July 15, 2026: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

Trump administration orders ICE to suspend most vehicle stops after 2 deadly shootings

Trump administration officials told Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to suspend most vehicle stops after two deadly shootings within a week, people familiar with the decision said Tuesday. The policy change came after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after one shot and killed a motorist in Houston, renewing criticism of the agency’s enforcement tactics that were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota. In Florida on Tuesday, a third man in roughly a week died during an encounter with immigration officers. This time, a 28-year-old man was killed after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

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The suspension of vehicle stops allows room for exceptions when executing a criminal warrant or working with partner agencies, according to a person who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive law enforcement operations. Matthew Felling, a spokesperson for Maine Sen. Angus King, said the senator’s office was also told by the Department of Homeland Security that ICE was suspending stops. DHS said Monday that an officer, “fearing for public safety,” shot and killed Durán Guerrero while officers were watching the home of someone they believed was in the U.S. illegally and facing a final order of removal from the country. It said in a post on X that when ICE tried to stop a car driven by someone who came from the home, the person attempted to flee in the vehicle and the officer fired. That was a shift from how King earlier described the encounter, when he said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man tried to use his vehicle as a weapon. King said Mullin told him the officers were trying to serve an arrest warrant, but not for the man who was shot.

Hundreds protest ICE operations at Houston City Hall as Whitmire says city shared evidence with DA’s office

Hundreds came to Houston City Hall on Tuesday, many to speak out against immigration enforcement operations in the city and last week's fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a federal agent. Jennifer DeLatte, who lives in the East End neighborhood where the shooting happened July 7, arrived just after 1 p.m. and waited nearly four hours for her chance to speak to city officials. "I woke up last Tuesday morning to hear another person was extrajudicially executed by ICE – this time, it was my neighbor Lorenzo," DeLatte said. "I bought my house in the East End because it was a safe place to live, because of people like Lorenzo, hardworking, law-abiding families to look out for one another."

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Sasha Monterroso urged the city council to launch its own independent investigation of the shooting death – one of several across the country during the last two years at the hands of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Arrests and deportations have surged during the second term of President Donald Trump. "Justice cannot depend on who pulled the trigger," Monterroso said. "Accountability cannot disappear because a federal badge was involved. An independent investigation is not an attack on the law enforcement. It is a commitment to transparency, accountability, and the principle that no one is above scrutiny." Each speech inside the council chambers was echoed by the raucous chants of dozens of protestors outside who stood for hours during the public comment session, making demands for accountability and transparency.

White House to rally utilities, data centers for AI power cost pledge, sources say

The White House plans to ?bring together utility companies and data center developers to make a voluntary pledge designed to ensure that rapid growth in electricity demand from artificial intelligence does not drive up power bills for households and businesses, according to three people familiar with ?the plans. An event to announce the initiative is expected in the coming weeks, with several companies ?taking part and vowing to protect current ratepayers from shouldering all the costs of ?AI expansion. The guest list is still being finalized, the sources said.

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Surging demand from power-hungry data centers ?has prompted regulators, consumer advocates and lawmakers in several states to warn that households could end up subsidizing grid ?upgrades needed to serve some of the world's largest technology companies, raising questions over whether the pledge will deliver concrete commitments or remain largely symbolic. As President Donald Trump's administration pushes to accelerate the expansion of AI infrastructure, it hopes to avoid ?a political backlash over rising electricity bills. Earlier this year, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI signed a ?voluntary "Ratepayer Protection Pledge" at a White House ceremony, committing to finance the electricity infrastructure needed for their AI projects rather ?than passing ?those costs on to existing utility customers.

ERCOT nowhere near meeting Texas goal for residential demand reduction

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is far from meeting its goals for residential demand response, barely making a dent in the total reduction regulators had hoped the program would achieve. The statewide grid operator told the Public Utility Commission that it achieved only a sliver of the sought-after 20% reduction from customers who have given their utility the ability to reduce their usage during “rush hour” periods of peak demand. The reality was a 2.5% average reduction — just 10% of what the commission sought. Grid experts have said such programs can cut costs by reducing the need for construction of new generation and transmission infrastructure as demand soars.

