Thursday morning news: July 10, 2025

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Russia hits Ukraine w/largest drone barrage of the war » Russia is intensifying its attacks against Ukraine, launching more than 700 drones, its largest such barrage of the war so far, along with 13 missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says this latest assault targeted a town that’s home to Ukrainian Army airfields, and is also near a key hub for receiving critical foreign aid.

President Trump lamented the war’s climbing death toll.

TRUMP: Think of it. 7,000 people a week, on both sides. 7,000 people. Young, mostly military people, young souls… are dead.

Trump’s also frustrated by the stalled U.S.-led efforts to broker an end to the war.

U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley tells Fox News:

CROWLEY: Vladimir Putin has continued to press the war in Ukraine, and as the president has indicated, he would like to have both sides come to the table. But that’s not materialized quite yet.

Meantime, the Trump Administration has resumed sending weapons, including precision-guided rockets, to Ukraine after the Pentagon directed the pause of some deliveries last week.

GOP preparing Russian sanctions bill » U.S. senators are putting together a bipartisan bill to ratchet up pressure on Russia to end its war on Ukraine.

The bill would impose new economic sanctions on Russia, and has 80 co-sponsors.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune:

THUNE: I think it’s an important message to send, especially now. And I think it’s… it’s leverage that we need, and that frankly the White House needs in their negotiations with the Russians. So, in my view, the sooner we can execute on that, the better.

Thune says GOP leadership is working with the White House and U.S. House colleagues to get the bill finalized. He’s hopeful Congress can vote on the bill late this month.

40 reported dead in Gaza airstrikes, no ceasefire yet » Another round of Israeli airstrikes has killed 40 people in the Gaza Strip, according to a hospital in southern Gaza.

Israel confirms it struck more than 100 targets where it suspects Hamas of hiding weapons and fighters among civilians.

Still, President Trump, fresh off two days of meetings in the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is optimistic negotiators are close to hammering out a Gaza ceasefire.

TRUMP: There’s a very good chance that we’ll have a settlement, an agreement of some kind, this week. And maybe next week, if not.

Negotiators for both sides have been meeting this week in Qatar.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says they’ve been making good progress, and he’ll be joining them soon.

Texas flooding: Death toll near 120, government response questioned » In central Texas, the death toll is up to at least 118. with at least another 160 missing, as crews clean up from the deadly 4th of July flooding.

SOUND: [Cleanup]

Hundreds of volunteer first responders used backhoes and their bare hands Wednesday to dig through piles of debris stretching for miles along the Guadalupe River.

Fredericksburg Fire Chief Lynn Bizzell says crews are doing everything they can to find survivors.

BIZZELL: We have 300 people working. We have all the heavy equipment that we can muster up to try to remove that debris. We are finding vehicles and RVs deep inside the debris that you can't even see from the outside. And so the challenges are there, they're real.

With hopes of finding survivors dwindling by the day, crews are focusing on doing what they can to bring closure to the families of the missing.

Three dead in New Mexico flooding » In New Mexico, torrential rain has led to flash flooding that’s claimed at least three lives.

A man, a 4-year-old girl, and a 7-year-old boy in the village of Ruidoso were swept away Tuesday as floodwaters rose to 20 feet.

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford:

CRAWFORD: Our emergency responders conducted approximately 65 swift water rescues during yesterday’s event.

Crawford says the flash flooding also wiped out some homes, and it’ll take days to total up damage estimates.

New Mexico’s governor has signed an emergency declaration.

Trump administration suing California over transgender athletes » The Trump Administration is suing California, accusing it of Title IX violations for letting boys who consider themselves transgender to compete in girls’ sports.

Title IX is the federal law banning sex-based discrimination in education.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon:

McMAHON: It is just totally unfair to have men competing against women in sports and also to share their intimate locker facilities, et cetera. Women fought hard for these rights, and it is the law, and the president means business with it.

McMahon talking to Fox News.

The Justice Department calls California’s rules demeaning, saying they signal girls’ opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office calls the suit a cynical attempt to distract from the White House’s freeze on billions of dollars in federal grants for after-school and summer education programs.

I'm Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: Georgia’s heartbeat bill is blamed for keeping a brain dead woman alive, but there’s more to the story. Plus, pastors, politics, and the IRS.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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