NTD News Today

The man who opened fire at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta last Friday had documents in his home outlining his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccines, officials said in an update on Tuesday. “A search warrant executed at the residence of the shooter revealed written documentation that expressed the shooter’s discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Chris Hosey told a briefing.

U.S. annual inflation was unchanged in July, coming in below economists’ expectations as President Donald Trump’s tariffs did not have a significant impact on consumer prices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, headline inflation held steady at 2.7 percent for the second consecutive month.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will activate hundreds of National Guard troops to be in the nation’s capital to deal with the issue of crime. “This is Liberation Day in D.C. and we’re going to take our Capitol back,” Trump said at a press conference. “We’re taking it back under the authorities vested in me as the president of the United States.”

A federal judge denied the Trump administration’s request to make material related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein public. Grand jury material is typically kept secret, and the government’s filings do not meet an exception laid out in previous rulings, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote in a 31-page decision.

The highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled for next week in Alaska, and Ukraine is already drawing a red line. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is vowing that Ukraine will not cede territory to Russia as part of any potential peace deal. Trump told White House reporters on Friday that there could be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” as a way to end the war.

Polls show most Israelis want a cease-fire to bring back hostages and end the country's war with the Hamas terror group. Prime Minister Netanyahu is moving forward with his plan to seize Gaza City, which is controlled by Hamas. His plan has drawn rebuke from allies—Germany has halted some military exports to Israel, and more than 20 Arab and Muslim nations are calling Israel’s push into Gaza City a “dangerous escalation” and a “flagrant violation of international law.”

Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan on Friday to take control of Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the Israeli military "will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones." Israel's cabinet is expected to endorse the Gaza City plan.

President Donald Trump will host a signing ceremony at the White House on Friday for a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two nations have engaged in cross-border conflicts since the late 1980s. Trump will also sign bilateral economic agreements with the two countries. He says the agreements will fully unlock the South Caucasus's potential. The energy-rich region neighbors Turkey, Georgia, Iran, and Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sign a series of executive orders on Thursday, including one that punished banks for restricting services to customers based on their political or religious beliefs, and another that aims to allow private equity, real estate, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets in 401(k) retirement accounts.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Thursday that the FBI responded to his request to help arrest state House Democratic lawmakers who left the state in a bid to block a GOP-led redistricting effort. Earlier this week, Cornyn sent a letter to the FBI and its director, Kash Patel, to request federal assistance in apprehending the Texas House Democrats who fled to other states, such as Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, in a bid to block Republicans from conducting House business.

President Donald Trump is imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on India, lifting the total rate to 50 percent. Trump, writing in an Wednesday executive order, said India’s government is “currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”

Trump is expected to announce on Aug. 6 that Apple will increase its U.S. investment commitment by an additional $100 billion. The new pledge comes on top of the more than $500 billion in investments the tech giant unveiled in February for the next four years.

President Donald Trump has told CNBC that higher tariffs look set to be introduced for India. “I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fueling the war machine,” Trump said on Tuesday. “And if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy.”

The U.S. Transportation Department on Tuesday is proposing new rules to speed deployment of drones beyond the visual line of sight of operators, a key change needed to advance commercial deployments like package deliveries.Under current rules, operators need to get individual waivers or exemptions to use drones without visual line of sight. The department said eliminating those requirements "will significantly expand the use-case for drone technologies in areas like: manufacturing, farming, energy production, filmmaking, and the movement of products including lifesaving medications."

With the 2026 midterm season drawing nearer, Republicans hope that redistricting in red states such as Texas, Florida, Ohio, and others may expand their thin House majority. Meanwhile, Democrats are hoping that redistricting in blue states could counteract Republicans in the next election. Governors from California, New York, and Illinois have all expressed openness to redrawing their own states’ congressional maps.

The European Union will suspend its two packages of countermeasures to U.S. tariffs for six months, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday. The spokesperson said in a statement that the bloc “continues to work with the U.S. to finalise a Joint Statement, as agreed on 27 July.”

More than 3,200 Boeing machinists have walked off their aerospace jobs in the St. Louis, Missouri, area after members of the International Association of Machinists voted to authorize a strike at three defense plants starting at midnight on Monday. They are demanding better wages and work schedules.

Former special counsel Jack Smith is being investigated for potentially committing illegal political activity related to the 2024 election.

How have the recent tariffs affected U.S. businesses, consumers, and the overall economy? We discuss this with a panel of experts.

Can music help the injured brain heal? Brendon Fallon joins us from NTD’s Vital Signs to share insights into how music affects the brain and how it could play a role in treating dementia.

On Thursday, the eve of the Aug. 1 deadline for trading partners to reach trade agreements with the United States, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a new wave of tariffs on dozens of countries. Global trading partners responded on Friday, with some welcoming the move after securing favorable terms, while others expressed disappointment as their tariff rates increased.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee traveled to Gaza on Friday to inspect the U.S.- and Israel-backed aid distribution system. The visit took place as Witkoff works on a final plan to speed up aid deliveries to Gaza, the White House said on Thursday.