“Growing pressure on the Trump administration has prompted the US president to direct his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the release of grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking case. The announcement came as Trump seeks to tamp down controversy over a story published in the Wall Street Journal that alleges the US president contributed a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein’s 50th birthday album. The president has said the letter is a fake, and that he will sue the publication over the story. … Trump’s efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a ‘hoax’ showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats.” (07/18/25)
“The House of Representatives voted July 17 to pass three major cryptocurrency bills, signaling a decisive move toward establishing a regulatory foundation for digital assets in the United States. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act passed 307-122 and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. It sets standards for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, including reserve requirements and consumer protections. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act), which passed 294-134, advances to the Senate and aims to clarify oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). … The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act also passed.” (07/17/25)
“A parish priest and several others were injured after the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza was struck in an attack on Thursday morning, officials with the Catholic Church said. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said a strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church injured several people on Thursday, including the parish priest, as well as causing damage to the building. … The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in critical condition, and others injured included one child with disabilities, two women, and an elderly person, Naem said. Earlier, doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said two women had been killed in the strike. The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the strike.” (07/17/25)
“The European Union on Friday reached an agreement to impose its 18th round of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine after Slovakia ended its protest. The package targets Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ships as well as the energy and banking sectors. It also lowers the oil cap from $60 to $45 a barrel and prohibiting the EU from accessing Russian Nord Stream pipelines. The EU is also, for the first time, sanctioning a flag registry and Russian oil company Rosneft’s largest refinery in India.” (07/18/25)
“The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville police officer who was convicted last year of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights to serve just one day in prison, despite the fact the conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. In a court filing, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division late on Wednesday downplayed the conviction of former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, noting he ‘did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.’ … Taylor, a [b]lack woman, was [murdered] by police in 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant during a botched raid of her home. Her boyfriend, who was carrying a legally owned firearm, shot at [the intruders, who then fired indiscriminately] 22 times into the apartment.” (07/17/25)
“President Donald Trump underwent medical testing after he had been seen with deep bruises on his hand and swollen legs in recent days, and was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. …While chronic venous insufficiency is not considered a serious medical condition and it is treatable, it can be uncomfortable or painful. The condition is very common in older adults. Treatment typically can include medication to increase blood flow, elevating legs, or minor procedures to improve blood flow, or surgery in more severe cases. There was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and an echocardiogram showed normal cardiac structure and function, Leavitt said, adding that all results from testing were ‘within normal limits.'” (07/17/25)
“The British government said on Thursday it planned to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections in a major overhaul of the country’s democratic system. The government said the proposed changes, which are subject to parliament approvals, would align voting rights across the UK with Scotland and Wales, where younger voters already participate in devolved elections. … According to the House of Commons library, research from countries that have lowered the voting age to 16 shows it has had no impact on election outcomes, and that 16-year-olds were more likely to vote than those first eligible at 18.” (07/17/25)
“The flight manifests for three legally contested deportation flights from Texas to El Salvador contain dozens of additional, unaccounted for passengers than a previously published Department of Homeland Security (DHS) list of people deported from the United States on those flights, 404 Media has learned. … in May, a hacker targeted GlobalX, the airline that operated these flights and shared the data with 404 Media. In addition to the names of people who were on the list CBS News published, the GlobalX flight manifests contain the names of dozens of people who were supposedly on the flights but whose status and existence has not been acknowledged by the U.S. government or previously reported in the press.” (07/17/25)
“Burkina Faso’s military rulers have disbanded the country’s electoral commission calling it a waste of money. The interior ministry will handle elections in the future, state-run RTB TV reported. Since seizing power in September 2022, the coup leaders have initiated sweeping reforms, including the postponement of elections which would lead to a return to civilian rule. A nationwide vote was due last year, but the junta extended the period of transition to democracy until July 2029, allowing leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré to remain in power and free to contest the next presidential election.” (07/17/25)
“Covert files gathered by the Soviet-era KGB regarding former President Kennedy’s 1963 assassination are on track to be revealed to the American public for the first time this fall, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said this week. ‘It’s information the Russian government was in charge of releasing, and I’m sure that you’ll see that information coming out here pretty soon,’ Luna, who chairs the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo on Wednesday. ‘There is some level of open communication, and so as a result of that, that information will now be available in the coming months to the American people and also to JFK researchers.’ … Luna indicated that new information the task force has obtained and observed supports long-standing conspiracy theories that Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, didn’t act alone and the CIA helped cover up details about the killing.” (07/17/25)
