Friday morning news: July 17, 2026

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Trump address » President Trump addressed the nation last night from the White House and painted an alarming picture of election security in the United States. He said his administration has data to back it up and is making it public.

TRUMP:  Tonight, I'm announcing the immediate declassification and release of critical intelligence revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure

He said the documents were being posted to the official White House website at WhiteHouse.gov, and that they cover several major areas of concern.

First, he said that China tried to interfere with the 2018 midterm elections and carried out a massive and sophisticated US election interference program, starting with the 2020 election cycle — an election President Trump has long asserted was stolen.

TRUMP:  The People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China's illicit acquisition of two hundred and twenty million US voter files

He asserted also that in the run-up to the 2020 election, the CIA expressly determined that China was actively working to prevent Trump’s reelection.

The president claimed furthermore that “deep state” actors within US intel agencies worked to suppress information about China’s election meddling.

The president also stated that the data being released reveal what he said were previously identified hidden vulnerabilities of electronic voting machines, along with evidence about voter fraud and other illegal voting.

He also used the speech to once again urge lawmakers to raise the standards for voter verification.

TRUMP: Congress must pass the SAVE America Act!

Many Democrats dismissed the president’s remarks as fearmongering.

Ahead of the address, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer denounced what he called—quoting here— “this administration’s attempts to steal and undermine the 2026 elections by peddling old election conspiracies and lies."

Republican $95b plan » In Washington…

CHAIRMAN JODEY ARRINGTON: The ayes have it, and the motion is to agree to the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2027, and it’s ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives.

With that, the House Budget Committee moved ahead on a plan to pass $95 billion in new spending for GOP priorities.

WORLD’s Harrison Watters reports now on what those priorities are.

HARRISON WATTERS: The resolution would increase the deficit to give the Pentagon up to $60 billion in additional funding. It would also greenlight election-related spending that could be used to pass portions of the SAVE America Act. Conservatives in the House have held up business for several weeks, demanding a vote on the legislation to ramp up voter verification standards ahead of November midterm elections.

Republican lawmakers on Thursday shot down Democrats’ amendments to block funding for White House projects.

While some Republicans have concerns about another big government spending increase, most support getting party priorities over the finish line before the midterms.

The bill now heads to the House floor. If both chambers approve it, committees will get to work drawing up a budget reconciliation bill to boost spending for the next fiscal year.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters.

Canada Wildfires & Midwest smoke » Much of the Midwest is choking on wildfire smoke, blowing in from fires in Canada and northern Minnesota. The air has turned hazardous, and officials are telling people to stay inside or mask up.

The haze has swallowed skylines from Minneapolis to Detroit to Chicago, and put some 100 million Americans under air quality alerts across more than a dozen states.

One visitor to Chicago reacted:

AUDIO: I live down in Miami, so we don't really get that much wildfires happening, and it's a bit overwhelming. I had to run to the store and buy myself a mask and emergency inhaler. I was not expecting this.

It's even reached the World Cup, with Toronto calling off fan festivals and outdoor watch parties. Health officials warn the tiny particles can lodge deep in the lungs.

Relief may be slow. In Canada and Minnesota, firefighters are still battling the flames, with some fires expected to burn until the first snow.

Texas flooding » Meantime, in central Texas a year after floods killed more than 100 people in the Texas Hill Country, floodwaters are again swamping the region. At least one person has died so far.

But this time, the warnings came early. Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk:

STOLARCZYK: The most important thing on this event is, we had notice. And so the notice allowed us to plan and prepare. We were even better positioned this time to pre-position assets, because we had some notice.

Last July, there was no warning. Floodwaters raced down the Guadalupe River and killed two dozen children and counselors at Camp Mystic. This time, counties ordered evacuations early, and crews have rescued more than 70 people.

Still, residents are on edge:

AUDIO: I'm nervous for the people in the area where their homes are potentially gonna be flooded. We knew a flood was coming, but we didn't know it was gonna be to this magnitude.

The governor has declared disasters across dozens of counties, many still rebuilding from last year's floods.

Ukraine update » In Ukraine:

SOUND: [Ukrainian demonstrators]

...thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Thursdayafter President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

He had only been defense minister for six months, but gained widespread popularity for his use of battlefield drones to turn the tables on Russia.

Zelenskyy cited friction between the defense ministry and Ukraine's top commanders as the reason for his decision. In Fedorov’s place, Zelenskyy appointed the acting head of Ukraine's security service.

32 convicted in 2018 bridge collapse » An Italian court has convicted more than 30 people in the deadly collapse of a highway bridge six years ago. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has that story.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The court convicted 32 of the 57 defendants this week.

The stiffest sentence — 12 years … went to Giovanni Castellucci, the former CEO of Italy's main highway operator.

It’s all tied to the 20-18 disaster, when a huge section of the Morandi bridge in Genoa collapsed in a rainstorm. Dozens of vehicles plunged to the ground, killing 43 people.

Prosecutors argued that years of neglected maintenance played a big role, and the court called the collapse preventable.

The defense blames a construction flaw, not neglect, and Castellucci's lawyers plan to appeal. Under Italian law, none of the sentences are final until appeals are exhausted.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: John Stonestreet joins us for Culture Friday. And later, Collin Garbarino reviews the new Christopher Nolan epic, The Odyssey.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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