Lawmakers re-introduce bill to repeal Hyde Amendment
A host of Democratic lawmakers led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) are reintroducing legislation to ensure that people who receive health care or insurance through the federal government have coverage for abortions, they shared first with The Hill.
The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would repeal the Hyde Amendment, which since 1976 has barred federal funding from being used to pay for abortions except in rare circumstances like rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger.
Aside from Medicaid, the ban also means federal employees and their dependents, military service members, Native Americans and Indigenous people, Peace Corps volunteers, immigrants, people in federal prisons, and low-income residents of Washington, D.C. are all prohibited from having insurance cover abortions.
As of 2024, more than 5 million women aged 15 to 49 who are enrolled in Medicaid live in States where abortion is legal but not covered by the program except in Hyde-allowable circumstances.
“With Trump and Republicans advancing a cruel, coordinated assault on our bodily autonomy—gutting Medicaid, defunding Planned Parenthood, and decimating access to care—we must meet use every tool available to protect and expand reproductive healthcare,” Pressley said in a statement.
“By repealing the racist and discriminatory Hyde Amendment, which has denied necessary care for vulnerable communities for nearly half a century, our bill would help ensure everyone in America can get the reproductive healthcare they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code.”
The bill would also prevent the federal government from prohibiting or restricting coverage of abortion care by private health insurance companies, including those participating in the ObamaCare insurance exchanges.
The legislation was previously introduced in 2023, a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled there is no constitutional right to an abortion.
Democrats leaned almost exclusively into abortion during the 2024 campaign. The latest reintroduction, on top of other congressional reproductive health bills, shows Democrats aren’t going to let the issue go, though the message has been diversified.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
The “big, beautiful bill” that President Trump signed into law earlier this month will add nearly $3.4 trillion to the nation’s deficits over roughly the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in a report on Monday.
More than half of Americans — 57 percent — said in a new survey that they think the GOP’s sweeping package extending tax cuts and slashing welfare services will increase their health-care costs. Thirteen percent in the CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday said that the “big, beautiful bill” will lower their health-care costs and 33 percent said there will be no impact. While the Congressional Budget Office …
Hunter Biden in an interview published Monday suggested former President Biden had been taking Ambien leading up to the June 2024 presidential debate and that the drug was partly to blame for his poor performance in the debate.
WESTBURY, N.Y. (AP) — A man who was pulled into an MRI machine in New York after he walked into the room wearing a large weight-training chain around his neck has died, according to police and his wife, who told a local television outlet that he waved goodbye before his body went limp.
Today’s CD rates still hover well above the national average. The Federal Reserve reduced its target interest rate three times in 2024. This had a ripple effect on deposit account rates, which means now could be your last chance to lock in today’s high rates with a certificate of deposit (CD). Here’s a look at today’s best CD rates and where you can find the best offers.
As of July 21, 2025, the highest CD rate is 5.5% APY, offered by Gainbridge® on its 5-year CD. There is a $1000 minimum opening deposit required.
Here is a look at some of the best CD rates available today from our verified partners.
If you’re considering a CD, these rates are some of the highest available, especially when compared to the national average rates, which are significantly lower. It’s also worth noting that online banks and credit unions generally offer more competitive rates compared to traditional brick-and-mortar banks.
Here’s a look at the average CD rate by term as of June 2025 (the most recent data available from the FDIC):
The highest national average interest rate for CDs stands at 1.77% for a 1-year term. However, in general, today’s average CD rates represent some of the highest seen in nearly two decades, largely due to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to combat inflation by keeping interest rates elevated.
If you’re thinking about opening a CD, it’s important to choose one with a high APY and term length that matches your financial goals. Here are some tips for finding the best CD rates and accounts that match your needs:
Shop around: It’s a good idea to evaluate CD rates from a variety of financial institutions and compare your options before settling on an account. You can easily compare CD rates online.
Consider online banks: Online banks tend to have lower overhead costs, which allows them to offer higher interest rates on CDs. In fact, online banks often have the most competitive rates available.
Check minimum deposit requirements: Higher CD rates might come with higher minimum deposit requirements, so make sure the amount you plan to deposit aligns with the requirements to get the best rate.
Review account terms and conditions: Beyond the CD’s rate, look at terms for early withdrawal penalties and auto-renewal policies. Some CDs offer better terms for flexibility, such as no-penalty CDs, which allow you to withdraw your funds without a fee before the maturity date.
