Key senators reach agreement on spending levels for next year

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will pursue a spending increase next year of about 3.4% for defense and 2.7% increase for non-defense programs under a bipartisan agreement reached by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The deal reached by Sens. Patty Murray and Susan Collins sets up a certain clash later this year with the House, which is pursuing less spending in both categories. Spending was set to increase 1% for defense and non-defense programs next year under an agreement reached by President Joe Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. But some senators said such an increase would not keep pace with inflation and amounted to a cut for many programs.

Frustrations mount in the Houston heat after Beryl moves on

HOUSTON (AP) — Frustration is mounting that Houston appeared to buckle under a storm not as powerful as previous ones. Officials said Tuesday that wide recovery efforts are underway after Hurricane Beryl left millions still without power as temperatures soar. Officials say restoring power is the No. 1 priority. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration. Emergency crews hope to have power restored to an additional 1 million people by the end of the day. Beryl made landfall early Monday as a Category 1 hurricane and has been blamed for at least seven U.S. deaths and 11 in the Caribbean.

Fed’s Powell highlights slowing job market in signal that rate cuts may be nearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve faces a cooling job market as well as persistently high prices, Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony to Congress, a shift in emphasis away from the Fed’s single-minded fight against inflation that suggests it’s moving closer to cutting interest rates. The Fed has made “considerable progress” toward its goal of defeating the worst inflation spike in four decades, Powell told the Senate Banking Committee. “Inflation has eased notably” in the past two years, he added, though it remains above the central bank’s 2% target. Powell pointedly noted that “elevated inflation is not the only risk we face.” Cutting interest rates “too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment,” he said.

Woman who received a pig kidney transplant plus a heart pump has died

WASHINGTON (AP) — A woman who received a pig kidney transplant has died. Lisa Pisano received both the kidney and an implanted device to pump her failing heart in April at NYU Langone Health. Her heart medications damaged the pig kidney, forcing doctors to remove it 47 days later and return her to dialysis. The hospital says she eventually entered hospice care and died Sunday. An earlier pig kidney recipient at Massachusetts General Hospital also died a few months afterward. Still, doctors learning from these experimental surgeries hope to begin clinical trials of pig organs next year.