Washington leaders receive raises amid commission-approved salary increases

 

Washington: The Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials approved a two‑year salary schedule in March 2025 and applied cost‑of‑living adjustments of 3% on July 1, 2025 and 2% on Wednesday, producing combined raises that amount to 7% this year for Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and...

Lawmakers miss deadline, finalize contentious Michigan budget

 

Lansing — Michigan lawmakers missed a self-imposed July 1 deadline and continued negotiating a new state budget this week, as Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate leaders worked past the deadline Thursday and into Friday to finalize an approximately $84 billion spending plan and attached policy measures for schools, universities and...

States Expand Veterans Benefits, Tax Relief, Facility Upgrades

 

Stony Brook, New York. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday awarded more than $2 million to New York State to fund infrastructure upgrades at the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University, a 350-bed facility serving veterans, spouses, widows and Gold Star parents. The grant will...

Texas Governor Backs Ban on Rural AI Centers

 

Bullard, Texas. Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday endorsed banning new artificial intelligence data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods during a campaign stop in Bullard, saying developers must bring their own money, power and water, and signaling he will push lawmakers to eliminate the industry's state sales tax exemption. In Austin, Abbott's...

Washington: Trump disclosures show extensive 2026 trading

 

Newly released financial disclosures from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics show that President Donald Trump executed hundreds of additional stock trades in April and May 2026 while in office. The July 1, 2026 filings, analyzed by political-finance platform Quiver Quantitative, indicate millions of dollars in transactions involving major technology,...

Washington deadlock over voter ID stalls defense bill

 

The U.S. House of Representatives halted all legislative business and began an early recess on June 30, 2026, after conservative hardliners blocked progress on the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The rebellion centers on demands to advance the SAVE America Act, a strict voter identification and election...

Trump dedicates Roosevelt library, debuts refurbished Air Force One

 

MEDORA, North Dakota. President Donald Trump traveled to Medora on Wednesday to dedicate the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, ride the Freedom250 train, and board a refurbished Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that the administration described as a replacement presidential aircraft. Event organizers said Trump signed at the library and was...

Washington unveils 'War Force' AI recruitment drive

 

Washington, United States – The Pentagon and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday, July 1, 2026, announced a new recruiting initiative called “War Force” to attract top artificial intelligence and software engineering specialists into the U.S. military. The program marks a significant shift in recruitment strategy, emphasizing high‑tech...

Washington: World Bank drops flagship climate lending target

 

The World Bank Group has decided to retire its flagship climate finance target that required 45% of its annual lending to support projects with climate change co-benefits. The decision, announced on June 29, 2026, follows months of pressure from the Trump administration, which has sought to scale back climate-related mandates...

Washington CIA chief warns AI transforming global conflict

 

Speaking at a technology conference hosted by Amazon Web Services in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned that advances in artificial intelligence and quantum computing are reshaping global security, likening them to "digital nuclear weapons" that are altering the nature of conflict. Ratcliffe said...