GOP leaders have advanced to a final House vote on a bill that would significantly slash social programs and cut taxes for the wealthy, reflecting high-stakes budget negotiations in Congress[1]. President Trump is also expected to sign a massive new spending bill, which passed by a narrow margin in the House of Representatives[5].
On the international stage, Israel’s Likud party is pushing for the formal annexation of the occupied West Bank, aiming to complete the process before a parliamentary recess at the end of July. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed plans to visit Washington, D.C., next week to meet with President Trump[1][3]. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has approved a $510 million sale of bomb guidance kits to Israel. This decision comes as reports confirm Israel used a U.S.-made 500-pound bomb in a deadly attack on a Gaza beachfront café, killing dozens of Palestinians, including children at a birthday party[1][3].
In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons has voted to ban the direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, placing it alongside organizations like ISIS and al-Qaeda. This action follows recent incidents in which Palestine Action members breached an air force base and damaged warplanes to protest British support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The ban sparked protests outside 10 Downing Street, with critics calling it an abuse of state power by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour government[1][3].
Elsewhere, the U.S. Secretary of Defense has indefinitely suspended all air defense and weapons shipments to Ukraine, including Patriot missile systems and other ammunition, impacting the ongoing conflict with Russia[4]. In Southeast Asia, the Constitutional Court of Thailand has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra amid a case seeking her dismissal, deepening the country’s political crisis[4].
Europe and Asia are experiencing serious climate-related disasters: deadly wildfires in Spain have killed two farmers, while extreme heat has claimed lives in Italy and France, including a 10-year-old American tourist in Paris. Additionally, a ferry disaster off the coast of Bali, Indonesia, has left six dead and 29 missing[4].
In space news, President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ includes $85 million to relocate the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian to Texas. SpaceX has successfully launched an advanced European weather satellite and landed its rocket at sea. The James Webb Space Telescope continues to deliver striking new images and scientific discoveries, including evidence of a titanic collision between galaxy clusters[6].