News – Page 380 – 105.7 WDNY

‘Immoral’: Democrat Hakeem Jeffries blasts Trump megabill in marathon speech

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is making a marathon last stand against President Donald Trump’s major tax cut and spending bill.

Jeffries took to the House floor around 5 a.m. on Thursday and shortly after noon had been speaking for more than seven hours, delaying a final vote in the chamber on the domestic policy bill at the heart of Trump’s second-term agenda.

Jeffries has stacks of binders next to him at the podium as he picks apart the bill and some of the Republicans who voted for it.

“Donald Trump’s deadline may be Independence Day. That ain’t my deadline,” Jeffries said. “You know why, Mr. Speaker, we don’t work for Donald Trump, we work for the American people. That’s why we’re here right now on the floor of the House of Representatives, standing up for the American people.”

The “magic minute” speech is a procedure that grants members of House leadership unlimited time to speak after debate on a bill has concluded. For context, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, spoke for more than eight hours in 2021 when the House passed President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.

Jeffries is getting close to that mark, and appears to be aiming for a new record.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to speak for about 10 minutes once Jeffries has wrapped up. After that, a final vote will take place on the bill.

Johnson, who has said he has the votes to pass the bill, told reporters he expected a signing ceremony for the bill will be held on Friday.

“Potentially before the B-2s fly,” Johnson said, referencing the White House celebration set to mark the Fourth of July.

Jeffries has focused much of his speech on the bill’s projected impact on Medicaid, the federal program that primarily serves seniors and people with disabilities, sharing personal stories from people he says will struggle as a result of the megabill.

“People will die. Tens of thousands, perhaps year after year after year, as a result of the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people,” Jeffries said. “I’m sad. I never thought I would be on the House floor saying this is a crime scene.”

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Medicaid cuts and changes passed by the Senate could cause 11.8 million Americans to lose their health insurance over the next decade.

Jeffries is excoriating the Trump-backed megabill’s “assault on healthcare.”

“Every single house Democrat is fighting hard to protect your Medicaid,” Jeffries said. “We value you and we’re working hard to defend you.”

Republicans have defended the changes as reforms to entitlement programs they claim are riddled with “waste, fraud and abuse.” The Trump administration has also pushed back on the nonpartisan budget office itself and its analysis, claiming bias.

Jeffries didn’t stop at health care and is criticizing other portions of the bill, including its impact on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and its immigration provisions.

“You see, budgets are moral documents. And in our view, Mr. Speaker, budgets should be designed to lift people up,” he said. “This reckless Republican budget that we are debating right now on the floor of the House of Representatives tears people down.”

“This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document,” Jeffries continued. “And everybody should vote no against it because of how it attacks children, seniors, and everyday Americans, and people with disabilities. This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document. And that is why I stand here on the floor of the House of Representatives with my colleagues in the House Democratic caucus to stand up and push back against it with everything we have.”

Those comments prompted House Democrats gathered near Jeffries to stand in applause.

Gas prices near lowest level in 4 years ahead of Fourth of July

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Gas prices are hovering near their lowest summer level in four years as millions of people ready themselves to hit the roads over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The national average for a gallon of gas on Thursday stood at $3.16, which amounts to a nearly 10% decline from a year ago, AAA data showed. Gas prices dropped in recent weeks as crude oil erased a spike set off by the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

Twenty states boast average gas prices below $3, spanning from New Mexico to Missouri to South Carolina. Mississippi, the state with the nation’s lowest gas prices, offers drivers an average gallon for $2.71.

More than 61 million people are expected to travel by car over the July 4 holiday, AAA forecasted.

“The lower gasoline prices provide welcome relief for travelers,” Timothy Fitzgerald, a professor of business economics at the University of Tennessee who studies the petroleum industry, told ABC News.

Cheap crude oil is the main driver of low gas prices, analysts told ABC News.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures price — a key measure of U.S. oil prices – has plummeted more than 17% since a recent peak in January.

Oil prices have dropped as forecasters predicted a slowdown in global economic growth, which would slash demand for oil.

