News Recap: Summer 2025
The news is never quiet, even during summer vacation. Over this summer, the US has seen dramatic changes in national and international policy, conflict surrounding the Palestinian genocide has spiked in the Middle East, and Americans are experiencing mounting financial difficulties. As the summer season raps up and all of our students return to school, the Conglomerate hopes to cover some of the most important headlines of the past few months in our 2025 News Recap.
International
In March of 2025, Israel cut off aid organizations from sending supplies into the Gaza strip. By April, the food stores held by the World Food Program were emptied. The IPC estimated that at least quarter of Gazans had entered phase five of starvation—the final and most catastrophic stage. Several aid organizations have tried to enter Gaza and have been blocked by the IDF, including the June Freedom Flotilla, a barge full of supplies, that included climate activist Greta Thunberg in its passengers. Both the June and July Flotillas were intercepted by Israel and all passengers detained and deported. Chris Smalls, the only Black passenger on either of this summer’s Flotilla, was subjected to beatings by the IDF—the only passenger to experience similar treatment. Israel eased the aid blockade on July 27th, but only a fraction of needed supplies is allowed to enter the area. The entire population is experiencing phase three or higher of starvation. Two hundred and twelve deaths have been confirmed to have been caused by starvation, nearly half of them children.
In the midst of the Palestinian genocide, Israel sparked an armed conflict with Iran, referred to the Twelve-Day War. Israel assaulted several Iranian nuclear facilities and assassinated many high-ranking Iranian figures. Iran and allies in Yemen then retaliated with drone and missile strikes against Israeli cities. The United States, as in Israel’s ally, proceeded to bomb three Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran retaliated by attacking the U.S. military base in Qatar. After significant pressure from the U.S., Israel and Iran signed a cease fire on June 24th, 2025, twelve days after the beginning of the conflict.
National
Protests in Los Angeles broke out in early June in response to ICE raids within the LA area. While most of the protests were peaceful, there was a small amount that turned into riots. Trump called in a total of four thousand National Guard and seven hundred Marines into the area. The military action was called “purposefully inflammatory.” Several protesters, LAPD, police horses, and journalists were injured in the protests. Los Angeles joined many other major U.S. cities in protesting the intense surge in ICE raids over the country under the Trump administration. On June 14th, an estimated five million people globally protested the Trump administration for fascist tendencies and democratic backsliding. The protest, held on Trump’s birthday, was dubbed the No Kings Protests, in reference to the several times Trump and his administration referred to the president as a monarch-like figure. The protest reached over two-thousand cities, including protests in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Alexandria, and Lafayette. The largest piece of legislation passed over the summer is arguably the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive reform from the Trump administration for public health. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House and representative from Louisiana, helped author the bill. Provisions covered many financial sectors concerning Republicans, including but not limited to:
Tax cuts and credits
Phase out of environmental protections
Medicare/Medicaid cuts and restrictions
Raise in military defense spending
Increase in border security
Institution of fees for asylum seekers
Cuts and restrictions to SNAP
A restructuring of student loans, including limiting loan limits for graduate education
The bill was divisive and required a tie breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance. It passed 51-50 in the Senate after several negotiations.
Climate
On July 4th, Central Texas witnessed extreme flooding that took at least 135 lives, including many young girls attending a sleepaway camp southwest of Hunt. On July 7th, climate scientists published a report on the tragedy. The authors found that the excess moisture in the atmosphere that contributed to the flash flooding could not be explained by natural progression. Extra carbon in the atmosphere also had a part to play in the extreme weather, says Climate scientist Andrew Dessler.
The Trump administration announced on July 23rd that they would be taking a hands-off approach to AI development. This news concerned small towns across the country that have become homes to the large databases that house the servers for AI bots. Citizens in homes near AI plants have reported low water pressure or dirty water. In West Des Moines, Microsoft power plants use six percent of the total water supply. The West Des Moines Water Works pressured local officials to deny expansion to Microsoft facilities unless they promised to lower peak water usage. As AI usage grows, local communities, particularly those at high risk for climate disaster, become more vulnerable from having to share limited resources with the tech companies.
Financial
In retaliation to limited action on illegal immigration from Mexico, Canada, and China, the Trump administration issues what has been nicknamed “fentanyl tariffs.” These tariffs were instated to pressure the countries into strengthening their efforts to stop immigrants—and drugs like fentanyl—from getting into the U.S. Starting July 31st, the Federal Circuit began hearing oral arguments in a case that would halt both the fentanyl tariffs and the reciprocal tariffs issued earlier in April. Decisions on the matter could take months to be reached.
In the middle of July, the Senate approved a $9 billion cut to foreign aid and public broadcasting. The budget cut effectively defunding CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. CPB is responsible for providing much of the funding for PBS and NPR, organizations that were previously targeted by an Executive Order that slashed their federal funding. While the Trump administration is claiming the budget cuts are directed at eliminating tax-funded biased media, many Americans are mourning the potential death of some of their favorite childhood shows like Sesame Street, Arthur, and Curious George.
That’s it for our summer recap. This is not an expansive list by any means, but we hope this provides a well-rounded summary of the biggest news from the summer. Stay connected with the Conglomerate throughout the year to hear more about what’s going on in the world, the country, and the local community.