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July 19 (UPI) — A majority of delegates have committed to voting for Troy Jackson to give him the Democratic nomination, replacing the beleaguered Graham Platner in Maine’s U.S. Senate race.

While Jackson’s nomination isn’t official — the Democratic Party is set to hold its U.S. Senate nominating convention Saturday — his name dominated county-level meetings this weekend, Politico reported. The swing in his favor led Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to drop out of the race Sunday.

The Washington Post reported that 600 delegates will vote on the nominee at Saturday’s convention in Bangor.

Maine Democrats have been scrambling to find a replacement for Platner after he dropped out of the race earlier this month under pressure from those who previously endorsed him. A former partner of his accused him of sexually assaulting her while he was drunk, an allegation he has denied.

Whoever gets the Democratic nomination will face incumbent Sen. Susan Collins. The Republican has won election to the U.S. Senate five times prior, and if a Democrat unseats her, it could put control of the upper chamber within Democrats’ reach.

Jackson, 58, ran earlier this year for the gubernatorial nomination, but lost out to Hannah Pingree. She will face Republican Bobby Charles and Independent Richard Bennett in the general election.

Jackson adjusted his gubernatorial campaign for the Senate race, facing Bellows and Nirav Shah, who also lost out in the gubernatorial primary.

In a video statement to supporters on Facebook, Jackson said he was surprised at his success in the Senate race.

“I’ve been getting text messages all day about, you know, what a great job I did, and I didn’t do a [expletive] thing,” he said. “All of you just smoked it.”

July 18 (UPI) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mandani on Saturday said his government is reviewing whether it could legally arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over accusations of war crimes.

Netanyahu is expected to visit the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September.

In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the prime minister’s arrest over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, including starvation and attacking a civilian population.

“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told The New York Times. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court, and what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these past many years.”

Mandani said his legal team is reviewing the city’s options.

“We’re not talking about a personal assessment of Benjamin Netanyahu,” the mayor told The Times. “We’re talking about the International Criminal Court and the fact that they have a warrant out for this prime minister’s arrest, and I think it’s important to talk about the weight that that has as a charge and that also, as the mayor of New York City, I’ll be following the laws of New York City.”

Netanyahu has denied the ICC charges and disputes the court’s jurisdiction.

In a previous interview, the prime minister claimed without evidence that Mandani is a Hamas supporter.

“He is with the terror actors,” he told WABC. “I think, secretly, he hates America.”

Michael Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., called Mandani’s comments “pure political theater.”

“The U.S. is not party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC,” he wrote on X, adding, “The U.N. Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government.”

July 18 (UPI) — Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Miami Saturday on dozens of new charges stemming from alleged sex crimes in the U.K., including child pornography, British prosecutors said.

Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said the brothers are awaiting extradition to the U.K. to face 21 original charges — as well as a slew of new accusations.

“We have decided to prosecute Andrew and Tristan Tate for further offences including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and offences relating to indecent images of a child,” said Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Special Crime Division at CPS, in a statement.

Andrew Tate, 39, was charged with 19 counts related to indecent images of a child and extreme pornography. He is also accused of rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Tristan Tate, 38, was charged with sexual assault, rape and arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation.

“These charging decisions followed receipt of a further file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police and bring the total number of alleged victims in this case to seven,” McHaffie said.

CPS said the new charges stem from offenses taking place between July 2010 and August 2017.

The Tate brothers, who hold dual British-American citizenship, were first charged in the U.K. last year for alleged rape and human trafficking.

They are former kickboxers with millions of followers on social media.

The brothers have denied all charges against them.

July 18 (UPI) — The United States and Iran ramped up attacks on Saturday, while Israel and Lebanon did the same, as the Strait of Hormuz is still shut down.

The U.S. Central Command said in a statement on X that it targeted “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities. U.S. forces employed fighter aircraft, aerial drones, and warships in addition to other assets.

“CENTCOM continues to hold Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction while fully enforcing a naval blockade against Iranian ports,” it said.

Iran and the United States are enforcing blockades in the strait: Iran is preventing ships from passing, and the United States is blocking Iranian ships and ports. The strait is a vital waterway for oil and gas transport.

Iran’s state media reported Saturday that the country has suffered damage to bridges and roads in the southern part of Iran and that a water desalination plant in Jask was hit. A local official said that about 10,000 people are facing a water shortage.

