Good morning.
Senate Republicanspassed a major tax and spending billdemanded by Donald Trump yesterday, ending weeks of negotiations over the comprehensive legislation and putting it another step closer to enactment.
The bill’s passage is an accomplishment for Senate Republicans, who faced divisions in getting it passed. The push to get the legislation done intensified on Saturday when the chamber voted to begin debate, then continued with amendment votes that began on Monday and stretched all night.
Approval came just after noon on Tuesday, and required the vice-president, JD Vance, to break a tie after three Republicans joined all the Democrats in voting against it.
What was the significant opposition to the bill?In the lead-up to its passage, several moderate Republicans indicated unease over itscuts to the social safety net. They included Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
What happens next?It still has to be voted on by the House of Representatives, where it is unclear whether changes made by the Senate will be accepted. Although Republicans control both houses, factionalism in the lower chamber is particularly intense, with rightwing fiscal hardliners demanding deep spending cuts and moderates wary of dismantling safety-net programs.
Trump hasclaimedIsrael is ready to agree to a peace deal with Hamas as he seeks to broker a ceasefire to the war in Gaza that has claimed almost 60,000 lives.
Hamas responded on Wednesday saying it wasopen to a ceasefire agreementbut stopped short of accepting the proposal Trump had announced, insisting on its longstanding position that any deal bring an end to the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, 170 non-governmental organisations yesterday called for the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be dismantled, after the killing of more than 500 Palestinians seeking food since it launched operations.
What’s the latest in the conflict?The bombing of Gaza continues, with Israeli strikeskilling at least 14 people on Wednesdayat the time of writing, Gaza’s civil defence agency said.
This is a developing story.Follow ourlive coverage here.
The Trump administration has raised the possibility of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the progressive Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City, of his citizenship as part of a crackdown against foreign-born citizens convicted of certain offences.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, appeared to pave the way for an investigation into Mamdani’s status after Andy Ogles, a rightwing Republican congressman for Tennessee, called for hiscitizenship to be revokedon the grounds that he may have concealed his support for “terrorism” during the naturalization process.
Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to ethnic Indian parents, became a US citizen in 2018. He is a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights.
What’s the background to this suggestion?It comes after the Trump administration instructed attorneys toprioritize denaturalizingforeign-born US citizens who had committed some crimes.
Why are rightwingers up in arms about Mamdani?The 33-year-old democratic socialist and member of the state assembly was virtually unknown when helaunched his candidacy, but has built an energetic campaign that defeated the former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Keir Starmer managed to avoid an embarrassing parliamentary defeat yesterday,after the UK prime minister was forced intosignificant concessionson a bill that initially planned to cut about £5bn ($7bn) from disability payments.
Extreme poverty is accelerating in 39 countries affected by war and conflict, leaving more than a billion peoplehungry,according to the World Bank. It urged western governments to step up support for war-torn countries.
At least 16 people havedied and 400 been injuredin Kenyaas a nationwide demonstration to honour those killed during last year’s anti-government protests turned chaotic.
The third and final season of the hit Korean series Squid Game has broken records to become the biggest-ever TV launch for Netflix. Over its first three days, the series registereda record 60.1m views, with more than 368.4m hours viewed. David Fincher has been rumoured to be developing an English-language remake.
Karin Kneissl made headlines around the world when she invited the Russian president to her wedding in 2018. Five years later, she moved to St Petersburg. The scandalrevealed a dark truthabout the ties between Vienna and Moscow.
Italy has banned outdoor working during the hottest parts of the day in more than half its regions, asan extreme European heatwavethat has smashed June temperature records in Spain and Portugal continues to grip swathes of the continent. The savage temperatures are believed to have killed at least three people, including a small boy who is thought to have died from heatstroke in Catalonia.
Jesse Armstrong is the master of ripped-from-the-headlines drama, a writer who skewers the billionaire class. As his AI satire Mountainhead takes him into new territory, hetalks abouthis nuanced view of the tech billionaire Elon Musk – and why his next project may be a bonnet drama.
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