President Trump announced Tuesday that Israel has agreed to an updated proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza that would secure the release of some hostages.
He urged Hamas to accept the deal, warning on Truth Social that "it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE."
Why it matters: Fresh off brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after 12 days of war, Trump is now pressing for a breakthrough in Gaza, where the conflict has dragged on for more than a year and a half.
The University of Pennsylvania will retroactively strip transgender swimmer Lia Thomas of her records and titles as part of a deal with the Education Department to abide by bans on transgender athletes in women's sports.
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Tuesday ordered HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to halt his reorganization of federal health agencies, in response to a lawsuit brought by 19 Democratic-led states.
The big picture: Kennedy will not be able to shutter HHS divisions or undertake additional layoffs as the lawsuit moves through the courts.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Tuesday that she's not thrilled with the current version of President Trump's "big, beautiful bill," nor the process by which it was passed by Senate Republicans earlier in the day.
Why it matters: Murkowski was at the center of negotiations on Tuesday that ultimately led to the bill's passage, but she's still worried how the bill's cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs will impact Americans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing an explosion of internal anger among his members over the Senate's changes to President Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
Why it matters: The speaker has just days to pass the bill before Republicans' self-imposed July 4 deadline — which will require flipping dozens of "no" votes and overcoming numerous procedural hurdles.
Ahead of the Fourth of July, a record-low share of U.S. adults — 58% —say they are "extremely" or "very" proud to be an American, according to recent Gallup polling.
That's down 9 percentage points from last year and 5 points below the previous low from 2020.
The big picture: That fall is largely driven by Democrats' and Independents' national pride sharply cratering in the first year of the Trump 2.0 era.
Democrats are already vowing to make President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" a centerpiece of their strategy for taking back the House of Representatives in 2026.
Why it matters: House Democrats' campaign arm is projecting confidence that Republicans in key swing districts will take a significant political hit from voting for the legislation.
President Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday endorsed the idea of prosecuting CNN for its critical coverage of U.S. strikes in Iran and reporting on an app that warns of immigration raids.
The big picture: Trump's years-long disdain for the media spiked after multiple outlets covered a leaked preliminary report on the strikes, with the president calling for reporters to be fired and threatening to sue The New York Times and CNN.
President Trump said Tuesday he would arrest Zohran Mamdani if the New York City Democratic mayoral nominee doesn't allow federal immigration officials to arrest undocumented immigrants in the city.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed optimism that his House Republican counterparts will be able to muster the votes needed to send the "one, big, beautiful bill" to President Trump for his signature.
Why it matters: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will need more than Thune's vote of confidence to convince House moderates and conservatives to pass the Senate version of the budget bill before their self-imposed July 4 deadline.
Senate Republicans passed President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" Tuesday, with help from Vice President Vance as a tie-breaker.
Why it matters: It's a colossal achievement for Senate leadership and the White House. But the taxes, border and defense package still has to clear the House — where discontent has been building for days.
Senate Republicans passed President Trump's signature "big, beautiful bill" with Vice President Vance's tie-breaking vote after the chamber deadlocked at 50-50 due to three GOP defections.
Why it matters: The razor's edge vote reflects the deep intra-party divides created by the bill, which resulted in a dramatic breakup between Trump and Elon Musk, and which could play a defining role in the outcome of the 2026 midterms.
The big picture: Republicans are aware polling on the signature tax and spending bill isn't pretty, Axios' Stef Kight reports, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune predicts the numbers could jump after the final bill is passed.
President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Tuesday with one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top aides to discuss U.S. ideas for a post-war plan in Gaza, two U.S. and Israeli officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Trump is trying to seize the momentum from the Israel–Iran ceasefire to secure a breakthrough in Gaza — starting with a 60-day truce and a deal to bring Israeli hostages home.
President Trump said Tuesday that DOGE could investigate Elon Musk, the latest indicator that his patience with the Tesla CEO is running thin.
The big picture: The two men have engaged in a war of words in the past 24 hours, with Musk taking to X to vent his objections to the president's "big, beautiful bill" and the estimated trillions of dollars it would add to the national debt.
NATO nations last week agreed to spend at least 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, in a major diplomatic win for the Trump administration.
Why it matters: This is a strong tailwind for defense-tech startups, which in the past few years have moved from venture capital's Island of Misfit Toys to Love Island.
Shares in Tesla sank early Tuesday after President Trump threatened to go after Elon Musk's federal subsidies.
Why it matters: A few months ago Musk and Trump's close relationship was seen as the key to making Tesla massively more valuable. Now, their split is becoming more of an existential threat to the company.
AI giant Nvidia and boldface names in tech and finance are backing a new startup that aims to transform data centers into flexible grid assets instead of liabilities.
More than a dozen new Colorado laws take effect Tuesday.
Why it matters: Passed across the last two legislative sessions, these measures signal the state's shifting political priorities and touch nearly every corner of life — from gun safety and criminal justice to privacy rights and health care access.
Why it matters: Critics say President Trump's megabill amounts to an abject surrender in the battle for the future of energy. The consequences for U.S. jobs, electricity prices and the AI arms race could reverberate for decades.
Former Rep. Colin Allred will run again for the U.S. Senate next year in Texas after losing in the general election in 2024.
Why it matters: Allred automatically becomes the Democratic front-runner, with the party hoping to achieve its elusive dream of winning a statewide race in Texas.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds has raised $22 million for his gubernatorial bid since entering the race, a sum that dwarfs any of the two dozen rivals in the race, according to his campaign.
Why it matters: The fundraising helps cement Donalds' status as the odds-on favorite to win the GOP primary in which he has a priceless asset: President Trump's endorsement.
Elon Musk again blasted President Trump's signature spending bill Monday as the Senate worked through a marathon amendment session to send the measure to the Oval Office by July 4.
The latest: Hours after Musk threatened to form a new political party if the "big, beautiful bill" passed, Trump claimed early Tuesday the Tesla CEO "may get more subsidy than any human being in history" and suggested he may have DOGE, which the Tesla CEO once spearheaded, take a "good, hard, look" at the billionaire's companies.
An Iran-linked cyberattack group that hacked President Trump's 2024 campaign is threatening to release another trove of emails it has stolen from his associates, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Roger Stone.
The big picture: Reuters first reported the threat on Monday that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on X called a "calculated smear campaign" — which came the same day as the Trump administration released a report warning that "Iranian Cyber Actors" may target U.S. firms and "operators of critical infrastructure."
Two Idaho firefighters were killed and another was critically injured in a shooting while responding to a fire near Coeur d'Alene in the state's north on Sunday afternoon, officials said.
The big picture: Officials have now identified both the veteran firefighters who were shot and the suspect, who was found dead near a firearm at the scene of the attack on Canfield Mountain, but they did not immediately determine a motive for the shooting.
Two Idaho firefighters killed in a shooting near Coeur d'Alene were identified by authorities Monday.
The big picture: The two veteran firefighters, along with a third who was critically injured, were ambushed by a lone gunman who started a wildfire in the state's north Sunday, investigators said.
North Carolina Democrats are getting closer to the gift they've have been asking for all year, with former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) leaning toward a Senate run in the state President Trump has won three times.
Why it matters: The field is essentially frozen until Cooper and Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, decide if they want to be their party's nominees.
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