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AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT

Original Publication Date June 30, 2025 - 9:11 PM

Senate Republicans seek support for Trump’s big bill in overnight session

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is slogging through a tense overnight session that has dragged into Tuesday, with Republican leaders buying time as they search for ways to secure support for President Donald Trump's big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts while fending off proposed amendments, mostly from Democrats trying to defeat the package.

An endgame was not immediately in sight. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota is reaching for a last-minute agreement between those in his party worried the bill's reductions to Medicaid will leave millions without care and his most conservative flank, which wants even steeper cuts to hold down deficits ballooning with the tax cuts.

Thune declared at one point they were in the “homestretch” as he dashed through the halls at the Capitol, only to backtrack a short time later, suggesting any progress was "elusive.”

At the same time House Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled more potential problems ahead, warning the Senate package could run into trouble when it is sent back to the House for a final round of voting, as skeptical lawmakers are being called back to Washington ahead of Trump's Fourth of July deadline.

“I have prevailed upon my Senate colleagues to please, please, please keep it as close to the House product as possible,” said Johnson, the Louisiana Republican. House Republicans had already passed their version last month.

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What's in the latest version of Trump's big bill moving through the Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are inching closer to getting their tax and spending cut bill through Congress with a final Senate vote likely late Monday or early Tuesday.

At some 940 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. President Donald Trump has admonished Republicans, who hold majority power in the House and Senate, to skip their holiday vacations and deliver the bill by the Fourth of July.

Democrats are united against the legislation and were offering scores of amendments to alter it Monday as the Senate slogged through what is known as a vote-a-rama. Senators can offer an unlimited number of amendments, with each receiving a vote. Once the bill clears the Senate, it would have to pass the House before Trump can sign it into law.

Here's the latest on what's in the bill. There could be changes as GOP lawmakers continue to negotiate.

Republicans say the bill is crucial because there would be a massive tax increase after December when tax breaks from Trump's first term expire. The legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

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Court suspends Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to investigate leaked phone call

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office Tuesday pending an ethics investigation over a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian leader.

The judges voted unanimously Tuesday to take the petition accusing her of a breach of ethics, and voted 7-2 to suspend her from duty as a prime minister. The court gave Paetongtarn 15 days to give evidence to support her case.

Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the latest border dispute with Cambodia, involving an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. The leaked phone call while she engaged in diplomacy with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen set off a string of complaints and public protests.

Paetongtarn said after the court order that she would accept the process and would do her best to defend herself, as she had no other intentions but to protect the country and preserve peace.

“I only thought about what to do to avoid troubles, what to do to avoid armed confrontation, for the soldiers not to suffer any loss. I wouldn't be able to accept it if I said something with the other leader that could lead to negative consequences,” she said.

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The man accused of killing 2 Idaho firefighters had once aspired to be one

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A 20-year-old man’s life appeared to have begun to unravel in the months before authorities say he fatally shot two firefighters and severely wounded a third as they responded to a wildfire near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Wess Roley was living out of his vehicle and his former roommate, T.J. Franks Jr., said he shaved off his long hair and started to "kind of go downhill.” The two lived together for about six months in Sandpoint, Idaho, until Roley moved out in January, Franks said Monday.

Roley, who authorities say took his own life after Sunday's shootings, is suspected of killing two battalion chiefs whose firefighting carriers in Idaho spanned nearly half a century combined. The deaths of Frank Harwood, 42, with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, and John Morrison, 52, with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, have left their colleagues reeling, resulting in their departments adding law enforcement to every call, no matter how routine.

“I don’t know that we’re ever going to be able to guarantee people’s peace of mind, at least for a while after an incident like this,” Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher Way said. “But we are taking every measure we can to ensure safety of our responders.”

Roley had set a fire using flint at Canfield Mountain, a popular recreation area, according to authorities. The firefighters who rushed to the scene found themselves under fire and took cover behind fire trucks.

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Man shot 3 Idaho firefighters after they asked him to move vehicle. What to know about the attack

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say two firefighters were killed and another was critically wounded after they were shot while responding to a wildfire near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Here's what to know about Sunday's attack, the investigation and next steps.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said firefighters first responded to an early afternoon report of a brushfire at Canfield Mountain, a popular hiking and biking area near the outskirts of town. A man began shooting at them after firefighters asked him to move his vehicle.

