U.S.
House Passes Two-Month Stopgap Funding Bill 220-205; Measure Heads to Divided Senate
The Republican-led House voted mostly along party lines to keep the government open at current levels through December 4, months ahead of the September 30 deadline, sending the bill to a Senate where it needs Democratic votes to pass.
Hegseth, Caine Testify to Senate on Iran War Costs as Pentagon Seeks Tens of Billions More
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put the Iran war's cost so far at $37.5 billion and asked the Senate for roughly $67 billion more, while Democrats questioned the request and internal Pentagon estimates ran higher.
West Health-Gallup Survey Reports 24% of U.S. Workers Stay in Jobs to Keep Health Insurance
A nonprofit-funded survey finds self-reported "job lock" among employer-insured workers rose to about 23 million adults, up from 16% in 2021, as debate turns to how to fix it.
Boston Judge Temporarily Halts New Limits on Work Permits for TPS Holders and Asylum Seekers
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton paused USCIS policies that would have cut work authorization tied to a 2025 law, with a longer-term decision due by August 5.
Maduro Appears in New York Federal Court for Pretrial Hearing as Sides Propose 2027 Drug-Trafficking Trial
The former Venezuelan president, captured in a January U.S. military operation and held in New York since, returned to court as prosecutors and his lawyers proposed a June 2027 trial; Washington now backs an interim government in Caracas.
Nine Weekend Shootings in Eight States Leave Nine Dead, About 60 Hurt
Trackers logged nine mass-casualty shootings over the July 18–20 weekend, restarting the gun-law debate even as national shooting deaths sit at their lowest level in a decade.
Justice Department Subpoenaed Phone Records of Times Reporters and Some Relatives in Air Force One Leak Probe
Federal prosecutors seeking the sources behind New York Times stories on the Qatari-donated presidential jet subpoenaed reporters and, in some cases, their spouses and a parent; the Times has moved to quash the subpoenas.
Trump Says Netanyahu Will Not Be Arrested in U.S. After Mamdani Cites ICC Warrant
New York's mayor says the city is reviewing whether it could act on an International Criminal Court warrant if Israel's prime minister visits for the U.N. in September; President Trump and legal experts say it cannot.
Two Men Killed in Separate ICE Vehicle Stops Spark Nationwide Protests
The deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, and a reversed federal pause on ICE traffic stops, have driven demonstrations in dozens of U.S. cities.
Republican House Campaign Arm Adds Seven Democrat-Held Seats to 2026 Target List, All in Redrawn Districts
The NRCC's target list now covers 36 Democratic seats in states that recently changed their congressional maps, while Democrats say the same map fights have opened Republican seats to challenge.
U.S. Raises National Wildfire Preparedness to Its Top Level as Dozens of Large Fires Burn
Federal fire managers moved the country to Preparedness Level 5 on July 18 amid roughly 74 large fires, reviving a partisan fight over Forest Service cuts, a firefighting reorganization, and climate change.
CDC Director Nominee Erica Schwartz Questioned by Senators on Vaccine Policy and Independence From HHS Secretary Kennedy
At her July 15 confirmation hearing, Dr. Erica Schwartz praised vaccines but declined to say whether she would resist political direction from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.