Tributes have poured in from colleagues and leaders both in the United States and around the world after Sen. Graham’s sudden passing.
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Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), 71, passed away on Saturday evening from an apparent aorta rupture stemming from hardening of the arteries, according to preliminary findings from the medical examiner. Tributes have poured in from colleagues and leaders both in the United States and around the world.
- Graham’s sudden passing will kick off a last-minute Republican Senate primary in South Carolina.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) revealed that he was hospitalized last month because of a fall, after days of speculation about the longtime lawmaker’s health.
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As America marks its 250th anniversary, it also celebrates the foundations of its prosperity: a tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship, free-market capitalism, and institutions that have helped transform it into a global superpower.
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🍵 Health: Hospitals often ask patients to accept bills for untold costs. It’s not entirely legal and there are ways to fight back.
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U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (not seen) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 10, 2026. (Courtesy of the Presidential Office of Ukraine/www.president.gov.ua/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) |
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) passed away after a “brief and sudden illness” on the evening of July 11, his office said in a statement.
Preliminary findings by the medical examiner, which were released by his team, suggest the longtime senator died from an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is considered an aorta rupture stemming from hardening of Graham’s arteries. He was 71 years old.
“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at the time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” reads the statement shared on X. FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that the FBI was “assisting local authorities and has made every necessary resource available.”
Graham was elected to the Senate in 2002. During President Donald Trump’s second term, Graham was a close ally, supporting the president’s military actions against the Iranian regime. A longtime hawk on Iran, Graham leaves a legacy of backing policies aimed at isolating the country and limiting its missile and nuclear programs, among his many other achievements.
An outpouring of condolences for the senator was quick to follow the news, from colleagues in the U.S. Congress to leaders around the world. The president called Graham “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known” in a post on Truth Social.
“He was always working, was a true American Patriot,” Trump said. “Lindsey will be greatly missed!! So sad!” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a statement that his heart was heavy.
“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world,” he said. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called Graham “irreplaceable” and the “fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America—and a loyal and steadfast friend.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences to Graham’s family.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends,” he said. “America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend. May his values and initiatives continue to guide us toward victory and peace, and may his memory forever be a blessing.” (More) |
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U.S. forces launched new strikes on Iran on Sunday. It came after multiple countries in the Middle East blamed Iran for drone and missile attacks against them over the weekend.
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A heat wave is expected to blanket millions of people through the Great Basin region to the northern Plains beginning on July 12.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country’s prime minister has stepped down as part of a political strategy shift. Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko had held the position for a year.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will travel to Washington on Tuesday, and the two countries are expected to sign oil and gas deals, according to Iraq.
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Days before Theresa Schmotzer’s outpatient surgery, the hospital called, demanding roughly $3,700 upfront. She had waited months for the procedure. The caller was insistent, Schmotzer recalled, and she feared the surgery would be canceled if she didn’t pay. But the number couldn’t be right. Her maximum out-of-pocket for the year was only $3,500. While Schmotzer, an occupational therapist in Arizona, was preparing for surgery, she was also becoming a billing investigator.
Her experience is not unusual. In one KFF survey, about 30 percent of insured adults said they struggled to figure out what they would owe out of pocket. Across the country, patients scheduled for planned, nonemergency care are asked to prepay hundreds or thousands of dollars before care is delivered, even when no one can say what the final bill will be. The statements arrive weeks or months later, with bills from multiple providers, and often far higher than expected. At the moment patients are most vulnerable—sick, in pain, anxious, or facing a scary diagnosis—they are handed a digital pen and asked to accept full financial responsibility for costs no one has disclosed. Cynthia Fisher, founder of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, calls it signing a “blank check” for care.
In almost any other part of life, that would be unthinkable. In American medicine, it is routine. For planned procedures, knowing the price is part of informed consent. Patients have more power than they realize to insist on it before they sign. (More) |
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