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The demand response effort fell short despite efforts like CPS Energy’s WiFi Thermostat Rewards and Austin Energy's Power Partners programs to reduce residential demand. It comes as ERCOT, which is projecting demand growth to quadruple by 2032, braces for an influx in demand driven by industry and residential growth and increasingly severe weather. The goal of a 20% reduction was set in 2023 by state lawmakers as part of legislation aiming to increase grid reliability while reducing costs for consumers. In January 2025, the grid operator began tracking demand response participation and its deployment during peak demand periods to evaluate the programs' statewide effectiveness. Ramya Ramaswamy, the PUC's director of energy efficiency, told commissioners that ERCOT's failure to meet the demand reduction goal was due to the relatively short study period, the novelty of such programs in many parts of the state, overlapping initiatives and the effects of lower wholesale market prices. She also emphasized the need to “take a comprehensive look at demand response as a whole, of which residential demand response is a portion."

State Stories

Sen. Charles Perry: AI data centers have benefits, need vetting

The water Texans rely on today isn’t there by accident. It is available to us now because previous generations had the foresight to invest in water infrastructure long before the need for that water arose. That's the mindset that guided historic investments in the Texas Water Fund. As chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, I've spent years focused on a simple question: How do we ensure future generations have the resources they need to thrive? That same long-term thinking should guide our conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. I believe many of these projects present infrastructure development opportunities for communities already in need of new or expanded water, transportation, and other infrastructure—who too often struggle to afford it on their own.

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More than 20 AI-related projects are being discussed across West Texas, including major investments in Taylor County, Childress County, Haskell County, Lubbock, Amarillo, and surrounding areas. In many cases, the data center developers and operators advancing these projects are working with local leaders to address community concerns while creating new economic opportunities. For example, a company building a data center in Carson County is also drilling two new wells as part of its project. Near water-scarce Childress, a data center developer publicly committed to building a brackish water desalination plantthat will meet community and agricultural water needs across at least three Texas counties in addition to the data center’s water needs—all at the developer’s expense. In Stamford, local officials are exploring how new tax revenue can support long-term investments in streets, water systems and other community priorities. Each of these projects substantiates the potential for data center development to mean infrastructure development for the surrounding community—at little or no cost to local residents. It is fair to say that without addressing the real issues regarding water, electric and applicable infrastructure capacities, AI data center industry will find itself on the wrong end of the politics.

Paxton feuds with the appeals court he said Texas needed

The three justices on Texas’s GOP-created new appeals court had been deciding cases for almost a year when they received some very public feedback from an unexpected critic. Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) turned to X to rip the justices after they ruled against him in a case his office brought against Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Paxton accused the one-time congressman of unlawfully raising money to help Texas lawmakers flee the state to delay a vote on a gerrymandered congressional map favoring Republicans. The justices had merely paused a lower court’s discovery order, not handed O’Rourke a decisive win. Still, Paxton was incensed. On X he wrote that the “activist judges” on “the Beto-loving Fifteenth Court of Appeals” were orchestrating “a constitutional crisis.”

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The Aug. 27 post generated a million views and caught the justices off guard. Justice April Farris, a regular poster on X, subsequently deactivated her account. “It was shocking,” Justice Scott Field said in a recent interview with Bloomberg Law. “I’ve been a judge for a long time and never had a public official openly come after me.” Paxton’s X post stood out because he supported the creation of the court, and the justices were chosen specifically to hear cases with state agencies or officials as a party, most of them represented by attorneys from his office. Twice following the blow-up, Chief Justice Scott Brister scolded Paxton’s lawyers in court for what he saw as questionable strategies for how and where the office presents its cases, creating a deeper divide that he conceded isn’t healthy. “On both sides there’s reason to counsel professionalism and what we say about each other because we have to keep working together, even when we don’t agree,” Brister said recently.

Flash flood warnings issued across Texas Hill Country as heavy rain moves through region

Several areas throughout the Texas Hill Country are under flash flood warnings as heavy rain raises the threat of life-threatening flooding across the region. The warnings came just hours before Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 59 counties across Texas. "As severe storms and the threat of dangerous flash flooding continue across the state, this disaster declaration ensures we can rapidly deploy state resources to support local communities," Abbott said. "Texas is positioned to respond quickly and effectively." The National Weather Service issued the flood warnings Tuesday as rounds of heavy rain moved across South and Central Texas. Flash flood warnings are issued when dangerous flooding is either very likely or already occurring.

