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Good morning, I’m Jayakumar Madala, filling in for Sarah Naffa.
In the news today: US Senate Republicans are in a sprint on President Trump's big bill ahead of his July 4 deadline; Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says trade talks with US resume after Canada rescinded its tech tax; and the World Bank warns that 39 fragile states are falling further behind as conflicts grow. Also, famed investor Warren Buffett is donating $6 billion of his company’s stock. |
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Sunday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Senate Republicans in a sprint on Trump's big bill after weekend of setbacks |
After a weekend of setbacks, the Senate will try to sprint ahead Monday on President Donald Trump's 940-page bill of tax breaks and spending cuts despite a series of challenges, including the sudden announcement from one Republican senator that he won't run for reelection after opposing the package over its Medicaid health care cuts. Read more.
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An all-night session to consider an endless stream of proposed amendments to the package, in what's called vote-a-rama, was abruptly postponed, and is now scheduled to launch as soon as the Senate gavels open.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the “hardest choices” for Republicans are still to come. Democrats plan to bring “amendment after amendment after amendment to the floor, so Republicans can defend their billionaire tax cuts and so they can try to explain their massive cuts to Medicaid to people back home.”
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The Senate bill includes some $4 trillion in tax cuts, making permanent Trump's 2017 rates, which would expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, while adding the new ones he campaigned on, including no taxes on tips. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law.
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Canadian Prime Minister Carney says trade talks with US resume after Canada rescinds tech tax
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said late Sunday trade talks with U.S. have resumed after Canada rescinded its plan to tax U.S. technology firms. The Canadian government said “in anticipation” of a trade deal “Canada would rescind” the Digital Serves Tax. The tax was set to go into effect Monday. Read more.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he was suspending trade talks with Canada over its plans to continue with its tax on technology firms, which he called “a direct and blatant attack on our country.”
The digital services tax was due to hit companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Uber and Airbnb with a 3% levy on revenue from Canadian users. It would have applied retroactively, leaving U.S. companies with $2 billion U.S. due at the end of the month.
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World Bank warns that 39 fragile states are falling further behind as conflicts grow, get deadlier |
The world’s most desperate countries are falling further and further behind, their plight worsened by conflicts that are growing deadlier and more frequent.That is the sobering conclusion of the World Bank’s first comprehensive study of how 39 countries contending with “fragile and conflict-affected situations’’ have fared since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. Read more.
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Of the 39 countries, 21 are involved in active conflicts, including Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia and Gaza. More than 420 million people in the fragile economies are living on less than $3 a day — the bank’s definition of extreme poverty.
Increasing conflicts have made things worse. In the 2000s, the world saw an annual average of just over 6,000 conflicts — in which organized groups used armed force against other groups or against civilians and cause at least one death. Now the annual average exceeds 20,000.
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