News Wrap: Funeral service for Dick Cheney held at Washington National Cathedral

Amna Nawaz:

We start the day's other headlines at Washington D.C.'s National Cathedral.

A funeral service for former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney brought together a bipartisan gathering of family and former leaders. The front pews were filled with former Presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden, plus four former vice presidents from both parties.

In their eulogies, President Bush and Cheney's daughter Liz honored his sense of duty and commitment to his country.

George W. Bush, Former President of the United States: His time produced an old breed of public servant, defined by their substance and character. This was a vice president totally devoted to protecting the United States and its interests. There was never any agenda or angle beyond that.

Fmr. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY):

But he knew that bonds of party must always yield to the single bond we share as Americans. For him, a choice between defense of the Constitution and defense of your political party was no choice at all.

Amna Nawaz:

President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance were not in attendance today, as they were not invited. Cheney rather famously voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in the 2024 election, as he put it — quote — "to put country above partisanship."

The Trump administration today announced one of its most ambitious plans yet to drill for oil off the nation's coasts. The proposal would open up nearly 1.3 billion acres of coastal waters to oil and gas drilling. That includes leases for new drilling off the coasts of California and Florida for the first time in decades, as well as a remote region off Alaska called the High Arctic, where such drilling has never taken place.

Critics have slammed the plan, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who's called it — quote — "dead on arrival."

Federal investigators say there was evidence of cracks in the engine mount of the UPS cargo plane that crashed two weeks ago in Kentucky, killing 14 people. A series of photos released today show the engine on the plane's left wing starting to detach during takeoff. Officials say the plane only managed to get 30 feet off the ground. The NTSB said the plane was last examined in 2021 and that it wasn't due for any detailed inspections of the parts in question.

The Justice Department now has 30 days to release files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after President Trump signed the bill last night calling for them to be made public. This includes an estimated 100,000 pages from multiple DOJ investigations into Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

But the bill does allow for redactions to protect the victims' identities and ongoing investigations, among others. In the meantime, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers says he will take a leave of absence from teaching at Harvard after recently released e-mails show Summers kept a friendly relationship with Epstein well after Epstein's 2008 conviction.

In Gaza, hospital officials say Israeli strikes killed at least 33 people overnight, including children. The attacks are some of the deadliest since the U.S.-brokered cease-fire last month. Israel says they responded to soldiers coming under fire in the southern city of Khan Yunis yesterday. Hamas has denied firing at Israeli troops.

Two of Ezz Al-Din Keshko's children were killed in the strike. He spoke with our Gaza producer, Shams Odeh.

Ezz Al-Din Keshko, Father of Children Killed in Airstrike (through translator): They were killed in a shelter that hosted people who were displaced, who have lost their homes. These are children and women who have nothing to do with this, honest people living amongst the community. The unjust criminal occupation murdered them without empathy or mercy.

Amna Nawaz:

Also today, a report from Human Rights Watch says that Israel may have committed war crimes, forcibly expelling 32,000 Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps earlier this year. Israel has said the raids were necessary to prevent militant activity.

The Associated Press, meanwhile, reports that Israel's civil administration is planning to seize parts of Sebastia, a major West Bank historic site. An anti-settlement group claims this would be one of Israel's largest seizures of archaeological important land yet.

Back in this country, Verizon is cutting more than 13,000 jobs as part of an effort to, in its words, reorient the company. The wireless carrier is looking to shrink costs and restructure its operations as it faces rising competition and a shrinking pool of new customers. Its stock ended 1 percent lower after the news.

Elsewhere on Wall Street today, stocks gave up early gains to close sharply lower. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 400 points. The Nasdaq dropped almost 500 points. The S&P 500 also ended the day firmly in the red.