Iran retaliated by hitting American allies. It heavily attacked Kuwait, including damaging a water desalination plant, vital to the desert country. Kuwait gets 90% of its drinking water from desalination. The attacks created a fire at the plant. An oil facility in Kuwait was struck, which created some injuries and “severe material losses,” Kuwait’s petroleum corporation said.

“The repeated targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic hostile approach targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and safety of civilians,” the foreign ministry said.

Jordan’s army said Saturday that it had shot down 10 Iranian missiles with no casualties or damage.

“Air defense systems … intercepted 10 Iranian missiles that had entered Jordanian airspace and were targeting the Kingdom’s territory (which) were intercepted and shot down,” the army said in a statement.

Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, said, “[The] U.S. interpreted [memorandum of understanding] contrary to its terms and gained control over parts of Strait Hormuz to obtain what it couldn’t in the battlefield,” Moghadam posted on X. “It was obvious that the Iranian side would not accept this arbitrary interpretation which blatantly violated the MOU.”

“Now, the U.S. has started a war contrary to the terms of MOU and international principles destroying the infrastructures,” he said. “The international community is expected to strongly condemn this aggressive and reckless act.”

Meanwhile, Israel has ramped up its attacks on Lebanon.

An Israeli drone hit Nabatieh, Lebanon’s state National News Agency reported. Israeli war planes also hit a neighborhood in Mansouri in the coastal Tyre district just after two more planes carried out airstrikes in a different part of Mansouri, the news agency said.

An Israeli military spokesperson said the military had attacked militants “who posed a threat” in Nabatieh but that the Israeli military was “not aware” of any Israeli attacks in Mansouri on Saturday.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Saturday for Washington, D.C., to meet with President Donald Trump. He is expected to meet with U.S. officials and discuss the cease-fire with Israel and ways to boost security and stability with Israel. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.

July 17 (UPI) — Taylor Farms announced Friday it is removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market, after federal officials said they traced the cyclosporiasis outbreak that’s caused illness in thousands of people to lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants in five states.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said their investigators found the shredded iceberg lettuce came from Taylor Farms, a supplier that also sells salad kits in grocery stores.

In a statement, the company said it is voluntarily removing all of its Mexico-sourced iceberg lettuce, adding the outbreak is not associated with any of its salad kits.

“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm that represents less than 1% of the U.S.’s iceberg lettuce supply as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely,” the company statement said.

The CDC’s website says not to eat “shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.”

More than 1,600 people have been confirmed ill with the bug.

The agencies did not name a supplier, but two people familiar with the inquiry told The Washington Post that investigators have identified Taylor Farms as the supplier.

“The investigation remains active, and additional states, restaurants, retailers or products may be identified as more information becomes available,” said Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Department.

“The signal we have gotten is that there is a very high percentage of people who got sick at Taco Bell, and when investigators asked what their menu items were in common, lettuce came up frequently,” one person familiar with the investigation said.

“Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell has taken immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states,” Taco Bell Corp. said in a statement. “The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.”

Taylor Farms is a leading global producer of salads and healthy fresh foods, with production facilities across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Western Europe. The company has been linked to several outbreaks.

In November 2024, onions from Taylor Farms were tainted with E.Coli and sold at McDonald’s stores via Quarter Pounders burgers. About 100 people in 14 states were sickened. In December 2015, 19 people in 18 states were sickened with E. Coli after eating tainted celery supplied by the company to grocery stores. In August 2013, salad kits from Taylor Farms grown in Mexico were recalled after more than 360 people in Texas, Iowa and Nebraska became ill with cyclosporiasis. In February 2013, Taylor Farms recalled organic baby spinach products sold in 39 states for potential E. coli contamination, though there were no reports of illness.

July 17 (UPI) — The husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was charged Friday for allegedly striking a parked vehicle and fleeing the scene in Napa County, Calif., early July.

Paul Pelosi, 86, was charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run and making an unlawful turn, Napa County officials said.

Officials said Pelosi struck an unoccupied, parked Tesla in Yountville on July 3, causing “significant damage.”

“Pelosi admitted to hitting something, but said he did not know what he had hit, so he kept driving,” a statement from the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. “He drove until his car became disabled and was no longer able to continue driving.”

Pelosi was not suspected of driving under the influence.

“Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle and assured them that he would take responsibility for the damage to their vehicle,” a Pelosi family spokesperson told NBC News. “Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”

In 2022, Pelosi pleaded guilty to a DUI charge and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years probation.

In the past decade, he has had at least eight driving violations in California, including speeding, running a red light and driving the wrong way down a one-way street, the New York Times reported.

July 17 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday told FIFA officials they should pick the United States to host another World Cup, so long as they don’t include Canada or Mexico.

“You should choose the United States of America again,” Trump said during a FIFA World Cup reception at Trump Tower in New York, Politico reported. “This time we will leave Canada and Mexico out.”

The next World Cup, in 2030, will be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, followed by Saudi Arabia in 2034.

FIFA has not yet selected a host for the 2038 tournament.

Trump added FIFA should “pick somebody else for the next one and that will take some of the anger, hatred and steam out of everyone,” Politico reported.

Trump has close ties to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The president earlier this month said he spoke with Infantino to ask for a reversal of a red card suspension to U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun.

After Trump’s call, FIFA followed suit and allowed Balogun to play in the following match against Belgium.

“You made another great decision,” Trump told Infantino of the reversal on Friday. “You’ll never get credit for that.”

It made no difference: the U.S. soccer team was eliminated in a 4-1 loss to Belgium.

The World Cup comes to a close on Sunday. Trump said he would be present for the final match between Spain and Argentina.

July 17 (UPI) — One of the leading democratic contenders for Wisconsin governor on Friday quit the race due to troubling financial issues with her campaign.

Sara Rodriguez, the state’s lieutenant governor, on Monday had admitted her campaign was short hundreds of thousands of dollars because her campaign manager had double-counted donations.

“As we have continued to dig into our financial reports, it has become clear that there are issues that would be an ongoing distraction — not just for this campaign, but for the primary and for Wisconsin,” Rodriguez said in a statement Friday on X. “This race is too important to let that happen.”

Rodriguez, who was leading the race in recent polling, added, “I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened.”

Her departure leaves state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes as the frontrunners in the race.

The democratic nominee will likely face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, in the general election.

“Thank you to everyone who believed and showed up for this campaign,” Rodriguez wrote on X. “Let’s keep fighting — together — to protect the Wisconsin we love.”

July 17 (UPI) — The Department of Homeland Security on Friday ramped up the Trump administration’s efforts to address what the president claims are lapses in election security, threatening state officials with prison time if they don’t comply with federal demands.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in Washington he would apply “maximum pressure” against states that refuse to work with his department.

The Trump administration has focused on noncitizens allegedly casting ballots, which experts say is extremely rare, and the possibility that voting machines can be hacked — although they are, by design, never connected to the internet.

“If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections, and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time,” Mullin told reporters.

Mullin’s remarks come a day after President Donald Trump, in a primetime address, enumerated a series of debunked claims that the U.S. elections are rigged or have been influenced by foreign governments.

“Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost,” Trump said Thursday. “This cannot be allowed to continue.”

Mullin said DHS has found more than 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states — California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania — and sent letters to their respective secretaries of state seeking answers.

“Before and after the election, we will scrub all election records looking for illegal aliens and those who are ineligible to vote, including those that somehow voted yet they were deceased,” Mullin said. “If you’re illegal and attempted to vote, or you tried to vote illegally for someone else, we will find you and we will charge you.”

In its letters, DHS did not accuse any of the noncitizens of having actually voted.

“We will pursue maximum pressure on this,” Mullin told reporters. “To let you know, we will be proactively looking at early voting, and then after post-election, we will continue to scrub all those that did vote.”

Al Schmidt, the Republican secretary of state in Pennsylvania, said, “All evidence has shown that noncitizen voting is extremely rare across the country,” including in his state.

“In Pennsylvania, every voter must take steps to verify their identity before they cast a ballot, including providing proper identification every time they register to vote, vote by mail, or vote at a new polling place,” Schmidt told The Hill.

In Nevada, Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said the administration’s efforts are intended to undermine elections.

“The administration lacks a fundamental understanding of how elections work,” Aguilar said in a statement. “They just want to cause chaos and doubt ahead of the midterms.”

July 16 (UPI) — Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into northeastern quarter of the United States on Thursday after similarly darkening skies across and prompting health warnings across much of the Great Lakes region.