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In social media posts Tuesday morning, the Kerrville Police Department shared photos of cars stuck in high water, tow trucks pulling out stranded vehicles and downed trees blocking roadways. "We can't stress this enough: do not drive around barricades, and do not drive into high water on the roadway even if no barricades are present," the department said in one post. "Low riding vehicles will flood out." The latest flood threat could also test new warning systems installed after last year's deadly flooding. A new network of gauges, available to the public through an online platform called RiverHub, tracks rainfall and river conditions. As of Tuesday afternoon, data from the gauges showed areas near the Guadalupe River had received more than 3 inches of rain over the last 24 hours. Flood sirens have also been installed in parts of the Hill Country. In Ingram, a city of fewer than 2,000 people just west of Kerrville, local officials had not activated sirens as of Tuesday morning.

Janice McNair, Houston Texans co-founder, dies at 89

Janice McNair, co-founder and senior chair of the Houston Texans, died on Tuesday at the age of 89, the Texans announced. McNair became the principal owner of the NFL team upon the death of her husband, Bob McNair, in 2018. Since then, their son, Cal, was named principal owner of the team. Forbes estimated Janice McNair’s worth to be more than $7 billion.

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“Mom was exceptional,” Cal McNair said in a statement. “It’s impossible to describe the profound gratitude that my sisters, Ruth and Melissa, and I feel for having her as our mom. Outside of our family, nothing mattered more to her than her beloved Texans. I remain honored to lead this franchise and build on the foundation my parents set when they brought football back to Houston." McNair is survived by four children, 16 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. Details of a funeral were not immediately shared by the Texans. “Mrs. McNair was an incredible woman who will be deeply missed," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said in a news release. "As a player, she and Mr. McNair built an organization that felt like a family and it was a true honor to play for them. I will always remember the day I came home to Houston in 2023. Mrs. McNair welcomed me back into the Texans family with open arms and her signature warm smile. We shared the same vision of bringing the organization to new heights and I will continue to work every day to accomplish that goal. My thoughts and prayers are with Cal, Hannah and their family during this time.”

Monty Bennett sued for self-dealing

Monty Bennett has become a major Trump donor and one of Ken Paxton’s biggest financial backers, making him a MAGA figure of renown in Texas. Campaign finance records reviewed by The Swamp show he has contributed more than $3.2 million to Texas political candidates and their associated PACs since 2015, including $410,000 to Ken Paxton, $510,000 to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, $325,000 to Gov. Greg Abbott and $492,000 to Texans for Educational Freedom, a leading school-choice organization.

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Where does he get the cash? Bennett is a billionaire thanks to his Braemar Hotels & Resorts, whose portfolio has included franchises of hotels including the Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, and Hilton. But the MAGA donor’s day job is not all upgrades and turn-down service. The Swamp learns that he faces a lawsuit from his company’s major shareholder for allegedly engineering a series of hotel sales designed to trigger a payout of more than $480 million to the advisory firm Bennett controls. The shareholder, Al Shams Investments, has vowed to pursue “every available legal remedy” and hold Bennett and Braemar’s directors personally accountable, describing the transaction in a scathing letter as “one of the most brazen acts of self-dealing” it has seen at a public company. Bennet has denied wrongdoing, describing Al Sham’s attacks as “sanctimonious” and an “attempt to mislead shareholders.” Watch out, Texas Republicans, if this court case becomes a problem for Bennett, you may have to cash in those hotel points.

SpaceX growth, data center plan fuel push to oust Texas mayor

The debate over data centers on Earth has landed in a small town outside of Waco that’s crucial to Elon Musk’s vision to move the technology to space. Concerns over the closed-door approval of a new data center project and years of water violations tied to SpaceX rocket engine testing have some in McGregor calling for changes at City Hall. More than 60 people have signed a petition to change or remove Mayor Jim Lilley, according to Dennis Fehler, a fourth-generation native of the town who’s leading the recall effort. “It’s not personal,” said the retired landscape architect who keeps tabs on McGregor’s dealings with industry. “He’s the captain of the Titanic, and that’s why we’re going to get rid of him.”

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The movement needs at least 100 signatures for further action that could lead to new city leadership. Fehler said he will keep at it for as long as it takes. “I’m going to do it until Christmas if I have to,” he said. The dustup puts the rural town about 20 miles west of Waco at the forefront of the debate over the giant warehouses of computers that have been derided as noisy and can consume vast amounts of energy and water. They have been getting more scrutiny from communities and, as they face rising voter backlash, state leaders also have begun looking to rein in the developments across Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott recently called for blocking new data centers in rural parts of the state. He also has directed the Public Utility Commission and Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the statewide grid, to take steps to reduce the impact of data centers.

