that saw American striker Folarin Balogun return to the pitch.

Europe is racing to plug security holes after the U.S.'s NATO pullback. At the same time, Canada is rushing to build up its military as its relationship with the U.S. frays.

Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner said his campaign would reflect on the "best path forward" after a woman he was romantically involved with publicly alleged that he sexually assaulted her, an allegation he denied.

Some of the largest banks in the country have been exploring an acquisition that could allow them to get around limits on fees they earn on debit-card transactions.

In Clearwater, Fla., locals are clashing with Scientologists over the future of the seaside city's downtown.

Live From The Markets

Big tech reining in its artifiical-intelligence spending may be a tantalizing prospect for some, but it would also be a costly one, writes Dan Gallagher.

Read It Here First

AI giants are handing out tons of free computing power to grab a share in startups.

Startup founders are enjoying a wave of computing credits and fielding competing offers from AI-model makers racing to land new enterprise customers. Cursor, the AI-coding company bought by Elon Musk's SpaceX, offered a 75% discount through July 5. The pitched battle for business users comes as AI companies seek lasting streams of revenue. Offers from organizations such as OpenAI and Anthropic are so rich that some early-stage startup founders say they won't need to raise money as soon as they expected, and others have been able to play AI companies off one another, report Kate Clark, Berber Jin and Angel Au-Yeung.

There's a new way of war, but is it evolution or revolution?

The way wars are fought is changing fast, as new technologies upend military doctrines on everything from procurement to executing operations. But just how radical will this transformation be in years to come? And are the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested by the U.S., its allies and rivals in new tanks, planes and warships going to become the equivalent of buying horses and arrows on the eve of machine guns and howitzers? Yaroslav Trofimov examines how militaries worldwide are grappling with breakneck technological change and the lessons from Ukraine and the Persian Gulf.

The Iran war has oil-rich Alaska freaked out about $9 gas.

Remote towns and villages in the state aren't connected to the road system, so they pay hefty premiums to procure gasoline, heating oil and diesel for cranking out electricity. Many communities had no choice this year but to place their fuel orders in the spring, just as the Iran war sent prices soaring. That means that even if the U.S. and Iran reach a peace deal and the strait reopens permanently, rural Alaskans will be stuck with exorbitant energy prices long after they have come down for the rest of the country. The state's plight is a paradox given its vast fossil-fuel resources — and its place at the heart of President Trump's energy agenda, reports Benoît Morenne.

See The Story

These workers told us how they do their jobs in 116-degree heat.

India regularly experiences the type of blazing weather the U.S. has faced in recent weeks. The Journal spoke to workers in and around New Delhi — where the peak temperature this summer hit 115.7 degrees Fahrenheit — to hear how they cope with ever more ferocious summers.

Happening Today

The NATO Summit begins in Ankara, Turkey.

SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq 100 index before the opening bell.

World Cup: Argentina vs. Egypt in Atlanta; Switzerland vs. Colombia in Vancouver.

Number Of The Day:

40%

Airlines are finally getting some relief at the jet-fuel pump: Fuel prices are down 40% from their peak in April. But analysts say fares aren't likely to follow. Travelers are continuing to pay the higher — and carriers aren't rushing to bring back the flights and routes that were trimmed during oil's surge.

And Finally...

People keep sneaking into an empty IBM campus. This town has had enough.

In Somers, N.Y., the long-vacant former IBM campus has become a magnet for "urban explorers" who prowl abandoned buildings. The global "urbex" phenomenon isn't new, but it's been turbocharged by artsy videos on Instagram and TikTok that spur others to create their own posts, luring still more curiosity seekers. The monthslong influx has rattled the Westchester County town of 21,500 that calls itself the "Cradle of the American Circus."