Meanwhile, the alliance of oil-producing countries known as OPEC+ has increased output in recent months, boosting supply. The extra oil on the market has helped accommodate an annual surge in demand that takes hold over the summer traveling season, Aixa Diaz, a spokesperson for AAA, told ABC News.

“Most of what we pay at the pump is in direct correlation to the price of crude oil,” Diaz said.

Crude oil prices surged as war broke out in the Middle East last month, but prices have returned to where they stood before the recent conflict between Israel and Iran.

“The resolution in the Middle East does help,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News.

President Donald Trump has touted the low gas prices on numerous occasions since he took office.

“We have everything down at levels that nobody ever thought possible,” Trump said in a social media post in April.

Speaking at an event in Ochopee, Florida, on Monday, Trump claimed gas prices had fallen below $2 per gallon in five states.

GasBuddy, which tracks prices at thousands of gas stations nationwide, found zero locations offering gasoline below $2 per gallon, de Haan said in a post Monday on X. That remained true as of Thursday, de Haan told ABC News.

Trump could be referring to wholesale gas prices but such price levels hold little relevance since they are not paid by consumers, de Haan said.

“This does not pass the sniff test,” de Haan added.

Gas prices will likely remain at current levels over the remainder of the summer — and they may even drop lower, some analysts said. Gas supply typically increases over the course of the summer, alleviating price pressures, they added.

Still, prices could rise in the event of a geopolitical conflict, disruptive hurricane season or major oil refinery outages, de Haan said, adding the national average price for a gallon of gas could drop below $3 by September.

“It could happen if we don’t see any of those caveats,” de Haan said. “If it’s a normal year.”

Holdouts say Trump promised he’d ‘make the bill better’ in the future

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — While there were no changes made to the legislative text of President Donald Trump’s megabill after it came back from the Senate, some House Republican holdouts said Trump made promises in order to get their votes.

After meeting with House Republicans at the White House on Wednesday and working the phones through the night and into the early morning Thursday, the president addressed members’ unease in real-time, Speaker Mike Johnson observed, “making sure that everyone’s concerns are addressed and their questions are answered.”

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman said Trump provided holdouts “assurances” that changes would be made to “getting permits” related to wind and solar tax credits.

“Wind and solar needs to be — we would have cut those out Day 1. We couldn’t do that,” Norman said on CNBC Thursday.

“And, you know, up until late in the night, we were negotiating, you know, things that could change with, you know, the tax credits, which all were put in by Joe Biden, which needed to be extinguished,” Norman said.

Norman also signaled that Trump could use executive power to “make the bill better.”

But during negotiations this week, the lawmakers were unable to extract any changes to the bill.

Nevertheless, Texas Rep. Chip Roy, an outspoken conservative firebrand who led the public pushback against the bill, argued that the Freedom Caucus “has successfully delivered substantive wins” — before adding, “There may be a few more yet.”

“The real story of the OBBB is reforming Medicaid to require work & to return spending to pre-COVID levels, saving over $1 Trillion,” Roy posted on X. “A modest but important reform that would not have happened if the @freedomcaucus had not fought for it.”

Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde said he “fought” to improve the megabill — hoping to include an amendment to remove taxes on firearms — that the Senate ultimately stripped out.

“I also had the opportunity to discuss this critical matter directly with President Trump at the White House. I look forward to working with him and his Administration to further restore our 2A rights. Stay tuned,” Clyde said.

While the firearms tax remains in the bill, Clyde said he ultimately planned to vote in favor of the package “because I support fulfilling President Trump’s America First agenda and the promises we made to the country.”

Supreme Court declines to hear dispute over Montana abortion consent law

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to take up a dispute over a Montana law that would have required notarized parental consent for a minor to receive an abortion.

State lawmakers have argued that parents have a constitutional right to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their children.

Planned Parenthood of Montana, in challenging the law, argued that minors have a constitutional right to privacy that cannot be infringed.

The Montana Supreme Court struck down the law on state constitutional grounds. The U.S. Supreme Court now leaves that decision in place.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case, saying it “provides a poor vehicle” for addressing the constitutional question about the rights of parents, which they suggested they are open to resolving in a future case.

