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House Republicans passed their domestic policy megabill Thursday after nearly 24 hours of nonstop angst, discord and hands-on pressure from President Donald Trump and allies — ultimately uniting to deliver his top legislative priority. The 218-214 final vote is a major victory for congressional Republicans who pledged to send the bill to Trump’s desk before July 4. Speaker Mike Johnson muscled the bill through in the early-morning hours after a full day of meetings with holdouts, huddles on the House floor and gatherings of different factions at the White House. One preliminary vote Wednesday was held open for more than…

Verizon (VZ) is bringing back an unlimited data plan. Starting Monday, Verizon customers can get unlimited data, talk and text for $80. The company says the new introductory plan also includes up to 10 GB of mobile hotspot usage, as well as calling and texting to Mexico and Canada. It will also allow customers to stream unlimited HD video, thumbing its nose at T-Mobile’s controversial practice of lowering video quality for some of its unlimited data customers. Although the new Verizon plan promises “fast LTE speeds,” those using a lot of data may suffer. The company said that after a…

Elon Musk’s Tesla has reported a 14% decline in vehicle deliveries in the second quarter of the year, as the electric car-maker’s problems show no sign of abating.The just over 384,000 vehicles it delivered between April and June represents the second quarterly drop in a row.Tesla faces increasing competition from rivals, including China’s BYD. Musk’s controversial role as a government efficiency czar in the Trump administration has also been blamed for the plummeting numbers.Musk has since left the role – but has publicly sparred with US President Donald Trump over a massive spending bill pushed by the White House.In response,…

Thanks for the tip! A reader told us about the message on the sign at the former Morning Star Market at 9th SW and SW Henderson. It’s been almost four years since we reported the mini-mart beloved for its barbecue was closing after the sale of the property. Now there are signs — and a literal one in the form of a marquee—announcing what might come next – coffee shop, perhaps. We reached the owner, Ben Greene of Greene Information Systems, this week. He told us he initially intended to use property for office space – as we reported in…

Uber’s top rival in India has some unsolicited advice for the U.S. startup: Go local. “They have a very cookie-cutter approach in terms of what the model is and how [to] force feed it into any geography,” Pranay Jivrajka, a top executive at Ola Cabs, said on the sidelines of CNN’s Asia Business Forum in Bangalore. Jivrajka, who until recently served as Ola’s COO, said that Uber should ditch its one-size-fits-all approach and instead try to understand “local nuances” that would help it to identify services that “users and drivers actually want.” Uber declined to comment on Jivrajka’s remarks. Uber…

CNN  —  Lake Powell, the second-largest human-made reservoir in the US, has lost nearly 7% of its potential storage capacity since 1963, when Glen Canyon Dam was built, a new report shows. In addition to water loss due to an intense multiyear drought, the US Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclamation report found, Lake Powell faced an average annual loss in storage capacity of about 33,270 acre-feet, or 11 billion gallons, per year between 1963 and 2018. That’s enough water to fill the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall about 1,600 times. The capacity of the reservoir is shrinking…

Google’s controversial AI-generated summaries — which have been blamed for crushing the traffic of US news sites — have drawn an antitrust complaint in the European Union from a group of independent publishers. The complaint, dated June 30 and submitted by the Independent Publishers Alliance, accuses Google of abusing its dominant position in online search by promoting its own AI-generated summaries over links to original content. The filing by the Independent Publishers Alliance, seen by Reuters, requests that the European Commission impose interim measures to prevent what it describes as “irreparable harm” to publishers. Google’s artificial intelligence tools are being…

It used to be the congressional equivalent of a five-alarm fire: Members of the House Freedom Caucus were holding out, refusing to go along with Republican leaders’ plans for high-stakes legislation. But when Speaker Mike Johnson brought the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” to the House floor this week, few were surprised when the band of hardcore conservatives threatened once again to take down the bill. And even fewer took their threats seriously. “They do this every time — every dadgum time,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), a hard-right member who himself has occasionally held out on GOP leaders. The endgame…

ProsFlexible funding: Helocs let you use the money for various purposes and draw on the line of credit as needed rather than getting a single lump sum.Lower interest rates: Helocs often have lower interest rates than personal loans or credit cards, so they are a more affordable option. Plus, you only pay interest during the draw period, so if you don’t have a balance, you don’t pay anything.Potential tax benefit: The interest you pay on a Heloc for the portion used for home improvements might be eligible for a tax deduction.ConsVariable interest rate: Most Helocs have variable rates, so your…

Graham Fraser & Imran Rahman-JonesTechnology reportersBrittany WatsonBrittany Watson started the petition calling for Meta to answer for banning people’s accountsFacebook and Instagram users have been contacting the BBC complaining about having their accounts arbitrarily banned, and struggling to get them reinstated.Last week Meta – which owns the platforms – acknowledged a “technical error” which it said was causing the wrongful suspension of some Facebook Groups.Since then, people who use what is the world’s biggest social media company have been getting in touch with the BBC to describe the impact it is having on them – and say the problem goes…