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Good morning and welcome to the Sunday edition of Morning Wire, where we give you the weekend rundown to get ready for the week ahead. Today, protesters line up in the Florida Everglades to oppose the immigration facility called "Alligator Alcatraz," tourism cautiously resumes in Afghanistan and people whose lives were permanently altered by disease send a warning as vaccine opposition grows. 

But first, President Trump's bill clears a key hurdle in the Senate. 

UP FIRST

The Capitol is seen in Washington, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Senate Republicans advance Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill after dramatic late-night vote

Senate Republicans narrowly cleared a key procedural step as they race to advance President Donald Trump’s package of tax breaks, spending cuts and bolstered deportation funds by his July Fourth deadline. The tally, 51-49, came after a tumultuous night with Vice President JD Vance at the Capitol to break a potential tie. Tense scenes played out in the chamber as voting came to a standstill, dragging for more than three hours as holdout senators huddled for negotiations, and took private meetings off the floor. Read more.

TOP STORIES

Gary Wilcox with the American Indian movement blesses and cleanses environmental advocates and protesters at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on Tamiami Trail E, Ochopee, Fla., on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Mike Stocker /South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Protesters line highway in Florida Everglades to oppose ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

A coalition of groups, ranging from environmental activists to Native Americans advocating for their ancestral homelands, converged outside an airstrip in the Florida Everglades to protest the imminent construction of an immigration detention center. Florida officials have forged ahead in constructing the compound dubbed as “Alligator Alcatraz” within the Everglades’ humid swamplands. Cars passing by honked in support as protesters waved signs calling for the protection of the expansive preserve that is home to a few Native tribes and endangered species. Read more. 

Tourists are trickling into Afghanistan and the Taliban government is eager to welcome them

By plane, motorbike, camper van and even on bicycles, tourists are beginning to discover Afghanistan, with solo travelers and tour groups gradually venturing into a country that until recently was wracked by war. And the country’s Taliban government, which seized power more than three years ago but has yet to be formally recognized by any other nation, is more than happy to welcome them. Read more. 

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IN OTHER NEWS

Katie Van Tornhout sits with her son, Cain, at home in Lakeville, Ind., on May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

READ

Lessons unlearned: Many forget the damage done by diseases like whooping cough, measles and rubella. Not these families

'Diddy' deliberations: Listen and read as AP journalists covering the rapper’s trial share what they saw in court before the jury decides Combs' fate

Shake-up at DOJ: Justice Department abruptly fires 3 prosecutors involved in Jan. 6 criminal cases, AP sources say

Neighbors strike peace promise: Congo and Rwanda sign a US-mediated peace deal aimed at ending decades of bloody conflict

Market momentum: How Wall Street powered to a record high and what comes next

Au revoir: France to ban smoking in parks, beaches, and near schools

Bezos event draws scrutiny: ‘Kisses yes, Bezos No,’ protesters say, as Bezos wedding bonanza stirs controversy in Venice

Festival backlash: Rap duo Bob Vylan’s anti-Israel chants prompt UK police to review Glastonbury acts

Fans react to Beyoncé outfit: Fans criticize Beyoncé for shirt calling Native Americans ‘the enemies of peace’

Today in History: In 2007,  the first version of the iPhone went on sale to the public

WATCH

National leaders show respect: Biden pays respects to slain Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband

Rallying support: Zohran Mamdani heads to Harlem after New York City primary results

Tech takes the field: Beijing hosts China’s first fully autonomous 3-on-3 AI robot soccer match

Pride draws global attention: AP explains Budapest Pride, with about 100,000 marching in defiance of government ban

Fans bring TV show to life: ‘Squid Game’ inspired parade takes to the streets of Seoul