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The University of Pennsylvania will prohibit transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams and remove records set by Lia Thomas as part of a federal agreement, the Department of Education announced Tuesday. Thomas, a transgender woman and UPenn graduate, won the 2022 NCAA title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.⁠
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The Department’s Office for Civil Rights said UPenn violated Title IX by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.” Title IX bars sex-based discrimination at institutions receiving federal funds. “This is a complex issue, and I am pleased that we were able to reach a resolution through the standard OCR process for concluding Title IX investigations,” UPenn President J. Larry Jameson said in a statement.⁠
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Jameson added that the university “will review and update the Penn women’s swimming records set during that season to indicate who would now hold the records under current eligibility guidelines.” The agreement requires the university to revise record books and team eligibility policies in line with federal directives.⁠
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Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s public feud has reignited after a short-lived pause. “Without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding, “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!”⁠
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Trump was responding to a series of criticisms Musk levied over the last two days against the president’s signature “Big Beautiful Bill,” which today passed the Senate and is headed to the House. Musk accused the GOP of abandoning its fiscal promises, calling it the “PORKY PIG PARTY!!” and labeling the bill “political suicide.” He wrote, “Every member of Congress who… voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!” and pledged to help primary those lawmakers out of office.⁠
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Musk also backed Rep. Thomas Massie, reposted a call to support him, and threatened to launch a new political faction. “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote. He also warned that the bill’s defunding of contempt enforcement “enables many other abuses of power by the President,” and posted a poll asking whether such a provision should be allowed.⁠
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On Tuesday, Trump told reporters he would “have to take a look” at deporting Musk and again invoked DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency that Musk once led. “We might have to put DOGE on Elon,” Trump said, alluding to turning the agency against Musk and potentially targeting his federal contracts and subsidies.⁠
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​The Senate has just passed its version of the GOP megabill, which cuts taxes, adds work requirements to Medicaid, phases out green energy tax incentives, and increases funding for ICE and the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.⁠
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While all Senate Democrats opposed the bill, most Republicans supported it, though some broke ranks. Republicans Rand Paul, Thom Tillis, and Susan Collins voted against it.⁠
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What do Americans think of the bill?

Senate Republicans narrowly advanced President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a 50-50 tie after hours of debate. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes permanent tax cuts and major reductions to government programs, now returns to the House for final approval.⁠
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Three Senate Republicans—Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, and Rand Paul—joined Democrats in opposing the bill. Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski voted yes after negotiations. The legislation proposes cuts to Medicaid and food subsidies while preserving Trump-era tax breaks. Critics, including the House Freedom Caucus, warned the bill could add $650 billion annually to the deficit. “That’s not fiscal responsibility,” the caucus posted on Monday.⁠
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President Trump had hoped to sign the bill by July 4, but said meeting that date would be “very hard.” Tech executive Elon Musk, who helped Trump win the presidency, has turned against the bill, citing its impact on renewable energy. “Every member of Congress who… voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame,” Musk posted on X.⁠
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A senior Iranian cleric has issued a fatwa naming President Donald Trump an “enemy of God” following threats against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. ⁠
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Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi declared, “Any person or regime that threatens the Leader or Marja (May God forbid) is considered an enemy of God,” and urged Muslims “to make these enemies regret their words and mistakes,” according to Mehr News Agency.⁠
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A fatwa is a legal opinion issued by an Islamic scholar and is not inherently a death sentence. However, Shirazi’s use of the term “enemy of God” (mohareb) carries serious weight in Iranian law, where it can be grounds for capital punishment. ⁠
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The term evokes the 1989 fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini against author Salman Rushdie, which led to multiple assassination attempts and helped cement the misconception that all fatwas are calls for violence.⁠
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The decree follows remarks by Trump during the Iran-Israel conflict, in which he called Khamenei an “easy target” and said he knew his location.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge brought by Republican committees and Vice President JD Vance to federal campaign finance rules that limit spending coordinated between political parties and candidates. The case originated during Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio and questions whether restrictions on such spending violate First Amendment protections. The court will take up the matter in its next term starting in October.⁠
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The plaintiffs—including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, and former Congressman Steve Chabot—argue the limits “severely restrict political party committees from doing what the First Amendment entitles them to do: fully associate with and advocate for their own candidates for federal office.” The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the limits last year, citing a 2001 Supreme Court ruling. Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s administration supported the appeal and asked the court to appoint a third party to defend the existing law.⁠
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The justices also approved a motion from the Democratic National Committee and related groups to intervene in defense of the spending limits. “The Republican Party has spent decades trying to eliminate statutory limits on political party expenditures that are coordinated with candidates’ campaigns,” attorney Marc Elias said. The challenge follows a broader trend in campaign finance litigation, including the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which struck down limits on independent expenditures by outside groups.⁠
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Denmark has expanded its military draft to include women, making all 18-year-olds eligible for conscription through a gender-neutral lottery. ⁠
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The change, passed by parliament in early June, comes in response to increased security concerns across Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “In the situation the world is in now, it’s needed,” Katrine told the Associated Press. “I think it’s only fair and right that women participate equally with men.” Women had previously only served voluntarily.⁠
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Denmark’s $7 billion Acceleration Fund will help finance the changes, which are part of a broader plan to raise defense spending above 3% of GDP. ⁠
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Neighboring countries have taken similar steps: Norway introduced a gender-neutral draft in 2013, and Sweden followed in 2017. ⁠
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It’s Monday. Here are four wholesome stories to start the week off on a positive note.⁠
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After all, when it comes to living a balanced life, finding bright spots may be just as important as uncovering blind spots.

