Senate Dems reach $3.5T budget deal; Pope Francis returns to work; Sho-time at MLB All-Star game

Today is Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Let’s get caught up.

Here’s what you should know today: Senate Democrats reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion budget that largely backs President Biden’s top priorities; Pope Francis is back at work after 10-day hospitalization; and it was the Shohei Otahni show at MLB’s All-Star game.

Keep scrolling for today’s top stories, this date in history and celebrity birthdays.


TOP STORIES

Senate Democrats’ $3.5T budget deal backs up Biden’s goals

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats say they have reached a budget agreement envisioning spending an enormous $3.5 trillion over the coming decade, paving the way for their drive to pour federal resources into climate change, health care and family service programs sought by President Joe Biden.

The accord announced Tuesday night marks a major step in the party’s push to meet Biden’s goal of bolstering an economy that was ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic and setting it on course for long-term growth — and includes a Medicare expansion of vision, hearing and dental benefits for older Americans, a goal of progressives.

But Democrats behind the agreement face possible objections from their rival moderate and progressive factions and will have to work hard to convert their plans into legislation they can push through the closely divided Congress over what could be unanimous Republican opposition.

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Pope Francis returns to Vatican 10 days after surgery

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital and returned home to the Vatican on Wednesday, 10 days after undergoing surgery to remove half his colon.

Francis, 84, sat in the passenger seat of the Ford car, which left Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic around 10:45 a.m. (0845 GMT; 4:45 a.m. EDT). He made a stop to pray at Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, which has a beloved icon of the Virgin Mary which Francis always visits after returning home from a foreign trip.

After the brief stop, Francis’ small motorcade approached a side entrance to the Vatican. The Ford stopped before reaching the gate and Francis got out with the help of a bodyguard. He greeted some Italian security guards — two army soldiers standing guard and a handful of Italian police motorcycle escorts — and got back in the car, which then entered the Vatican through the Perugino gate.

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Sho-case: Shohei Ohtani gets All-Star win for AL, bats, too

DENVER (AP) — A Sho-case for Shohei Ohtani became a grand stage for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., too.

Ohtani unleashed his 100 mph heat while pitching a perfect inning for the win in becoming baseball’s first two-way All-Star, Guerrero rocked Coors Field with a 468-foot home run and the American League breezed 5-2 Tuesday night for its eighth straight victory.

Near and far, the sport’s entire focus was on Ohtani from the very start in this All-Star Game.

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Click on the links below for full version of today’s top stories. Keep scrolling for a look back at this day in history and today’s celebrity birthdays:

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Categories: World News