International News Briefs for Wednesday, July 2, 2025
HAVANA TIMES – Here are some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Senate Narrowly Approves Massive Bill to Gut Social Programs and Cut Taxes on the Rich
Jul 02, 2025
The United States Senate has approved a sweeping package of tax breaks for the wealthy and deep cuts to social programs including Medicaid and food assistance. On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to deliver a major legislative victory to President Trump.
Vice President JD Vance: “On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being evenly divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative. The bill, as amended, is passed.”
Three Republicans broke ranks to join all Democrats and independent senators in voting no: Senators Thom Tillis, Rand Paul and Susan Collins. The legislation passed after a compromise was worked out with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska despite her concerns it slashes social safety net programs. The Senate reconciliation bill also includes a historic increase in funds to ramp up Trump’s mass deportation efforts, deregulates AI and cryptocurrency industries, ends subsidies for renewable energy and even imposes new taxes on solar and wind farms. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned of political consequences to Tuesday’s vote.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: “Today’s vote will haunt our Republican colleagues for years to come as the American people see the damage that is done, as hospitals close, as people are laid off, as costs go up, as the debt increases.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate bill will add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over a decade. House members are rushing to return to the Capitol to vote on the Senate-approved version of the bill ahead of a Trump-imposed July 4 deadline. We’ll have more on this story after headlines.
“We Will Not Accept This Intimidation”: NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Rejects Trump’s Threats
Jul 02, 2025
Here in New York, election officials have declared Zohran Mamdani the winner of last month’s Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Tuesday’s release of ranked-choice voting results shows Mamdani, a New York State Assembly member and Democratic Socialist, easily defeated second-place finisher and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with 56% of the vote compared to Cuomo’s 44%. Mamdani won with over 545,000 votes, more than 27 United States senators received in their most recent elections. On Tuesday, President Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani over his campaign pledge not to cooperate with federal immigration agents carrying out Trump’s mass deportation orders.
President Donald Trump: “Well, then, we’ll have to arrest him. Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation. … A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. He’s — you know, we’re going to look at everything.”
In a statement, Zohran Mamdani condemned Trump’s threat as an attack on democracy and pledged, “We will not accept this intimidation.” He also spoke with TV station NY1.
Zohran Mamdani: “What we’re seeing in President Trump’s rhetoric is an attempt to focus on who I am, where I’m from, what I look like, how I sound, as opposed to what I’m actually fighting for, because to do so would be to display the stark contrast in our sincerity and actually delivering for the very working people who’ve been left behind by our politics.”
Israel Continues Attacks on Aid Seekers as Gaza’s Largest Hospital Is Forced to Halt Dialysis
Jul 02, 2025
In Gaza, Israeli forces have killed at least 43 more Palestinians, including people seeking aid and displaced families sheltering in tents. Al Jazeera reports that in just five weeks, Israel has killed at least 600 Palestinians as they sought aid at distribution sites run by the militarized, U.S.- and Israeli-backed so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This comes as Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, has exhausted its supplies of fuel to run generators, due to Israel’s ongoing blockade. At least 350 kidney failure patients in Gaza face imminent death as Al-Shifa doctors on Tuesday were forced to shut down the hospital’s dialysis ward. Israel’s continuing slaughter and blockade came as President Trump claimed Israeli officials have agreed to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not yet confirmed it has approved conditions for a new deal.
Study Finds U.S. Foreign Aid Cuts Could Kill 14 Million People by 2030
Jul 02, 2025
A new study finds the Trump administration’s halt to foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development could result in 14 million additional deaths by 2030. Researchers publishing in the British medical journal The Lancet compared the impact of the Trump administration’s cuts to a pandemic or major armed conflict, warning, “Unlike those events this crisis would stem from a conscious and avoidable policy choice — one whose burden would fall disproportionately on children and younger populations, and whose consequences could reverberate for decades.” The study was published as Secretary of State Marco Rubio celebrated the end of USAID on Tuesday, writing in an online post, “We will not apologize for recognizing America’s longstanding commitment to life-saving humanitarian aid and promotion of economic development abroad must be in furtherance of an America First foreign policy.”
Trump Administration Withholds $6.8 Billion in Public School Funding
Jul 02, 2025
The Trump administration notified states Monday it is withholding $6.8 billion in funds designated for public schools. The money was approved by Congress four months ago and due to be disbursed by July 1, ahead of the new school year; instead, school districts and states are now scrambling to shut down services, including after-school programs and support for English language learners. The Trump administration has not said when — or if — it will release the funds. In an email to states, the Education Department says it “remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the president’s priorities.”
Judge Blocks RFK Jr.’s Plan to Radically Downsize Department of Health and Human Services
Jul 02, 2025
A federal judge in Rhode Island has halted the Trump administration’s efforts to radically restructure the Department of Health and Human Services. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose ruled HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s mass firing of staffers and his elimination of entire programs is likely unlawful, writing, “The executive branch does not have the authority to order, organize or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress.” RFK Jr. is seeking to eliminate 10,000 jobs while slashing programs including disease prevention, anti-smoking campaigns and food safety inspections.
