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As the Danube River dries up, World War II shipwrecks and mammoth bones come into view

August 4, 2026 / 3:23 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Water levels on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, have dropped so low because of drought that the hulks of dozens of World War II German battleships — and even the remains of an ancient woolly mammoth — are emerging into view.

They are a curious distraction from the summer heat crisis. The Danube’s record-low water levels have also forced power plants to the brink of shutting down, and governments across Central and Eastern Europe are taking steps to conserve electricity.

In the middle of the river separating Serbia and Romania, near the Serbian port of Prahovo, a rusty hull is now visible, along with a broken mast where the Nazi flag once flew.

The ships, some still laden with weapons, belonged to Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet that the Germans deliberately sank as they retreated from Romania and as Soviet forces advanced deeper into Europe near the end of the war.

A drone view shows a sunken German warship from World War II, exposed due to low Danube River levels caused by drought and extreme heat, in Prahovo, Serbia, July 30, 2026. Djordje Kojadinovic / REUTERS

At least 20 World War II wrecks of various sizes are now visible to the naked eye from the banks of Prahovo.

Ivica Gavrilovic, who has spent his whole life living beside the Danube, said the interest in the wrecks was high but access remained difficult. “People still don’t know how to access the ships themselves,” he said, while taking a family of three out on his small boat.

Historians say up to 200 German warships were scuttled in September 1944 near Prahovo in the Danube gorge as they came under Soviet fire. The idea behind the deliberate sinking was to slow down the Soviet advance in the Balkans. But Nazi Germany surrendered months later, in May 1945.

The sight of the old warships is a reminder that the Serbian government, with European Union financial support, has long been trying to do something about them. Some were removed from the river by Communist Yugoslav authorities, but most have remained because of the explosives they carried.

A drone view shows people swimming near a sunken German warship from World War II, exposed due to low Danube River levels caused by drought and extreme heat, in Prahovo, Serbia, July 30, 2026. Djordje Kojadinovic / REUTERS

Now, however, authorities are trying to keep traffic flowing on the Danube, which flows through 10 nations, as the dropping water levels create dangerous conditions. Experts have linked the unusually hot weather to global warming and other factors.

Krsta Brandic, a Prahovo resident, said the low water levels have almost stopped ship traffic: “As you can see, the (big) ships can’t pass anymore.”

The old vessels have emerged before. In 2024, a trove of sunken Nazi ships, still decked out with explosives, emerged in the Danube following a blistering summer drought. Dozens of scattered ships operated by Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet alsoappeared in 2022 near Prahovoafter water levels reached record lows.

Mammoth bones found on parched riverbed

Meanwhile, falling water levels in the Danube unveiled bones of a mammoth in Bulgaria, a local museum director told AFP.

The bone fragments found near the northeastern city of Ruse “very likely” belonged to a woolly mammoth that lived during the Ice Age, said Nikolay Nenov, director of the Regional Historical Museum.

Specialists have so far identified a jawbone, fragments of tusks, part of a shoulder blade, and a femur with its articular head among the stash, Nenov said.

The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River’s water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS

The animal is thought to have been young and the dark color of the bones may indicate that it spent a lot of time in a marshy environment, he added.

The bones are an important discovery because they are well preserved and “unlike many previous discoveries … were concentrated in the same place,” indicating that they all belonged to the same animal, Nenov said.

Woolly mammoths coexisted with early humans who hunted the cold-resistant herbivores for food and used their tusks and bones as tools.

The animals died out about 4,000 years ago. For decades, scientists have been recovering bits and pieces of mammoth tusks, bones, teeth and hair.

The remains of what historians believe is an ancient mammoth, which emerged after the Danube River’s water level receded to a record low, lie on the riverbed near the village of Ryahovo, Slivo pole municipality, Bulgaria, in this handout image released on July 29, 2026. Lyuboslav Yordanov/Slivo pole municipality/Handout via REUTERS

Trump admin trucking crackdown lands 51 immigration detentions, 36 English Language Proficiency violations

August 4, 2026 3:19pm EDT / Fox News

DOT crackdown expands from Florida to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio

By Alexis McAdams , Andrew Mark Miller , Anders Hagstrom, Fox News

Trump promotes Freedom Haulers Initiative to fast-track veterans into trucking jobs

Program streamlines CDL licensing for veterans with military driving experience as administration touts crackdown on illegal immigrant commercial drivers.

