July 3, 2025

Caught on video: California fireworks warehouse explodes, 7 still missing

Seven people are missing after a massive explosion destroyed a fireworks warehouse in northern California. The blast happened Tuesday, July 1, near the small community of Esparto, about 40 miles west of Sacramento. Authorities said search-and-rescue efforts were still underway as of Wednesday. Explosion triggers train reaction Thick black smoke filled the sky as fireworks […]

July 3, 2025

Border crossings hit record lows, zero migrants released into US in June: CBP

Illegal border crossings fell to another historic low under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, according to new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The latest figures show that in June, Border Patrol recorded the lowest number of migrant encounters in decades. CBP reports steep decline in monthly apprehensions Data released by the Department […]

July 3, 2025

CIA review faults leaders for rushing Russia 2016 election interference probe

A newly declassified CIA review has found that the agency’s 2016 assessment of Russian election interference suffered from significant tradecraft flaws and political pressure during its creation. The review does not challenge the conclusion that Russia favored Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. election but criticizes the way analysts reached that finding. What did the […]

July 3, 2025

House passes Trump’s tax and budget package, sending it to the president

The House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump’s tax and budget package in a vote of 218-214 on Thursday, July 3, after an all-night voting process that started Wednesday afternoon. The entire Republican leadership team worked to convince the final holdouts to vote “yes,” the president made personal phone calls, and assurances were given about […]

July 3, 2025

Supreme Court to decide if states can ban trans athletes from women’s sports

The Supreme Court agreed to hear challenges to laws in West Virginia and Idaho that ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. This is the first time the justices will rule on the controversial matter that has been the subject of nationwide debate and dozens of lawsuits.  When does SCOTUS plan to look at […]

July 3, 2025

What happens when a city’s recycling program stops working?

Teri Peterson’s recycling bin sat on the side of her quiet Houston street for one extra day. Then two. Two weeks. Four.  On June 24 — 29 days since she’d rolled out her 96-gallon bin for its biweekly pickup — she joined thousands of her neighbors across the largest city in Texas, and called Houston’s […]

July 3, 2025

Gamblers say ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ may force them to fold

Professional gamblers say President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is a bad bet. Deep inside the fiscal measure adopted Thursday, July 3, is a provision that limits income-tax write-offs for gambling losses. “Yikes,” professional poker player Phil Galford wrote on X. “Senate amendment to the Big Beautiful Bill=you get taxes on more than you earned […]

July 3, 2025

White supremacist charged in connection with hit list involving federal officials

A member of a white supremacist online group has been indicted after creating a hit list of federal officials designated as “high value targets,” including a senator and federal judge, according to an announcement on Wednesday, July 2, from the U.S. Justice Department. Noah Lamb, 24, of California, has been charged with eight federal crimes, […]

July 3, 2025

Drone narco-sub captured off coast of Colombia

The Colombian navy said on Wednesday, July 2, that it seized an unmanned narco-submarine for the first time in South American waters. Authorities said they found the vessel off the country’s Caribbean coast as part of a larger crackdown on drug trafficking involving 62 countries called “Multinational Strategy Orion.” Colombian officials told AFP the narco-sub […]

July 3, 2025

Home or exile? Syrian journalists grapple with new realities post-Assad

Berlin, July 3, 2025—After almost 14 years of civil war, the lightning overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in December has unleashed the possibility of returning home for hundreds of exiled journalists. For Ahmad Primo, who was arrested by the government for reporting that the 2011 protests were a revolution and then jailed by Islamic […]