7 missing after massive explosion and fire at California warehouse filled with fireworks: Officials

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(ESPARTO, Calif.) — Seven people remain missing after a warehouse filled with fireworks exploded Tuesday evening in Northern California, officials said.

The blast occurred at a pyrotechnics facility in Esparto, located in Yolo County, triggering a series of massive explosions that began around 6:02 p.m., according to fire authorities.

“First responders and investigators are working diligently with the property owner to determine the whereabouts of those individuals,” Cal Fire and the Esparto Fire Protection District said in a joint statement Wednesday.

Officials are using drones to assess the area due to ongoing safety concerns.

“We obviously do our best to train for every type of incident, but an incident like this is like a once-in-a-career type of incident,” Esparto Fire Chief Curtis Lawrence said Wednesday at a press conference, adding they couldn’t immediately get close enough to the building considering the risk.

The site remains under evacuation orders as authorities warn of a continued threat to the immediate area. While officials said the risk has decreased since Tuesday, they’re maintaining the evacuation zone until a full safety assessment can be completed.

The press conference Wednesday was also interrupted by an angry family member who said her boyfriend and brother-in-law were in the building.

“We’re all sick to our stomach, and we’re all waiting on the information [officials say] we should receive until Saturday, when I want to know today,” she said.

Cal Fire’s Office of the State Fire Marshal said it believes the facility belongs to a licensed pyrotechnics operator. Investigators are working to determine if the operation complied with California’s strict pyrotechnics regulations and federal explosive storage requirements.

“This type of incident is very rare,” Cal Fire officials said, noting that such facilities must follow stringent safety protocols.

The California Highway Patrol is assisting with security while investigators treat the location as an active crime scene.

“Our hearts and thoughts are with those we lost, their families, and everyone impacted in our community,” the management for Devastating Pyrotechnics, the company that owns the pyrotechnics business, said in a statement. “We are grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and emergency personnel. Our focus will remain on those directly impacted by this tragedy, and we will cooperate fully with the proper authorities in their investigation.”

Supreme Court to take up state bans on trans student athletes

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court said Thursday that it would hear appeals from two states seeking to uphold laws excluding transgender student athletes from participation in girls’ and women’s sports teams.

The cases from West Virginia and Idaho — which will be scheduled for argument during the court’s next term — will decide whether the Constitution and Civil Rights Act prohibit the bans based on an athlete’s sex assigned at birth.

Lower courts in each of the cases sided with the student athletes in finding the state laws violated either the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause or Title IX of the Civil Rights Act.

The decision to hear the cases follows a decision by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority last month upholding state bans on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the laws did not violate the 14th Amendment or discriminate on the basis of sex, even though the same medical treatments are widely available to cisgender minors.

The outcome of the case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, was one of the most significant LGBTQ rulings to come from the nation’s high court and marked the first time the justices weighed in on an anti-trans state law.

The trans-athlete cases will be argued in the fall and decided in 2026.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the cases involved are from only West Virginia and Idaho, not Arizona.

Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, in marathon ‘magic minute’ speech, blasts Trump bill

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is making a marathon last stand against President Donald Trump’s major tax cut and spending bill.

Jeffries took to the House floor just after 5 a.m. on Thursday and has now been speaking for more than four hours, delaying a final vote in the chamber on the domestic policy bill at the heart of Trump’s second term agenda.

Jeffries has stacks of binders next to him at the podium. It does not appear he is wrapping any time soon.

“I’ve been given 15 minutes each on a bill of such significant magnitude as it relates to the health, the safety and the well being of the American people and because that debate was so limited, I feel the obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this house floor and take my sweet time to tell the stories and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” Jeffries said.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Medicaid cuts and changes passed by the Senate could cause 11.8 million Americans to lose their health insurance over the next decade.

Jeffries is excoriating the Trump-backed megabill’s “assault on healthcare.”

“Every single house Democrat is fighting hard to protect your Medicaid,” Jeffries said. “We value you and we’re working hard to defend you.”