Dangerous levels of smoke were noted across Canada and the northeastern and midwestern United States, sparking memories of the historically severe wildfire smoke outbreak in 2023.

Entire states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin were under air quality alerts.

By early Thursday, Minneapolis, Duluth, Minn., and Detroit were among the most heavily impacted areas of the country.

Very heavy smoke from large wildfires in northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario spread over Minnesota from late Wednesday into Thursday morning, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reported.

Hourly observations of smoke concentrations broke records for the Twin Cities on both days, the agency said.

In Detroit, businesses and attractions closed due to poor air quality.

A planned concert by rocker John Mellencamp at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Mich., was canceled while some workers inside Ford Motor‘s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., were hospitalized amid the smoky haze and intense heat, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Michigan’s statewide air quality alert was extended through Friday before cooler weather was expected to move the smoky pall out of the Great Lakes region.

In Chicago, the city closed all of its public beaches and outdoor pools, while Milwaukee recorded the worst air quality in its history — a record-breaking Air Quality Index measured at over 600, according to the Milwaukee Journal.

Further east, smoke from the Canadian wildfires enveloped New York City, prompting Mayor Zohran Mamdani to urge residents to “take precautions to stay cool and out of harm’s way” while dealing with both the smoke and high temperatures.

“In our city, we pride ourselves on being resilient,” the mayor told reporters early Thursday. “Today is not a day to say, ‘In spite of the air quality, I’m going to do everything I was going to do yesterday.’ This is very serious. We are reaching into a level of air quality that is dangerous for every single New Yorker.”

July 16 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Thursday made sweeping, largely unsupported claims of widespread problems with U.S. elections, many of which have been debunked or overstated, as he called on Congress to pass legislation he says would protect the electoral system but critics describe as voter suppression.

During his roughly 25-minute prime-time speech to the nation, Trump attempted to make his case for measures needed to address the alleged vulnerabilities, stating, “Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people was lost.”

“This cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.

The speech was delivered only months before November’s midterm elections, on which Trump has increasing focused, having repeatedly warned that if Republicans lose their slim majority in the House to Democrats, impeachment proceedings and investigations will follow.

Democrats and other critics have accused the president of attempting to sow confusion and distrust ahead of the midterms while pushing the election SAVE American Act, which would require photo identification to vote, documentary proof of citizenship to register and restrict mail voting to certain eligible groups. Opponents say those requirements would disproportionately burden Black and other minority voters and prevent some otherwise eligible citizens from voting.

This is a developing story.

July 16 (UPI) — U.S. Army medics in Europe said Thursday they are testing a new handheld diagnostic tool that can identify traumatic brain injuries in as little as 15 minutes.

Military officials predicted the new i-STAT Alinity device, made by Abbott Laboratories, can revolutionize the way medics can detect and treat such injuries quickly in the battlefield environment.

Rather than traditional methods of assessing brain injury or concussion by making subjective judgements based on questioning patients, the new device can yield objective information by measuring unique biomarkers that are present in the blood of the injured.

Lt. Col. Bradley Dengler, the neurosurgery consultant to the Army Surgeon General and director of the Military Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative at the Uniformed Services University, said the development of the i-STAT Alinity is a game-changer.

“This is probably the single most important advancement in traumatic brain injury care in the last 15 to 20 years,” he said in an Army release. “Historically, we’ve missed a lot of these injuries.”

Abbott Labs received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to use the device with whole blood two years ago. The company says it allows doctors to help assess patients with suspected concussion at the bedside and obtain “lab-quality” results in 15 minutes.

Prior to that, the tests were only cleared for use with plasma or serum, requiring samples to be sent to a lab for processing and testing.

With that approval, the Army is now integrating the devices into air defense forward units under 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. These units were judged to be among the most likely to benefit from the devices because they often operate in far-flung locations, hours away from advanced medical facilities and sophisticated brain scanners.

The i-Stat device measures two biomarkers from the brain that may be released into the bloodstream indicating a possible brain injury — ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1, or UCH-L1, and glial fibrillary acidic protein, or GFAP.

Dengler said the tests are extremely valuable because if the blood biomarkers are not elevated, there is a 99% chance that there is no bleeding in the brain.

That’s deemed a major improvement over the widely used Military Acute Concussion Evaluation, a 15-minute standardized cognitive assessment involving memory lists and concentration exercises.

