{"id":219351,"date":"2026-08-04T03:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/todd-blanche-reaches-deal-with-gop-holdouts-and-ariana-grande-steps-back-morning-rundown-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T03:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T03:59:15","slug":"todd-blanche-reaches-deal-with-gop-holdouts-and-ariana-grande-steps-back-morning-rundown-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/todd-blanche-reaches-deal-with-gop-holdouts-and-ariana-grande-steps-back-morning-rundown-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Blanche reaches deal with GOP holdouts and Ariana Grande steps back: Morning Rundown – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
Trump\u2019s attorney general pick scraps an \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund in a deal with holdout senators. Iran denies a Trump claim that new talks will start today after he called off attacks. And wildfires in Washington state burn 250,000 acres.
Here\u2019s what to know today.
Todd Blanche announced last night that he had reached a deal with the GOP senators blocking his nomination for attorney general, issuing an order \u201cofficially\u201d rescinding the $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund.
\u201cThis order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no fund,\u201d the order read.
This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up <\/strong><\/em>here<\/strong><\/em><\/a> to get it in your inbox.<\/strong><\/em>
The fund was part of a settlement agreement that stemmed from a lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the IRS, which also shielded the Trump family from tax audits. Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis said their support for Blanche hinged on the administration\u2019s rescinding of it.
Blanche had testified before Congress that the fund was dead, but the president threatened Saturday to \u201cpush hard\u201d to revive it.
The Senate Judiciary Committee votes on Blanche\u2019s nomination tomorrow.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/a>
A U.S.-brokered plan for Israel to withdraw from parts of southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah has so far offered little relief to displaced families. As residents return to designated \u201cpilot zones,\u201d many are met with rubble where homes once were.
\u201cThere is no infrastructure left. No water. No electricity. Nothing,\u201d Mouhamad Ezzeldinne, a father of three, told NBC News about returning to his village. He said he left after witnessing the level of devastation.
With many families facing similar circumstances and with Hezbollah still refusing to relinquish its weapons, it\u2019s unclear how the pilot zone program will progress. Negotiators from Lebanon and Israel are expected to meet for continued talks in Rome next week.
Read the full story here.<\/strong><\/a>
Meanwhile, Trump said Iran peace talks are set to resume today<\/strong><\/a> after the U.S. paused further attacks subject to \u201crapidly\u201d making a deal. Iran said it was not currently holding talks with the U.S. but was in discussions with Oman over a temporary safe route through the strait. \u201cWe currently do not have negotiations with America,\u201d and Iran had no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in the coming days, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters.
Fifteen wildfires were burning across Washington state yesterday, consuming 250,000 acres, an official said.
In Spokane, more than 600 structures were destroyed and 60,000 people were forced to evacuate. Three blazes, collectively called the Spokane Complex Fire, have burned more than 7,700 acres and are 0% contained, according to a federal incident management team.
The fires are \u201creally the worst natural disaster our region has faced,\u201d Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said yesterday.
Winds and dry conditions were quickly fueling the flames, and temperatures are expected to rise this week.
Here\u2019s what else we know.<\/strong><\/a>
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the country\u2019s second-deadliest on record, racing past 1,500 deaths in less than three months.
Health officials and experts say the crisis is being driven by a combination of cuts to global aid \u2014 led by Trump and Elon Musk \u2014 as well as conflict in the region and a surge in misinformation that has fueled distrust about the existence and severity of the disease.
\u201cThere\u2019s just not enough resources,\u201d said Trish Newport, Ebola\u2019s emergency program manager for Doctors Without Borders in Congo. \u201cSo without a scale-up of the response, without more resources in this response, this outbreak will continue to grow, and people will continue to die.\u201d
This outbreak went undetected, likely for weeks, experts say.
Here\u2019s why.<\/strong><\/a>
Ariana Grande plans to step away from the public eye following scrutiny, a representative said, as discussion swirls around her health.
The representative told People<\/strong><\/a> that Grande will take \u201ca step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,\u201d which will wrap next month.
\u201cShe looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny,\u201d the representative told People.
Read more on why Grande is stepping away from the spotlight.<\/strong><\/a>
If you think of military food, vats of refried beans and mystery meat probably come to mind. The Army is trying to reverse that reputation by making over a select number of dining halls with tasty, nutritious meals. I spent a day at the newest location at Fort Drum in upstate New York.<\/strong><\/a> I watched soldiers\u2019 eyes widen as they took their first sips of \u201cApple Pie\u201d protein shakes and fueled up on made-to-order omelets. (I personally enjoyed my curry chickpea sandwich and side salad of eggplant, cucumber and red onion.)<\/p>\n

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has touted the program as a victory of his \u201cMAHA\u201d movement \u2014 but the Army has been working on the initiative since 2023, before the second Trump administration. There\u2019s also still work to be done to counteract soldiers\u2019 longstanding preferences for fast food. I noticed lots of pizza and burgers on plates, though they were made with fresh ingredients and far less greasy than your standard takeout.
Some soldiers said they still planned to go to McDonald\u2019s or Burger King but expected the healthier options to make those trips less frequent. One soldier described the discomfort of running six miles the morning after eating fast food: \u201cI felt sluggish,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt slow.\u201d
\u2014 <\/em>Aria Bendix<\/strong><\/em>, health reporter<\/em>
Back-to-school shopping<\/strong><\/a> can be quite expensive, especially for college students<\/strong><\/a>. With that in mind, it\u2019s worth knowing that there are tons of brands and retailers that have dedicated, college-exclusive memberships and deals for students. We rounded them all up<\/strong><\/a> to help you save big this school year.
Sign up for The Selection<\/strong><\/em><\/a> newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.<\/em>
Thanks for reading today\u2019s Morning Rundown. Today\u2019s newsletter was curated for you by Kayla Hayempour. If you\u2019re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up <\/em>here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. <\/em>
Platforms editor for NBC News
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeTrump\u2019s attorney general pick scraps an \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund in a deal with holdout senators. Iran denies a Trump claim that new talks will start today after he called off attacks. And wildfires in Washington state burn 250,000 acres.Here\u2019s what to know today.Todd Blanche announced last night that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}