The UK and 27 other countries have called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, where they say the suffering of civilians has “reached new depths”.
A joint statement says Israel’s aid delivery model is dangerous and condemns what it calls the “drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking food and water.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for food over the weekend and that 19 others died as a result of malnutrition.
Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the countries’ statement, saying it was “disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas”.
The ministry accused the armed group of spreading lies and undermining aid distribution, rather than agreeing to a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.
There have been many international statements condemning Israel’s tactics in Gaza during the past 21 months of its war with Hamas. But this declaration is notable for its candour.
The signatories are the foreign ministers of the UK and 27 other nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and Switzerland.
The statement begins by declaring that “the war in Gaza must end now”.
It then warns: “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.
“We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy later told the House of Commons a “litany of horrors” was taking place in Gaza, including strikes that have killed “desperate, starving children”.
Announcing an extra £40m of humanitarian assistance for Gaza this year, Lammy said he was “a steadfast supporter of Israel’s security and its right to exist” but the government’s actions were “doing untold damage to Israel’s standing in the world and undermining Israel’s long-term security”.
There have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while waiting for food since May, when Israel partially eased an 11-week total blockade on aid deliveries to Gaza and, along with the US, helped to establish a new aid system run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to bypass the existing one overseen by the UN.
Israel has said the GHF’s system, which uses US private security contractors to hand out food parcels from sites inside Israeli military zones, prevents supplies being stolen by Hamas.
But the UN and its partners have refused to co-operate with the system, saying it is unsafe and violates the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence.
Last Tuesday, the UN human rights office said it had recorded 674 killings in the vicinity of the GHF’s aid sites since they began operating eight weeks ago. Another 201 killings had been recorded along routes of UN and other aid convoys, it added.
On Saturday, another 39 people were killed near two GHF sites in Khan Younis and nearby Rafah, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The Israeli military said its troops fired warning shots to prevent “suspects” approaching them before the sites opened.
And on Sunday, the ministry said 67 people were killed as they surged toward a convoy of UN aid lorries near a crossing point in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots at a crowd “to remove an immediate threat” but disputed the numbers killed.
Following the incident, the World Food Programme warned that Gaza’s hunger crisis had “reached new levels of desperation”.
“People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment,” the UN agency said.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said on Monday that 19 people had died as a result of malnutrition since Saturday and warned of potential “mass deaths” in the coming days.
“Hospitals can no longer provide food for patients or staff, many of whom are physically unable to continue working due to extreme hunger,” Dr Khalil al-Daqran, a spokesperson for al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, told the BBC.
“Hospitals cannot provide a single bottle of milk to children suffering from hunger, because all baby formula has run out from the market,” he added.
Residents also reported that markets were closed due to food shortages.
“My children cry from hunger all night. They’ve had only a small plate of lentils over the past three days. There’s no bread. A kilogramme of flour was $80 (£59) a week ago,” Mohammad Emad al-Din, a barber and father of two, told the BBC.
The statement by the 27 countries also says Israeli proposals to move Gaza’s entire 2.1 million into a so-called “humanitarian city” in the southern Rafah area are unacceptable, noting that “permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law”.
They urge Israel, Hamas and the international community to “bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire”.
And they warn that they are “prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace”.
That is seen by many as code for recognising a state of Palestine, something many countries have done but not all, including the UK and France.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein rejected the criticism.
“All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it,” he said.
“Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid,” he added.
The Israeli military said earlier this month that it recognised there had been incidents in which civilians had been harmed while seeking aid and that it was working to minimise “possible friction between the population and the [Israeli] forces as much as possible”.
The Israeli military body responsible for co-ordinating aid, Cogat, also said on Monday that Israel “acts in accordance with international law and is leading efforts to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza in co-ordination with the international organisations”.
A spokesperson for the GHF meanwhile appealed to UN agencies to join its operation while also blaming them for “stopping” work and for failing to deliver supplies across the territory.
Chapin Fay told journalists that he had been to border crossings where he saw aid supplies “rotting” because UN agencies would not deliver them.
The Israeli foreign ministry said on Sunday that 700 lorry loads of aid were waiting to be picked up by the UN from crossings.