Texas lawmakers examine the state’s fragmented response to homelessness

For decades, Texas has largely treated homelessness as a local responsibility. Cities operate shelters and fund outreach programs. Counties run jails and public hospitals. Police officers respond to disturbances, while nonprofit organizations provide housing, treatment and other services. Now, state lawmakers are questioning whether the fragmented system contributes to a costly cycle in which some of the most vulnerable Texans move repeatedly among the streets, emergency rooms, county jails and short-term treatment programs. The Texas House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs has been directed to study how the state can treat and prevent homelessness before the next legislative session.

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At a June hearing, lawmakers heard that local governments are already spending billions of dollars responding to people in crisis but often without producing long-term stability. Republican state Rep. David Spiller said lawmakers first must understand the different problems that fall under the broad label of homelessness. “We are really talking about three separate issues: homelessness, mental illness and systemic recidivism. They’re all related, but they’re all separate,” Spiller said. “I don’t think we can adequately fix it unless we understand fully what’s causing it.” The testimony underscored that people become homeless for many reasons. Some lose housing because of a job loss, rapidly increasing rent, domestic violence, a medical emergency or another financial shock. They may need rental assistance, temporary shelter or help finding another home.

Dallas council members drop lawsuit over City Hall vote

Two Dallas City Council members have dropped their lawsuit over a potential City Hall vote, saying the court order blocking it gave them the relief they sought. The dismissal ends a legal fight over one of Dallas’ biggest civic questions: whether to spend hundreds of millions repairing the nearly 50-year-old I.M. Pei-designed City Hall or move city operations and redevelop the 12-acre downtown site. Council members Paula Blackmon and Adam Bazaldua filed a notice July 2 voluntarily dismissing their claims against the city, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and City Secretary Bilierae Johnson, Dallas County court records show. State District Judge Eric Moyé dismissed the case four days later.

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“We certainly don’t want to waste the city’s resources or anyone else’s in continuing litigation when there’s nothing left to fight about,” attorney John Adams, who represented Blackmon and Bazaldua, said Tuesday. Blackmon and Bazaldua confirmed by text to The Dallas Morning News that Adams accurately characterized why they dismissed the case. It wasn’t clear Tuesday how much the litigation cost the city or how Blackmon and Bazaldua’s legal fees were billed. Bazaldua said the council members were represented by outside counsel already retained by the city, but he didn’t know how much the litigation cost or how the legal fees were handled. A city spokeswoman declined to comment. Blackmon and Bazaldua filed the lawsuit June 8 with fellow council member Cara Mendelsohn, who later withdrew, challenging the agenda for a June 10 specially called council meeting on City Hall’s future.

Protesters demand change in Tarrant County jail system following 4 deaths

A crowd of 60 people peacefully demanded change in the Tarrant County Jail in downtown Fort Worth on Tuesday morning. Rally leaders argued that voting Democrats into office is needed to fix the system. A speaker from the group read the names of 80 people who have died either in custody or shortly after being released since Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office in 2017. Only 77 people have died in custody, which is lower than other large urban counties in Texas, even when accounting for differences in jail capacity, a spokesperson from the sheriff’s office said.

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The demonstrators marched by the Tarrant County Jail, courthouse and criminal courts behind red signs that stated “too many deaths, free the innocent.” As rush hour traffic stood still waiting for green lights, the protesters chanted for justice, no more deaths in the jail and a new sheriff. Four Democratic candidates for county offices spoke before the march and described the jail system as a humanitarian crisis being neglected by the Republican majority elected to Tarrant County Commissioners Court. Cindy Stormer, a Democratic judiciary candidate, highlighted about a dozen of the Tarrant County inmate deaths. She said their deaths were due to thirst, medical neglect and pepper spray. Many of them happened under suspicious circumstances, she said. The inmate who died of dehydration had access to a functioning water fountain inside their cell and repeatedly refused to drink, said Robbie Hoy, a spokesperson from the sheriff’s office. Detention staff cannot force an individual to eat or drink without a court order. The spokesperson also highlighted that many people come into the jail already sick or struggling from addiction and the leading cause of death is cardiac disease.