Law enforcement officials responded, locking down neighborhoods nearby and trying to find the shooter in hilly terrain that had plenty of cover, with thick brush and trees and smoke from the fire nearby.

Over the next few hours, it wasn't clear if hikers or other recreationists were stuck on the mountain, or if civilians had been injured in the shooting, Norris said. What was clear was the danger firefighters and responding law enforcement faced.

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Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to murder in Idaho student stabbings to avoid death penalty

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim's family said.

Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, confirmed Monday that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it.

“We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho," Goncalves’ family wrote in a Facebook post. "They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.”

They spoke with the prosecution on Friday about the idea of a plea deal and they explained they were firmly against it, the family wrote in another post. By Sunday, they received an email that “sent us scrambling,” and met with the prosecution again on Monday to explain their views about pushing for the death penalty.

“Unfortunately all of our efforts did not matter. We DID OUR BEST! We fought harder then anyone could EVER imagine,” the family wrote.

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74 killed in Gaza as Israeli forces strike a cafe and fire on people seeking food

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli forces killed at least 74 people in Gaza on Monday with airstrikes that left 30 dead at a seaside cafe and gunfire that left 23 dead as Palestinians tried to get desperately needed food aid, witnesses and health officials said.

One airstrike hit Al-Baqa Cafe in Gaza City when it was crowded with women and children, said Ali Abu Ateila, who was inside.

“Without a warning, all of a sudden, a warplane hit the place, shaking it like an earthquake,” he said.

Dozens were wounded, many critically, alongside at least 30 people killed, said Fares Awad, head of the Health Ministry’s emergency and ambulance service in northern Gaza.

Two other strikes on a Gaza City street killed 15 people, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. A strike on a building killed six people near the town of Zawaida, according to Al-Aqsa hospital.

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Judge again delays Abrego Garcia’s release from Tennessee jail over deportation concerns

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia will stay in jail for now over concerns from his lawyers that he could be deported if he’s released to await his trial on human smuggling charges, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled Monday.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys had asked the judge to delay his release because of what they described as “contradictory statements” by President Donald Trump’s administration over what would happen to the Salvadoran national. The lawyers wrote in a brief to the court Friday that “we cannot put any faith in any representation made on this issue" by the Justice Department, adding that the “irony of this request is not lost on anyone.”

Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin told The Associated Press on Thursday that the department intends to try Abrego Garcia on the smuggling charges before it moves to deport him, stating that Abrego Garcia “has been charged with horrific crimes."

Hours earlier, Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn told a federal judge in Maryland that the U.S. government plans to deport Abrego Garcia to a “third country” that isn’t El Salvador. Guynn said there was no timeline for the deportation plans.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys on Friday cited Guynn’s comments as a reason to fear he would be deported “immediately.”

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Jury returns to deliberate for a second day at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury returns to deliberate for a second day Tuesday at the sex trafficking trial of music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

On Monday, jurors deliberated over five hours without reaching a verdict after receiving instructions on the law from the trial judge, Arun Subramanian.

They are deciding whether prosecutors have proven racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges during a trial that began in early May.

Prosecutors say Combs for two decades used his fame, fortune and a roster of employees and associates to help him coerce and force two different girlfriends to repeatedly perform sexually with male sex workers for days at a time while he watched and sometimes filmed the drug-fueled events.

Defense lawyers say prosecutors are unjustly basing federal crimes on what Combs did in the bedroom with his girlfriends as they participated in the swinger lifestyle and on acts of domestic violence involving their client.

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Greenland has a message for the rest of the world: Come visit

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenland has a message for the rest of the world: We’re waiting for you.

“Come visit Greenland,” said Nukartaa Andreassen, who works for a water taxi company in the capital city, Nuuk. “Learn about it, learn about us. We love to have you. We love to tell our stories and our culture.”

The mineral-rich Arctic island is open for tourism. Whale-watching tours, excursions to the iconic puffin island and guided charters through remote settlements are just the beginning of what Greenland has to offer visitors. Locals want to show what makes the island unique beyond a recent diplomatic dustup with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Our goal and mission is to present and be the ambassadors of Greenland,” said Casper Frank Møller, the chief executive of Nuuk-based tour guide company Raw Arctic, “and to show what beauty you can experience while you’re here.”

The tourism industry is expected to see a boom this year following the launch of a new route between Nuuk and Newark, New Jersey. The inaugural flight June 14 was the first direct travel from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025
The Associated Press

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