July 16 (UPI) — SpaceX on Thursday scrubbed the planned 13th test light of its massive Starship megarocket just seconds before it was set to lift off from the company’s Texas Starbase.

The launch was abruptly canceled just before the “Super Heavy” booster was about to ignite its multiple engines.

“Standing down from today’s flight test attempt,” launch commanders posted on X, without immediately offering a further explanation.

It remained unclear when another launch would be scheduled.

In the build-up to the planned launch, the company says it is aiming to fine-tune the performance of third version of the most powerful rocket ever built with Thursday’s mission — specifically the Super Heavy booster.

During the 12th test flight May 22 it encountered several hiccups, including slight differences in engine startup at separation stage causing the directional flip of the booster to be off by approximately 90 degrees.

The booster was supposed to perform a sustained burn to a controlled landing in the gulf, but the engine failure meant it fell back to Earth instead in a “hard splashdown,” SpaceX said in its launch report.

The Federal Aviation Administration said there were no reports of public injury or damage to public property from the mishap.

In response, SpaceX said in a blog post that “the startup sequence has been modified to be more robust to timing variability and more reliably flip in the desired direction, which is done to increase overall performance.”

Also during Flight 12, the Super Heavy booster encountered problems when attempting its boostback burn in which five of its 33 engines malfunctioned when attempting to re-light. This caused the boostback burn to end early.

“The Super Heavy on this upcoming flight has hardware modifications to improve re-light reliability along with updates to engine alarms and aborts to match the conditions seen in the multi-engine flight environment,” Space X said.

The Starship system has two parts: the Super Heavy booster and the spacecraft itself, also called Starship, or sometimes just “Ship.”

Flight 12 was the first launch of the third version of the system, which is the first capable of deep-space flight. Plans call for Starship to carry Artemis 4 astronauts to the surface of the moon in a mission set for late 2028.

In another notable element of Thursday’s Flight 13, Starship for the first time will carry V3 Starlink satellites to space as the company aims to “greatly expand” its communications network’s capacity and user speeds.

As part of this initial test, Starship is set to deploy 20 satellites which will extend solar arrays and antennas in a bid to connect with the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers as they will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship.

Those satellites are designed to burn up on reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere approximately 20 minutes after deployment.

July 16 (UPI) — U.S. retail spending was weaker than expected while tourists from around the world came to the country for the World Cup.

Retail sales rose 0.2% in June from a revised 1% in May, and up 6.7% from June 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. Expectations from the data firm FactSet were at 0.3%.

The World Cup and Amazon‘s Prime Day helped boost spending, but lower gas prices slowed the rise. Excluding gas sales, June spending rose 0.7% after 0.9% in May.

A measure of retail spending that removes sales of building materials and gasoline rose 0.5% in June, which is down from 0.8% in May, but slightly higher than the expected 0.4% increase, CNN reported. It shows consumer demand continued steadily in June.

Strong economic growth along with rising inflation means that the Federal Reserve is less likely to lower interest rates. For the Fed to cut rates, inflation would need to slow to toward the 2% annual target or signs of a slowing economy, CNN said.

“Despite challenges, consumers are still spending and the labor market shows no signs of cracking,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, wrote Thursday.

“This type of data won’t move the Fed’s needle either way, but it underscores the ongoing resilience of the U.S. economy.”

Another economist said the second half of the year’s economy could slow even more.

“A renewed slowdown in spending, however, beckons over the second half of this year,” Oliver Allen, senior economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in an analyst note Thursday.

“The lift to cashflow from tax refunds now has faded, leaving consumers far more exposed to the real income shock from the jump in gas prices.”

July 16 (UPI) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced that all service members aged 30 and older will undergo mandatory screening for testosterone deficiency during their annual health assessments, as the Trump administration continues to emphasize traditional masculine ideals in its public presentation of the U.S. military.

The former Fox News host announced the new policy in an online video statement, saying the new testosterone-screening program is to ensure all U.S. soldiers “have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.”

“We owe our warriors the absolute best medical care in the world, and this program delivers on that obligation,” he said.

According to a Department of Defense statement, while mandatory for all active-duty and reserve personnel over the age of 30, younger service members may also request screening during their periodic health assessments.

Hegseth said if treatment for a deficiency is recommended, it is up to the service member to decide whether to undergo testosterone replacement therapy.

