News without an agenda. AP is a not-for-profit organization with no corporate parent, no shareholders and no government influence. Our mission is journalism, not profit margins. Your donation supports independent reporting that serves the public interest, not corporate shareholders. Donate today.

Why this matters:

• The move comes as other Trump administration officials have begun to advocate for men to have easier access to testosterone replacement therapies, but the messaging from Hegseth and others blends known science on the hormone with broader, and less substantiated, claims. The Pentagon did not respond to questions about what research or academic studies underpinned the move.
  
  

• Over the past several years, special operations troops — and specifically Navy SEALs — have come under scrutiny for their use of testosterone and similar substances to enhance performance. The death of a SEAL recruit during training in 2022 led to the discovery of substances including testosterone in his possession, and revealed far more rampant drug use among the elite program than was previously acknowledged.
  
  

• Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran, said it “proves that Secretary Hegseth takes direction from the far corners of the manosphere.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Vance says Trump administration ‘screwed up’ communications around Epstein files
  
  
• ICE should keep making traffic stops despite recent shootings, Trump says
  
  
• Report: Detainees at ICE facility in Texas report frequent beatings and other human rights abuses
  
  
• After six years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House
  
  
• CDC nominee says she won’t betray science — while declining to challenge Kennedy’s actions
  
  
• Trump immediately fires the new court-appointed top prosecutor in Seattle
  
  
• Donald Trump endorses ‘Pillow Man’ Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor
  
  
• New York Times files motion to quash subpoenas served on journalists over Air Force One coverage
  
  
• George Santos’ next gig? Reality TV show contestant
  
  
• US Mint produces a $1 coin bearing Trump’s face
  
  
• Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump’s ‘American flag blue’ liner is now closer to gray

SEVERE WEATHER

Heavy smoke from wildfires blankets the US Midwest and Northeast, prompting evacuations

Thousands of visitors were told to evacuate a remote Minnesota wilderness area accessible only by boat as wildfires send dangerously heavy smoke over the U.S. Midwest and Northeast this week. More than 100 wildfires are burning in Canada. Winds are carrying the smoke southeast. Read more.

What to know:

• Warnings about unhealthy air conditions Wednesday extended from Minnesota through Toronto and into New York. Unusually hot summer temperatures were expected, too. The best advice is to stay indoors to avoid both the smoke and the extreme heat, said Tyler Hasenstein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
  
  

• Dan Westervelt, associate professor at Columbia University’s Climate School, said severe drought conditions combined with heat in Canada and the U.S. have created “a perfect storm for really dry conditions to provide a lot of fuel for these wildfires to burn.” Research shows warming temperatures from burning coal, oil and gas are making fires more frequent and intense.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• WATCH: Train crew in Canada surrounded by intense flames
  
  
• Busy wildfire season tests US fire bosses
  
  
• Flooding forces evacuations in parts of South Texas as slow-moving storms swamp the region
  
  
• What living in one of the world’s hottest towns feels like

WORLD NEWS

US expands strikes into northern Iran

The United States intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired on a ship the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting U.S. allies in the region before dawn and warned its attacks may escalate. Read more.

Why this matters:

• American strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, for the first time in this latest round of violence, showing a widening set of targets. Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war.