The UN has said it struggles to pick up and distribute supplies because of the ongoing hostilities, Israeli restrictions on humanitarian movements, and fuel shortages.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 59,029 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The megabill President Trump signed into law this month is expected to make a major dent in the U.S.’s climate progress, adding significantly more planet-warming emissions to the atmosphere.
Models of the legislation that have emerged in recent weeks show U.S. emissions will rise as a result of its implementation.
One model from climate think tank C2ES found U.S. emissions will increase by 8 percent more than they would have been otherwise as a result of the package.
“An 8 percent increase in our emissions is … still a massive amount of emissions,” said Brad Townsend, the group’s vice president for policy and outreach.
Taking into account all of the efforts to reduce U.S. emissions over the last 20 years, Townsend said, the bill represents “rolling back a third of that progress with a stroke of a pen.”
The Trump-backed measure both repeals spending aimed atreducing emissions that had been passed by Democrats and creates more opportunities for planet-warming fossil fuels.
A refresher:
Its most significant provisions repeal tax credits for climate-friendly energy technologies, including wind and solar energy, as well as electric vehicles.
It also repeals programs that would have paid for low-carbon and anti-pollution projects, including in underserved neighborhoods.
A model from Princeton University finds that without the “big, beautiful bill,” the U.S. would cut its planet-heating emissions by 32 percent by 2035. With the bill, emissions are expected to only drop by 25 percent compared to where they were in 2005.
If Biden-era policies remained in place, including not only the tax credits but also regulations, emissions would drop between 40 percent and 44 percent, the model finds.
A model from the Rhodium Group found that without the bill, emissions would be 31 percent to 51 percent lower in 2035 when compared to 2005. Now, they’ll only drop bybetween 27 percent and 44 percent during that period.
Ben King, the lead author of the analysis, said this is a “pretty substantial difference” — saying it’s about 575 million extra metric tons of carbon dioxide in the year 2035 alone.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
Amazon’s emissions increased 6 percent last year, as the e-commerce and cloud computing giant continued to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts and build out its data center footprint.
The “big, beautiful bill” that President Trump signed into law earlier this month will add nearly $3.4 trillion to the nation’s deficits over roughly the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in a report on Monday.
A federal judge ruled the Trump administration violated federal law by taking down a public website that showed how funding is apportioned to federal agencies, ordering its reinstatement.
President Trump posted a fake video to Truth Social on Sunday night showing former President Obama being arrested in the Oval Office with the song “Y.M.C.A.” playing in the background.Read more
The House will not vote on a resolution calling for the release of some documents related to Jeffrey Epstein before the August recess, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on Monday, despite growing GOP outcry over the Trump administration’s handling of the case. Read more
In the summer of 2024, we saw no major superstars change teams. And rarely does an offseason such as that have as much of an impact on the following season’s title race. Of the four teams that reached the 2025 conference finals, only the Indiana Pacers returned the same starting five from the previous season.
Not every blockbuster deal worked. The Philadelphia 76ers looked like winners of the offseason after signing nine-time All-Star Paul George to team with Joel Embiid, only to see the pairing go bust in Year 1 because of injuries.
Let’s revisit 10 of the biggest trade and free agency moves, taking a look back at how I graded them at the time and what has changed as things have played out over the past 12 months.
G Duane Washington Jr. F Charlie Brown Jr. F DaQuan Jeffries 2025 second-round pick (via worse of Detroit and Philadelphia) 2026 second-round pick (via Golden State) 2031 second-round pick (via New York) $7.2 million cash
It’s tempting to put both teams in the A range after they reached the conference finals. But more than any of these deals, this one will take years to evaluate. For now, it is a win-win move.
The Timberwolves managed to improve their perimeter depth with DiVincenzo and reset financially. They’ll pay DiVincenzo, Randle and No. 17 pick Joan Beringer a combined $47.1 million this season, less than Towns alone ($53.1 million). That difference allowed Minnesota to re-sign Naz Reid without pushing above the second apron this season.
Meanwhile, Towns filled an enormous void for the Knicks at center before shifting to power forward in the conference finals alongside a healthy Mitchell Robinson. Towns earned All-NBA third-team honors and helped the Knicks level up their offense. With New York focusing on a championship, Towns’ defensive shortcomings are an issue, but that’s a champagne problem for a franchise that hadn’t reached the conference finals in a quarter century.
