WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has a major celebration planned for Independence Day in the nation’s capital Thursday, with plans to honor each of the five military branches in what he has dubbed the “Salute to America.” The festivities will include a parade through the streets of Washington, a concert, and a fireworks display of about $750,000 in donated pyrotechnics, according to the Department of the Interior.

Members of the European Parliament selected left-wing politician David-Maria Sassoli as president on Wednesday, making him the second Italian in a row to head the legislative body. Sassoli received 345 out of 667 votes, defeating his Conservative and Green party opponents. He belongs to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the major socialist progressive party in the European Union.

Tyler Skaggs, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, was found dead Monday in his hotel room in Southlake, Texas, where his team was in town to play the Texas Rangers. He was 27. Authorities have not confirmed a cause of death but do not suspect foul play. The Angels and Rangers postponed their game scheduled for later that day. “Words cannot express the deep sadness we feel right now,” All-Star Angels center fielder Mike Trout tweeted. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Carli [Skaggs’s wife] and their families.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decided Friday to delay the implementation of new rules allowing medical workers to claim religious exemptions to performing abortions or other procedures that violate their consciences. The rules require agencies that receive federal funding to comply with about 25 laws codifying protections for religious workers.

A federal judge on Friday handed down a sentence of life imprisonment for hate crimes charges to James Alex Fields Jr., the man who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017. Fields, who killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured more than two dozen others in the attack, had pleaded guilty to the charges. 

Another set of Democratic presidential hopefuls debated Thursday night in Miami, this time taking aim at the current front-runner in the race, former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden, Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Michael Bennet of Colorado, Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, businessman and activist Andrew Yang, and self-help author Marianne Williamson made up Thursday night’s lineup. Ten other Democratic candidates, including Sen.

WASHINGTON—The Democratic-majority House on Thursday approved a Senate-endorsed bill providing $4.6 billion for the care of migrants in U.S. custody. The bill, which passed 305-102 with all but seven Republicans in favor, will now go to President Donald Trump for signature.