“This initiative — it’s not about artificial enhancement. It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight,” he said.

Testosterone is produced in the testicles and helps maintain men’s bone density, fat distribution and muscle strength and mass, among other functions, according to the Mayo Clinic, which said that after the age of 30 or 40, men’s testosterone levels decline at a rate of about 1% a year.

Testosterone replacement therapy seeks to alleviate issues caused by low levels of the hormone, though the Mayo Clinic states that its unclear if such treatment would benefit older men who are otherwise healthy.

The announcement comes as testosterone and testosterone-replacement therapy has been a focus of the Trump administration.

Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it had requested to remove labeling from testosterone-replacement therapy that stated the safety and effectives of the treatment in men with age-related have not been established.

It also comes as Hegseth has sought to cultivate a more traditionally masculine image and culture within the U.S. military, implementing President Donald Trump‘s ban on transgender services members and imposing male physical standards for combat positions, a move critics say could reduce the number of women serving in those roles.

He has also sought to instill a “warrior ethos” in the military and routinely refers to service members as warriors. The Trump administration also refers to the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” though a permanent change to the department’s name requires congressional approval.

Some Democrats were quick to point out that testosterone-replacement therapy is a form of gender-affirming care, which the Trump administration and Republicans have sought to restrict and ban.

“This, by the way, is gender-affirming care,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said during a congressional hearing held shortly after Hegseth’s announcement.

“And, by the way, male members of this committee, watch what you vote for. Do you really want the government getting into your business, taking your testosterone levels and determine whether or not you have enough testosterone? Are you male enough to be in Congress?” she said, mocking the policy.

July 15 (UPI) — The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to defeat an amendment cutting military aid to Israel by billions of dollars, although more than 100 Democrats voted for the measure.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., proposed the amendment, which was attached to a spending bill. It would have cut $3.3 billion in aid, much of which would have gone to Israel’s military. The amendment failed by a 104-314 vote, with Massie and 103 Democrats voting for it. Ten Democrats voted only “present,” with 98 voting against it.

Even defeated, the measure’s support was a rebuke to the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its attacks on Gaza. The government faces accusations of genocide against the Palestinian people.

However, some Democrats said the measure was designed to spread division among their party and called it “deeply flawed” even if they voted for it.

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., House minority whip, voted for the measure, while also saying that it was “not an attempt to have a serious and necessary debate” about military aid to Israel but “more stunts from congressional Republicans who would rather score cheap political points than lead.”

Still, Clark said, “It is clear that the status quo is not tenable.We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with U.S. law, interests and values. The Netanyahu government has failed to meet that standard.”

Clark is the second-highest ranking House Democrat. The top Democrat in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep.Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., both voted against the measure. Jeffries said he would not try to get other Democrats to oppose the bill but encouraged them to vote their conscience.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, encouraged support for the measure before the vote, saying voters are looking for leaders who will question blind U.S. support for Israel.

“Think about this for just a moment,” Casar said after the vote. “Starting today, a majority of Democrats in this building refused to vote to send billions of dollars in weapons to the Israeli military. That sends a strong message to Netanyahu that the days are over of an unaccountable blank check to his wars and his war crimes, at least from the Democratic Party.”

July 15 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that Iran has freed a U.S. citizen detained in the country since 2024 as a “gesture of goodwill.”

In a social media post, Trump said Iran wrongfully detained the woman in December 2024.

“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump wrote. He did not identify the woman but said the United States appreciated the gesture.

Lawyer Jared Genser said in a social media post that the woman is Dena Karari, a client of his trapped in Iran on “bogus charges.” Genser said Karari is safe and traveling back to the United States. He said her freedom wouldn’t have happened without “extraordinary and relentless efforts” by Trump.

Genser said in a further statement that Karari is a U.S.-Iranian citizen who ran a nonprofit called the Children of Mehr Foundation, ABC News reported. The foundation’s Instagram page says that it works to empower children “through education, creativity and opportunity.”

Genser said she visiting her family when she was detained and interrogated by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, suffering “enormous physical and psychological hardship.”

