The House gives final approval to Trump's big tax bill in a milestone for his second-term agenda

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have propelled President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final congressional passage. Republicans overcame multiple setbacks to approve his signature second-term policy package Thursday before a Fourth of July deadline. GOP leaders worked overnight, and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to his desk to become law. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delayed voting for more than eight hours with a record-breaking speech against the bill. It's $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, with $1.2 trillion in cuts to government programs. The president is expected to sign it into law Friday.

What's in Trump's big bill that passed Congress and will soon become law

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Congress have muscled President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill to passage. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. The House approved the bill on Thursday, the final step necessary to get the bill to Trump's desk by the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4th. The bill would make permanent many of the tax breaks passed in Trump's first term while also adding new ones, such as new tax deductions for tips, overtime, seniors and interest payments on auto loans.

Trump kicks off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump has gone to Iowa to kick off a year of patriotic festivities leading up to next year's 250th anniversary of American independence. The event Thursday night became a celebration of his second term, and Trump took the stage just hours after Congress approved tax cut legislation that he championed. Organizers see the coming year of festivities as a way to help unite a polarized nation and bridge political divides. But Trump left no doubt during his speech that he views patriotism as inseparable from his own agenda, saying Democrats who voted against his legislation “hate our country.”

Supreme Court will take up a new case about which school sports teams transgender students can join

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just two weeks ago, the Supreme Court upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. On Thursday, the justices said they'll review lower court rulings in favor of transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia. The case will be argued in the fall. West Virginia’s attorney general calls it “a great day, as female athletes in West Virginia will have their voices heard."  Lawyers on the other side say they stand ready to defend the lower-court rulings. More than two dozen states have enacted laws restricting transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports. Some of these laws have been blocked in court.

Strikes kill 94 Palestinians in Gaza, including 45 people waiting for aid, authorities say

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli airstrikes and shootings have killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza, including 45 who were attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid. That's according to hospitals and the Gaza Health Ministry. Families wept Thursday over the bodies from a strike that hit a tent camp during the night as displaced people slept in southern Gaza. At least 13 members of a single family were killed, including at least six children under 12. In central Gaza, a boy stroked the face of his dead 6-year-old sister in a morgue at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital. The girl and another of her brothers were among eight people killed when a strike Wednesday evening hit near a stand selling falafel.

Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. arrested by ICE for deportation, federal officials say

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal officials say famed Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been arrested and will be deported to Mexico, where he faces organized crime charges. The 39-year-old box was arrested Wednesday in Studio City, California, only days after the former middleweight champion lost a match to Jake Paul in Anaheim, California. The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Chávez for overstaying a tourist visa and lying on his green card application. They said he has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives and is believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs’ lawyers say he is a changed man. Will that spare him from more time behind bars?

NEW YORK (AP) — The denial of bail for Sean “Diddy” Combs was an early signal by the judge that the music mogul won't be heading home soon. A defense lawyer said Wednesday after a jury acquitted him of sex trafficking charges that would have carried a mandatory 15 years behind bars that Combs has been working to be a better person. He was convicted of two lesser prostitution-related charges. Attorney Marc Agnifilo says he participated in a “batterer’s program” and has been a model prisoner since his September arrest. Judge Arun Subramanian cited his violence in rejecting bail and indicated he won't accept defense requests that he serve less than two years in prison.

First immigration detainees arrive at Florida center in the Everglades

The first group of immigrants has arrived at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on social media Wednesday that “hundreds” of immigration detainees were to arrive at the center. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says the facility will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. And the area features alligators, pythons and other dangerous wildlife.

Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at US hospitals, but are running into visa issues

Some hospitals in the U.S. are without essential staff because international medical residents set to start their training this week were delayed by the Trump administration’s travel and visa restrictions. It’s unclear exactly how many foreign medical residents were unable to start their assignments. Six medical residents interviewed by The Associated Press say they’ve undergone years of training and work only to be stopped at the finish line by what is usually a procedural step. International medical graduates often take jobs in places where U.S. medical trainees tend not to go, including low-income and rural areas.

Guilty plea by Kohberger doesn't end quest for more details in Idaho college student slayings

Bryan Kohberger has admitted guilt in the slayings of four students at the University of Idaho. But the public still doesn't know what motivated Kohberger to commit the knife attacks and how he chose his victims in 2022. More details could emerge when Kohberger returns to court for his life prison sentence on July 23. Some answers could also be in the hundreds of documents filed by prosecutors and defense lawyers that have been sealed and out of public view since his arrest more than two years ago.