“USA!” chants from the crowd at the America250 kick-off celebration event in Des Moines, Iowa

TRUMP: “There could be no better birthday present for America” than the One Big Beautiful Bill… With this bill, every major promise I made to the people of Iowa in 2024 became a promise kept.”

Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill through the House on Thursday, the final step necessary to get the bill to his desk by the GOP’s self-imposed deadline of July 4th. At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. Democrats united against the legislation, but were powerless to stop it as long as Republicans stayed united. The Senate passed the bill, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote. The House passed an earlier iteration of the bill in May with just one vote to spare. It passed the final version 218-214. Here’s the latest on what’s in the bill.

American-Israeli Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. hostage freed from Hamas captivity in May, met with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House on Thursday. Alexander, 21, who was abducted from the Kissufim military base on October 7, 2023, during Hamas’ attack on Israel, thanked Trump for his efforts in securing his release, which he described as life-saving. “I came to thank the person who is responsible for saving my life,” Alexander told reporters after the meeting. During their 30-minute conversation, Alexander shared details of his captivity and expressed concern for the roughly 50 hostages still held in Gaza.

The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the deportation of several immigrants who were put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, a war-ravaged country where they have no ties. The decision comes after the court’s conservative majority found that immigration officials can quickly deport people to third countries. The majority halted an order that had allowed immigrants to challenge any removals to countries outside their homeland where they could be in danger. The court’s latest decision makes clear that the South Sudan flight can complete the trip, weeks after it was detoured to a naval base in Djibouti. There, the migrants who had previously been convicted of serious crimes were held in a converted shipping container.

President Donald Trump complained Thursday that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration, his first public comments on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its latest offensive. Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Iowa, Trump said former President Joe Biden “emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.” Air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons are among those being withheld from Ukraine. The country suffered a new barrage overnight, with warnings of ballistic missiles followed by explosions in Kyiv. The sound of machine gun fire and drone engines could be heard across the capital.

In a high-level consultation held Thursday morning, Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni met with Rashbi Rosh Yeshivah Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman at the latter’s home on Rechov Admor MiGur in Bnei Brak. The two discussed pressing national issues, including the war in Gaza, efforts to secure the release of hostages, and the crisis surrounding the draft law.

President Trump on the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill: “The biggest bill of its kind ever signed — and it’s going to make this country into a rocket ship. It’s going to be really great.”

Trump on his call with Putin: “We also talked about the war with Ukraine, and I’m not happy about that … I didn’t make any progress with him today at all.”