California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a federal minimum tax on billionaires and a national AI equity fund while opposing a billionaire tax on California’s November ballot. He says wealth taxes should be handled nationally and that AI gains should help support workers and public programs.
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Ships continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after the Ever Lovely was struck near Oman, while Iran warned vessels not to use routes it has not approved. The dispute has become a key test of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding on safe passage through the waterway.
Russia said it intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in one of Kyiv’s largest strikes of the war, as Ukraine targeted Russian regions and occupied Crimea. The assault came alongside continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and renewed scrutiny of military activity in Belarus.
Paris is limiting public drinking and takeaway alcohol sales as a record heatwave strains hospitals. The heat has broken records across Europe, with scientists linking its intensity to human-caused climate change.
Billionaire Leon Black is set to testify behind closed doors before House investigators examining Jeffrey Epstein’s network. Lawmakers are expected to question him about roughly $170 million in payments he made to Epstein between 2012 and 2017.
At least 235 people were killed and about 4,300 injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela less than a minute apart. International rescue teams and aid shipments are arriving as hospitals fill and crews search for people trapped under rubble.
Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela within less than a minute, killing at least 235 people and injuring about 4,300. Rescue crews, soldiers and volunteers are searching collapsed buildings as international aid begins arriving.