Hook News Brief | 04.07.25
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” clears US House of Representatives
In a big win for Trump, the US President’s signature legislation, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, has cleared the US House of Representatives by a vote of 218 to 214.
Trump had given the Republican-controlled Congress a deadline of 4 July to send him a final version of the bill to sign into law after the bill was approved in the Senate on Tuesday by one vote. Only two Republicans joined with the House’s 212 Democrats to oppose the bill: Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill could add $3.3 trillion to federal deficits over the next 10 years and will cut social safety-net programmes such as Medicaid - a forecast that the White House disputes.
Meanwhile, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries set a record for the longest House-floor speech of eight hours and 45 minutes as he slammed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” as reckless.
No progress on Ukraine as Trump dials Putin for 6th time since swearing-in
In other news, Trump decried that he “didn't make any progress” to end the war in Ukraine following a nearly hour-long phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that during the call Putin reiterated that “Russia will not back down” and would keep pushing to solve the conflict's "root causes". Notably, he added that Putin had also expressed a “readiness” to “seek a political and negotiated solution to the conflict”.
The phone call, their sixth since Trump started his second term in January, came a day after the Pentagon confirmed it was halting some weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
4 killed, several injured in drive-by shooting outside Chicago lounge
Shifting focus, four people have been killed and at least 14 others wounded in a drive-by shooting in the US after gunmen opened fire on a crowd outside a lounge in downtown Chicago.
Larry Snelling, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, called the shooting that took place around 11:00 pm local time - a “cowardly act”. Adding that the driver immediately fled, and no one was in custody. He has asked the public to submit anonymous tips to help detectives identify suspects.
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