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President Donald Trump’s administration announced the results of a crackdown on illegal immigration in the trucking industry on Tuesday.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) began the crackdown, Operation Highway Shield, in Florida earlier this year. The DOT has since expanded the effort to multiple states in the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio, Fox News has learned.

Officials carried out 3,487 enforcement stops during the operation that resulted in 766 unsafe commercial vehicles or drivers placed out of service, 51 immigration detentions, 47 criminal charges filed, 39 incarcerations, 36 English Language Proficiency (ELP) violations, and three cargo theft recoveries totaling roughly $1 million in stolen freight.

TRUMP TAPS VETERANS TO FIX ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKING PROBLEM PLAGUING US ROADWAYS

A state trooper inspects a truck on the highway.(Fox News Channel)

The Trump administration maintains that federal immigration and commercial driving enforcement remains a top priority.

Fox News previously broke news about the ramped-up enforcement efforts in Florida in March. Florida Troopers said that up to half of truckers at some weigh stations cannot meet English proficiency requirements.

“I try to concentrate on the signs they have to read,” Master Trooper Craig Lents said at the time. “If you are going down the road at 70 miles per hour, and you see that sign, you only see it for a split second.”

In another encounter caught on video, a trooper asked a trucker what a road sign meant.

VIRGINIA BUS CRASH THAT KILLED FIVE INVOLVED DRIVER WHO DOESN’T SPEAK ENGLISH, SEAN DUFFY SAYS

A state trooper gives an unidentified truck driver an English and safety test at a truck stop alongside the freeway.(Fox News Channel)

The trucker replied, “No.”

The trooper then asked what drivers should do if they saw the sign, to which the trucker replied, “No,” again.

The Trump administration has noted that federal English requirements have been on the books for years.

“It’s been the law for a long period of time,” said Derek Barrs, Federal Motor Carrier Safety administrator. “It’s a safety issue. … If there was a crash or something like that, I would want to make sure that driver would know how to respond — slow down for upcoming traffic or a crash that has happened up ahead.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCK DRIVER FROM INDIA ARRESTED IN DEADLY CALIFORNIA HIT-AND-RUN AFTER BIDEN RELEASE

President Donald Trump’s administration has vowed crackdowns on illegal immigrants in commercial driving.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Authorities explained that being unable to speak or read English is extremely dangerous, as truckers are driving by important road signs at high speeds while carrying hundreds of tons.

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The enforcement push comes after a string of deadly crashes nationwide involving drivers the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims were in the U.S. illegally or operating with commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs) they should never have had.

Alexis McAdams currently serves as an FNC correspondent based in New York City. She joined the network in October 2021.

Record number of U.S. adults are moving in with their parents as costs rise, study finds

August 4, 2026 / 1:54 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

A record number of adult children under 35 in the U.S. are moving back in with their parents, either because they can’t afford homes of their own or because they want to save money amid the rising cost of living, according to a recent study.

In 2025, 25.2 million adults under 35 lived at home, according to Realtor.com, which found that the share of adults living with their moms and dads was higher than it was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of these adults moving back in with their parents are employed, but their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. Among the 25- to 34-year-olds living at home, roughly 7 in 10 have jobs, the online real estate firm found.

Karleigh Gaudreau, a 34-year-old business coach and online content creator, is among the Americans who recently moved back home, telling CBS News she couldn’t afford to live on her own after breaking up with a boyfriend she had been living with in South Carolina.

Gaudreau, who earns about $60,000 a year, said she could afford to split rent but couldn’t cover the full cost alone.

“To be able to afford that on top of your student loans or car payment, it’s really hard to function off of anything, I believe, less than $85,000,” Gaudreau said.

“Society as a whole has to respond”

She’s hardly alone in her financial struggles, as the dream of homeownership slips further out of reach for many Americans amid rising home prices and higher mortgage rates. Fewer than 4 in 10 non-homeowner households can afford a typical starter home, according to a recent LendingTree analysis.

“Society as a whole has to respond,” Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, told CBS News. “It’s affordability across the board. It’s not just the price of the home and the mortgage.”

Gaudreau’s plan seems to be paying off. After saving money on rent by living with her parents, she plans to move into a place of her own in November.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

Jericka Duncan contributed to this report.

Rep. Max Miller’s attorney apologizes for releasing ‘sensitive’ image of child in documents shared by congressman

2026-08-04T16:21:42.103Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/politics/max-miller-image-child

As Republican Rep. Max Miller is facing pressure, including from his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, to drop his reelection bid over abuse allegations, the Ohio congressman’s attorney has apologized for releasing a “sensitive” image of his child in documents shared by the congressman.