The Nets dealt Bridges at the peak of his value, and getting five first-round picks and a swap for a player who has never been an All-Star remains an enormous win. Two of Brooklyn’s historic five first-round picks in this year’s draft (used on Nolan Traore at No. 19 and Ben Saraf at No. 26) came from this trade, with several more to come.
Bridges rallied from an early shooting slump to post an impressive 57% effective field-goal percentage, which treats 3-pointers as 1.5 field goals to reflect their added value. At the defensive end, Bridges wasn’t the difference-maker the Knicks surely hoped for, and he averaged just 15.6 points on 33% 3-point shooting during the playoffs.
On the plus side, Bridges’ modest salary ($24.9 million this season) helped facilitate the Towns trade. And if adding Bridges helped convince former Villanova teammate Jalen Brunson to sign a below-market extension last summer, this deal was worth making for New York.
Original grade for Caruso: Chicago: C- Oklahoma City: A
Regrades: Chicago: C+ Oklahoma City: A
I wrote a year ago that adding Caruso made the Thunder favorites to win the West. That didn’t go far enough, as Oklahoma City won 68 games and the championship. After limiting Caruso’s minutes during the regular season, coach Mark Daigneault relied heavily on him during the playoffs. Caruso started the second half of Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets and was asked to defend three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in what became a blowout win. He also played an important role in the NBA Finals.
Given a “C” grade is generally my bar for whether a deal is worth doing, I’d now elevate the Bulls above that threshold. Although Chicago still should have acquired even more for Caruso given his importance to Oklahoma City, the Bulls are better off with Giddey — a restricted free agent this summer — going forward. Giddey improved his shooting and efficiency last season, nearly averaging a triple-double with an impressive .620 true shooting percentage after the All-Star break.
The only concern with the Thunder signing Hartenstein was how he might fit alongside incumbent center Chet Holmgren. Injuries prevented us from seeing that duo until February, but they started together for all but the first three games of the Finals during Oklahoma City’s title run. Hartenstein was outstanding defensively, and his screening and high-post passing proved important offensively. Better yet, a team-friendly contract gives the Thunder a team option for $28.5 million in 2026-27 that gives them flexibility with handling coming max extensions for Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Sixers sign free agent Paul George
Contract details: Four years, $212 million maximum
Original grade: A Regrade: D
Everything’s obvious after it happens, so it’s worth noting that even the LA Clippers — who successfully rebuilt a playoff-caliber roster after letting George walk for nothing — were willing to offer him three years at the max. Nobody anticipated that injuries would affect George’s value so much, so soon.
George’s 16.2 points average was his worst in a full season since his second season in 2011-12. And George’s average 3-point shooting (36%) raised questions about his ability to transition to a more complementary role on offense. After playing only 41 games in his first season with the Sixers, George will spend this summer rehabbing after undergoing knee surgery last week.
There’s still time for George to be a productive part of a competitive Philadelphia team, particularly if his accuracy from 3 bounces back after he shot 41% in 2023-24 with the Clippers. Still, given George’s age (35), it was always evident that the back half of a max contract might not be a good value. Not getting All-Star production in the first year makes it all but impossible for the 76ers to win that bet.
This deal already looked like a mistake for the Pelicans before Murray suffered an Achilles rupture at the end of January that should keep him off the court for at least the first couple of months of the 2025-26 season.
The biggest issue here was New Orleans selling low on Daniels, the No. 8 pick in 2022. At the time, I noted that top-10 picks traded so early in their careers have tended to disappoint because the team trading them has more info about their development. Whoops! Daniels rightfully won Most Improved Player after becoming the first player in decades to average 3.0 steals.
Given that Daniels still has a year left on his bargain rookie contract ($7.7 million this season), getting him for Murray would have been a reasonable return for Atlanta. In addition, the Hawks got this year’s No. 22 pick — used to get Kristaps Porzingis from the Boston Celtics last month — and another first-rounder in 2027 that looks more promising given Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s uncertain future in Milwaukee.
Contract details: Two years, $6.8 million (player option for 2025-26)
Original grade: D Regrade: D+
On the one hand, Westbrook started 36 games and played more than 2,000 minutes in the regular season, an incredible return for a minimum contract. Westbrook was particularly good as a starter, taking advantage of his ability to get out in transition and play off Nikola Jokic’s passing to average 15.3 points, 7.0 assists and 6.1 rebounds with a strong .579 true shooting percentage.
