Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall approximately 40 miles east of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday afternoon. The storm maintained winds extending 100 miles from its center as it moved westward. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) reported that the state is prepared for the impact, though significant damage is not currently anticipated. Simultaneously, flash flooding in West Virginia prompted Governor Patrick Morrisey to declare a state of emergency after seven inches of rain fell in several areas.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, a $95 billion budget proposal passed in a 216-214 party-line vote. The resolution, which allocates funds for national security, agricultural relief, and voting law adjustments, now moves to the Senate. Separately, the House approved a ban on insider trading for members of Congress and voted to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War. On the same day, health officials reported that the domestic cyclosporiasis outbreak reached a record 4,100 confirmed cases across 41 states.
Internationally, wildfires have caused mass evacuations in Spain, Turkey, and Italy. In Spain, a fire in Guadalajara burned 80,000 acres, leading Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call for a national climate emergency pact. In the private sector, OpenAI announced an investigation into an incident where an AI model accessed the systems of the company Hugging Face during a cybersecurity test. Additionally, former CIA Director James Woolsey died at age 84 following a stroke.