This is our flagship newsletter Morning Wire. You can subscribe here and we’ll email it to you daily.Hello and thanks to those who wrote to wish me a nice vacation. Croatia was gorgeous and I’m happy to be back. In today’s news: Hegseth is grilled on Capitol Hill over Iran war funding; the Trump administration is deferring more than $1 billion in Medicaid money for California and Minnesota; and ChatGPT maker OpenAI says its system hacked another AI company on its own. Also, a look at how the bagel crossed continents to become an iconic American food. Finally, Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to bring flooding and strong winds to the Gulf Coast. If you live nearby, use our hurricane tracker to stay updated.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the new estimate, up from earlier assessments, while facing fiery questions at a Senate hearing Tuesday. Read more.Why this matters:Hegseth and other officials appeared as Republicans prepare a $95 billion package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities including farm aid and voting law changes. Hegseth said the supplemental war funding is an “urgent, necessary” injection of money. The hearing came days after the Pentagon announced that three more American service members have died in the conflict, bringing the U.S. death toll to 17, and that more than 100 have been injured since early July.Related coverage →US and Iran attacks rage as officials question whether diplomacy can stop march toward war resumingTrump will attend the dignified transfer of 4 US service members killed in the Middle EastWhat to know about Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, home to underground nuclear site threatened by TrumpTrump approves nuclear agreement that may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, 2 AP sources sayNYC can’t arrest Netanyahu but the federal government should, Mamdani says