Just before he posted a link on social media Sunday to hundreds of messages, videos and images involving his ex-wife, the Ohio congressman said one of his primary motivations for airing out his divorce and child custody disputes was to safeguard their young child.

“This isn’t about defending myself,” Miller said. “I’m speaking up as a father, trying to protect our daughter.”

But contained in the Dropbox folder that Miller shared with his nearly 60,000 followers on X were sensitive and unredacted details of his own family, including one image that depicted his toddler daughter nude. The photo was taken in the context of an inquiry into an injury the 2-year-old had suffered.

Miller released the materials as he sought to defend against his ex-wife’s claims of domestic abuse. “I’m going to use my platform to share the facts in this very genuine way,” he said in the livestream.

The inclusion of the image, which was publicly available for at least a day before being removed, prompted the legal team for Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, to demand answers on how the material was shared. It also spurred outrage from Bernie Moreno, who had previously said his former son-in-law should no longer serve in Congress.

“On Sunday, when he went out and did what he did, including releasing photos of my granddaughter completely naked, that now you have hundreds and thousands of psychotic human beings that have that, and to say ‘oops’ is grotesque,” the senator told reporters Tuesday.

With pressure mounting, the House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday that it is “reviewing allegations that Representative Max Miller may have engaged in domestic violence and abuse or illegal drug use.”

The committee said the fact it is investigating these allegations does not indicate that any code-of-conduct violation occurred.

Miller, who has denied the allegations of abuse, said earlier Tuesday he planned to ask the ethics panel to investigate him “to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and my family.”

As the allegations of domestic abuse against Miller have gained attention in recent days, allies of Donald Trump have been pushing the president to encourage Miller to drop his reelection bid, CNN reported Monday.

So far, however, Miller has vowed to remain in the race as he has denied the allegations against him from his ex-wife.

In a letter to Miller’s attorney obtained by CNN, Emily Moreno’s legal team said the post with the link to the folder had garnered more than 204,000 views by Monday afternoon.

“We view this matter with the utmost seriousness and hope you and your client do as well,” Moreno’s attorneys wrote.

Miller’s attorney, Aaron Minc, took responsibility in a statement to CNN for the image being included in the link.

“Unfortunately, I missed the last three pages of a 40+ page document with sensitive content,” Minc said in the statement. “It was completely unintentional and a mistake. The moment I discovered the issue on Monday morning, I corrected the file immediately.”

Minc said he made “multiple passes” through the documents to ensure that no potentially sensitive details, including the child’s name, were included in their public release. But the child’s name was included dozens of times in an earlier version of the public file seen by CNN, along with details about payments to medical providers and several images of their daughter.

“I am truly sorry to Congressman Miller, Ms. Moreno, both of their families, and, especially, to their daughter. I deeply regret the mistake,” the lawyer said.

The images were part of a February 2025 exchange between Moreno and Miller as they coordinated their child custody arrangements. In one message, sent on February 18, Moreno said she had noticed a large bruise on their child while she was taking a bath. Miller asked to see a picture of the injury — which turned out to be a broken collarbone — and Moreno sent an image of their daughter that was focused on the bruise, but which also showed her in a state of undress.

That injury prompted a police investigation that ended with no charges being filed.

The latest development comes ahead of a key deadline in Miller’s reelection campaign. According to the Ohio secretary of state’s office, if Miller were to withdraw before the close of business Tuesday, a special primary would be held to fill the vacancy for the GOP nomination.

However, were he to withdraw from the race after that deadline, party leaders could have a narrow window to replace him. The deadline to replace him on the ballot is August 10, but two days’ notice is required before party leaders would hold a meeting to pick the candidate.

Sen. Moreno on Tuesday declined to talk about Trump’s support for Miller’s reelection bid, telling reporters he doesn’t “care about the politics” of the situation. “This is truly the seventh level of hell. This has been a horrific experience for my entire family,” the senator said.

Miller told CNN in a text message Tuesday morning that Trump called him on Monday and “never asked me to drop out.”

Miller said “nothing changed” when asked whether he still plans to run for reelection.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Manu Raju, Ellis Kim and Ethan Cohen contributed to this report.

