President Trump reversed course Thursday afternoon, canceling planned evening military strikes on Iran after declaring that a peace agreement has been "approved by all parties involved," including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and more than a dozen other nations. The deal would permanently block Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz upon signing. VP JD Vance is expected to attend a formal signing ceremony in Europe, possibly within days — and the naval blockade remains in place until it's finalized.
The House voted 198-218 Thursday to extend FISA Section 702 by three weeks, falling well short of the two-thirds supermajority required. Democrats withheld support over Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte as acting DNI; a handful of Republicans broke ranks on civil liberties grounds. The surveillance program — credited with foiling multiple terror plots — now faces its first-ever lapse when it expires at midnight Friday.
Even as the FISA standoff burned, Trump moved Thursday to end the leadership limbo at ODNI, nominating former SEC Chairman and current U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton as his permanent DNI. Clayton, who ran the SEC during Trump's first term, is widely seen as a loyalist with institutional credibility on Wall Street. Senator Bill Cassidy broke with his party almost immediately, calling the pick "a very poor choice."
With the FIFA World Cup now underway across three nations, pro-migration organizations are pressing for a moratorium on all ICE civil enforcement near stadiums, fan zones, and public transit through the tournament's July 19 close. Los Angeles officials confirmed Thursday that civil immigration enforcement will not occur at SoFi Stadium matches. Critics say the policy effectively creates temporary sanctuary zones across a dozen American host cities for six weeks.
Hours before canceling tonight's strikes, President Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. would "at some point in the not too distant future" seize Kharg Island — the terminal processing roughly 90% of Iran's crude oil exports — and assume "total control" of Iran's oil and gas markets, explicitly comparing the plan to U.S. operations in Venezuela. The threat is Washington's sharpest economic escalation of the conflict to date.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially opened Thursday with Mexico defeating South Africa 2-0 at Mexico City Stadium in the first match of the first-ever 48-team tournament. Julián Quiñones scored the first goal of the tournament in the 9th minute; Raúl Jiménez sealed it in the 67th as South Africa was reduced to nine men after two red cards. Shakira headlined the opening ceremony while Mexican players wept openly through the national anthem before a sold-out Estadio Azteca.
Britain's government-appointed independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall, said Wednesday that violence among recent migrants has become "extraordinarily destabilizing" and openly asked whether President Trump had a point about "the destabilization of Europe" through mass immigration. The remarks came amid continuing Belfast riots after a Sudanese asylum seeker was charged with attempting to behead a British citizen on a public street. Nigel Farage called for full immigration reform, saying the suspect simply "shouldn't have been in the country."
A new study finds that people eating the most ultra-processed foods — chips, soft drinks, packaged snacks — face a 58% higher risk of dementia than those eating the least. Every 10% increase in daily ultra-processed food intake correlated with a 25% jump in dementia risk; high sugar and excess visceral fat cause measurable shrinkage in the brain's memory regions. The good news: swapping just 10% of ultra-processed foods for whole foods was associated with a 19% lower dementia risk.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the bureau will release findings on the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 scientists linked to U.S. nuclear, space, and defense programs, saying a final report is imminent. President Trump confirmed he had "just left a meeting on that subject," adding, "I hope it's random, but we're going to know in the next week and a half." Investigators are examining whether the cases, spread across multiple states, share any common thread.
One day after being sentenced to 35 years for the track-meet stabbing murder of Austin Metcalf, Karmelo Anthony has filed notice of appeal while declaring he cannot afford legal representation to pursue it. The complication: his family raised more than $625,000 online from supporters during and after the trial. His legal team has formally begun the appellate process as observers on both sides of the high-profile Texas case wait to see how the money question gets resolved.