Jeffries didn’t stop at health care and is criticizing other portions of the bill, including its impact on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and its immigration provisions.

Those comments prompted House Democrats gathered near Jeffries to stand in applause.

4 killed, 14 hurt in Chicago mass shooting: ‘Absolute chaos’

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(CHICAGO) — Four people were killed and 14 others wounded in a mass shooting Wednesday night in Chicago, police said.

The carnage erupted in the River North neighborhood, on the 300 block of West Chicago Avenue, when a vehicle pulled up to a location and at least one gunman opened fire on a crowd standing outside, Chicago police said.

The vehicle fled the scene immediately and no one has been taken into custody, police said.

Four people were killed — two men and two women — and 14 others were wounded, including several who were hospitalized in critical condition, according to police.

“When I arrived last night it was absolute chaos,” Pastor Donovan Price, who works to help victims of violence, told reporters. “From people screaming, to blood on the streets, to people laying on the streets, a massive police presence. Just horrific. More than I’ve ever seen.”

The hospitals were “almost as chaotic” as the crime scene as people searched for their loved ones, Price said.

The injured victims are all in their 20s and 30s and 11 of the 14 people hurt are women, police said.

“Seems there was some album release party, people coming from that. An SUV pulls up and just opens fire on a crowd of people,” Price said.

“It can happen anywhere,” he warned. “It’s devastating.”

Despite the shooting, murders were down 32% year-to-date in the city as of June 29 and shooting incidents were down 39%, according to Chicago’s crime data.

Hiring surged in June, defying concern about Trump’s tariffs

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Hiring surged in June as businesses navigated uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariffs, federal government data on Thursday showed. The reading exceeded economists’ expectations.

The U.S. added 147,000 jobs in June, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure showed a slight increase from 139,000 jobs added in the previous month. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, putting it at near-historic lows.

Key measures of the economy have proven resilient in recent months, defying fears of resurgent inflation and a possible economic downturn. Hiring has kept up a solid pace, humming along with less disruption than some economists anticipated.

Federal government employment declined by 7,000 jobs in June, bringing total losses in the federal government to 69,000 since January, when Trump established the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Elon Musk-led organization has sought to slash federal spending, in part by eliminating some federal jobs.

Employment showed little change in the manufacturing sector, which Trump has sought to boost with levies on foreign goods.

The fresh data arrived less than a week before a deadline established by the Trump administration for the completion of dozens of trade deals with countries facing the threat of so-called “reciprocal tariffs.”

So far, the White House says it has reached trade agreements with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, as well as a preliminary accord with China.

In recent weeks, Trump has dialed back some of his steepest tariffs. Another batch of tariffs remains in legal limbo following a pair of federal court rulings in May, though the levies remain in place for now.

Prices accelerated slightly in May, the most recent month for which such data is available, but inflation remains near its lowest level since 2021.

Warning signs point to the possibility of elevated prices over the coming months, however. Nationwide retailers like Walmart and Best Buy have voiced alarm about the possibility that they may raise prices as a result of the levies.

The Fed held its benchmark interest rate steady last month, continuing a wait-and-see approach adopted by the central bank in recent months as it observes potential effects of Trump’s tariff policy. Four meetings and six months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates.

The Fed is guided by a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. In theory, a lowering of interest rates could help stimulate economic activity and boost employment, especially while inflation remains low.

Powell, in recent months, has warned about the possibility that tariffs may cause what economists call “stagflation,” which is when inflation rises and the economy slows.

Stagflation could put the central bank in a difficult position. If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation under such a scenario, it risks stifling borrowing and slowing the economy further.

On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a potential slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.

On Tuesday, Powell appeared to signal an openness to cutting interest rates as early as this month.

When asked about a possible interest rate cut at the Fed’s upcoming meeting, Powell said, “I wouldn’t take any meeting off the table or put any on the table. It depends on how the data evolves.”

Powell affirmed that a majority of members of the Fed’s policy-making board support additional interest cuts this year. The central bank will hold four rate-setting meetings over the remainder of 2025, and the first will happen on July 29 and 30.

