Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President, congressional leaders in Washington

President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, after the two leaders discussed that issue and the strikes on Iran the previous day. Netanyahu, who also visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, faces criticism from some lawmakers, who have accused the Israeli leader of trying to bring the U.S. into another war.

Netanyahu’s meeting with a bipartisan group of senators was delayed until Wednesday, but he met with House Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday after meeting earlier in the day with Vice President JD Vance. In a statement, Johnson said he and Netanyahu discussed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and a ceasefire agreement in Gaza: “America and Israel’s strong stand in the 12-Day War dealt a devastating blow to the greatest enemy of peace in the region, leaving the Iranian regime weaker than at any point in decades. We are hopeful that this marks the dawn of a new chapter of peace in the Middle East.”

Following his meeting with Johnson on Tuesday afternoon, Netanyahu told reporters that the “resolute decision of president Trump to act with us against those who seek to destroy Israel and threaten the peace of the world has made a remarkable change in the Middle East. There are opportunities for peace that we intend to realize, we’re working together on this. We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas’ military and governance capabilities because Gaza must have a different future for ours sake, for everyone’s sake.”

Trump and Netanyahu also reiterated their idea of relocating people from the Gaza Strip, despite widespread condemnation from Palestinians as well as close allies, the United Nations and human rights groups. Trump said at his meeting Monday with Netanyahu at the White House that there was “great cooperation” from Israel’s neighbors to take in Palestinians, while Netanyahu said they were “getting close to finding several countries” willing to do so. (per NBC News.)

Palestinian leaders have condemned the idea, with Mustafa Barghouti, a senior Palestinian politician and head of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, telling NBC News on Tuesday: “When they say it would be voluntary, that is so misleading, because when you bomb people every day, when you starve people for 126 days, who can call that a voluntary decision?”

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TSA to no longer require passengers to remove shoes during airport security screenings

The Transportation Safety Administration (“TSA”) will not be requiring that passengers take off their shoes anymore while they go through security checkpoints at select airports. NBC News shared that a press release received Monday states the TSA is “exploring new and innovative ways to enhance the passenger experience and our strong security posture.”

ABC News reported that a memo went out to TSA officers nationwide last week that stated the new policy would start Sunday. The memo notes, however, those who set off an alarm while being screened will then be required to take their shoes off for additional screening.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed the change early Tuesday, retweeting a post which confirmed the information via Department of Homeland Security along the caption: “Big news from @DHSgov! ✈👟”

CBS News states that the change will be approached in phases, with the first airports where the no-shoes requirement is expiring include: Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Portland International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Piedmont Triad International Airport in North Carolina. However, reporters from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and Los Angeles International Airport on Monday said that they and other passengers were permitted to keep their shoes on during the screening process in those locations as well.

Shoe removal while being screened began in 2006, five years after Richard Reid unsuccessfully tried to blow up an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami with explosives packed in his shoes. The explosives failed to detonate and Reid was held down by fellow passengers and the flight crew as the plane safely landed in Boston.

However since then, travelers with TSA PreCheck are not required to remove their footwear. In order to have PreCheck, travelers must submit an application and go through a clearance process with the Transportation Security Administration.

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Caitlin Clark expected to return for Fever’s game vs. Valkyries on Wednesday

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is expected to return to the court on Wednesday, July 9 vs. the Golden State Valkyries, after missing the last five contests with a groin injury. Clark’s most recent absence came after she missed five games last month due to a left quadriceps strain.

Per ESPN: Clark participated in the 5-on-5 portion of practice on Monday for the first time since she suffered the injury on June 24. Fever coach Stephanie White said she anticipates Clark to be available, barring any setbacks over the next 24 hours.

Clark told reporters at practice on Tuesday: “It’s nice to get back out there and get back into the flow of playing with my teammates again. It’s going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again. It’s obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I’m excited to get out there …I hope to play a decent amount — in the upper 20s. I guess it depends on how the game goes and how I feel and what the team needs. But I feel pretty good. But I’m going to try to not overdo it and put myself in a good position moving forward.”

After returning from her quad injury on June 14, Clark had 32 points in 31 minutes against the New York Liberty; however over the next four games, she averaged only 14 points per contest. This season, Clark is averaging 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.9 assists.