At the same time, how much coach Michael Malone played Westbrook was reportedly one point of contention with former GM Calvin Booth before both were fired late in the season. And Westbrook struggled as the Nuggets were eliminated by his former Thunder team, shooting 8-of-34 from the field over the last four games of the series with six assists and 11 turnovers.
Ultimately, Denver would have been better off without Westbrook. Notably, there seems to be no interest in a reunion after Westbrook declined his player option for this season. He remains unsigned in free agency.
Golden State Warriors get: 2025 second-round pick (via lesser of Philadelphia and Denver) 2031 second-round pick (via Dallas)
Original grades: Charlotte: B+ Dallas: B- Golden State: B
Regrades: Charlotte: B Dallas: B Golden State: B
Ultimately, this deal played out as all three teams expected. Thompson started all 72 games he played for the Mavericks, who were fourth in offensive rating through Christmas Day before Luka Doncic was injured because of a calf strain. Thompson wasn’t able to scale up his offense as Dallas dealt with devastating injuries after trading Doncic, but that wasn’t a fair expectation at this stage of his career.
Green started all of his 67 games for the Hornets, albeit without making a substantial difference to the team’s record. The Warriors, meanwhile, expanded this sign-and-trade to acquire Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson. Hield’s 33 points in Golden State’s Game 7 win over the Houston Rockets probably justified that decision on its own.
Original grades: Chicago: C Sacramento: C+ San Antonio: A
Regrades: Chicago: D Sacramento: C- San Antonio: A
At the time, I was optimistic that DeRozan’s reasonable contract (three years, up to $77 million with about $58 million guaranteed) might outweigh fit issues with the Kings. A year later, particularly after Sacramento swapped De’Aaron Fox for Zach LaVine, the benefit of adding the 35-year-old DeRozan no longer seems to justify the risk of swapping picks with the Spurs during Victor Wembanyama‘s prime.
I gave the Bulls too much credit in the moment, given they didn’t end up with either of the two best parts of this trade: DeRozan and the pick swap. Chicago derived little value from DeRozan’s Bird rights and waived Duarte after he played only 74 minutes. Barnes started all 82 games for San Antonio as a consummate role player and has one more year left on his deal at $19 million, hardly terrible value.
During Avdija’s first few weeks with the Blazers, it looked as if they might have been mistaken to buy into his 2023-24 shooting improvement. Avdija was languishing below 25% from 3 and lost his starting job. But from Veterans Day on, Avdija was the team’s best player, averaging 18.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 39% 3-point shooting and 56% inside the arc.
Given Avdija’s favorable contract (descending from $14.4 million this season to $11.9 million in 2027-28), if Portland wanted to deal Avdija again, teams might offer even more first-round picks for him. The biggest issue is that Avdija’s contract is so good, it probably will take using cap space for a renegotiation in the summer of 2027 to sign him to an extension.
The Wizards probably dealt Avdija at the right time, given it might have been difficult to replicate his performance with the Blazers on a team in full rebuilding mode. The No. 14 pick, used on Carrington, might be better than contending teams could have offered in a deal.
Nets reacquire draft picks
Brooklyn Nets get:
Return of 2025 first-round swap 2026 first-round pick (via Nets)
Houston Rockets get:
2025 first-round swap (via lesser of Rockets or Thunder for Suns) 2027 first-round pick (via Suns) 2029 first-round pick (via more favorable of Dallas and Phoenix) 2029 first-round swap (via less favorable of Dallas or Phoenix)
Original grades: Brooklyn: B- Houston: A
Regrades: Brooklyn: C- Houston: A
This pick-for-pick deal is interesting to revisit in the context that perhaps the Bucks should attempt something similar if they trade Antetokounmpo. A year later, the Nets would have been better off holding onto the Phoenix picks instead.
After all, the Rockets ended up swapping from No. 27 to No. 10 in last year’s draft — not far off Brooklyn’s selection at No. 8. The Nets have one more chance at a high lottery pick next year. Houston, by contrast, still has three bites at the apple between the Suns’ unprotected 2027 pick and getting the two best picks between Dallas, Phoenix and the Rockets’ own in 2029.