Texas funds abortion pill reversal despite doctors' concerns

As abortion medication has become the sole way women are able to access the procedure in Texas, a fringe medical intervention is gaining traction – reversing the effects of the pills. So-called abortion reversals were developed to try and combat the effects of the first half of a two-pill regimen that induces a medication abortion. And in Texas, their use appears to be on the rise. But physicians say the method is ineffective, and others say it could be dangerous. One doctor who started a study of abortion pill reversals in 2019 abandoned the effort after a third of patients showed up to the emergency room with severe bleeding.

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“We have zero evidence it works, because the one report that the anti-choice groups rely on is completely unreliable,” said Dr. Mitchell Creinin, an OB-GYN at the University of California - Davis who carried out the study. No one is tracking how many abortion reversals are being done across Texas. While the state requires data collection on abortions, there is no standard to report anything about reversals, including any negative side effects. Several crisis pregnancy centers, which are run by anti-abortion groups, told the Houston Chronicle they've had a growing number of requests, and are working to expand access to abortion reversals with help from the Republican-controlled Legislature. This year, lawmakers have poured nearly $100 million into the Thriving Texas Families program, which gives grants to crisis pregnancy centers with little oversight. Sylvia Johnson, executive director of the Houston Pregnancy Health Center, told the Houston Chronicle that the center didn’t do very many abortion reversals when they started providing the option around 2018. Now, the center does about three a month.

LNG company one step closer to building on Galveston’s Pelican Island

A liquified natural gas (LNG) company is one step closer to building a facility on Pelican Island in Galveston. Power LNG is seeking to lease 30 acres on Pelican Island to build a $250 million facility that will initially produce 400,000 gallons of liquified natural gas per day, primarily used to fuel cruise ships coming in and out of the region. The Galveston Wharves Board — whose board members are appointed by the Galveston City Council — on Tuesday approved the basic terms that will be used to create a lease and development agreement with Power LNG Ventures, LLC.

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"I just consider this to be the first step and a vote of confidence in moving this project forward, but this is not in any way a final deal," board trustee Sheila Lidstone said during the meeting. "It's not a contract. It's not a lease. It's none of those things. It is a first step in moving this project forward." Trustees said Power LNG wants to build a small-scale facility that will provide fuel to cruise ships. According to the Galveston Daily News, city leaders have also expressed interest in building the facility to attract more cargo ships, which increasingly rely on LNG. The company anticipates that the plant will begin LNG production in December of 2028 and plans to design the facility to produce up to 800,000 gallons of LNG per day. Galveston is home to many major cruise ships, including the Carnival Jubilee. The Carnival Tropicale will also sail from the city when it's completed in 2028, and Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas is planned to begin sailing from the port next year. Each ship is designed to consume an estimated 500,000 and 800,000 gallons of LNG per week, according to documents from the wharves board.

Whitmire asks Texas Rangers to investigate fatal ICE shooting

Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz on Tuesday asked the Texas Rangers to conduct an independent investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents' killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week, hours after the mayor and council faced public criticism for the city's response to the shooting. The request, outlined in a letter from Diaz posted on social media Tuesday night, marks the latest development in the city's response to the July 7 shooting that has outraged Houstonians, prompting residents to hold vigils and protests over Salgado’s death at the hands of ICE agents during a traffic stop in Magnolia Park last Tuesday.

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Diaz's letter also was sent hours after Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin disclosed that the rangers had not been asked to investigate the shooting in a way that would prompt their intervention. In a letter released Tuesday, Martin told a group of Houston-area lawmakers that while DPS investigates officer-involved shootings involving federal agents when asked, it "has not received a request from any local law enforcement agency or prosecutor to assist." "Mayor Whitmire and I are asking for the Texas Rangers to conduct their own investigation, which will ensure it is independent and transparent," Diaz wrote in the letter posted Tuesday night. "This has been done in previous cases." Diaz said he met Tuesday with FBI officials at Whitmire's direction and facilitated the attendance of the rangers, describing the meeting as an effort to enhance transparency and collaboration among local, state and federal authorities.

National Stories

They welcomed 37 data centers to town. Now their schools have to dim the lights to cut energy costs

Henrico County, Virginia, has spent years courting data centers. Now it’s asking public employees to help shrink the power bill. Beginning July 1, Henrico’s electricity rate will rise nearly 25 percent, adding about $5 million in annual costs across county government and school facilities. In a June 26 email, County Manager John Vithoulkas asked employees to turn off lights, shut down computers, unplug chargers, adjust blinds, and avoid space heaters, which he said can cost the county $150 to $300 a year each to run. Henrico says the message was not just about cost-cutting. Ben Sheppard, the county’s communications director, told Inc. the email reflected “good fiscal stewardship and good environmental stewardship,” both of which he said are core values of the county.

