Trump's tax bill passes, jobs report, Diogo Jota and Gaza
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Today, Trump's spending and tax cut bill heads to the president's desk, paving the way for a new tax landscape in America. The bill's passage, a sign of Trump's strong command of the Republican Party as Congress rallies around the legislation. Hamas considers the peace proposal President Trump says Israel has agreed to. And U.S. aid cuts in the Democratic Republic of Congo leave rape survivors with more suffering.

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President Donald Trump's sweeping tax cut and spending bill has passed through the House of Representatives by a vote of 218 to 214. Two Republicans voted against the bill, Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massey of Kentucky.

It comes after Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for more than eight and a half hours in protest of the bill. That breaks the record for longest speech on the House floor previously held by Republican Kevin McCarthy in 2021. Trump worked late into the night to convince GOP holdouts to vote for the bill, according to Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert.

He promised to use executive orders to tackle concerns from House members still on the fence. The bill now heads to the Oval Office, meeting President Trump's July 4th deadline. The bill promises to deliver an overhaul to the tax landscape for millions of Americans.

Our politics reporter, Andy Sullivan in Washington, D.C., explains. This bill will keep those lower tax rates in place for everybody. Those are put in place in 2017. They were due to expire at the end of this year. Now they are permanent. There's also going to be a few other targeted tax breaks. If you're somebody who relies on a lot of tips, for example, you might come out ahead. If you're somebody who is over 65, you get a targeted tax break. Now, this bill also includes tax breaks for overtime pay and pensions.

interest on domestic auto loans and increases to the child tax credit. And in an olive branch to Republicans in Democrat led states, it expands the tax break for state and local tax payments up through 2029.

But Andy, what are some of the cuts that this bill makes? They reduce the cost of this somewhat by going after safety net programs. The biggest one is Medicaid. The health plan provides coverage to 73 million low-income Americans. It would be tougher to qualify for Medicaid now. It'd be tougher to stay on. The net effect of this is a

to 12 million people would lose coverage the next few years. Also, if you're somebody who depends on food stamps, you're going to now have to jump through a bunch more hoops to stay in those programs and you might get kicked off. So what does the passing of this bill tell us about Trump and the Republican Party? Lawmakers are showing enormous deference to him. Republicans have lodged all sorts of objections to this bill. Big one being it doesn't cut spending enough. It adds too much to the

debt, which it'll add $3.4 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. That's quite a chunk of change. In the end, they were able to put those concerns aside and pass this through Congress, even though they have very little room for error.

And this shows that Trump is clearly in charge here. He's in command of the party. People who defy him tend to get pushed out. The bill also cements funding for one of Trump's biggest campaign promises, his immigration crackdown. The bill gives $170 billion to hire new border guards and immigration enforcement officers, as well as funding detention facilities.

A stronger than expected U.S. jobs report on Thursday morning is giving a boost to U.S. markets, with 147,000 nonfarm jobs added in June and unemployment easing a tenth of a percent to 4.1 percent. The strength in hiring has analysts predicting the Federal Reserve will continue its wait-and-see approach to cutting rates.

Another deadline looms, this one for the countries targeted by Trump's reciprocal tariffs to get their deals done. Trump has announced the U.S. has struck a trade deal with Vietnam, which includes a 20 percent tariff on exports to the U.S.,

It puts a much higher 40% levy on transshipments through third countries, aimed at products largely made in China and then labelled made in Vietnam. Negotiations are also underway for an agreement with India. The deadline for all trade deals is July 9th. Diogo Jota, Portuguese forward for Liverpool Football Club, is dead in a car crash in northwestern Spain.

His brother also died in the crash when their Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames on Thursday, shortly after midnight local time. Authorities say a blown tire while trying to pass another vehicle could be what caused the crash. Sean Diddy Combs has been denied bail and will stay in lockup until his sentencing. Combs was acquitted on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, but has been found guilty of two lesser prostitution-related offenses.

Combs faces up to 10 years in prison on each of those counts. The seven-week trial focused on allegations that Combs forced two of his former girlfriends to partake in drug-fueled, days-long sex performances, sometimes known as "freak-offs." A judge has blocked Trump's asylum ban at the U.S.-Mexico border. The ruling says Trump's ban of asylum claims and other humanitarian protections exceeds his authority.

To Gaza now, where Hamas is considering what President Trump is calling a final ceasefire proposal.

The proposal would mean a 60-day ceasefire, an agreement Trump says Israel has agreed to. But the long-held sticking point remains. Hamas wants Israel to pull out from the enclave, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his stance that Hamas must be eliminated, telling an audience that there will not be a, quote, Hamastan.

Alexander Cornwell is our senior correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian territories. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, but now really only controls parts of the territory after nearly two years of war with Israel, has said that it's prepared to step down from governing, but it's so far refused to discuss disarmament. What it has offered is to release the remaining hostages that it's holding as part of a deal that would see the end of the war.

So that's what Hamas and Israel were saying before Trump put forward this ceasefire proposal. So far, Hamas has said they're studying it. And some parts of the Israeli government has come out and said there is a majority within the coalition that support the deal. Some have also come out in opposition to it. Obviously, Trump has been pushing this deal, calling it the final ceasefire. What will happen if it collapses?

Consequences, I think, are very real, especially for those in Gaza who continue today to bear the brunt of this war. The Israeli military is still carrying out airstrikes. Dozens of Palestinians each day are reported to be killed.

killed. And of course, there's severe shortages of food and even basic supplies in Gaza where many people are going hungry. There are also the hostage families in Israel. There are 50 hostages still being held in Gaza, of which around 20 are believed to be alive. For those families, a ceasefire represents a breakthrough. And without it, there may be little hope that those hostages will be released at any time soon.

Across to Africa, where a Reuters investigation has exposed how USAID cut supplies of emergency kits for rape survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The move leaves thousands of women without access to life-saving medication.

Jessica Donati is our West and Central Africa correspondent. The kits are really important because they are administered to victims as soon as possible, ideally within 72 hours, to prevent things like

HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Currently, barely one in 10 women is getting these kits, which means the other nine in 10 are exposed to getting HIV, to having unwanted pregnancies and illnesses, which further traumatize them after suffering from these rapes. Jessica and the team reached out to the U.S. government for a response to their reporting, but have not yet received an answer. Trump has said that the U.S. pays disproportionately for foreign aid.

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And for today's recommended read, a photo essay of how six months after the LA wildfires, some residents are adjusting to a new life of sleeping in their recreational vehicles, often surrounded by empty lots that were once the site of family homes. You can find out more by following the link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. And don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.