Brooklyn’s deal is understandable. The Nets have control over their own picks and not those belonging to other teams. But in an era where a bad record doesn’t guarantee a top-four pick, it’s essential to maximize the number of lottery opportunities available.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor best known for his role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died.
Warner, who was 54, drowned on Sunday while on vacation in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency confirmed the death in a press release.
Warner appeared to have been dragged out to sea by a current while swimming at Playa Grande about 14:00-14:30 local time in Cocles, a town in the province of Limón, local authorities said.
Warner played the son of Bill Cosby in the US sitcom from 1984-1992.
Authorities said bystanders rescued Warner and brought him to shore, where the Costa Rican Red Cross treated him.
But he was declared dead at the scene.
Warner was Emmy-nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a comedy series for his work on The Cosby Show in 1986.
He was handpicked for his breakout role by Cosby on the final day of a nationwide audition.
Jacques M. Chenet/Corbis via Getty Images
After The Cosby Show, Warner appeared in several other television programmes including Malcom and Eddie, alongside comedian Eddie Griffin.
He had guest appearances on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Sesame Street. More recently, he played AJ Austin, a cardio-thoracic surgeon on the medical drama series The Resident.
Warner also won a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance in 2015, alongside Robert Glasper and Lalah Hathaway for their cover of Stevie Wonder’s Jesus Children of America.
His spoken word album “Hiding In Plain View” garnered him another Grammy nomination in 2023.
Hunter Biden on Monday claimed actor George Clooney had threatened to pull out of a Los Angeles fundraiser last summer, an event that was the basis of a New York Times op-ed Clooney later wrote alleging then-President Biden didn’t recognize him.
The claim came as part of a wide-reaching interview Hunter Biden gave to YouTube personality Andrew Callaghan’s web series “Channel 5″ where he also lashed out at Clooney and other members of the Democratic party who publicly criticized the former president after his disastrous debate against President Trump.
Hunter Biden claimed that prior to the LA fundraiser, Clooney had been lashing out at White House staff, confirming reporting from The Washington Post that the actor had expressed his displeasure to the White House about the president’s remarks on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest warrant.
Biden claimed that Clooney’s ire was related to the work of his wife, Amal Clooney, a noted human rights attorney, who was one of the legal experts who recommended that the International Criminal Court seek action against Netanyahu over Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Post had reported that George Clooney called Steve Ricchetti, one of Biden’s closest advisers, to complain, and took particular issue with the president’s deeming of the warrant as “outrageous.”
“He was bitching to the White House staff … he was so angry that the president criticized the arrest warrant that was executed for Netanyahu,” Hunter Biden said.
The president’s son claimed that the actor had gone a step further, threatening to pull out of the major campaign fundraiser as the 2024 campaign was beginning to heat up.
“I saw the text messages that he wrote. Reams of text messages, like, ‘how dare he do that,’” Hunter Biden said. “And he kept promising that he was gonna embarrass the president and pull out of the fundraiser.”
Representatives for George Clooney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the end, George Clooney did attend the fundraiser headlining the event alongside former President Obama and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles.
But along with raking in $28 million for the Biden campaign, the marquee event proved fateful in a different way: George Clooney, taken aback at President Biden’s seeming frailty during the event, wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times a month later calling on him to step back from the race.
The actor was among the earlier voices calling for Biden to drop out of the race. Hunter Biden’s interview with Callaghan came on the one-year anniversary of Biden exiting the race.
Hunter Biden laid into George Clooney and other critics of his father during the three-plus hour interview.
“F‑‑‑ing George Clooney is not a f‑‑‑ing actor. He is a f‑‑‑ing, like … I don’t know what he is. He is a brand,” Hunter Biden said in an expletive-laden broadside.
Gold () futures opened at $3,355.60 per ounce Monday, 0.1% higher than Friday’s close of $3,353. In early trading, the price of gold reached $3,379.60, a new high for the month.
In stocks, earnings season is underway with largely positive results. Of the S&P 500 companies that have announced earnings for the June quarter, 83% beat expectations. This is above the five-year average of 78%. The average earnings surprise has been 7.9%, lower than the five-year average of 9.1%. The S&P 500 reached a new high on Friday, before closing lower. Gold’s strong open Monday may indicate investors are tentative about the near-term future of stocks, despite the higher earnings in the S&P 500. Ongoing tariff and inflation concerns are key factors.
