Plus: Germany rethinks sick leave ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Richard Hall | July 03, 2026

Hello! First up today, we have a deeply reported story on the return of Ebola from TIME’s senior health correspondent, Alice Park. We also have coverage of the problems with NASA’s Swift Space Telescope and Germany’s move to make it harder to take sick days.

Five Must-Reads

Ebola Returns: How We Can Fight Back
A new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has grown into the second-largest on record, with more than 1,400 cases and over 400 deaths since it was declared in May, climbing faster than any previous epidemic. —TIME

Russia Attacks Kyiv in Deadly ‚Night of Horror‘
Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday morning, in what Ukrainian officials described as a “night of horror” for the capital. At least 25 people were killed, according to local officials, and more than 80 injured. —TIME

Why NASA Is Launching a Mission to Save a Quarter-Billion Dollar Space Telescope
NASA’s Swift Space Telescope is in trouble. Atmospheric drag has slowly pulled it down in altitude, putting it on target to reenter and burn up as soon as the end of this year—and taking NASA’s quarter-billion-dollar investment with it. —TIME

Are You Eligible to Receive a Portion of Disney’s $50 Million Settlement?
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to a $50 million settlement in a class action lawsuit that alleged the media giant violated federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. Here is what you need to know about the settlement and how you can file a claim. —TIME

U.S. Officials Believed Israel Was Plotting to Kill Iranian Negotiators
U.S. officials believed Israel was planning to kill Iran’s top negotiators in the midst of talks aimed at bringing an end to the war. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were thought to be among the targets. —New York Times

IN FOCUS

Germany moves to limit sick days

Germany has a reputation for being a nation of workaholics, but its Chancellor Friedrich Merz is asking for more.

A set of sweeping economic and labor reforms announced by Merz and his coalition government on Thursday will introduce tougher rules on taking sick days, make it easier for companies to hire staff on a short-term basis, overhaul the pension system, and reduce government bureaucracy.

“These reforms all have one goal: We’re setting out into the future,” Merz told reporters. “We’re strengthening ourselves so that we can live well in these new times.”

The reforms come in response to the sluggish performance of the German economy over the last few years. The country returned to modest growth in 2025 after two years of shrinking.

Markus Söder (CSU, left to right), Minister-President of Bavaria and CSU Chairman, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), and Bärbel Bas (SPD), Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, hold a press conference in the garden of the Chancellery following the meeting of the coalition committee. MICHAEL KAPPELER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Merz warned that Germany was falling behind in competition with China as disruptions to the global economy—beginning with COVID-19 and exacerbated by wars in Ukraine and Iran—upended its export-led economic model.

“From the very beginning, we set an agenda with a single goal in mind: We want to get Germany back on track. It is now clear that this is possible,” the conservative chancellor said.

Perhaps the most controversial of the reforms was the new requirement that employees see a doctor before calling in sick. Employers will now be allowed to ask for a sick note on the first day of absence.

Merz has repeatedly criticized the amount of time German workers take off sick. Speaking in January, he cited 2024 data showing an average of 14.5 sick days per worker per year. “Is that really right? Is that really necessary?” he asked. “At the end of the day, we must all work together… to achieve a higher level of economic performance than we are currently achieving.”

Some German business leaders have blamed “work-shy” younger workers, but others have pointed to the country having one of the most generous sick-leave policies in Europe, entitling workers by law to 6 weeks’ sick leave a year at full pay.

In the United States, the picture couldn’t be more different. Paid sick leave is not guaranteed in the U.S., and even those who do have it take very little. On average, people who are covered take 3.9 sick days per year for illness, while those without take an average of three days per year, according to the Center for American Progress.

ONE NUMBER

57,000

The U.S. economy added 57,000 new jobs in June, missing the 115,000 anticipated by economists.

The hiring slowdown indicates that businesses remained wary of the country’s economic outlook, as inflation is at a three-year high.

SOURCE: LABOR DEPARTMENT

A VIRAL MOMENT

The battle for ACs in France

Readers of The Brief will remember our story earlier this week about how Europe may be letting go of its long-held opposition to air conditioners as it battles one of its hottest summers ever.

This video shows chaos unravel at Lidl stores when they introduced a special offer on AC units.