With celebrations for the nation's 250th anniversary well underway, the country's mood can be summed up as complicated, according to a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. Most Americans say the nation has drifted from its founding ideals, and a growing number believe violence may be necessary to set the country on the right path. Liz Landers has insights from the poll and its respondents.

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Chef José Andrés and his disaster-relief organization, World Central Kitchen (WCK), are currently on the ground in Venezuela feeding earthquake survivors, medical personnel, and search-and-rescue teams.
The mobilization follows back-to-back devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck north-central Venezuela on June 24, 2026. The disaster has deeply compounded the country's pre-existing, long-standing humanitarian and economic crises.


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Legal battles are creating widespread uncertainty for the 2026 midterm elections by rewriting the rules for voter registration, altering congressional boundaries, and setting up high-stakes fights over mail-in ballot deadlines. With the midterms fast approaching, aggressive litigation from political parties, civil rights groups, and the federal government has left local election officials racing to adapt.
The primary battlegrounds complicating the midterms include major Supreme Court decisions, unprecedented federal interventions, and restrictive state-level legislation.


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In the early morning hours of July 2, Maryna heard the air raid sirens and rushed to one of the local shelters in the Kyiv region as a barrage of Russian missiles and drones engulfed the dark skies above. When she emerged, she could only stand in shock at what was in front of her.Firefighters rushed around her apartment building as flames lapped at its concrete walls. All around her was destruction: burnt out cars, charred trees, glass strewn everywhere."Oh my God, I just can't. I don't know what to do -- it's such a nightmare," she told RFE/RL tearfully as she stood out front of her building.

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A wave of landmark studies published in July 2026 reveals a escalating global health crisis linked to smartphone addiction, with alarming data showing severe developmental risks for infants and widespread mental fatigue in adults. New research highlights that 70% of adults now admit they spend too much time on their phones, with behavioral experts shifting their focus from overall "screen time" to the deeper psychological damage of compulsive scrolling.

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In the 50 years he's lived in this historic San Francisco townhouse, there's been no shortage of celebrations. Fellow Hollywood stars and icons like Harry Belafonte have visited his home's narrow halls, filled with striking works by Black artists, as he proudly held court. 
But today's intention is different. Sitting down for PEOPLE's interview, the beloved veteran actor, who will turn 80 on July 22, is just trying to get his bearings. “I think he's aware sometimes and then sometimes not,” says his daughter Mandisa, 50. Her words prove true throughout his interview, during which Glover opens up for the first time about his life with Alzheimer's disease, often toggling between unfinished thoughts and poetic personal tangents. 

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Sweeping overhauls to the federal student loan system officially took effect on July 1, 2026, completely altering how millions of Americans borrow and repay money for college. Stemming from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress, the Trump administration's changes eliminate several popular repayment programs and place hard caps on graduate and parent borrowing.

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The U.S. Supreme Court officially rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship by executive order on June 30, 2026, delivering a monumental 6-3 decision that upholds over a century of legal tradition. In the case Trump v. Barbara, the court declared that babies born on U.S. soil are automatically American citizens, regardless of their parents' legal status.

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sparked widespread political reactions by blasting transgender terminology as a "lie to the public" in a stinging two-page concurring opinion. Writing in support of a landmark 6–3 Supreme Court ruling that upheld state-level bans on transgender female athletes competing in girls' sports, Thomas went further than any of his conservative peers in denouncing gender identity politics.
Conservative commentators and politicians immediately celebrated his sharp rhetoric as a "truth bomb" for biological reality.


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The Trump administration has formally notified Congress of its intent to advance a more than $700 million military sale of jet engines to Turkey. The deal involves delivering dozens of General Electric F110 turbofan engines to power Ankara’s indigenous KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet program.
The decision serves as a strategic geopolitical reset and a calculated gesture of goodwill ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.


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