On Wednesday night, the United States military struck Iranian targets for the fifth straight day, with Iran hitting several U.S. military targets Tuesday in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

July 15 (UPI) — A search for three people missing in San Francisco Bay after their cabin cruiser sank a day earlier will end when the sun sets on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Eleven boats and four aircraft have been searching hundreds of miles of water for those reported missing after a cabin cruiser capsized off the coast of Alcatraz on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials initially said 19 people were aboard the 49-foot, three-level Volare cabin cruiser and that 17 people had been rescued from the water, leaving two people unaccounted for. One person rescued was later pronounced dead. A dog on board also died. But officials have since said 20 people were on the craft and that three were missing.

Capt. Jarod Toczko, sector commander of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, announced the deadline for the search during a 2 p.m. press conference, explaining that none of the missing had been found, despite a search of more than 950 square nautical miles and more than 1,700 miles of track line.

“We have completely saturated the search area,” he said.

“As I look at the extensive search effort we have put forth to this point, I look at the probability of success of locating a survivor within the search area given everything we’ve put forth and all the environmental conditions, my intention is to suspend active search operations at sunset this evening.”

He said the families have been notified and crews will continue to search until the sun sets.

Dean Crispen, chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, said that three survivors who were transported to the hospital have been released and were “doing okay.”

The person who died was identified Wednesday by the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as 79-year-old Clifford Joseph Boisa of Sutter County.

Authorities were notified at 3:37 p.m. PDT about a boat in distress in the San Francisco Bay. Witnesses had incorrectly identified steam emanating from the boat as smoke, leading initial reports to indicate a fire was on board. Civilians boaters were first to arrive on the scene and are being hailed for saving lives.

The cause of the capsizing is under investigation, but Toczko told reporters that survivors and those who responded to the scene said that the boat was hit by a wave that caused it to list heavily, lose its stability and roll over.

Some occupants were thrown into the water, Toczko said, adding that there is a “high possibility” that others had been trapped inside the vessel.

Crispen had said during a Tuesday press conference that all aboard the vessel were adults, mostly family members and close friends who were participating in “some kind of memorial service.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said that while he laments the tragedy, he is “incredibly proud of the all hands-on-deck effort.”

“From Marin to Oakland to San Francisco to the good Samaritans, it was truly all hands-on-deck effort to save 16 people,” he said. “And my heart goes out to the families of the victims.”

July 15 (UPI) — The United States struck Iranian targets again Wednesday evening, marking the fifth straight day of strikes and the second wave that day, as President Donald Trump said Iran’s leaders “better behave.”

U.S. Central Command said in a social media post that the later strikes “are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.”

“The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” the post said.

The U.S. attacks followed early strikes on Greater Tunb Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a key site for Iran’s coastal defenses and missile storage, CNN reported. The United States military also said it fired on a ship that tried to violate its blockade of Iran’s ports and “redirected” two other commercial vessels.

Iranian media reported explosions in several areas, including Bandar Abbas and the city of Ahvaz. The state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said Shahid Baghaei Hospital, which is in Ahvaz and treats children with cancer, evacuated families after a U.S. projectile landed nearby, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, Iran said it struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Iranian negotiator Bagher Ghalibaf told state media that Iran’s leaders had “no reason” to abide by any deal with the United States if the country did not benefit from it, but he left the door open for possible diplomacy. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, however, said Iran has no plans for negotiations.

Trump said Wednesday that Iran’s leaders “better behave” as he spoke with reporters, one day after he threatened that the United States would strike bridges and power plants if Iran would not negotiate again.

“They want to settle so badly,” Trump said later Wednesday at a defense summit. “They don’t like what we’re doing. We’ll find out whether we want to settle with them or if we just finish it off.”

July 15 (UPI) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis, the parasite-based illness, in at least four states.

The four states are Michigan, which has seen the highest rate of illness; Ohio; Kentucky; and West Virginia. But cases have been identified in 34 states, the CDC said.

The CDC had said that there was “no evidence of a single, multistate” outbreak, The Hill reported, but on Tuesday said that the hundreds of cases in the region appeared to link to a common source. The source hasn’t been confirmed, said Dr. Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s Foodbourne, Waterbourne and Environmental Diseases division. Biggerstaff hosted a call with reporters on Tuesday.

Michigan health officials have reported more than 3,700 cases of the illness and believe lettuce or salad greens could be the culprit. Dr. Donald Prater, FDA acting deputy commissioner for food, said the agency is continuing to investigate “multiple produce items, including lettuce.”