Reporter’s Notebook: Inside the Senate showdown over Trump’s push to scrap August recess

August 4, 2026 12:07pm EDT / Fox News

The proof of citizenship voting bill has failed twice and the majority leader says votes still aren’t there

By Chad Pergram Fox News

“Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble. And if I stay it will be double.” – The Clash

The words “schedule” and “Congress” don’t always mesh.

But the formal Senate schedule has long had senators taking off at the end of this week until early September for the customary “August recess.”

Only thing is, President Trump and some conservatives pushing for approval of the SAVE America Act don’t want the Senate to beg off. They assert that the Senate should remain in session until it passes the bill, which requires proof of citizenship to vote.

“I think there’s nothing more important than they pass the SAVE America Act. I think they should stay,” said President Trump. “They do what they want. But I think they should stay.”

SEN RICK SCOTT: AMERICANS WORK FIVE DAYS A WEEK, WHY CAN’T THE SENATE?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks at a press conference with Senate Republican leaders following a policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on April 21, 2026.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Senate has already defeated two efforts to adopt the SAVE America Act. So there’s not an obvious pathway to alter those previous outcomes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has rebuffed the President’s demands to stay in session.

“I don’t think having a Congress sitting around here for the month of August and quorum calls or having to vote on Democrat amendments is probably a good use of anybody’s time,” said Thune.

There’s tension between the South Dakota Republican and the President over the Senate’s legislative realities. Thune may be Majority Leader. But Thune believes the President bears responsibility for changing some minds on Capitol Hill.

“We have in the past suggested to he and his team to come up here and visit with some of my Republican colleagues,” said Thune. “Now if he can change the facts and start moving some of those senators who are noes into yesses, then we have a different conversation. But that’s just the reality.”

As always, it’s about the math. And the SAVE America Act lacks the votes.

“I know Sen. Thune says the votes aren’t there. I’m not saying he’s wrong. I’m just saying people change their mind sometimes,” argued Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

But it doesn’t look like there will even be a vote on that, unless something ripens quickly.

That’s where Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Roger Marshall, R-Kas, Rick Scott, R-Fla., and others have suggested the Senate shouldn’t go on break unless they pass the bill.

So what happens next?

Let’s say we get to Friday night. The Senate has taken its final vote of the summer. Maybe to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General. Perhaps the measure named after late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., which sanctions Russia. The Senate is ready to finish until mid-September. In recent years, the Senate has not voted on a resolution to go out of session for weeks on end. That’s where SAVE America Act proponents would attempt to block such an effort. But its immaterial since there is no vote.

In the not too distant past, the House and Senate often approved “adjournment resolutions.” But not right now. Such a plan must align with the wishes of the House of Representatives. Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution bars either body for adjourning for more than three days “without the Consent of the other.” The House isn’t around to approve an adjournment resolution. It’s been out of session for a couple of weeks now. Moreover, it’s not clear that the House could adopt an adjournment resolution.

So, under the Constitution, each body must – at a minimum – hold a brief “pro forma” session where lawmakers convene for just a few seconds and then immediately gavel out. That meets the Constitutional requirement.

But there’s the rub.

When the Senate wraps up, Thune or one of his lieutenants would usually go to the floor and ask “unanimous consent” that the Senate meet on a series of Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays between now and September. These are the “pro forma” sessions, convening at three-day intervals. But if Lee or someone wants to object, they’re stuck. The Senate can’t green light the set of pro formas. The Senate must have buy-in of all 100 senators.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for his nomination to be attorney general at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2026.(Anadolu via Getty Images)

But an objection in this case hardly blocks the recess or compels debate – let alone a vote or passage – on the SAVE America Act.

If Thune or his designee can’t get unanimous consent, the only option they have is to move to meet again the next day. Let’s say 9 a.m. ET. If someone objects to the time, it will meet at noon et under the Senate’s default protocols.

That said, this is where someone could force what might constitute the de facto “vote to go on recess.” A Republican senator might demand a vote on the Senate adjourning for the day on Friday and meeting on Saturday. This is not a vote to “go on recess.” But it’s the closest someone can engineer a possible vote related to Senate action.

A motion to adjourn is not debatable on the floor. But it is amendable. Someone could offer another option about when the Senate should meet. But that’s about it.

On this hypothetical Saturday session, it’s possible that Thune could simply get recognition and ask for the Senate to adjourn for the day again. One of those pushing the SAVE America Act doesn’t even get recognized to speak. However, if Thune is gracious and is willing to allow someone to have their say, they could get the floor and hold it as long as they want.