The Fever have gone 3-2 in Clark’s absence, which included a victory against the Minnesota Lynx in the championship game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. Five games remain until the All-Star break, with Clark set to serve as a team captain along with Napheesa Collier.

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NHL, NHLPA announce extension to collective bargaining agreement until 2029-30, will lengthen season to 84 games

The NHL and NHLPA announced Tuesday that they have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, which will run through 2029-30. The league and players agreed to a 10-year agreement in 2013, which was extended in 2020. The new pact will start in 2026-27.

Details from the agreement will not be released to the public until a later date, however it does include the following: in 2026-27, NHL teams will play an 84-game schedule, up from the current 82 games. This will allow the league to schedule more division games, which it believes will help raise attendances and television ratings. In addition, teams will still visit an opponent at least once during the regular season.

The 84-game schedule was last used by the NHL for the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons when two neutral-site games were played by all teams. The increase of the regular-season schedule will see the preseason schedule cut down to four games per team, with players who have at least 100 career games played allowed to play in a maximum of two preseason games.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a news release: “While we didn’t agree on everything, we had a very constructive, professional, collaborative collective-bargaining process. We identified the issues that were important.”This CBA shows what can be accomplished when the NHL and the Union work together — an agreement that will allow for the continued worldwide growth of the game. We are grateful to the board of governors for its support of this agreement that strengthens our game and ensures we are collectively delivering a great fan experience in the years to come.”

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said in a statement: “This CBA shows what can be accomplished when the NHL and the Union work together — an agreement that will allow for the continued worldwide growth of the game. That is a win for everyone. We could not have achieved this outcome without the involvement and support of our players. Special thanks to our executive board and negotiating Committee.”

The 2025-26 NHL regular season will start Oct. 7. The league announced last week that players also will be cleared to participate in the 2026 Summer Olympics, which will be Feb. 6 to 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

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Noah Cyrus drops ‘New Country’ ft. Blake Shelton from new sophomore album

Noah Cyrus has announced details for her upcoming sophomore studio album I Want My Loved Ones To Go With Me, alongside details for her North American fall headlining tour. In addition, Cyrus will also have a special album release-day show in Los Angeles at The Ford on 7/11.

Noah is also teasing the album with the release of “New Country” featuring Blake Shelton; see the official visualizer – HERE.

I Want My Loved Ones To Go With Me follows the 2022 release of Noah’s album The Hardest Part, and includes the previously released singles “I Saw the Mountains” and “Don’t Put It All on Me” along with nine new tracks.  Aside from Shelton, featured guests include Fleet Foxes, Ella Langley, Bill Callahan and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus on the song “With You.” Cyrus shares: “My dad is one of my biggest influences. He turned me on to so many great songs and artists. My musical inspirations came from somewhere, and more often than not, it’s been him.” 

The album was co-produced by Noah Cyrus alongside long-time collaborators Mike Crossey and PJ Harding. Cyrus shares: “For a long time, I couldn’t really trust in my own choices. I had to learn how to make decisions for myself and make that transition into adulthood. But I’ve found who I am, I know who I am, and this record shows what I had inside me all this time. This album is me .. I want this album to offer fans a sense of comforting, peaceful nostalgia. That’s something that I feel so heavily when I listen to music. We all want to connect with our past while also being aware of the present moment. Music does that for me, and this collection of songs was made with that in mind. I want to evoke that feeling of a comforting friend that a song can be — and allow us all to heal.”

For tour dates and ticket information, head to www.noahcyrus.com/#tour.

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Country Music Association’s 59th Annual CMA Awards set for November 19th

ABC Network and the Country Music Association have announced that the 59th annual CMA Awards will return to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19, airing live on ABC at 8 pm ET/PT. The show will also be available to stream next day on Hulu.

‘Country Music’s Biggest Night’ will once again shine a spotlight on the genre’s most exceptional talent, honoring outstanding achievements and celebrating excellence across the industry. Details on the show’s host and ticket on-sale will be shared in the coming weeks.