Trump Jokes About Alligators Eating Immigrants During Tour of New Florida ICE Jail
Jul 02, 2025
President Trump toured Florida’s new immigration jail dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Alligator Alcatraz is a hastily built camp on an isolated airfield in the Everglades with massive tents that will hold immigrants in cages with multiple bunk beds. Trump mocked detained immigrants, saying they would have to learn how to fight alligators in order to escape. The jail is surrounded by alligators, pythons and other Everglades wildlife. Hundreds of protesters rallied outside in response. This is a Miccosukee leader.
Kailani: “We just — we love our land. We love our water. We love our habitat. We love the trees. We love — we love the immigrants. We think it’s very wrong, what they’re doing.”
Trump’s visit came ahead of plans to transfer the first group of immigrants to the camp this week. The ICE jail is expected to hold up to 5,000 people awaiting deportation, costing an estimated $450 million a year to operate. We’ll go to Florida for more after headlines.
Trump Administration Transfers More Immigrants to Guantánamo
Jul 02, 2025
The Trump administration has quietly transferred more immigrants to the Guantánamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba, including nationals from China, Jamaica, Liberia and the United Kingdom. CBS News reports that, as of Tuesday, at least 54 immigrants are currently detained at Guantánamo.
Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles over Sanctuary City Policies
Jul 02, 2025
The Trump administration is suing Los Angeles, seeking to overturn the city’s sanctuary policy, which Trump’s DOJ claims is obstructing the enforcement of mass raids. On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass publicly condemned Trump’s crackdown.
Mayor Karen Bass: “We know that Los Angeles is the test case, and we will stand strong. And we do so because the people snatched off city streets and chased through parking lots are our co-workers, our neighbors, our family members, and they are Angelenos.”
This is the latest in a string of lawsuits the Trump administration has filed against other sanctuary jurisdictions, including New York, New Jersey and Colorado. We’ll have more on Trump’s ICE raids later in the broadcast.
Judge Pauses DHS’s Termination of Protected Status for Haitian Immigrants
Jul 02, 2025
Image Credit: X/@usrealitycheck
A New York federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s early termination of temporary protected status, or TPS, for over half a million immigrants from Haiti. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had previously announced the relief would end in September, placing over 500,000 Haitians at risk of deportation. Judge Brian Cogan, who is a George W. Bush appointee, ruled the move was unlawful, and ordered that the relief remain in place until its scheduled end date of February 2026.
SCOTUS Rejects ExxonMobil’s Appeal of $14 Million Fine for Air Pollution at Texas Plant
Jul 02, 2025
The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from oil and gas giant ExxonMobil to halt a record $14 million penalty for thousands of air pollution violations at its plant in Baytown, Texas — one of the largest petrochemical sites in the country. The case was filed in 2010 by Environment Texas and the Sierra Club on behalf of residents living nearby. The violations fell under the Clean Air Act, a federal law that limits air pollution from industrial emitters.
UPenn Bans Trans Athletes; DOJ Claims Harvard Violated Civil Rights Law During Gaza Protests
Jul 02, 2025
The Trump administration has found Harvard violated federal civil rights law, saying the university failed to address reports of harassment of Jewish students on campus in response to Gaza solidarity peaceful protests.
This comes as the University of Pennsylvania has caved to Trump’s demands to ban transgender athletes from women’s sport teams and erase the records set by trans swimmer Lia Thomas. Thomas is a UPenn graduate who won the 2022 NCAA championship in the women’s 500-yard freestyle.
Paramount Will Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle Lawsuit Alleging “60 Minutes” Bias
Jul 02, 2025
Image Credit: CBS News/“60 Minutes”
The parent company of CBS News has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a $20 billion lawsuit brought by Donald Trump, who objected to the way CBS News’s “60 Minutes” edited an interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount board chair and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone reportedly sought the settlement to ensure the FCC approves Paramount’s $8.4 billion bid to merge with Skydance Media. In April, “60 Minutes” longtime executive producer Bill Owens resigned amid disagreements over how to respond to Trump’s lawsuit, saying he’d “lost the independence that honest journalism requires.” In May, CBS News president and CEO Wendy McMahon also stepped down, saying in a parting memo, “the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”
Jury Continues Deliberations After Reaching Partial Verdict in Sean Combs Sex Trafficking Trial
Jul 02, 2025
Image Credit: Jane Rosenberg
Here in New York, jurors have reached a verdict in all but one count in the crimes trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. The judge overseeing the case said jurors had reached consensus on two counts of sex trafficking and two prostitution charges, but remain deadlocked over racketeering charges. Prosecutors accuse Combs of repeatedly assaulting several women, drugging and coercing women and men to perform sexual acts, and being part of a criminal organization that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and other crimes since at least 2008.