Note that doing so does not constitute a filibuster. Filibusters are efforts by senators to stop something. In this case, advocates of the SAVE America Act are trying to start something. So no filibuster. This would just be a really long speech. But Thune might not let it come to that. And even though they’ve chattered about it a lot, the strongest advocates of the SAVE America Act have not taken advantage of their prerogatives as senators and gone down to hold the floor at length.

Keep in mind that SAVE America Act advocates could potentially do this and push for recognition on the floor on all subsequent days during the August recess. Thune could block them from speaking because the order of the day is to convene and adjourn during a pro forma session. And if the SAVE America Act faction were to push for a vote, all it takes is another senator to block them on the floor.

One might ask the question about whether the SAVE America Act group might demand a “live” quorum call (where all senators must report to the floor for attendance) or even the more extreme motion of “instructing the Sergeant at Arms to arrest” absent senators and bring them to the floor. Well, this works at cross purposes during August. The reason? The Senate doesn’t have a quorum. In the old days, the Senate took quorum calls to establish if enough senators present were present to do business. It violates the Constitution to conduct business without a quorum present.

The SAVE America Act coalition may prove that there aren’t enough senators in Washington to conduct business. That helps make their point. But it also forces the Senate to adjourn because it can’t operate without a quorum.

WATCH: DEMOCRATS ADMIT WHEN THEY’D ELIMINATE THE FILIBUSTER AS SAVE ACT FIGHT HEATS UP

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about military families, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

These gambits might not achieve the legislative goal of passing the SAVE America Act. But there are other benefits for SAVE America Act advocates. A series of lengthy speeches could potentially delay the recess. These Republican senators could argue that they are willing to stay and debate the SAVE America Act while their colleagues fled Washington for summer. Such a maneuver would focus attention on the issue. It would draw a contrast between senators willing to fight for the issue and those who went home. The effort might impress President Trump. And such a maneuver could show divides between them and Thune – who the President often chastises.

But pass the SAVE America Act? It’s not going to do that. And some Republican senators emphasize the importance of taking a few weeks off so their colleagues can campaign.

“The worst case scenario is for us is to stay all the way through and then we lose the Senate in the days ahead,” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., on Fox. “Then President Trump is dealing with all the impeachment crazy all over again.”

Remaining in Washington for the next five weeks would pull the most vulnerable GOP senator off the trail, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Collins was crystal clear when pressed by yours truly whether she would campaign and miss her first roll call vote since entering the Senate in 1997.

“I don’t miss votes,” said an emphatic Collins.

So don’t expect the Senate to forgo the recess at the end of the week.

In fact, a decision by the Senate to go on recess may even work to the political advantage of those pushing for the SAVE America Act. They can then rail against Thune’s leadership and their colleagues for not passing the bill. Again, they don’t score the legislative outcome. But they sure rack up some political points.

This is why those philosopher kings who comprise the band The Clash may have been on to something. If the Senate stays, Republicans can’t pass the SAVE America Act. But if they go, certain GOP senators can rabble rouse.

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There’s trouble whether senators stay or go.

Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

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Elizabeth Warren demands SEC investigate if Trump’s memecoin is an ‘illegal scam’

2026-08-04T19:14:59.413Z / CNN

By Blake McGill, CNN

Published 3:14 PM EDT, Tue August 4, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/04/politics/video/cncpm-elizabeth-warren-trump-memecoin

Elizabeth Warren demands SEC investigate if Trump’s memecoin is an ‘illegal scam’

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal are calling for the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate Trump’s memecoin “to detect any illegal fraud or unjust enrichment that the coin may have facilitated.” CNN Senior Business Reporter David Goldman joins CNN News Central.

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CDC expands largest known cyclosporiasis outbreak to 15 states, Washington Post reports

August 4, 2026 7:34 PM UTC / Reuters

Lettuce is displayed for sale at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Aug 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. CDC is adding six more states to the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce, widening ​the number of affected states to 15, the Washington ‌Post reported on Tuesday, citing three individuals familiar with the investigation.

An FDA investigation linked the outbreak that has expanded to nine states to iceberg lettuce ​served at Taco Bell restaurants and sourced from privately held ​Taylor Farms operations in central Mexico.

Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.

However, authorities are still ⁠looking for other potential sources.

Missouri, which is reporting 1,095 cases, ​is one of the states being added, the Post reported, citing ​a state health department spokesperson.