“A majority of us do feel it will be appropriate in the remaining four settings of the year to begin reducing rates again,” Powell told the audience at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal.

175+ Democrats supporting NAACP suit against dismantling Department of Education

July 3, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — More than 175 Democratic members of Congress are filing an amicus brief on Thursday opposing the Trump administration’s overhaul of the U.S. Department of Education.

“The law couldn’t be clearer: the president does not have the authority to unilaterally abolish the Department of Education,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a statement first obtained by ABC News, adding, “Donald Trump is not a king, and he cannot single-handedly cut off access to education for students across this country.”

Warren and Reps. Jamie Raskin, Bobby Scott and Rosa DeLauro — the ranking members of the House’s Education and Judiciary committees — are leading the 15-page legal document. They’re joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, more than 20 Senate Democrats, and more than 150 other members of the House Democratic caucus.

The lawmakers’ brief attempting to block the administration from abolishing the Department of Education is in support of the NAACP’s suit against the government this past spring. In March, that case argued that downsizing the department through a workforce reduction that slashed nearly half the agency’s staff — among other measures like terminating statutory grant programs — violates the separation of powers and lacks constitutional authority.

The NAACP, the National Education Association (NEA), and a coalition of groups filed a preliminary injunction with the U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland this week, arguing the judge’s consideration of this case is needed after the administration’s recent decision to pause more than $6 billion in congressionally appropriated education programs ahead of the school year.

“The motion seeks a remedy for the serious harm that the Trump Administration has inflicted on students, educators, schools, and colleges and universities, and asks the Court to direct the Department to fulfill its statutory obligations to students nationwide,” according to a statement released by the NEA, which represents more than 3 million educators.

Raskin condemned the administration’s efforts to curb public education, contending President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon can’t abolish the agency without congressional approval.

“Congress created the Department of Education to ensure that every student in America could obtain a high-quality, free public school education,” Raskin wrote in a statement. “This is the right of every citizen and an essential democratic safeguard against political tyranny,” he said.

“No president has the authority to dismantle a federal agency created by law. We’re going to court to defend not only congressional power but the department’s national educational mission, itself a pillar of American democracy,” Raskin added.

The power to reorganize the executive branch belongs to Congress and is underscored by the fact that when presidents have reorganized the executive branch, they have done so “through legislation and subject to appropriate restraints,” according to the brief by the lawmakers.

Their brief argues that only Congress has the authority to create, restructure, and abolish federal agencies, it has to be done through legislation, and the Department of Education can’t be unilaterally abolished because it’s statutorily mandated.

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colorado, told ABC News closing the department would strip “vital support” from tens of millions of students and teachers.

“I’m proud to stand with my colleagues in the House and Senate to uphold Congress’ responsibility to ensure every student has access to a quality education and to defend the essential work of the Department of Education,” Neguse said.

Efforts to dismantle the department have been blocked by lower courts this spring. The Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on a Massachusetts case that could decide whether the firing of nearly 2,000 employees at the agency stands. McMahon has stressed the critical functions of the department remain and that services like students with disabilities, for example, could ultimately be moved to other agencies.

The brief is part of Warren’s larger Save Our Schools campaign that she started after Trump signed an executive order to diminish the Department of Education.

“The federal government has invested in our public schools,” Warren told ABC News in April. “Taking that away from our kids so that a handful of billionaires can be even richer is just plain ugly, and I will fight it with everything I’ve got.”

The senator has previously requested the agency’s Office of Inspector General review the Department of Government Efficiency’s alleged “infiltration” of the agency’s internal federal student loan database. Prior to the Save Our Schools campaign, she investigated the firing of federal student aid employees and how a reduction in staff at the agency could have “dire consequences” for borrowers.

The brief also comes after Raskin and several other House Democrats met with McMahon about the future of the agency. That meeting appeared to leave many with unanswered questions, like Rep. Frederica Wilson, a senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, who also signed on to the amicus brief.

“For the Department of Education to be dismantled, it is going to bring a shock to this nation,” said Wilson, a former principal and lifelong educator. “Schools are the bedrock of this nation. When schools are working, our country is, too.”

+ More