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Washington is entering another period of rapid change as key leadership battles and policy decisions reshape the federal government. Elsewhere, cracks appeared in one of Big Tech's biggest AI bets, while baseball's brightest stars closed the first half with a reminder of why the All-Star Game still matters.

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ICE has been ordered to halt most vehicle stops after a pair of fatal shootings in Maine and Texas, marking a major use-of-force reversal for an agency that has faced a year of allegations over excessive force. The directive was issued through internal enforcement channels and takes effect this week, with limited exceptions for identified fugitive operations.

Congressional oversight committees are pushing for a briefing on the underlying training and dispatch data, and civil-rights groups say the pause needs to become permanent policy rather than a temporary retreat. State attorneys general in Maine, Texas, and Massachusetts are separately building coordinated litigation records that could survive whether the halt sticks.

Todd Blanche returns to the Senate this week for a contentious confirmation hearing as he seeks the attorney general post after previously winning confirmation as deputy AG early in the second term. Democrats have signaled they will focus on his role as Trump's personal defense attorney and the DOJ's shifting priorities under his deputy tenure.

The hearing comes at a moment of unusual friction between the department and both Congress and the judiciary, and Blanche's opening testimony is expected to preview the enforcement priorities he would bring to the top job. A committee vote is scheduled for early next week, with the floor vote already forecast as close.

Dr. Erica Schwartz faces the Senate health committee Wednesday for her confirmation hearing to lead the CDC. If confirmed, she takes over an agency dealing with workforce shortages, leadership churn, and new layers of political review at every publication and grant.

Public-health groups have flagged concerns about the CDC's independence and the pace at which its outbreak-response tempo has slowed this year, and Schwartz's opening remarks are expected to address vaccine-schedule reviews and communications overhaul plans. Senators from both parties have quietly signaled they want a hard commitment to keep field investigators in place.

Data reviewed by researchers suggests Iranian cyber operatives tracked the phones of American service members stationed across the Middle East during the recent war involving the U.S. and Israel. Tehran's cyber capabilities appear to have grown notably more aggressive and sophisticated.

Officials say six people were found dead in a lift shaft after a fire broke out in a central Brussels building. Belgian federal police are investigating structural violations and delayed evacuation as possible contributing factors.

China's economic growth came in well below its target in the latest quarter, in a sharper deceleration than most analysts had modeled. Beijing's response is expected to include selective stimulus and a renewed export push through Southeast Asian trade corridors.

The House passed a Trump-backed bill that would end decades of Americans resetting their clocks twice a year, and the measure now heads to the Senate. Supporters cite public-health, retail, and commuting benefits; sleep-medicine researchers have flagged concerns about permanent DST's mismatch with the body's circadian rhythm.

A bipartisan Wisconsin panel concluded Elon Musk likely violated state law when he handed $1 million checks to voters during the 2025 state Supreme Court race. The finding could trigger further enforcement action from state authorities.

For the first time in more than a decade, no active-duty female Navy officers are on track for promotion to admiral this year, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked additional advancements. Women currently in flag ranks say the pipeline behind them is narrowing fast.

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Stripe and Advent International made a joint bid to acquire PayPal at $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion. A deal would consolidate two of the largest names in digital payments under one roof.

Microsoft is laying off roughly 3,200 workers across its Xbox division, the latest and largest round of cuts to hit the gaming unit since the Activision deal closed. Employees called the scale a shock even by tech industry standards.

IBM warned that second-quarter earnings fell short of expectations, with the CEO blaming weakness in software and infrastructure as clients shifted spending toward hardware. Warning cuts against the AI-services optimism the rest of the sector has been leaning on.

Researchers revealed that Microsoft's Secure Boot has been broken for years, leaving a foundational PC security feature exposed to bypass for much of its existence. The finding raises hard questions about how deeply the vulnerability was exploited in the wild.

Surgeons demonstrated remote control of two humanoid robots performing procedures inside an operating theater, a step forward for telesurgery once limited to single-arm systems. The trial hints at a future where specialist care can be delivered across continents.

Frontier Airlines rolled out SpaceX Starlink Wi-Fi on its aircraft, joining the low-cost carriers that had held out longest against in-flight connectivity. Roll-out completes across the fleet by year-end and reflects the price collapse in aviation-grade satellite service.

Starting pitcher Dylan Cease combined with 10 relievers on a dominant three-hit, 15-strikeout shutout of the National League as the American League won 4-0 in Tuesday's All-Star Game. Cease's opening two innings drew comparisons to the sport's best All-Star pitching outings of the last decade.

Lamine Yamal set up the go-ahead goal and Pedro Porro added another as Spain beat France 2-0 to reach its first men's World Cup final since 2010. Spain now waits on the winner of Wednesday's second semifinal between England and Argentina in Atlanta.

The No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky agreed to a record $10.35 million signing bonus with the Chicago White Sox, the largest ever for an amateur draftee. It continues a very good week for the South Side.

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Toni Collette will star as Miss Marple opposite Kit Harington in an Audible Original adaptation of "The Murder at the Vicarage", releasing globally on August 13. It's the latest high-profile audio drama betting that A-list voices can move listeners the way stars once moved box office.

George Lucas called AI an inevitable force in filmmaking and criticized Hollywood for handing too much power to test audiences and focus groups. The "Star Wars" creator sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4 billion and has largely stayed out of studio politics since.

Christopher Nolan's Odyssey has ignited a frenzy for IMAX 70mm tickets, with several theaters selling out weeks in advance and pushing resale prices well above face value. Rollout is being managed by studio distribution as the largest 70mm release since Oppenheimer.

What it is: The US House passed a bill this week that would end decades of Americans resetting their clocks twice a year. Measure now moves to the Senate, and it locks the country onto permanent daylight saving time rather than permanent standard time.

The detail: More than a dozen states have already passed contingent laws saying they will adopt permanent DST if federal law permits. Retail associations, outdoor recreation groups, and commuter transit systems have historically pushed for the change, citing longer evening daylight, safer evening commutes, and lower peak-hour demand on summer utility grids.

A short history: The US tried permanent DST once before, briefly, in 1974 during the energy crisis, hoping to save on lighting and heating costs. Congress reversed the experiment inside a year after sustained complaints from parents about children walking to school in the winter dark.

Why it matters: The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and most pediatric-health associations argue for the opposite — permanent standard time — because year-round DST creates later winter sunrises. Sleep-cycle research has flagged worse shift-work outcomes and cardiovascular endpoints under sustained late-sunrise regimes, and pediatricians note that adolescent school-start times already run against natural circadian rhythms.

What to watch: Watch the Senate calendar and whether sponsors accept an amendment substituting permanent standard time for the House's DST framing — the same swap that has quietly stalled the bill in past sessions. Watch which state governments move first with their contingent laws, and watch national retail federations and pediatric associations, whose lobbying against each other will shape whichever version ultimately clears the Senate floor.

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—The Five Minute Daily Team