Patients who were interviewed by state and local investigators said they consumed Taco Bell before getting sick, the Post reported, citing a ​spokesperson.

Information was not immediately available about the five other states, ​the report said, adding that the individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity ‌to ⁠discuss an ongoing investigation.

U.S. cyclosporiasis cases have climbed to record levels this year, with the current outbreak among the largest caused by foodborne illness in recent U.S. history. The infection can cause diarrhea, ​nausea and other ​gastrointestinal symptoms.

Michigan, the ⁠hardest-hit state, reported 11,508 cases on Tuesday, up by more than 200 from the previous day’s update.

The ​state also reported the first two deaths associated with ​the ⁠outbreak, noting that both individuals had significant underlying health conditions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose surveillance lags state reporting by several weeks, ⁠has ​recorded 6,707 laboratory-confirmed cases nationwide, as of ​July 28, along with more than 11,500 suspected cases not yet confirmed through laboratory ​testing.

Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Dow soars 1,000 points on strong corporate earnings and hopes of Iran deal

August 4, 2026 / 2:47 PM EDT / CBS News

The U.S. stock market approached record highs on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached within days.

Investors were also cheered by strong corporate profits, with companies ranging from equipment maker Caterpillar to software company Palantir Technologies reporting second-quarter results that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

The S&P 500 climbed 142 points, or 1.9%, to 7,731 in afternoon trading, putting it on track to surpass its previous high set on June 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,007 points, or 1.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.6%.

Investors are hopeful that an end to the Iran war could lower global energy prices and reduce inflation. New government figures, the so-called Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), also showed that hiring in the U.S. remains solid, with layoffs at modest levels.

“The equity rally is being driven by blowout earnings from the day’s two most important reports (CAT and PLTR), positive remarks from Bessent on CNBC about the potential for a deal to reopen Hormuz arriving within the next 24-48 hours, and a JOLTS report that wasn’t as hot as feared,” Wall Street analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, told investors in a note.

To be sure, investors eager for peace in the Middle East have been disappointed before, with President Trump and other U.S. officials previously signaling that a breakthrough was at hand only for the conflict to resume.

The S&P 500 and Dow have each risen 13% this year, while the Nasdaq is up 14%. Stocks have rebounded after sliding in the weeks following the outbreak of war in Iran in late February and despite some concerns about an AI-driven stock bubble.

Strongest growth in years

Stocks are rising in large part because profits are soaring for U.S. companies, a key factor for investors, as equity prices tend to follow corporate earnings over the long term. Coming into this week, companies in the S&P 500 index were on track to deliver growth of nearly 50% in earnings per share for the spring from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

That would be the biggest such jump since the spring of 2021, when the economy was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Stock prices today look more in line with corporate profits, said Phil Segner, a co-portfolio manager at the Leuthold Group.

Shares of Palantir Technologies jumped 29.3% after CEO Alex Karp said the defense tech company’s revenue leaped 93% in what he called an “otherworldly” quarter. Besides reporting a stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected, the company also raised its revenue forecast for the full year of 2026.

Caterpillar was another strong stock performer on Tuesday, with its shares climbing 6.5% after the heavy-equipment maker reported stronger-than-forecast profit and revenue. It was the first time Caterpillar made more than $20 billion in sales and revenue in a quarter, and CEO Joe Creed said it’s seeing strong order rates and a growing backlog across its main businesses.

Lower oil prices

Stocks were helped by a drop in oil prices on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, sank 4.9% to $79.64 per barrel as hope once again took over from fear in the oil market. It had swung sharply between $72 and $102 through July amid uncertainty about when the war with Iran would allow oil tankers to transit the Persian Gulf freely again to deliver crude around the world.

Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that a U.S. deal with Iran could soon be within reach.

“I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the Strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict,” Bessent told the network.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

House Ethics Committee announces investigation into GOP Rep. Max Miller

3:28 PM EDT, Tue August 4, 2026 / CNN

House Ethics Committee announces investigation into GOP Rep. Max Miller

CNN’s Brian Abel and Lauren Fox on the House Ethics Committee’s Tuesday announcement that it is looking into allegations against GOP Rep. Max Miller. Miller, who has denied allegations of abuse against him from his ex-wife, said earlier on Tuesday he planned to ask the House Ethics Committee to investigate him “to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and my family.”

