Deep Dive
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.
The Senate has narrowly passed its massive spending and tax cut bill, and now its fate rests with the House of Representatives. As NPR's Elena Moore reports, House Republicans will need to agree on the latest Senate-passed version of the bill before it can head to the president's desk. Republicans are united on the main parts of this bill, like making President Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent and increasing funding for border security. That said, there are still disagreements over how to pay for it all.
Some fiscal hawks in the House have expressed concern with parts of the Senate-passed bill, which could be a challenge for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who can only afford to lose a few votes. But he says he's moving the process forward. You know, I've got to play the cards that are dealt to me, and we're working through that, talking to all members and all caucuses and everybody else. But we remain optimistic we're going to land this plane.
Johnson has called for lawmakers to be back in D.C. by Wednesday to get to work. Elena Moore, NPR News, the Capitol. A new NPR-PBS Marist poll finds Americans believe there is a serious threat to democracy and they are concerned about political violence.
NPR's Domenico Montanaro has more on how people are feeling about President Trump. Ahead of the July 4th holiday and the country's 249th birthday, three-quarters of respondents said they believe there's a serious threat to U.S. democracy. About the same amount also describes politically motivated violence as a major problem. They also have little confidence in their political leaders. Republicans are unpopular, President Trump gets just a 43 percent approval rating, and only 35 percent approve of the job Republicans in Congress are doing.
But Democrats are viewed even worse. Just 27 percent say they're doing a good job in Congress. Their worst score in seven years. So most people, it seems, feel they've got nowhere to turn for a party that best represents them. Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington. A jury in lower Manhattan has reached verdicts on the sex trafficking charges against Sean Combs, but as NPR's Isabel Gomez Sarmiento reports, the Senate noted the judge said they have not been able to agree on the racketeering charge.
Judge Arun Subramanian received word from jurors around 4 p.m. that they had reached a verdict on four counts against Combs. This includes charges for sex trafficking and transportation for prostitution. But jurors say there are some, quote, unpersuadable opinions when it comes to the racketeering charge. That one accuses Combs of running a criminal enterprise that facilitated and concealed sex crimes for two decades.
After receiving the note, Combs' attorneys gathered around the once-powerful hip-hop mogul, who rubbed his eyes and looked down as they discussed the news.
The judge has instructed jurors to continue deliberating tomorrow in an effort to reach a verdict on the remaining charge. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News. A mixed close on Wall Street today with a split in terms of momentum. The Dow was up 400 points. The Nasdaq closed down 166 points. The S&P was down 6 points. This is NPR.
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