Monday morning news: June 30, 2025

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

Big Beautiful Bill » On Capitol Hill, the Senate could hold a final floor vote as soon as today on President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

The massive reconciliation bill cleared a procedural vote over the weekend.

AUDIO:  The yeas are 51, the nays are 49. The motion is agreed to.

The legislation would address the president’s top priorities, including locking in 2017 tax cuts, and more funds for border security. Republicans say the bill will grow the economy. GOP Sen. Mike Rounds:

ROUNDS:  We're reducing the expenditures at the federal level, but even more importantly, we're providing economic opportunity that will drive the economy for the next 10 years.

But at least two Senate Republicans say it does not reduce expenditures nearly enough. Rand Paul and Thom Tillis voted not to proceed with the bill. GOP leaders can afford no more than three defections on the measure.

Democrats call it a reckless giveaway to corporations. Sen. Bernie Sanders:

SANDERS: This is not a gift to the billionaire class. They paid for it.

Senate Democrats also claim it will strip funding from healthcare and other programs.

They tried to delay debate by forcing clerks to read all 940 pages of the bill out loud—but in the end, Republicans secured enough votes to keep the process moving forward.

Trump Iran nuclear / leaker » President Trump says he is confident that recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. He also said he does not believe that Iran’s government was able to relocate enriched uranium ahead U.S. strikes on fortified nuclear facilities just over a week ago.

TRUMP:  You know, they moved themselves. They were all trying to live. They didn't move anything. They didn't think it was gonna be actually doable, what we did. And what we did was amazing.

But Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency is still calling for independent inspectors to be given access to Iranian nuclear sites. He said it’s critical to verify that Iran did not manage to move its enriched uranium to safety.

GROSSI:  If we don't get that verification, this will continue to be hanging, you know, over our heads as a potential problem.

US diplomats are expected to hold talks this week with Iranian officials.

But according to the latest White House reports, that has not yet been scheduled.

Trump Gaza ceasefire push » President Trump is urging a ceasefire deal to halt the war in Gaza.

An Israeli official says plans are underway for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to travel to Washington in the coming weeks. And a top adviser is already heading there for discussions.

Many weary Palestinians are skeptical about the chances, as are many Israelis, after nearly two years of war that started with a Hamas terror attack.

Israel on Sunday ordered evacuations in northern areas of Gaza during intensifying military operations.

Russia-Ukraine » Meanwhile, farther north, Russia and Ukraine appear no closer to a ceasefire.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons says it’s clear that Vladimir Putin does not want peace.

COONS:  President Trump's called for a ceasefire. President Zelensky has agreed. President Putin is not agreeing. He's continuing to strike, uh, deep into Ukraine.

Russia has launched its biggest aerial attack against Ukraine over the weekend.

Ukraine’s air force says the assault involved more than 500 aerial weapons including drones and missiles. Defense systems intercepted or jammed most of the incoming threats but not all.

Officials confirmed three deaths and said another two died in Russian shelling.

New York mayor race » The race for mayor of New York City continues to draw national attention.

Self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is set to be the Democratic nominee, after an upset win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary, though Cuomo is staying in the race as an independent.

Mamdani told NBC’s Meet the Press:

MAMDANI:  We live in the most expensive city in the United States of America. It's also the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty.

Some national Democratic leaders have offered praise for his successful campaign. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:

JEFFRIES: He outworked, he out-communicated, and he out-organized the opposition.

But they’ve stopped short of endorsing Mamdani keeping a distance from his candidacy. That is partly due to his positions on policing and on Israel

Mamdani says he plans to cap rent and open city-owned grocery stores. He also wants to boost the minimum wage to $30 per hour and raise corporate taxes.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a former Democrat turned independent is instead pushing plans like lowering city taxes for low-income families.

Adams is running as a pragmatic alternative, and openly courting centrist Republican voters wary of Mamdani.

But GOP New York Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis says:

MALLIOTAKIS:  I think it is really important that Republicans, independents and common sense Democrats coalesce and unite behind one particular candidate. Right now, looking at this field, it would kind of make sense that that would be the Republican nominee, simply because you have three Democrats in there that would be splitting the vote.

Curtis Sliwa is hoping a divided field will help him become first Republican mayor of the Big Apple in two decades.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: digging into the Supreme Court decision regarding parental rights. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat with David Bahnsen.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.