The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted 8-5 to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a July 29 hearing, stonewalling questions about gain-of-function research in Wuhan. Senator Rand Paul is pushing for immediate DOJ prosecution, and the contempt resolution has been hand-delivered to federal prosecutors. Fauci holds a blanket Biden pardon covering 2014–2025, but legal analysts say its scope is about to be tested in court.
Progressive activist Abdul El-Sayed defeated incumbent Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, continuing a wave of DSA-backed candidates toppling party establishment figures ahead of November. Speaker Mike Johnson is openly wielding the Democrats' intraparty socialist fracture as a midterm campaign weapon. National polls still show Democrats with a 7-point generic ballot lead, but candidate quality is suddenly a live question inside the party.
Deaths of law enforcement officers in the line of duty fell to an 80-year low in 2025, with 111 officers killed — down 25% from the previous year, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. President Trump cited the stat while touting his executive order directing prosecutors to seek the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a police officer. The White House is crediting tough-on-crime policy as a direct factor in the decline.
The Republican National Committee launched a public ticket lottery Saturday giving everyday Americans a chance to attend its September midterm convention in Dallas — including VIP front-row access — in what the RNC is calling a historic first. The convention is designed as a major pre-November rallying event as the GOP fights to hold its House majority. It is also a calculated play to energize the base by putting them literally in the room where it happens.
Iran struck two UAE-affiliated oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this week in what Abu Dhabi called unprovoked attacks, bringing the total projectile strike count to at least 20 incidents since early July. The U.S. Navy's blockade of Iranian ports remains in force — War Secretary Pete Hegseth says it can hold indefinitely — while President Trump suggested a deal to reopen the strait "could be soon." Trump also floated declaring the waterway U.S. territory, a comment Iran's chief justice called a "miscalculation."
Nearly a week after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, more than 3,000 people remain unaccounted for and at least 265 are confirmed dead, with 1,600 buildings damaged or collapsed across Cali, Pereira, Manizales, and surrounding cities. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella declared an economic emergency, while the Trump administration pledged $15.5 million in relief aid. Latin music stars including Marc Anthony and Chayanne are organizing a benefit concert as rescue teams warn of a growing public health crisis from bodies still buried in rubble.
The Dominican Republic ordered nine Cuban embassy officials and their families to leave the country within seven days, citing the 1961 Vienna Convention without specifying a reason. Cuba's government called the move a U.S.-orchestrated "plot of subordination." Dominican President Luis Abinader has been steadily hardening his government's stance toward Havana over recent months, and this is the most direct action yet.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed the agency has captured footage of unidentified aerial objects that cannot be explained with available data, saying "based on the data within that imagery, we don't know what it is." He also revealed that Mars surface samples already collected have a "very high probability" of pointing to microbial life when returned to Earth. The disclosures follow the Trump administration's earlier release of declassified UFO files and mark a notably more candid posture from NASA than the agency has maintained in decades.
China's Long March 7A rocket, carrying an unknown classified payload, exploded just 85 seconds into its flight this week — marking Beijing's fourth rocket failure out of 56 orbital launch attempts in 2026. The string of failures is a significant setback for China's ambitious space program, which has set aggressive targets to close the gap with SpaceX and NASA. Chinese state media has not disclosed what was aboard the lost rocket.
The Korean Football Association issued a formal apology after being accused of arranging and paying for sexual entertainment for foreign referees — calling it "inappropriate conduct," which may be the most diplomatic understatement of the sports year. The scandal lands at an already uncomfortable moment for international football governance, which has faced a drumbeat of corruption investigations. Turns out the beautiful game has some very ugly paperwork.