Stock market today:
The opening price of gold futures on Monday is 0.1% higher than Friday’s close of $3,353 per ounce. Monday’s opening price marks a decline of 0.3% over the past week, compared to the opening price of $3,367 on July 14. In the past month, the gold futures price has gained 0.2% compared to the opening price of $3,350 on June 20, 2025. In the past year, gold is up 38.7% from the opening price of $2,418.80 on July 19, 2024.
24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Want to learn more about ? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.
Investing in gold is a four-step process:
Set your goal
Set an allocation
Choose a form
Consider your investment timeline
The first step to investing in gold is understanding your goals for buying it.
Given gold’s historic behavior, three suitable investing goals for a gold position are:
Diversification into an asset that moves independently from stock prices
Protection against inflation-related loss of purchase power
Backup source of value and wealth in an unlikely economic collapse
Gold has long been part of a balanced portfolio given its ability to hold its value – or even increase further – when the value of other assets is falling. That is why investors utilize gold as a stabilizer. Investors rely on gold’s strength in tough times to limit unrealized losses in equities and inflation-related reductions in purchasing power of cash deposits. That’s exactly what we’re seeing play out now before our eyes.
Gold is also a widely recognized store of value. As such, the precious metal can potentially stand in as a medium of exchange if the dollar collapses.
“I recommend that everyone buy a little gold as a hedge against calamity,” said Scott Travers, author of The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual and editor of “COINage” magazine, in an interview with Bottom Line, Inc. Gold “should be viewed as an insurance policy,” he said.
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Whether you’re tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart below shows the precious metal’s steady upward climb in value.
Historically, gold has shown extended up cycles and down cycles. The precious metal was in a growth phase from 2009 to 2011. It then trended down, failing to set a new high for nine years.
In those lackluster years for gold, your position will negatively impact your overall investment returns. If that feels problematic, a lower allocation percentage is more appropriate. On the other hand, you may be willing to accept gold’s underperforming years so you can benefit more in the good years. In this case, you can target a higher percentage.
The precious metal has been in the news lately, and many analysts are bullish on gold. In May, Goldman Sachs Research predicted gold would reach $3,700 a troy ounce by year-end 2025. That would equate to a 40% increase for the year, based on gold’s January 2 opening price of $2,633. Rising demand from central banks, along with uncertainty related to changing U.S. tariff policy, are the factors driving the increase.
If you are interested in learning more about gold’s historical value, since 2000.
“As soon as I knew there was a chance to join Manchester United, I had to take the opportunity to sign for the club of my dreams; the team whose shirt I wore growing up,” said Mbeumo.
“My mentality is to always be better than I was yesterday. I know that I have the spirit and character to reach another level here, learning from Ruben Amorim and playing alongside world-class players.
“Everybody told me about the environment that is being created here and how exciting the plans are for the future. This is a massive club, with an incredible stadium and amazing fans, we are all really determined to challenge for the biggest trophies.”
United submitted their first bid for Mbeumo – worth an overall £55m – at the start of June.
They failed with a second bid of £62.5m at the end of that month before reaching an agreement with their third offer.
Mbeumo scored 70 goals and registered 51 assists in 242 games for Brentford since joining in 2019 from Troyes.
He netted 20 goals and registered seven assists in the Premier League last season – both career highs.
“Bryan’s goals and assists record in the Premier League is exceptional, his remarkable consistency has put him among the most productive players in England for the last three seasons,” said United director of football Jason Wilcox.
“Bryan’s belief in our project and determination to join the club confirmed he was the perfect fit for Manchester United and the culture we are developing.”
Mbeumo’s departure sees him become the Bees’ biggest ever sale, eclipsing the £40m paid by Al-Ahli for Ivan Toney in August 2024.
“On behalf of everyone at Brentford, I would like to wish Bryan all the best for the future and thank him for his fantastic efforts over six seasons with us,” said Bees director of football Phil Giles.
“Bryan came to us as a teenager, and it has been an absolute pleasure for all of us here to watch him develop as a player and a person. Our fans have loved him, and he has been a part of some of our greatest days.
“There is always a right time for a player to move on and, for Bryan, that time is now. He has the opportunity to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and we are very happy for him.”
The winger is expected to be in United’s travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the United States on Thursday.
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Contract details: Four years, $212 million maximum
Contract details: Two years, $6.8 million (player option for 2025-26)
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