These are today’s top stories.
Headlines
Trump Orders ICE to Resume Traffic Stops
Senior ICE officials were reportedly surprised when President Trump overturned a DHS pause on immigration vehicle stops that had followed fatal shootings of two people in Maine and Texas. Find out More
Thousands were told to evacuate a remote Minnesota wilderness area as smoke from more than 100 Canadian wildfires sent unhealthy air from Minnesota through Toronto and into New York, the AP reported. See Details
Iran threatened widespread attacks across the Middle East if President Trump follows through with strikes on Iran’s bridges and power plants. Source
Politics
A GOP-sponsored amendment to strip $3.3 billion in Israeli security aid failed 104-314, but 103 Democrats — including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi — backed it, splitting party leadership. Read More
House Republicans released a fiscal 2027 budget resolution instructing four committees to draft up to $95 billion in reconciliation spending, mostly for the Iran war effort, plus farm aid and election-security funding. Find out More
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified for five hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee, defending the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files and a settlement shielding Trump from IRS audits. See Details
U.S. News
The CDC confirmed a multistate outbreak of the parasite Cyclospora linked to at least four Midwestern states, with Michigan health officials suspecting lettuce or salad greens as the source amid nearly 7,000 nationwide cases. Source
Search crews swept 950 square nautical miles over 23 hours before Coast Guard Sector San Francisco suspended the search for three people still missing from Tuesday’s pontoon boat capsizing near Alcatraz. Read More
A second heat wave of the month pushed all-time-high temperatures into cities nationwide, with more than 125 million Americans under heat alerts even as Texas faced simultaneous flash flooding. Find out More
Business
U.S. equity futures turned negative early Thursday after Wednesday’s rally on cooler inflation data; Dow futures dipped 0.02%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.52% ahead of retail sales and jobs data. Read More
Stripe and private equity firm Advent International submitted a joint $60.50-per-share bid for PayPal, a 28% premium that sent shares soaring as much as 17% in Wednesday trading. Read More
Speaking at an Axios House summit, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said affordability concerns are real but that Americans are still spending, calling it a “say-do paradox” in the current economy. Source
Market Report
| Symbol | Last Close | % Change | |
| Dow Jones | DJIA | $52,658.64 | 0.29% |
| S&P 500 | SPX | $7,572.40 | 0.38% |
| Nasdaq Composite | IXIC | $26,269.23 | 0.62% |
| Alphabet Inc. | GOOG | $370.21 | 3.60% |
| Tesla, Inc. | TSLA | $394.46 | -0.43% |
| Apple Inc. | AAPL | $327.50 | 4.01% |
| Microsoft Corp. | MSFT | $395.63 | 2.78% |
| Bitcoin US Dollar | BTC/USD | $64,103.60 | -1.01% |
World News
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard conducted missile and drone strikes on U.S. assets at a Kuwait air base early Thursday, hours after the U.S. launched two more waves of strikes targeting Iran’s ability to threaten Gulf shipping. Read More
Protests erupted in Ukraine after President Zelensky ousted a popular defense chief. Source
A team using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope identified a previously unknown exoplanet hiding in archival images dating back at least 11 years, calling the find “serendipitous.” Source
Entertainment
Williams, best known as Officer “Smitty” Smith on “Sanford and Son” and Lester Jenkins on “227,” died Wednesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, according to his representative; no cause of death was disclosed. Source
‘Jurassic Park’ actor Sam Neill’s cause of death was revealed as pneumonia. Find out More
Disgraced singer R Kelly is asking President Trump to commute his 31-year prison sentence for sex abuse convictions. Find out More
Sports
Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez scored in the final minutes off Messi assists as Argentina overcame a scoreless first half to reach a second straight final, where it will chase back-to-back titles. Argentina will attempt to win back-to-back World Cups when they take on Spain on Sunday in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Source
Connor McGregor’s long-awaited return to the Octagon ended in the first round Saturday when he injured his right knee attempting a jumping kick; he says he intends to rehab and fight again. Source
Paige Bueckers and Kaitlan Clark finished first and second in fan voting; Wednesday’s draft saw Bueckers lead Team Cooper and Clark lead Team Weatherspoon ahead of the July 25 game in Chicago. Source
Off the Wall
July 15’s National Hot Dog Day brought promotions from 7-Eleven, Sheetz, Circle K, and Wienerschnitzel, part of an estimated 20 billion hot dogs Americans consume annually. Source