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The request landed in one of Virginia’s fast-growing data-center hubs. Henrico is home to 37 data centers, according to a county planning staff analysis, with major facilities clustered around White Oak Technology Park. The rate increase comes through a new electricity contract negotiated by the Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Association, which buys power for local governments, school systems, towns, cities, and public authorities in Dominion Energy territory. VEPGA has said members will see a 24.9 percent overall increase beginning July 1, followed by at least another 12 percent increase in July 2027. Dominion Energy told Inc. the municipal rates reflect “inflationary pressures and rising costs of fuel, purchased power, grid equipment, and the necessary investments to maintain a reliable grid to serve growing demand.” That “growing demand” is now the big issue. Monitoring Analytics, the independent market monitor for grid operator PJM Interconnection, said wholesale power costs across PJM rose 62.7 percent in the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.

IBM stock craters 25%, the worst day on record, after company issues second-quarter earnings warning

International Business Machines shares plummeted 25% on Tuesday after the hardware, software and consulting provider released preliminary second-quarter results that fell short of expectations. The stock logged its worst day on record, sinking further than its previous worst day of Oct. 19, 1987, when shares fell 23.7%. Records track trading activity back to 1968, though IBM has been a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange since 1916. The tech company reported adjusted earnings of $2.93 a share on revenue of $17.2 billion, below analysts’ expectations for earnings of $3.01 a share and revenue of $17.86 billion, according to FactSet.

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CEO Arvind Krishna blamed the shortfall on weakness in the software and infrastructure business, as clients shifted spending toward hardware purchases such as memory chips. “In the last few weeks of June, we saw clients shift their quarterly capex spend toward servers, storage, and memory purchases to secure supply-constrained infrastructure ahead of expected price increases,” Krishna wrote in a letter to IBM investors. “While we anticipated some supply chain related impact in our expectations, we did not anticipate the magnitude of the capex reprioritization.” “These conditions require our teams to execute perfectly, and this quarter we faltered. We did not adapt and move quickly enough, and numerous large deals failed to close on the timelines we expected, driving the majority of our shortfall,” Krishna added. In IBM’s previous quarter, the company’s software revenue grew 11% to $7.05 billion in the first quarter, helping lift the company to report stronger-than-expected results that returned an adjusted $1.91 per share versus $1.81 expected by analysts.

Amy Coney Barrett details anonymous packages, swatting incident in Congressional hearing

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett told lawmakers in a hearing Tuesday that the threat level to the federal judiciary across the country had reached new heights, and detailed security incidents she’d personally experienced. Barrett was joined by Justice Elena Kagan in a rare appearance by members of the Supreme Court at a congressional hearing. The duo delivered the court’s request to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees for a significant increase in funds to bolster security. Barrett said the number of threats against Supreme Court justices has increased by 38% this year, statistics that she noted “sound abstract,” but “being on the receiving end of them is not.”

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She described having to explain to her young son why she brought home a bulletproof vest in 2022 after Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson was leaked. “I didn’t know how to respond,” Barrett said, “because, maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one.” She also recounted a swatting incident in late May, when law enforcement received a false report of gunshots and raised voices coming from her home. Barrett said one of her sons opened the front door to see a street full of police cars. “I was very very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home, because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said. Barrett also talked about receiving anonymous packages sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Anderl was fatally shot by a disgruntled lawyer aiming to kill his mother.

US military reimposes its blockade of Iranian ports

The U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and intensified its airstrike campaign Wednesday in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The American strikes hit an Iranian army barracks, killed at least seven troops and wounded more than 260 people across the country, Iranian officials said. Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the waterway crucial to global energy supplies — have shredded the interim deal to end the conflict and the region could tip back into all-out war. The U.S. first imposed a blockade in April and then lifted it last month after signing the interim deal that paused the fighting and set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues like Iran’s nuclear program. Those talks have stalled as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz has intensified.

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When the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the waterway to shipping traffic — a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods soaring far beyond the region and gave Iran major leverage in negotiations. Those rising prices pose a particular challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in elections in November — but Washington has struggled to successfully reopen the waterway. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Wednesday to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the blockade. “The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” it said. The U.S. carried out a wave of strikes, hitting dozens of targets over seven hours overnight, the military’s Central Command said Wednesday. Later, it resumed striking Iran during daylight — an usual move that further signaled the increasing tempo in attacks. One strike targeted a barracks for Iran’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which operates tanks and armored vehicles, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said the Americans fired at least 13 missiles in the attack and that the seven dead included conscripts and career soldiers. A number of troops were wounded.

