Rescue Operations Move to Recovery a Week After Texas Floods; Rubio Meets Russian Foreign Minister in Malaysia

President Donald Trump signs Genius Act into law and vows to make United States the "crypto capital of the planet." The bill received bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. The House passed the act on Thursday by a 308–122 margin.

On Friday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem hosts a press conference in Nashville, Tennessee exposing the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens arrested by the Department under President Trump’s leadership in the Volunteer State.The House approved Trump's $832 billion defense funding request for fiscal year 2026 in an early-morning vote. Five Democrats joined in support, while three Republicans opposed it. The bill now heads to the Senate for approval.

The State Department has called on Beijing to end its eradication campaign against Falun Gong ahead of July 20, the date that marked the start of the persecution in 1999. More than 1,000 Falun Dafa practitioners and human rights advocates gather in the nation’s capital on Thursday for a rally and parade, demanding the Chinese Communist Party end its persecution.The number of Americans filing for new unemployment benefits declined for the fifth consecutive week to a three-month low as the U.S. labor market continues to perform at a solid pace. Initial jobless claims declined by 7,000 to 221,000 for the week ending July 12, according to the Department of Labor.

Bahrain's Prime Minister, Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalif announces plans to invest more than $17 billion in the United States during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday.President Trump will host congressional leaders and families impacted by the opioid epidemic on Wednesday. He'll be signing bipartisan legislation into law. It classifies fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I controlled substances.

The United States and Indonesia have reached a trade agreement, President Donald Trump announced on social media. “Great deal, for everybody, just made with Indonesia. I dealt directly with their highly respected President,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. This comes soon after the president sent a formal letter to Indonesia announcing a 32 percent levy on Indonesian goods entering the United States, effective Aug. 1.The Chinese communist party continues to tighten control over critical mineral supply chains. The House Foreign Affairs East Asia & the Pacific Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday to strategize ways to break the choke-hold.Presidents from Georgetown University, UC Berkeley, and the City University of New York testified on Tuesday before the House Education and Workforce Committee on the topic of anti-Semitism in higher education. Lawmakers examined the role of faculty, funding, and ideology in the growth of anti-Semitism on college campuses. 

President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent secondary tariff on Russian goods, if Moscow doesn’t agree to a deal to resolve the Ukraine conflict within the next 50 days. “I’m disappointed in [Russian President Vladimir Putin], because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump said as he hosted NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to the White House on Monday.Authorities said on Monday that nine people died and at least 30 were injured in a fire at an assisted living facility in Massachusetts, where residents were hanging out of windows screaming for help. Firefighters responded to the Gabriel House assisted living facility—which housed around 70 people—in Fall River at about 9:50 p.m. on Sunday.

President Donald Trump reflects on last year's assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania, and describes how that experience changed him.Trump levies new tariffs on Mexico and the European Union—here's why some say it could mean higher prices at home. Plus, the stock market's reaction.How will Trump’s new tariffs on Mexico and the EU impact U.S. relations with these allies? We speak with a professor of finance from Stockton University.A town in Texas mourns a beloved high school coach lost in the July 4th floods. Students remember the man who meant so much to them.

President Donald Trump is in Texas for a firsthand look at the damage caused by the recent flooding. The president did an aerial tour of some of the hardest-hit areas. The White House also says he'll visit the state emergency operations center to meet with first responders and the relatives of some of the flood victims. Trump will also get a briefing from officials.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that his meeting in Malaysia with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi was "very constructive," but that the two sides still had issues to resolve. Rubio added that there was a "high probability" of a meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, though a date has yet to be fixed.

With at least 120 people dead and more missing in Central Texas, hopes of locating survivors are dwindling. The search and rescue operation is now shifting to the recovery phase. Kerr County officials said the number of missing also remained unchanged at 161.Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia on Thursday, as Russia continues to intensify its attacks on Ukraine. It was their second in-person meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosts leaders from five African nations for a discussion and lunch at the White House on Wednesday, including leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal.Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Tuesday evening that at least seven countries will receive trade-related letters on Wednesday morning, with an additional number of announcements set for the afternoon.Authorities have confirmed at least 119 deaths as a result of the flooding in central Texas, including 59 adults and 36 children in Kerr County. In New Mexico, At least three people have died in flash flooding in the village of Ruidoso.