As previously announced, the eligibility period for the 2025 CMA Awards is July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. Prospective members must apply by Sunday, June 1 to qualify for full voting eligibility this year. The Nomination Ballot will open for voting Monday, July 7.  Head HERE for information.

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‘Hacks’ renewed for Season 5 by Max

Max has renewed comedy series Hacks for a fifth season. Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed the Season 5 renewal in a press release. The series has garnered 48 Emmy nominations during its four-season run, including a win for Outstanding Comedy Series in Season 3.

The show’s star Jean Smart posted on Instagram: “I’m so excited, I’m thrilled, congratulations to my cast, everybody in the production and to all of ours Hacks fans out there, please join us again for season five.”

Hacks stars Smart and Hannah Einbinder, and focuses on the relationship between a long-time comedian (Smart) and a younger comedy writer (Einbinder).  The series was created and is showrun by Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky, with executive producers Downs and Aniello via their Paulilu banner, Statsky via First Thought Productions, as well as Michael Schur via Fremulon, David Miner for 3 Arts Entertainment, Morgan Sackett, and Joe Mande.

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Zach Braff officially signs on for ABC reboot of ‘Scrubs’

TVLine reported that Zach Braff has signed on to reprise the role of Dr. John Dorian (aka JD) in the ABC sequel series of ‘Scrubs’. Braff confirmed his return on social media, posting screenshots of several media reports about the news on his Instagram Stories. Reps for the network and studio declined official comment.

Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence announced earlier this year that he had a sequel series in development at ABC. The show initially ran on NBC from 2002-2008, and then on ABC from 2009- 2010, starring Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley, Neil Flynn and Judy Reyes.

Fellow legacy cast members Faison (Turk) and Chalke (Elliot), are also expected to return as series regulars, with reports that talks are underway with supporting players including Reyes (Carla) and McGinley (Dr. Cox), to have recurring roles.

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South Philadelphia mass shooting leaves 3 killed, 10 injured

At least three people were killed and 10 others injured in a shooting early Monday in South Philadelphia’s Grays Ferry neighborhood.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the shooting occurred on the 1500 block of South 27th Street just before 1 a.m, adding that that a group of individuals fired randomly just before 1 a.m. EDT near the intersection of Etting Dickinson streets in South Philadelphia.

According to officials, nine victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and three others were taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. One additional victim walked into the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Pavilion Campus. Bethel said at least eight of the victims were taken by police; and added that among the injured shooting victims, two of them were juveniles and both are expected to survive.

Bethel said he had heard about 40 people may have been in the area when the shooting started, and said during a press conference: “You know, this is coward stuff. This is, you know, you see the size of this block. I mean, just individuals just shooting randomly into houses, into cars, children out here. I mean, this is coward, wanna-be thug stuff .. There was a large crowd out here. Clearly, there was something going on, on the block. You could see that. .. We believe there was probably an exchange of gunfire, but who was exchanging, we will be going through that process now.”

Police believe there may have been a switch, which makes a gun automatic, was involved in the shooting. Nearly 140 pieces of ballistic evidence were found at the scene, according to Commissioner Bethel.  One person with a weapon was taken into custody, their exact involvement is unknown at the time; police are working to apprehend others that may have been involved the incident.

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Pres.Trump announces 25% tariffs on seven countries including Japan, South Korea starting August 1st

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that at least seven countries are set to face steep tariffs on their imports, to begin on Aug. 1st.

In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump shared screenshots of form letters dictating new tariff rates to the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar. Goods imported to the U.S. from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan are now set to face 25% tariffs, while South African goods will be subject to a 30% U.S. tariff, and imports from Laos and Myanmar will face a 40% duty.

Trump had imposed a Wednesday deadline for nations to negotiate better trade deals; on April 2, he announced 10% across-the-board baseline tariffs on 90 trading partners and harsher ones for the worst offenders. However just one week later, he pushed the deadline back until July 9 for the reciprocal duties.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that 14 letters will be sent out Monday, and confirmed that Trump would sign an executive order to delay the Wednesday deadline until Aug. 1.

USA Today reported that in addition to Japan and South Korea, other nations are bracing for higher tariffs, including the 27 countries in the European Union – with as many as 100 letters potentially being sent out to nations.

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