Outbreak of diarrhea from parasite expands to more states as US cases soar beyond last year’s level

There have been 1,645 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis acquired in the United States since May 1, and more than 5,100 additional cases are being investigated, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday — a sharp increase in cases compared with recent years. A growing outbreak in Michigan and Ohio has also been linked to cases in West Virginia and Kentucky, the agency said. People with cyclosporiasis may have symptoms, including watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating, for weeks. Since May 1, cases have been identified in 34 states. Federal health officials said there are multiple investigations underway, some tied to the large outbreak in the Midwest, some involving single states and some involving cases not yet tied to any cluster.

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Cyclospora activity tends to increase during the spring and summer, but the number of confirmed cases since May 1 is already more than six times higher than it was by this time last year, according to a health alert sent by the CDC. If the more than 7,000 possible cases that are confirmed or under investigation are included, this year’s total is 27 times higher than last year’s total at this time. “This is much, much higher than what we’ve seen last year or the year before,” said Dr. Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, calling it “a very big shift” from previous seasons. About 1 in every 11 cases has been hospitalized, according to data available to the CDC. No deaths have been reported. An additional investigation notice published by the CDC on Tuesday notes that at least 400 cases across at least four states — Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky — “appear to be epidemiologically linked, suggesting that there could be a common source of these infections.”

E. Jean Carroll is paid $5.6 million in Trump sex abuse and defamation case

The writer E. Jean Carroll has collected over $5.6 million that a jury awarded in her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, court records and her lawyers said. The payment — representing the $5 million jury award, plus interest — was made Monday from an account where it had been held in escrow since the 2023 verdict, according to court records. Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed the payment Tuesday. “We are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment,” Kaplan said in a statement. Carroll herself later wrote on Substack that “the eagle has landed.” Trump’s lawyers have vowed to continue appealing.

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Trump deposited the money in an escrow account shortly after the jury ruled against him. The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the civil verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to release the money. Trump’s lawyers then sought but were denied an emergency order to block the payment. The one-sentence denial set no conditions on how Carroll may use the money. Her lawyers have said in court papers that she plans to put it in a retirement account. Trump’s attorneys have since filed another appeal seeking to stop or reverse the payment. The jury found Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in a New York luxury department store dressing room and defamed her after she told the story publicly in a memoir in 2019, during his first term as president. Trump insisted nothing sexual happened between him and Carroll, now 82, a former advice columnist. Trump claimed she was “totally lying” and “ not my type ” in a 2019 interview. He said he didn’t know her, dismissing a 1987 photo of them and their then-spouses at a party as inconsequential, and he accused her of harboring political motives and trying to sell books at his expense.

Spain moves on to World Cup final after shutting down France 2-0 in last North Texas match

Spain will move on to the World Cup final after a 2-0 victory over France, sending the team that many thought the favorite to win the championship home early. Dallas Stadium was packed for the match with more than 70,000 people in the stands for the last match in Arlington. Fans of Spain were largely quiet early in the game but came alive after the team’s first goal, scored by forward Mikel Oyarzabal from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute. Chants of “Sí se puede” and songs about the team echoed throughout the stadium, along with trumpets and drums being played by fans in the stands after that first goal and didn’t stop until well after the contest was over and both teams left the pitch. The second goal came from defender Pedro Porro in the 58th minute.

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Fans said after the match that Spain’s ability to keep possession of the ball and dominate the midfield made a big difference in the outcome. Spain is advancing, but the team it will face is yet to be determined. England and Argentina will take the pitch Wednesday, with the winner of that match headed to the title game. One fan, Joel Maldonado, said he expects to see England there but still hopes the game will see Argentina and Spain compete. “I think we'll face England, but I'm hoping Argentina wins to have a Hispanic final, right? Argentina, Hispanic country, and Spain, a Hispanic country as well,” Maldonado said. “It would just be amazing because it's always a non-Spanish-speaking country and it's amazing to just see both teams leading up, you, know, showing out for the Hispanic people.” The last time two Hispanic nations faced each other in the World Cup was 1930, when Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-0.

Copyright July 15, 2026, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved