Your Morning: Trump’s return to Capitol Hill

Capitol Hill visit: Former President Donald Trump is returning to Capitol Hill on Thursday to meet with House and Senate Republicans. This will mark Trump’s first visit to Capitol Hill since the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. He is also scheduled to speak at the House and Senate campaign headquarters near the U.S. Capitol about the 2024 election. House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers are “excited to welcome President Trump back.” The latest > 

Border lawsuit: A coalition of advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Biden administration Wednesday over President Joe Biden’s recent executive action on the border. The order Biden issued last week limits asylum processing once migrant encounters between ports of entry reach 2,500 per day. Advocates argue that suspending asylum for migrants not arriving at a designated port of entry violates existing immigration law, and an ACLU attorney called the order “legally indistinguishable from the Trump ban.” Read more > 

Cease-fire proposal: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said some proposed changes by Hamas to the U.S.-backed cease-fire plan are “workable” and some are not. It’s unclear which changes Hamas wants to make, but Blinken said mediators will keep trying to “close this deal.” The latest > 

Zoom in: Hamas has said it will not free the remaining hostages until there’s a permanent cease-fire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Last month, President Joe Biden said the cease-fire proposal included both. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is committed to destroying Hamas and making sure it can never carry out an Oct. 7-style attack again. A look at the main sticking points of the proposal > 

In Cuban waters: A fleet of Russian warships reached Cuban waters Wednesday ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean. U.S. officials expect the Russian vessels to stay in the region through the summer and possibly also make a stop in Venezuela. The mission comes less than two weeks after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons in the war against Russia. Why one retired general says the sight of the Russian ships isn’t a direct threat > 

G7 summit: This comes as leaders of the Group of Seven nations agreed to engineer a $50 billion loan to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. The loan would use interest earned on profits from Russia’s frozen central bank assets as collateral. How it will work >

Southern Baptist Convention: Southern Baptists voted Wednesday to oppose the use of in vitro fertilization. The nonbinding proclamation calls on members of the country’s largest evangelical denomination to only support reproductive technologies that affirm the value and right to life of every human being from the moment of conception. The vote came from 10,000 Southern Baptist Convention delegates. Read more > 

Also at the convention: The Southern Baptist Convention delegates, known as messengers, voted to reject a formal ban on women clergy. The vote came after messengers expelled a Virginia church from the denomination for believing women can serve as pastors within the Southern Baptist church. What to know >

Hunter Biden sentence: While President Joe Biden has previously said he would not pardon his son, Hunter, who was found guilty on felony gun charges last week, the White House declined to comment Wednesday on whether the president will commute his sentence. Asked by a reporter about “ruling out that (Joe Biden) would commute the sentence,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered that she has not spoken to the president about this yet. The president previously said he would accept the outcome of his son’s trial in Delaware. The latest > 

Hunter Biden gun trial: Hunter Biden was found guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the gun application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally owning the gun for 11 days in 2018. He is awaiting sentencing and faces up to 25 years in prison. Full breakdown > 

Hunter Biden tax case: Hunter Biden’s sentencing in the gun trial could bump up against his Sept. 5 trial on six misdemeanor tax charges. He faces allegations that he did not pay $1.4 million in federal taxes from 2016-19. The latest >

In contempt: House Republicans voted on a resolution Wednesday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interviews with former special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified material and declined to bring charges. In a statement released by the Justice Department, Garland said the vote was “deeply disappointing.” Following the vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the move was “essential to ensure transparency and accountability.” Read more > 

Titan submersible: The CEO of OceanGate, the company that created the Titan submersible that killed five passengers last summer, overstated how far along the project was and lied about issues with the vessel, a new Wired investigation revealed. Concerns about the Titan go back at least to 2016. That June, a test tank that evolved into the Titan imploded thousands of miles ahead of the company’s safety margin during a test run. Rather than ordering new models to continue testing after the 2016 incident, OceanGate began work on its full-sized model, the report said. Details > 

Putting away the textbooks: Gen Z is bucking the system and picking up tools to sign up for a trade. Last year, the U.S. saw a 23% jump in students studying construction programs and a 16% increase in vocational programs. Trade schools often cost less than traditional colleges, and in many cases, you can get paid while you learn through various apprenticeships. Why one influencer thinks trade work appeals to the younger generation >