Crowds filled the streets of Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists killed during a 12-day war with Israel. Among the dead were Revolutionary Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami and missile program head Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Caskets were driven through Azadi Street as mourners chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” State media reported over 1 million attendees, though that figure could not be verified.⁠
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The funeral was attended by senior officials, including Gen. Esmail Qaani and Gen. Ali Shamkhani, who was wounded in the initial Israeli strike. Shamkhani said he awoke for dawn prayer to find his home destroyed. “Suddenly everything around me had become ruins,” he said. In total, 60 people were honored, including women and children.⁠
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Israel claims it killed 30 commanders and 11 scientists and struck eight nuclear sites. Iran launched more than 550 missiles in response, killing 28 people in Israel. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran could resume, but Iran’s parliament suspended cooperation with international inspectors. “If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal,” wrote Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, “he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader.”⁠
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Abortions in the United States increased in 2024 to an estimated 1.1 million, up from around 1.06 million in 2023 and 960,000 in 2022, according to new data from the Society of Family Planning’s WeCount project. The rise comes despite expanding restrictions in many states following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended nearly five decades of nationwide legal abortion access.⁠
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A growing share of abortions are now being carried out through telehealth, a form of remote medical care where patients consult with clinicians online and receive prescribed pills by mail. By the final quarter of 2024, telehealth abortions accounted for 25% of all abortions, up from just 5% before the Dobbs ruling. Many of these were made possible by shield laws in Democratic-led states that protect providers who prescribe abortion medication to patients in states where abortion is banned.⁠
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Three states have filed lawsuits to limit telehealth prescriptions of mifepristone, a drug commonly used in medication abortions. The Trump administration has argued those states lack legal standing.⁠
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Nestlé, the largest food and beverage company in the world, announced it will remove artificial dyes from all its U.S. food and beverage products by mid-2026. ⁠
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The change will affect a wide range of well-known brands across its portfolio, including Nesquik, DiGiorno, Stouffer’s, Lean Cuisine, Toll House, and Gerber. Nestlé also owns Coffee-Mate, Hot Pockets, Drumstick, and pet food brands like Purina ONE and Fancy Feast. ⁠
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The move follows similar pledges by Kraft Heinz and General Mills, and aligns with public support: an AP-NORC poll found that about two-thirds of Americans favor removing synthetic additives from processed foods.⁠
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Nestlé previously pledged in 2015 to eliminate artificial colors, but did not follow through fully. The company now says 90% of its U.S. portfolio is dye-free, though some products, like Nesquik Banana Strawberry milk, still contain Red 3. ⁠
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The Trump Organization has removed a claim that its newly announced T1 smartphone would be made in the United States. The phone’s webpage now refers instead to an “American-Proud Design” and states the device is “brought to life right here in the USA.” The original banner declaring the T1 “MADE IN THE USA” has been deleted.⁠
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When the $499 T1 was introduced, experts told CNBC that manufacturing the phone in the U.S. was unlikely and that production would probably occur in China. In a statement to CNBC, Trump Mobile spokesperson Chris Walker said, “T1 phones are proudly being made in America.” He added, “Speculation to the contrary is simply inaccurate.”⁠
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Alongside the branding change, key technical specifications were revised. The advertised screen size dropped from 6.8 inches to 6.25 inches, and a reference to 12GB of RAM was removed. CNBC has requested comment on the updated specs. President Donald Trump has pushed to increase U.S. tech manufacturing and has recently turned attention to smartphone production and Apple’s supply chain.⁠
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