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Senate confirms Bedford to head FAA
The Senate confirmed airline executive Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration in a 53-43 vote Wednesday.
One of Bedford’s first tasks at the FAA will be to carry out major air traffic control system overhauls promised by President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and in part funded by the reconciliation ...Read more

Senate confirms Griffith as Energy undersecretary
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Preston Wells Griffith III to serve as undersecretary of the Energy Department.
The 54-43 vote included Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, joining Republicans in support.
Griffith said at an April hearing that his role would be to use the department’s resources to ensure that “America remains at the top of the ...Read more

Minnesota on the hook for $430K legal bill after GOP congressional hearing where Walz testified
Minnesota taxpayers are on the hook for $430,000 in legal costs to outside lawyers who helped Gov. Tim Walz prepare for a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing where he sparred with Republicans over immigration.
The state tapped the global law firm K&L Gates to prepare Walz for the June 12 congressional hearing, where he was questioned about ...Read more

South Carolina sees first measles case of 2025, officials say
An Upstate South Carolina resident has the measles, the South Carolina Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday. It is the first case of the disease in the state since September 2024, the agency said.
The affected resident is not vaccinated and caught the virus during an international trip, according to a press release. They are ...Read more

Biden doctor pleads the 5th on GOP House panel questions about fitness
Former President Joe Biden’s personal physician Wednesday refused to answer a Republican congressional committee’s questions about his health and fitness to serve, citing doctor-patient confidentiality.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor also invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions during a House Oversight Committee ...Read more

Florida lawmakers, members of Congress invited to visit Alligator Alcatraz
The DeSantis administration is inviting Florida’s state legislators and members of Congress to attend a scheduled, 90-minute tour of Alligator Alcatraz on Saturday afternoon, according to an email shared with the Herald/Times.
The invitation, sent Wednesday, is the first extended to elected leaders since the facility began taking in immigrant...Read more
Coast Guard spots flare in dark and rescues 5 clinging to capsized boat in Texas
A boat capsized at night off the Texas coast, sending five people into the water — but then rescue found them the next morning, according to officials.
No distress signal was sent from the sinking vessel, but at 9:30 p.m. July 8, Coast Guard watchstanders received a report that the 22-foot pleasure craft was overdue near Freeport, according ...Read more

Death toll rises in Texas as rescuers search for 160 missing
Crews in central Texas are digging through massive piles of debris, overturned vehicles and shattered homes for a sixth day as the search continues for victims of flash floods that killed more than 100 people over the Fourth of July weekend.
At least 160 people are still missing in Kerr Country, the hardest-hit area of the Texas Hill Country. ...Read more

'Our angel on earth': Camp Mystic parents mourn girls who died in Texas flood
Grieving families of the 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic believed to have died in the Central Texas flash flood on July 4 have identified some of the girls whose tragic loss has left them “utterly shattered.”
While most of the children lost to the flood at the all-girls Christian summer camp on the Guadalupe River in Texas’ ...Read more

DACA recipient from Orange County among those at Alligator Alcatraz, attorney says
One of the first transfers from the Orange County Jail to Alligator Alcatraz is a 36-year-old who is legally in the United States and was picked up for driving with a suspended license, his attorney told the Orlando Sentinel.
The man is a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a 2012 program that shields undocumented ...Read more

Darkness is crucial to Everglades habitat. Could Alligator Alcatraz threaten it?
Surrounded by the low hum of swamp bugs, Anthony Sleiman pointed his camera to the west.
The conservation photographer was more than 15 miles from the state’s newly built immigrant detention center, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz. But just before 10 p.m. on July 1, he could see the site’s glow with his naked eye.
Sleiman, whose night-sky ...Read more

Northwestern University postdoctoral researchers petition school to recognize union
CHICAGO — Dozens of organized Northwestern University postdoctoral researchers marched through campus Tuesday, delivering a petition to formally ask school officials to recognize their new labor union.
The Northwestern University Postdoc Union would represent about 1,300 scientists and academic research staff, who say they’re fighting for ...Read more

Trump hikes Brazil tariff rate to 50%, sending assets reeling
Donald Trump’s threat to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods sent the country’s currency plunging as the U.S. leader sharply escalated a dispute with Latin America’s largest nation and leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In a letter posted to his social media account, Trump said he was making the change “due in part to Brazil�...Read more

Senate appropriators to weigh in on Justice Department revamp
Senators are set to weigh in this week on Trump administration proposals to overhaul parts of the Justice Department and cut funding for key federal law enforcement agencies.
The administration’s fiscal 2026 budget request seeks to end the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as a separate component, wipe away the Office on ...Read more

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoes bill allowing private schools to let teachers carry guns
RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Josh Stein vetoed legislation on Wednesday that would have given private schools the option to allow teachers or school volunteers to carry concealed handguns on campus.
House Bill 193 would have permitted employees or volunteers at private schools to carry firearms or stun guns on school grounds if they received written...Read more
2 student pilots killed in midair collision during training in Canada
Two student pilots were killed Tuesday morning after their planes collided during a training session in southern Canada, officials said.
The crash happened near Steinbach, a city in the Canadian province of Manitoba, about 45 miles north of the Minnesota border.
“The two pilots were pronounced deceased on the scene, the Manitoba Royal ...Read more

Analysis: House retirements so far are at a historical low
WASHINGTON — While senators are leaving Washington at a higher-than-normal pace, House retirements are lagging behind the historical average.
But it’s still early, and second-quarter campaign finance reports, due July 15, could provide a window into departures to come.
Thus far, 16 House members have announced they aren’t seeking ...Read more
Ken Martin singles out a 'few disgruntled people' after rocky start leading national Democrats
A few months ago, Democrats across the country looked to Ken Martin as the turnaround artist to lead their fight against President Donald Trump.
But Martin, elected earlier this year to chair the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after a long, successful tenure leading the Minnesota DFL, has spent much of the time in his new role embroiled in...Read more

2 men charged with having 'staggering' amount of meth in their vehicles in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS — Two men were caught in Minneapolis and have been charged with possessing nearly 900 pounds of methamphetamine in what local and federal law enforcement are touting as a significant bust with ties to Mexican drug cartels.
In connection with the massive meth seizure Monday in south Minneapolis, Guillermo Mercado Chaparro, 44, of ...Read more

What is the Johnson Amendment? What to know as IRS changes tax exemptions
A longstanding tax exemption preventing nonprofit organizations from engaging in political campaign activity that favors individual candidates has been reinterpreted — signaling that religious organizations may now be excluded from the rule.
The decades-old Johnson Amendment does not apply to speech by houses of worship to its congregation ...Read more
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