Good morning, everyone. I woke up with an ear infection—but I’m pushing through because today marks the start of an intense, high-stakes stretch on Capitol Hill. Senators are gearing up for a marathon debate and vote-a-rama over a massive budget bill that could leave millions of Americans uninsured.
If the updates I share have helped you feel more informed, more grounded, or a little less alone in the chaos, I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support doesn’t just help—it powers this work and makes it possible to keep showing up, even on the tough days. Thank you.
With that, here’s the news:
Budget Bill News:
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate advanced President Donald Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill in a key procedural vote.
The bill, a top priority for Trump, cleared its first hurdle with a narrow 51–49 vote.
Two Republican senators, Senator Rand Paul and Senator Thom Thillis, voted against the measure.
Democrats stalled progress by forcing clerks to read the entire 940-page bill aloud. The clerks are currently reading the bill.
A “vote-a-rama” session will follow, allowing unlimited amendments.
Final passage is still pending, expected possibly by Monday.
The Senate Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” is projected to add over $3.9 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The bill includes a $930 billion cut to Medicaid — the largest reduction in the program’s history.
The CBO estimates the bill would leave 11.8 million more Americans uninsured, exceeding the House version’s impact of 10.9 million.
Elon Musk criticized the latest version of Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, calling it “utterly insane and destructive.”
He warned it would “destroy millions of jobs” and cause “immense strategic harm” to the U.S.
Musk argued the bill favors outdated industries while harming future-focused sectors.
He called the bill “political suicide for the Republican Party.”
All other news:
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi stated that U.S. strikes on Iran only set back its nuclear program by months, not decades as President Trump claimed.
Grossi said Tehran could resume uranium enrichment “in a matter of months.”
His assessment aligns with early Pentagon intelligence, which found the strikes did not destroy Iran’s core nuclear infrastructure.
A man in California, Fernando Diaz, was arrested for allegedly impersonating a federal immigration officer after police found a loaded gun, fake DHS documents, and multiple passports in his SUV during a traffic stop.
His arrest is part of a broader trend of imposters posing as immigration agents amid Trump-era mass deportation efforts, with experts warning that the use of masked, plainclothes federal agents increases the risk of public confusion and abuse.
Similar impersonation cases have occurred nationwide, including incidents involving kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted unauthorized entry into university housing.
Mark Richards, a longtime music teacher at a Catholic school in Metairie, Louisiana, was fired after a parent reported that he was a widower of another man, citing an obituary.
The dismissal was based on a morality clause in the school’s employment contract that prohibits same-sex marriage and “homosexual activity,” though Richards said the clause had not been strictly enforced in the past.
Richards, who had taught at the school for 21 years and was openly gay within the school community, said he was terminated solely for being a gay man.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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