Iran war hits 60-day mark; DHS shutdown ends, but funding battles continue
The Iran war has hit the 60-day mark, and Washington can’t agree on whether the president needs Congress to keep it going.
Plus, the DHS shutdown is over after months without full funding. But immigration enforcement money is moving on a separate track, and the next fight is already lined up.
And the Texas camp at the center of last summer’s deadly floods backtracks, now saying it’s canceling its season.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, May 1, 2026.
Lawmakers clash with Hegseth over need for Congressional approval as US reaches 60-day war deadline
Friday marks 60 days since the U.S. entered the war with Iran, and now there’s a growing fight in Washington over whether the president needs Congress to sign off on what happens next.
At a Senate hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth argued the administration does not have to seek authorization yet, saying the current ceasefire pauses that 60-day clock.
“Ultimately, I would defer to the White House and White House counsel on that,” Hegseth said. “However, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding, means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire.”
”I do not believe the statute would support that,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. “I think the 60 days runs [out] maybe tomorrow, and that’s going to pose a really important legal question for the administration there.”
Under the War Powers Act, presidents have 60 days to continue military action without approval from Congress.
That deadline is now here, and lawmakers don’t agree on whether it still applies.
Some Republicans say the president has more time. Others say Congress needs to weigh in now.
The conflict itself is largely paused under a ceasefire, but U.S. forces remain in the region, and tensions haven’t gone away.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, told reporters Thursday that Iran is ready to negotiate.
“I mean, Iran is dying to make a deal. I can only tell you that. I don’t want to get into the det — but they got to—they cannot be nuclear, other than that. But they are…Their navy is gone, their air force is gone. Every ounce of any form of equipment, practically. They want to make a deal badly. We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It’s a little bit of a problem, you know? The leaders have been wiped out along with their military.”
— President Donald Trump
Talks have stalled, and the administration has not said whether it will seek authorization from Congress to wage the war.
That’s now drawing a line from some Republicans.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, says she’ll introduce a measure to force a vote on the war if the White House does not present a clear plan within the next week.
Trump signs bill restoring most DHS funding, ending months-long shutdown
The partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is over. Trump has signed a bipartisan bill to restore funding for much of the agency.
However, the deal does not cover the administration’s immigration enforcement operations. That funding is being handled separately.
DHS has been operating without full funding since mid-February, making this the longest shutdown of a single agency in U.S. history.
The House moved quickly to pass the Senate-approved measure on Thursday, ending the standoff.
The department has more than 250,000 employees.
Democrats had pushed for changes to ICE and Border Patrol following a crackdown in Minneapolis that left two American citizens dead.
Republican leaders broke the impasse by shifting immigration-enforcement funding to a separate bill and using budget reconciliation to advance it.
That measure would unlock roughly $70 billion for immigration operations.
In other words, the funding is coming, just on a different track, with a vote expected later this month.
Trump says he wants to sign that bill by June 1.
Trump replaces surgeon general nominee, tapping Nicole Saphier after Means fails to secure Senate support
President Trump has again changed course on the U.S. Surgeon General.
He’s withdrawing his nomination of Dr. Casey Means after her confirmation stalled in the Senate amid questions about her experience and vaccine positions.
Now, he’s turning to a new pick — Dr. Nicole Saphier, a radiologist, Fox News contributor, and breast imaging specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Trump praised her as both a strong physician and a clear communicator. She’s someone, he says, who can break down complex health issues for the public.
Means had been facing a tough path forward, with key Republicans signaling hesitation and her nomination stuck in committee after a tense hearing.
This now marks the second surgeon general nominee Trump has had to pull back as the administration tries to land on a candidate who can actually get through the Senate.
Polymarket expands fraud protection tools after US soldier is accused of betting on Maduro capture
A major prediction market is tightening oversight after a U.S. soldier was accused of betting on a military operation.
Polymarket says it’s increasing monitoring of trades after prosecutors charged a U.S. Army master sergeant with using classified information to place bets on the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
The company is now partnering with blockchain firm Chainalysis to track transactions and flag suspicious activity in real time.
Because every trade is recorded on a public blockchain, investigators can trace patterns tied to insider knowledge.
Prosecutors say, Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke helped plan the raid on Maduro’s compound, then placed 13 bets on the outcome, making more than $400,000.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The case centers on a high-risk operation in Caracas and what prosecutors say is a clear example of insider trading tied to national security.
Polymarket says the new system is designed to catch suspicious trades faster and give law enforcement verified evidence.
Online users flagged Van Dyke’s bets within hours, but it took months to build the case
Camp Mystic announces it won’t reopen this summer
Camp Mystic is backing off plans to reopen this summer after last year’s deadly floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas’s hill country.
The girls’ camp withdrew its application for a 2026 license months after floodwaters tore through the property and killed 28 people, most of them young campers, on the Fourth of July.
Camp leaders had been pushing to reopen part of the site that did not flood.
That plan drew backlash from families and scrutiny from state lawmakers during emotional hearings this week.
Now, the camp says it’s stepping back.
“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” the camp said in a statement.
Investigations into the flooding are still active, including criminal and civil cases.
State inspectors have also cited the camp for failing to meet key safety and emergency requirements.
In a statement on X, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called the decision the right one, saying it protects campers and gives investigators time to finish their work.
World War I shipwreck found at sea more than 100 years later
A piece of American history that has been lost for more than a century has finally been found.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Tampa was discovered more than 300 feet below the surface of the Atlantic, off the coast of England.
Back in 1918, during World War I, the ship was escorting convoys when it was torpedoed by a German submarine.
It sank in less than three minutes.
All 131 people on board were killed, making it the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces at sea during that war.
The wreck was found by a volunteer diving team after a three-year search. They worked with historians to confirm it was, in fact, the Tampa.
For the Coast Guard, it closes a chapter that’s been open for generations.
Officials now say the site will be preserved as the crew’s final resting place.
More from Straight Arrow:
How ‘nuclear verdicts’ are driving up trucking costs — and the price of almost everything
Moving freight across the U.S. always carries risk. But in recent years, a fast-growing threat to the economics of trucking has erupted — not on the highway, but in the courtroom.
“Nuclear verdicts,” legal and insurance shorthand for jury awards exceeding $10 million, have become more frequent and ever larger. What was once remarkable is now everyday news. That relentless climb is fundamentally reshaping the economics of trucking and, by extension, the cost of goods for ordinary Americans.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
