☕ How the megabill impacts you

Good morning!

The Big, Beautiful Bill narrowly passed through the Senate yesterday, requiring a vote from Vice President JD Vance to break a 50-50 deadlock, and is headed to the House today. For GOP leaders, the race is on to get the bill approved and on President Trump’s desk by July 4.

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Some headlines from this morning:

• President Trump announced Monday that Israel has accepted a 60-day Gaza ceasefire, though Israeli officials told the BBC they were "ready" without confirming a formal agreement. The proposal requires Hamas to release all 50 remaining hostages, including 20 believed alive, in exchange for a temporary halt to fighting. Hamas has not responded to the terms, prompting Trump to warn on social media that rejection would bring "worse" consequences for the group. The negotiations have gained urgency after Israel evacuated northern Gaza residents Sunday ahead of planned military operations.

• The Dalai Lama announced Monday he will name a successor after his death, ending speculation about the future of the centuries-old Buddhist lineage. Tibet's 90-year-old spiritual leader said his reincarnation must follow traditional Buddhist practices through his Gaden Phodrang Trust, explicitly excluding China from the selection process. China claims authority to choose the next Dalai Lama and insists the successor must come from Chinese-controlled Tibet. The announcement sets up a potential succession dispute that could impact Tibet's autonomy movement, as Beijing names its own candidate.

• Jurors in Sean "Diddy" Combs's sex trafficking trial told the judge Monday they cannot reach an agreement on the top racketeering charge after deciding four other counts. The panel convicted Combs on two sex trafficking charges and acquitted him on two prostitution-related counts, but remains deadlocked on racketeering, which carries a possible life sentence. Judge Sarah Chen ordered deliberations to continue Tuesday morning after 12 hours of jury discussion following the two-month trial. Prosecutors alleged Combs used his music empire to coerce women into sexual acts while drugging and filming them for blackmail.

• Paramount will pay $16 million to President Trump's presidential library to settle a lawsuit over CBS News election coverage, the company announced Wednesday. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion after the network's "60 Minutes" program aired an interview with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris during the election campaign. The lawsuit alleged CBS deceptively edited the interview to favor Democrats and misrepresented election coverage. Paramount stated that the settlement does not include an apology or a statement of regret from the media company.

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Women are now eligible for military conscription in Denmark.

The change requires all women who turn 18 after July 1, 2025, to register for potential service, aligning with measures already in place for men.

The duration of the conscription period is also being extended, from four to 11 months. Previously, women were only able to volunteer for military service.

The move comes as part of Denmark’s response to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Background

Under Danish law, all physically fit men over the age of 18 may be required to complete military service.

Some men and women volunteer, and the remaining recruits are enlisted through a random lottery system that until now has only involved men.

The move to include women was first announced in early 2024.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters at the time that the government wants ”full equality between the sexes.”

In 2023, 4,717 people completed military service in Denmark, a quarter of whom were women who volunteered to participate.

Denmark’s military also has 9,000 professional personnel.

The gender reforms are expected to see the number of people doing military service rise to 6,500 each year by 2033.

Denmark follows its neighboring countries, Sweden and Norway, in implementing conscription for women.

Russia

Denmark is a member of the NATO military alliance and supports Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion.

NATO countries must come to the defence of their fellow members if attacked. Ukraine is not a member.

However, the country has contributed €9 billion ($AU16 billion) in military support to Ukraine, making it one of the largest donors.

Colonel Kenneth Strøm, who leads the conscription program, told The Associated Press that including women is based on “the current security situation.”

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President Trump's sweeping legislative package narrowly passed the Senate 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.

The 940-page bill combines tax cuts, immigration funding, and spending reductions into a single massive piece of legislation. Here's what you need to know.

What’s in the bill?

The legislation extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts and adds new reductions, including changes to State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions. It allocates $350 billion for immigration enforcement, with $46 billion designated for border wall construction and $45 billion to expand detention center capacity.

The bill aims to pack everything required for Trump's four-year term into one piece of legislation rather than passing multiple smaller laws on specific topics.

The cuts

To offset the spending increases, the bill introduces stricter qualification requirements for Medicaid that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates will leave 11.4 million people without health insurance by 2034. SNAP food assistance programs face reduced funding that could affect millions of low-income families.

The legislation eliminates existing government green energy incentives that Biden implemented to encourage solar and wind energy growth and subsidize electric vehicles.

Republicans

Senator Rand Paul opposed the bill because the spending increases outweigh the cuts, resulting in a $3.3 trillion increase in the U.S. deficit, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Senators Susan Collins and Thom Tillis voted against it to protest Medicaid cuts, which they said would harm their constituents.

Opposition

Democratic leaders have criticized the bill as benefiting wealthy Americans while cutting programs for the poor. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called it "a massive transfer of wealth from working families to billionaires."

Elon Musk, despite supporting Trump, has threatened to back primary challengers against Republicans who voted for the legislation, citing concerns about government spending.

What happens next?

The bill now returns to the House, which must approve Senate amendments to the version it passed last month. Trump previously wanted the bill passed by July 4 but recently said "maybe July 4th or somewhere around there."

Elon Musk has threatened to support challengers to Republicans who voted for the bill.

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