As of Wednesday, the CDC has gotten reports of at least 1,645 lab-confirmed cases of domestically acquired cyclospora since May 1, which is the start of the typical cyclosporiasis season. Biggerstaff said the agency is aware of more than 5,100 additional reports that require further analysis.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite called cyclospora. It’s spread when people consume food or water contaminated with the parasite, typically fresh produce that has not been adequately washed or cooked, Biggerstaff said.

Symptoms include watery diarrhea — sometimes frequent — along with cramping, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue and low-grade fever. Symptoms generally begin about one to two weeks after exposure, she said.

“I want to underscore an important point: This illness does not spread directly from person to person. The source of this outbreak is what we eat or drink — not casual contact with someone who’s sick,” Biggerstaff said on the call.

Biggerstaff emphasized that “the true number of infections is almost certainly higher than what’s reflected in these numbers, because many people with mild illness recover without seeking medical care and are never tested.”

Cyclospora can only be diagnosed by stool sample, the CDC said. The agency urged medical professionals to “specifically request cyclospora laboratory testing on stool specimens” to be sure of the diagnosis.

In the past, cyclosporiasis was associated with travel abroad, but in the past few years has been tied to domestic and imported produce.

The CDC said the reason cyclosporiasis investigations take longer is because people show symptoms up to two weeks after exposure to the parasite. Also, there is no whole genome sequencing of the parasite, which makes it more difficult to match the food product to the people made sick by it.

Instead, labs use genotyping, which is not as fast or precise, Biggerstaff said. In some cases, the source may never be identified.

July 15 (UPI) — The U.S Mint will begin producing $1 gold-colored coins featuring President Donald Trump‘s face, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant announced Wednesday.

The coins are meant to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. They will have Trump’s face and “In God We Trust” on one side, with “Liberty” and “1776-2026” on the border. The reverse side features the presidential seal with “250” on a shield.

Bessent said on social media that the coin honors “the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism.”

“Featuring President Trump, it celebrates the strength of American values, and the promise of a nation dedicated to preserving freedom for all,” he said.

Federal laws generally prevent the image of a living president from appearing on currency. U.S. code says that “[o]nly the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities.”

In addition, a 1866 law prohibits living people on paper currency, Politico reported. The 2007 Presidential Coin program included the rule that no living president or those who’d died in the past two years could be featured.

U.S. Congress passed a law in 2020 that gave the Treasury Department the power to mint 2026 coins with designs “emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial.” That law says that no person living or dead can be on the reverse side of thecoin.

Bessant has said the design is legal, The Washington Post reported. Megan Sullivan, acting chief of the U.S. Mint office of design management, said in January that “the legal research has been done both at the Mint and up into Treasury, and they have determined that [the proposed coin design] does not violate any laws.”

This is not the first design for the coin. An earlier proposal showed Trump standing with a clenched fist in front of an American flag with the words, “Fight Fight Fight” above him.

The Treasury said there is no actual gold in the coin, which will be available for purchase in the fall.

This is not Trump’s first attempt to have his image on currency. There have been proposals for a $250 bill and 24-karat gold coins featuring the president, and his signature has been added to $100 bills.

July 15 (UPI) — Federal authorities have charged a 48-year-old man with the murder of U.S. Deputy Marshal Drew Hanson, who was killed Monday while serving an arrest warrant in central Louisiana.

Clarence Frazier Jr. is accused of fatally shooting Hanson on Monday at his Alexandria, La., residence, where authorities were attempting to arrest him on a warrant for failing to appear in state court on charges of sexual battery of a person with infirmities.

Officers forced entry into the residence and found that Frazier had barricaded himself in the bedroom, from where he allegedly opened fire, striking Hanson, who died from his injuries at about 4:45 p.m. CDT.

A standoff ensued, ending when he was taken into police custody.

“Our office joins all of our Western District community and the Department of Justice in mourning and honoring the deputy marshal — a man who was a father, a husband, a son and a child of God — as someone who paid the ultimate price in service of our community’s safety,” U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller for the Western District of Louisiana said Tuesday in a statement announcing the criminal complaint.

If convicted, Frazier faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Hanson was 36 years old, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which said he joined the force in 2020, after having worked with Customs and Border Protection in Nogales, Ariz., and then Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New Orleans. He also worked for police departments in Mississippi.

“The nation lost a hero Monday,” U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta said in a statement.

“Drew was selflessly devoted to making his community and his nation safer. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.”