From the U.S.-Iran conflict intensifying, to the Senate reeling after the sudden death of member Lindsey Graham, to smoke-choked skies due to Canadian wildfires, here are topics that made headlines this past week and a quiz to test your knowledge.
President, DHS official press election security
NEW YORK — Two of the three major U.S. television networks — ABC and NBC — and CNN did not broadcast President Donald Trump’s primetime address Thursday on their primary platforms, drawing a rebuke from a president who places unprecedented pressure on American media.
Trump said those networks should have their broadcast licenses revoked. His speech focused on election security four months before the midterm elections.
On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin asked election officials in four states to check voter rolls for people who are not U.S. citizens and said election officials who do not take the steps the agency wants could be “held accountable.”
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Judge: Trump misused lawsuit in IRS case
WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge on Monday found President Donald Trump improperly used a $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the IRS to extract personal benefits from the government he oversees, preventing terms of a settlement from taking legal effect.
The settlement led Trump to drop the suit in exchange for sweeping tax protections and the creation of an almost $1.8 billion fund for victims of so-called government weaponization.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams referred a Trump lawyer, Alejandro Brito, and senior Justice Department officials who signed off on the deal to state bar authorities to determine if they violated ethics rules.
Williams barred parties in the case from referring to the settlement or its terms in future legal proceedings, which could nullify the portion that barred the IRS from audits into past tax claims involving Trump or his businesses.
Demonstrators march Tuesday in Portland, Maine, a day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a driver in the nearby town of Biddeford.
Killings by immigration agents under scrutiny
President Donald Trump directed federal immigration agents to resume traffic stops Wednesday, overruling administration officials who halted them after agents killed two drivers in Texas and Maine within days of each other.
On Monday, Minneapolis officials said the Trump administration turned over to city prosecutors evidence it withheld on agents’ killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti and the wounding of a Venezuelan man in deportation sweeps in January.
In other news
In this screen grab taken from a handout video released Wednesday, smoke rises from an explosion at an unidentified location during what U.S. Central Command said were strikes on Iran.
IRAN: The U.S. military said Saturday two of its personnel were killed in Jordan and another was missing after an Iranian attack, while Iran’s supreme leader said Washington would pay for “seeking to incite war” after a seventh straight night of U.S. strikes.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington regarding his nomination to be attorney general.
NOMINEE: Attorney general nominee Todd Blanche faced tense questioning by a Senate panel Wednesday about the rollout of files on investigations of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and a deal that gave President Donald Trump sweeping tax immunity.
People look out Thursday as smoke from Canadian wildfires clouds a view of the Detroit River, which forms part of the international border between the United States and Canada, in Detroit, Michigan.
FIRES: Heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada enveloped a swath of the U.S. from the Midwest to the Northeast on Thursday, prompting officials to issue warnings about unhealthy air.
SUBPOENAS: The New York Times filed a court motion to block federal grand jury subpoenas to three of its journalists over reporting on President Donald Trump’s Qatari-donated Air Force One plane, a spokesperson said Wednesday, arguing the subpoenas were “brought in bad faith to punish The Times for its coverage.”
An illustration of a new coin featuring U.S. President Donald Trump
COIN: The U.S. Mint will start producing $1 coins with President Donald Trump’s face on the front to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday.
MILITARY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced mandatory annual testosterone screening for troops 30 years or older, prompting Democrats to point to his ban on transgender service members who often depended on hormone therapy.
The water cooler — trending news
From left, Darline Graham Nordone takes part in a ceremonial swearing-in as a U.S. senator Tuesday as her husband, Larry Nordone, looks on in Washington, with President pro tempore of the United States Senate Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
SENATE SEAT: Darline Graham Nordone became the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as she replaced her brother, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, three days after he died suddenly from a heart ailment at age 71. Her temporary appointment, at President Donald Trump’s urging, allows Senate Republicans to maintain their 53-47 majority.
The Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft — carrying NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina — lifts off Tuesday to the International Space Station from the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.
SPACE COLLABORATION: Russia sent two cosmonauts, Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, and American astronaut Anil Menon to the International Space Station on Tuesday from Kazakhstan, resuming crewed flights from a recently repaired launchpad with a rare joint attendance by the heads of NASA and Russia’s space agency.
New Zealand actor Sam Neill speaks Jan. 30, 2007, during a promotional event in Hong Kong, China.
SAM NEILL (1947-2026): New Zealand actor Sam Neill died suddenly Monday at age 78 after recovering from cancer, his family said in a statement on his Instagram page Monday. Neill died in Sydney, with the family paying tribute to a private hospital in the city for its care. The “Jurassic Park” actor announced in April he was cancer-free after undergoing treatment for Stage 3 blood cancer.
DATA CENTERS: On Tuesday, New York became the first U.S. state to halt construction of large new data centers, imposing a one-year moratorium as concerns grow that the facilities driving the artificial intelligence boom raise power costs, strain water supplies and burden communities.
Big number
5,002: Cases of the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis Michigan health officials reported Friday in an unusually large outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,645 cases nationally Tuesday.
Quote of the week
“Sternly staring at inflation until it melts before our withering gaze is not an option.”
— Federal Reserve board member Christopher Waller on Monday, noting the central bank may need to raise interest rates if coming data show inflation continuing well above the 2% target.
