House advances $75B ICE funding; Gas tops $4 as Iran standoff drives costs
A late-night standoff and a breakthrough. House Republicans push through a budget move that could unlock up to $75 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Plus, gas prices top $4 and keep climbing. The Iran standoff is tightening supply and hitting drivers where it hurts.
And a selfie taken just minutes before the chaos. New filings reveal what the suspected gunman did before rushing the White House Correspondents’ dinner.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, April 30, 2026.
House clears path for ICE funding, unlocking billions for enforcement
House Republicans are one step closer to unlocking billions of dollars to fund immigration enforcement. The House voted late Wednesday to adopt a budget framework, setting up a path to fund ICE and Border Patrol without Democratic support.
The plan could free up about $75 billion for those agencies using a process that only requires a simple majority in the Senate.
The vote was close and messy. Lawmakers kept it open for hours as Republicans pushed through internal disputes before finally passing it along party lines.
Democrats oppose the funding without new restrictions, pointing to recent deadly incidents involving federal agents.
Now, Republicans can move forward on a final bill. President Donald Trump wants it on his desk by June 1.
This marks just the initial step toward ending the partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, which has now lasted over 10 weeks.
Oil prices hit wartime high amid Iran standoff
Oil prices have spiked as Trump doubles down on his military blockade against Iran. Brent crude jumped above $125 a barrel overnight — a new wartime high — before easing back, though it still held well above $100.
In the U.S., the national average for gasoline has climbed to about $4.30 a gallon, the highest in nearly four years.
This comes as Trump warned Iran it “better get smart soon.”
According to NBC News, his national security team has presented multiple options as Iran continues to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. But the president is holding firm, saying the blockade will remain in place until Iran agrees to a deal addressing its nuclear program.
“Well, the blockade is genius, okay? The blockade has been 100% foolproof. It shows how good our Navy is, I can tell you that. We’re not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and we’ve knocked out their Navy, we’ve knocked out their Air Force. We’ve knocked out their anti-aircraft. Everything, apparatus, everything they have, their radar. They have very little left. And they have some missiles, a small percentage. They have a small percentage of missile-making facilities. We’ve knocked out about 80% of them; the rest could come very quickly, if we don’t make a deal.”
— President Donald Trump
Iran warned it will not tolerate the blockade and said it will respond if it continues.
Meanwhile, the USS Gerald R. Ford heads home after a record deployment of more than 300 days, and American officials said it will leave the region in the coming days.
Plus, new tensions with Europe have emerged. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently said the U.S. is being “humiliated” by Iran and criticized what he called a lack of strategy.
Now, Trump has threatened to pull U.S. troops out of Germany as that dispute escalates.
Florida passes new congressional map giving GOP up to four more seats
Florida state lawmakers passed a new congressional map Wednesday, pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, that could give Republicans as many as four additional seats in the U.S. House. The vote was contentious.
Democrats blasted the plan as a power grab, even interrupting the floor, with one lawmaker shouting through a megaphone as the final vote came down.
The new map redraws districts across the state, including areas around Tampa, Orlando and South Florida, potentially squeezing out Democratic-leaning seats.
DeSantis and his allies argue the plan is legally sound, pointing to a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that, they say, changes how states can address race in redistricting. That decision, Louisiana vs. Callais, is already sparking similar moves in other states. But it’s also setting up what could be a lengthy legal fight.
“Their new plan, that will undoubtedly face a state court challenge,” said David Becker, executive director at the Center for Election Innovation and Research. “I’m not sure whether it will face a federal court challenge now, given Callais. But that leaves things up in the air in Florida as well.”
Democrats and voting rights groups have promised to sue, arguing the map violates Florida’s constitutional limits on gerrymandering.
The bill heads to DeSantis’ desk. If he signs it, the legal battle will begin almost immediately.
Correspondents’ dinner suspect took selfie with weapons ahead of attack
New details have emerged about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting involving the suspect accused of attempting to assassinate Trump. New court filings show Cole Tomas Allen took a selfie in his hotel room just minutes before the attack, armed with guns, knives and ammunition.
Prosecutors said he had tracked the president’s movements that night, watching live coverage as Trump arrived at the Washington Hilton. Investigators also said Allen sent scheduled emails with an “apology and explanation,” suggesting he planned the attack in advance.
Moments later, hotel surveillance video shows Allen sprinting past security toward the ballroom, where the president and hundreds of guests had gathered. He fired a shotgun, sparking an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents. A bullet struck one officer in their bulletproof vest, but the agent survived.
Prosecutors said Allen “intended to kill” and described him as a serious danger if released. He now faces a charge of attempted assassination. A hearing on whether he should remain in custody will take place Thursday.
DOJ proposes rollback of gun rules, targeting background checks and dealer penalties
The Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced 34 proposed changes related to Trump’s executive order on gun policy.
Officials said the focus is on easing regulations for law-abiding gun owners and businesses and on shifting enforcement toward criminal activity.
One key change under review: rolling back a Biden-era rule that expanded background checks for gun-show purchases. The ATF also said it will scale back penalties for minor paperwork violations by licensed dealers.
Gun control groups have already pushed back, arguing that the proposal weakens safeguards amid heightened security concerns. The public will have 90 days to comment before any of these changes are finalized.
Mississippi students stop runaway school bus after driver collapses
A group of Mississippi students is being hailed as heroes after stepping in when their school bus driver lost consciousness. The 46-year-old driver had just left a middle school in Hancock County with about 40 students on board when she suffered an asthma attack and passed out.
The bus began to swerve along a four-lane highway. A sixth-grader sitting behind the driver grabbed the wheel, while another rushed forward and slammed on the brakes. The students steered the bus into the median, shifted it into park and brought it to a stop. Another student called 911.
Once the student secured the bus, they located the driver’s nebulizer and helped her use it until first responders arrived. The driver is expected to recover, and no students were harmed on board.
Local officials praised the students for their quick thinking and calm under pressure.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Why a growing number of US adults feel more anxious this year than last
It has been six years since the world stopped spinning. Six years since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way Americans do seemingly everything — from grocery shopping to sneezing into elbows.
“Things haven’t been the same since,” nurse Trinity Walker told Straight Arrow. “I do sometimes wonder where I would be in my life if it weren’t for the trauma I went through during that time.”
For Walker and many others, something fundamental broke during those years. And it never quite reassembled. Millions of Americans continue to live in “survival mode,” a state in which a person’s nervous system remains activated, awaiting the next crisis. According to a recent report, 43% of adults say they feel more anxious than they did the year before — a steady climb from 37% in 2023 and 32% in 2022.
“I’m still struggling to put myself back to where I was,” said Jessina Allen, an Atlanta-based personal trainer. During lockdown, the 39-year-old faced the inability to work since gyms were closed.
“It’s hard to explain, but sometimes I grieve who I might’ve been if all this hadn’t happened,” Allen said.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
