Senate passes Trump’s big tax and spending cuts bill as Vance breaks a 50-50 tie

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans hauled President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks and spending cuts bill to passage Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, pushing past opposition from Democrats and their own GOP ranks after a turbulent overnight session.

The outcome capped an unusually tense weekend of work at the Capitol, the president’s signature legislative priority teetering on the edge of approval or collapse. In the end that tally was 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

Three Republican senators — Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky — joined all Democrats in voting against it.

“In the end we got the job done,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said afterward.

The difficulty for Republicans, who have the majority in Congress, to wrestle the bill to this point is not expected to let up. The package now goes back to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana had warned senators not to overhaul what his chamber had already approved. But the Senate did make changes, particularly to Medicaid, risking more problems ahead. House GOP leaders scheduled a Wednesday vote and vowed to put it on Trump's desk by his July Fourth deadline, which is Friday.

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What's in the latest version of Trump's big bill that passed the Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are getting closer to the finish line in getting their tax and spending cut bill through Congress with a final House vote possible on Wednesday.

At some 887 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, but are powerless to stop the bill if Republicans are united. The Senate passed the bill, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The House passed an earlier iteration of the bill in May with just one vote to spare. Now, it will take up the Senate-amended measure.

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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Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urges Hamas to accept deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.

Trump announced the development as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The U.S. leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.

“My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,” Trump wrote, saying the Qataris and Egyptians would deliver the final proposal.

“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he said.

Trump’s promise that it was his best and final offer may find a skeptical audience with Hamas. Even before the expiration of the war’s longest ceasefire in March, Trump has repeatedly issued dramatic ultimatums to pressure Hamas to agree to longer pauses in the fighting that would see the release of more hostages and a return of more aid to Gaza’s civilian populace.

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US won't send some weapons pledged to Ukraine following a Pentagon review of military aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is halting some shipments of weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, officials said Tuesday, a setback for the country as it tries to fend off escalating attacks from Russia.

Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to aid its defenses during the more than three-year-old war. The pause reflects a new set of priorities under President Donald Trump and came after Defense Department officials scrutinized current U.S. stockpiles and raised concerns.

“This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran.”

That was a reference to Trump recently ordering U.S. missile strikes against nuclear sites in Iran.

The Pentagon review determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged, so pending shipments of some items won’t be sent, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide information that has not yet been made public.

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Trump tours Florida immigration lockup and jokes about escapees having to run from alligators

OCHOPEE, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a new immigration detention center surrounded by alligator-filled swamps in the Florida Everglades, suggesting it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations.

Trump said he’d like to see similar facilities in “really, many states” and raised the prospect of also deporting U.S. citizens. He even endorsed having Florida National Guard forces possibly serve as immigration judges to ensure migrants are ejected from the country even faster.

“Pretty soon, this facility will handle the most menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet,” Trump said of the Florida site known as “Alligator Alcatraz."

The president said the moniker is “very appropriate because I looked outside and that’s not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon."

"The only way out, really, is deportation,” Trump added.

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Jury reaches verdict on 4 of 5 counts in Diddy trial but is told to keep deliberating

NEW YORK (AP) — The jury in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial said Tuesday that it has reached a verdict on four of five counts against the hip-hop mogul. But the partial decision remained under wraps after jurors were told to keep deliberating because they were stuck on the top charge, racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutors, Combs’ defense team and Judge Arun Subramanian reasoned that after just two days of deliberations, it was too soon to give up on reaching a verdict on all counts. So rather than taking a partial verdict, Subramanian told the jury to continue weighing the remaining charge. Deliberations will continue Wednesday.

The developments came late Tuesday afternoon, when the jury sent a note saying it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the racketeering conspiracy charge because there were jurors with “unpersuadable" views on both sides.

But in less than 13 hours of deliberations, the jury did reach a verdict on two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. The latter concerns allegations of arranging to fly the women and sex workers across state lines.

If there is a conviction, the sex trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. Transportation to engage in prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

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UPenn to update swimming records set by Lia Thomas, settling with feds on transgender athletes case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The University of Pennsylvania says it will update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and apologize to female athletes “disadvantaged” by Thomas’ participation on the women’s swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case.

The U.S. Education Department and Penn announced the voluntary agreement Tuesday. The case focused on Thomas, the transgender swimmer who last competed for the Ivy League school in Philadelphia in 2022, when she became the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title.

The department investigated Penn as part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to remove transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, finding the college violated the rights of female athletes.

Under the agreement, Penn agreed to restore all individual Division I swimming records and titles to female athletes who lost out to Thomas and send a personalized apology letter to each of those swimmers, the Education Department said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Penn website showed other athletes holding the school's top times in Thomas' freestyle events. The site was annotated with a note that read, “Competing under eligibility rules in effect at the time, Lia Thomas set program records in the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle during the 2021-22 season.”

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Bryan Kohberger's decision to accept plea deal came after efforts to strike death penalty failed

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger 's attorneys had done what they could to spare his life.

They tried to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students on an array of grounds — that it would violate standards of decency or flout international law, that prosecutors had failed to provide evidence properly, that their client's autism diagnosis reduced any possible culpability.

They challenged the legitimacy of DNA evidence and sought permission to suggest to a jury that someone else committed the crime.

None of it worked. And with Kohberger's quadruple-murder trial set to begin next month, they turned to a final option: a plea deal to avoid execution.

Kohberger, 30, is due to appear at 11 a.m. MDT Wednesday before Idaho Fourth Judicial District Judge Steven Hippler in Boise, where he is expected to plead guilty to charges that he murdered Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, early on Nov. 13, 2022.

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Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, whose ministry was toppled by prostitution scandals, dies at 90

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who became a household name amassing an enormous following and multimillion-dollar ministry only to be undone by his penchant for prostitutes, has died.

Swaggart died decades after his once vast audience dwindled and his name became a punchline on late night television. His death was announced Tuesday on his public Facebook page. A cause wasn't immediately given, though at 90 he had been in poor health, having suffered cardiac arrest last month.

The Louisiana native was best known for being a captivating Pentecostal preacher with a massive following before being caught on camera with a prostitute in New Orleans in 1988, one of a string of successful TV preachers brought down in the 1980s and 1990s by sex scandals. He continued preaching for decades, but with a reduced audience.

Swaggart encapsulated his downfall in a tearful 1988 sermon, in which he wept and apologized but made no reference to his connection to a prostitute.

“I have sinned against you,” Swaggart told parishioners nationwide. “I beg you to forgive me.”

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Coco Gauff is out in the first round of Wimbledon with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 loss to Dayana Yastremska

LONDON (AP) — Coco Gauff became just the third woman in the Open era to lose in the first round at Wimbledon right after winning the championship at the French Open, eliminated 7-6 (3), 6-1 by unseeded Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine on Tuesday night.

The No. 2-ranked Gauff made mistake after mistake at No. 1 Court, finishing with just six winners and a total of 29 unforced errors that included nine double-faults.

“Dayana started off playing strong,” Gauff said. “I couldn’t find my footing out there today.”

She joined another highly seeded American, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, in bowing out on Day 2 of the tournament. In all, 23 seeds — 13 men and 10 women — already are gone before the first round is even done, tying the most at any Grand Slam tournament since they began seeding 32 players in each singles bracket in 2001.

It was just a little more than three weeks ago that Gauff was celebrating her second Grand Slam title by getting past No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final on the red clay of Roland-Garros.

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