Thursday morning news: June 27, 2019

Senate passes emergency bipartisan border bill » Lawmakers in the Senate passed an emergency bill on Wednesday to provide aid at the southern border. 

A day earlier, the House passed a similar bill largely down party lines. But the Senate measure passed with bipartisan support. 

AUDIO: On this vote the yeas are 84 and the nays are 8. 

The $4.6 billion bill provides funds to care for families and unaccompanied minors apprehended at the border. 

The Senate did take up the House measure but soundly rejected it. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing for quick negotiations to merge the two bills. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said she’s pushing for four changes. 

SCHUMER: We could quickly have a conference, talk about those four changes, try to get them in the bill, and finish this quickly, and I hope that’s what will happen. 

President Trump would likely sign the Senate bill if the House approved it as is. But the White House is reserving judgment on the final bill until it comes out of conference. 

Democratic White House hopefuls square off in first major debate » Immigration was just one of the big topics White House hopefuls debated last night. 

Ten Democrats gathered on crowded stage in Miami, for day one of a two-day debate. With so many contenders, the field has been split in two. The party set the lineups for each debate at random. 

Standing center stage was former Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. 

WARREN: Who is this economy really working for? It’s doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top.

There was very little daylight between the candidates on issues like immigration, gun control, climate change and abortion. 

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro… 

CASTRO: I don’t believe only in reproductive freedom. I believe in reproductive justice!

He said that means that means taxpayer dollars should fund an abortion if a woman can’t afford it. 

Candidates were split, however, on a complete government takeover of healthcare—so called “Medicare for all.” Former Maryland Congressman John Delaney said he believes the government should give everyone healthcare… 

DELANEY: But we should also give them the option to buy private insurance. Why do we have to stand for taking away something from people? 

Ten more Democrats take the stage tonight, including early frontrunners—former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Moon: Third Trump-Kim summit may be in the works » North Korean and U.S. officials are engaged in “behind-the-scenes talks” to set up a possible third summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un. That according to South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin has more. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Moon said a nuclear pact “cannot be achieved overnight.” He added, quote—“I think creating a security environment where Chairman Kim can decisively act on nuclear dismantlement without worries is the fastest way to achieve denuclearization diplomatically.” 

Kim and Trump have not held any public discussions since the failed summit in Vietnam in February.

President Trump is scheduled to take a two-day trip to South Korea on Friday and Saturday, after the G-20 summit in Japan.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

Two US service members killed in Afghanistan » Two US service members were killed on Wednesday in Afghanistan. The Pentagon has not identified the soldiers, but they were reported part of a Special Forces team and died in a firefight with Taliban militants slightly north of Kandahar.

The incident occurred a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a short visit to Kabul to discuss progress toward a peace agreement to end the Afghanistan war. 

Planned Parenthood fights to keep Missouri’s only abortion facility open » The last abortion facility in Missouri asked a state panel for an extension this week after a judge ruled its license would run out on Friday. WORLD Radio’s Leigh Jones has that story. 

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services refused last week to renew the license of Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis affiliate. The department cited patient safety issues.

Missouri Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer ruled Monday that the facility must take its case before the Administrative Hearing Commission. That commission handles licensing disputes between state agencies and businesses. 

The hearing is set for August 1st, and Planned Parenthood wants the commission to issue a stay until then. If the Planned Parenthood closes, Missouri would become the first state without a single abortion facility since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Leigh Jones.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Democratic presidential candidate former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, third from left, answers a question, during a Democratic primary debate hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Art, Thursday, June 27, 2019, in Miami. 

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