Trump Says ICE 'Cannot Give Up' Traffic Stops, Undercutting Reported Agency DirectivePresident Donald Trump on Wednesday said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “CANNOT give up” traffic stops following reports of a new directive from the agency to pause most vehicle stops following a string of recent ICE-related deaths.“The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, defending the agency.Trump added that for the agency to continue to its work, “we must be strong, tough, and smart, and we CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!”“Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands. The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch. I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job. Keep those Crime Stat Records coming,” he added.Trump’s statement comes after ICE agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. Meanwhile, a man fleeing immigration officers in Florida was struck and killed by a tractor trailer this week.The three deaths involving encounters with ICE agents follow pressure from the Trump administration to increase arrest rates.Latest Live UpdatesJay Clayton, Trump's DNI Pick, Faces Grilling In Confirmation Hearing. Here's What To Watch.Jay Clayton, Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the director of national intelligence, will sit before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday for his nomination hearing, roughly a month after the president delayed his hearing. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. It’s likely Clayton will face intense scrutiny from Democrats and Republicans on a myriad of issues, including journalist subpoenas and targeting of media, election security, and his background.Like Pulte and Gabbard, Clayton has little experience serving in any intelligence role or agency in any capacity. The attorney for the U.S. Southern District of New York has no prior national security experience, either. If confirmed, Clayton would replace Bill Pulte, the controversial choice whom Trump installed as acting director of national intelligence last month following Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation.Joe Biden Announces Release Date For His New MemoirFormer President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced his new book, titled “Promise me, America,” will be released on Nov. 17, nearly two weeks after the midterm elections.In a video posted on social media, Biden said the book focuses on his presidency.“It’s about the challenges we faced as a nation, about the decisions I made and why I made them,” Biden said.The former president added that the memoir also reflects on his controversial decision to seek reelection in 2024 before suspending his bid and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris. Biden did not reference President Donald Trump in the video.The former president, who was diagnosed with cancer after leaving office, also noted that his treatment has been “going really well.”Breaking UpdateU.S. Says It's Carrying Out Fresh Strikes On IranU.S. Central Command on Wednesday said its forces are carrying out a fresh set of strikes against Iran.“The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.The announcement follows the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports as peace talks between Tehran and Washington have stalled.At 6 a.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching a wave of strikes against Iran. The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 15, 2026Trump Admin Blocks Americans In Congo From Immediately Entering U.S. Amid Ebola OutbreakThe Trump administration is barring Americans in Congo from entering the United States amid an Ebola outbreak in the African country, according to multiple reports.U.S. citizens in Congo or those who have recently left the country will need to have spent at least 21 days in a third country before being able to board a commercial flight to the U.S., according to a new order first reported by Reuters on Tuesday.“This change in policy risks shifting medical and public-health responsibility to third countries, it may encourage travelers to conceal itineraries or exposures, and it will make recruitment of American outbreak responders more difficult,” a former CDC official told the news agency.Confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo have topped 2,000, including 254 deaths, according to new government data released Tuesday.Todd Blanche Braces For Tough Confirmation HearingActing Attorney General Todd Blanche will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump has nominated him to serve in the role on a permanent basis.Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, is expected to be grilled on the Justice Department’s botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the president’s controversial IRS settlement agreement, as well as the DOJ’s investigations into Trump’s political enemies, among other issues.Blanche cannot afford to lose any Republican votes as all Democrats on the panel are likely to vote against him. Outgoing GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Cornyn (Texas) are worth keeping an eye on during the hearing as they have not committed to backing Blanche.Cornyn told Punchbowl News that while it’s possible for Blanche to earn his vote, “he could also lose it.”'Let's Not Negotiate': Trump Uses Bizarre Logic After Renewed Strikes On IranPresident Donald Trump gave another unhinged Fox News interview on Tuesday, where he continued to complicate any hopes that the Iran war the U.S. and Israel started in February will finally come to a diplomatic end. Yet as the U.S. military continues to carry out strikes against Iran, Trump suggested he wasn’t interested in another ceasefire deal to halt the fighting. “I don’t want to negotiate now, I said ‘let’s not negotiate,’” Trump said when asked by Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst if he was negotiating with the “wrong people.” “Three days ago, we had a deal,” Trump continued. Read more here: Tom Homan Has Unhinged Response To Latest Fatal ICE ShootingsTom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, attempted to pass the buck when asked why the ICE agents responsible for fatal shootings in Texas and Maine were not wearing body cameras. “The Democrats shut down the Department of Homeland Security. I was up on the Hill as part of the negotiating team to reopen the government. And they wanted body cameras,” Homan told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday. “There was $120 million in the budget they were holding up to buy those body cameras. Now, since the Big Beautiful Bill passed, now the reconciliation bill, the body cameras have been ordered; there’s a deployment schedule on the books.” Homan added that individual field offices will have to train their officers to use the body cameras. CNN’s chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins pressed Homan on the urgency for these body cameras to be deployed, given the two fatal shootings in recent weeks. “It is urgent,” Homan said. “As soon as they had the funding, they bought them.” Read more here: For 3rd Time In 2 Weeks, Cuba Suffers Nationwide BlackoutCuba suffered another blackout of the National Electric System, or SEN, on Tuesday, leaving the entire country without power, officials said. It was the third such incident in two weeks as a U.S. oil embargo stresses the island’s grid.Fuel has been running out across Cuba since January, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island, deepening the island’s ongoing economic and financial crisis. Public transportation has largely been halted, and officials have canceled tens of thousands of surgeries.Read more from The Associated Press:Trump Says He Won't Rule Out A Ground Campaign In IranPresident Donald Trump said U.S. strikes will continue in Iran, but he hasn’t ruled out putting boots on the ground.“Sometimes you need a ground campaign,” he told Fox News’ Trey Yingst. “But we have other people that will do the ground campaign for us.” When asked whether he still intends to take control of the country’s major oil hub, Kharg Island, Trump declined to answer, telling Yingst, “I can’t say that to you because if I did, it would be foolish.” However, Trump noted that the U.S. had already hit the island before.“I said, ‘Hit everything but the oil,” he said. “Just leave that little area from 25 yards out. Leave that little area, don’t touch the oil. Because I don’t want that in terms of the world economy. You know, it’s a chunk of the world economy, so we haven’t hit that. But, at some point we could, but I think it’s unlikely.”'Miracle On The Hudson' Captain Sully Sullenberger Announces Alzheimer’s DiagnosisCaptain Sully Sullenberger, the pilot famous for landing a passenger plane with disabled engines in the Hudson River in 2009, announced Tuesday he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.“It is early stage,” the “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot said in a statement. “For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey.”In sharing his diagnosis with the world, Sullenberger said he hopes “other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward.”“Over the years, when people would ask about the successful outcome of Flight 1549, I would say that ‘courage can be contagious,’” he continued. “Now we need that courage to battle this disease. I am now part of a larger community with many of you, and we will be courageous together.”Sullenberger, 85, became known as a hero for successfully landing a damaged US Airways plane in the Hudson 17 years ago after a bird strike caused both of the aircraft’s engines to fail. All 155 people aboard survived.See All Updates