2:07 • Source: CNN

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Trump keeps calling Thune despite public fight over SAVE America Act

The Senate majority leader says he’s ‘not worried’ about Trump questioning his fitness to lead the GOP

August 4, 2026 3:09pm EDT / Fox News

By Alex Miller Fox News

President Donald Trump didn’t fully back Senate Majority Leader John Thune, telling reporters in the Oval Office,

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FIRST ON FOX: The reports of President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s dead working relationship have been greatly exaggerated, the South Dakota Republican leader told Fox News Digital.

“I’ve heard from him twice this morning already. He called me over the weekend, and so there, you know, we talk, I don’t bother him, I’m not calling him every day,” Thune said in an interview.

Last week, Trump said, “We’re going to find out,” whether Thune was the man for the job to lead Senate Republicans, casting doubt on a critical relationship between him and the Senate’s top Republican.

TRUMP QUESTIONS THUNE’S LEADERSHIP AS SAVE AMERICA ACT STALLS

Reports of Senate Majority Leader John Thune and President Donald Trump’s relationship deteriorating are greatly exaggerated, Thune told Fox News Digital. In fact, they have spoken several times over the last few days since Trump’s “we’ll see” comment about his future as Republican leader.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images 😉

The tension stems from the SAVE America Act floundering in the Senate, and Trump’s desire to see the election integrity package passed by any means necessary.

Thune doesn’t see Trump’s comment as a personal slight, however. Both he and the president “want to get to the same place. We have, sometimes, disagreements about how best to get there.”

“Most of mine are constrained by what’s achievable in an institution like the Senate that has procedural roadblocks to do almost anything,” Thune said.

“We have those candid conversations, but I’m not worried about that relationship,” he continued. “I know he’s going to push as hard as he can. That’s his business model, is to just keep pushing, pushing, pushing to get people to go as far as they can go.”

SENATE FACES ‘COME-TO-JESUS’ MOMENT ON TRUMP’S ELECTION PRIORITY UNDER GOP’S NEW PLAN

There is a voracious appetite among Trump, Senate Republicans and their base to see the SAVE America Act passed. One that Thune hears everyday, either online or within his own conference.

It’s dominated the oxygen inside the Capitol and beyond its walls, and the pressure comes as the Senate is sprinting to finish work on key items, like preventing a government shutdown and confirming dozens of Trump’s nominees.

“There are good days and bad days,” Thune said. “And around here, probably lately more bad days than good days, but you know you just kind of, like I said, keep your head down, do the work.”

But passing the SAVE America Act is the most elusive item for Republicans, given the current make up of the Senate.

While there are a cohort of Republicans who are voting against it, Thune made the point that every single Senate Democrat has shut it down each of the five times that it’s been brought to the floor in a variety of configurations.

And Thune is one of the Republicans that wants the bill passed — he’s an original co-sponsor of the SAVE Act, the precursor to the current version of the SAVE America Act. The avenue of cutting Democrats out of the equation and ramming through aspects of the bill through budget reconciliation exists, which Thune is interested in pursuing.

But then comes the problem of generating 50 votes to support that, and keeping those votes together to shut down “crazy democratic amendments.”

GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP’S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN

Thune’s job helming the Senate majority is to do the math on what can be accomplished in an institution that’s “designed” to be difficult. And the votes still aren’t adding up.

“I keep asking the question, am I the only one in this town that can count to 50? Because it seems like these questions recur and there are a lot of people out there who haven’t seemed to internalize the fact that there aren’t Democrats that are going to flip and vote for this,” Thune said.

“And there aren’t 50 Republicans that are going to vote to nuke the filibuster. Those are two facts that are indisputable and unchangeable.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that Democrats were continuing their push to keep DHS closed because it was “politically advantageous.”(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Thune’s position is, by extension, an embodiment of the Senate in many ways.

Unlike the House, legislation and agendas can’t be rammed through without a bipartisan agreement to blast through the filibuster. And senators’ concerns and desires encompass an entire state, not just a sliver of a state’s population.

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Through several interviews with Fox News Digital, he’s instilled that part of his job is to listen and take consensus on what does and doesn’t work, deliberating on the best path for a deliverable outcome.

“This place was supposed to be difficult, so that no dictator could master it, and I think that’s kind of the role of the Senate in our system and our democracy,” Thune said.

“It’s important to keep that in perspective, but it’s frustrating as heck when you’re somebody who likes to get things done, likes to get results, and you’ve got procedural roadblocks holding things up as we try to wind down and get some things done,” he continued.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.