Plus: Pride In Being An American Hits A Record Low, And Zoo Animals Try To Stay Cool As A Heatwave Grips Europe

Good evening,

Before we get to the news, here’s a taste of what’s ahead for all of us this Fourth of July long weekend 🇺🇸 in our ‘Cheers to the Freakin’ Weekend’ section:

What We’re Watching:

Mosh: All The Sharks 🦈 ~Netflix and Heads of State ~Amazon Prime
Jill: Wimbledon 🎾
Juliet: Season 4 of The Bear
Sam: (My first!) Fourth of July fireworks 🎇

What We’re Reading:

Mosh: The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward
Jill: “10 Nutrition Lessons From 2025, So Far” ~NYT
Sam: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Juliet: Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

What We’re Eating:

Mosh: Zahav hummus and Saturday Sauce from Sababa foods 🍅
Jill: Italian ices from the Bonanza’s Stand ~Oyster Bay, Long Island
Sari: Fourth of July burgers 🍔
Ryan: Fourth of July hot dog 🌭— just mustard!

Have a great one!

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

House Passes ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ Fulfilling President Trump’s Policy Agenda

The House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly passed a sweeping multi-trillion dollar bill known as President Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ to extend and add tax cuts and slash social safety net programs. Republicans overcame divisions within their party to deliver on President Trump’s central domestic agenda.

The final vote, 218 to 214, was mostly along party lines and came after Speaker Mike Johnson successfully dealt with resistance in his own ranks that threatened to derail the president’s signature measure.
- All but two Republicans voted in favor, and Democrats unanimously opposed the measure. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) were the only Republicans who voted against the bill.
  - Massie is a fiscal hawk who strongly opposes any measures that would increase the federal deficit. Representative Fitzpatrick is a moderate who has expressed concerns about the bills cuts to Medicaid.

Last Gasp Of Democratic Opposition

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) took to the House floor Thursday morning and gave a speech that stretched for more than 8 hours and delayed a final vote on the legislation.

Jeffries’ speech broke the House record for the longest speech given in the lower house of Congress. Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) previously held the record at 8 hours and 32 minutes.
- He was able to speak for so long because of a tradition called the “magic minute” which allows a House leader to speak indefinitely at the end of a debate. The move is often used as a substitute for the Senate’s filibuster.

Jeffries called the bill’s agenda “disgusting” and an “abomination” and argued the bill would hurt Americans by enacting the largest cuts to American healthcare in history. He also criticized the bill’s cuts to Planned Parenthood and SNAP food assistance benefits.

What’s In The Legislation

The legislation extends tax cuts enacted in 2017 during President Trump’s first term that had been scheduled to expire at the end of the year. It also adds new tax cuts Trump promised during this campaign, including some on tips and overtime pay.

Those cuts are expected to total cost of $4.5 trillion.

The bill also increases funding for defense and border security, while cutting nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and reducing food assistance programs for lower-income Americans. Check out this Mo News Deep-Dive for details. It also phases out clean-energy tax credits passed under former President Biden.

The legislation also increases the government’s borrowing ability (the debt limit) by $5 trillion to over $40 trillion.

Republicans typically don’t like doing that, but the debt limit increase was seen as necessary to avert a federal debt default later this year.

Big Victory For Trump

The bill’s final passage is a major victory for President Trump after divisions among his party threatened to derail his signature legislation.

Ultimately, the GOP lined up almost unanimously behind the bill, fearing the consequences of voting against President Trump.
- Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) who did cross Trump and voted against the bill announced he won’t run for reelection next year, just hours after Trump threatened to support primary challengers in the race for his Senate seat.

President Trump is expected to sign the bill this evening during a ceremony at the White House ahead of the July 4th deadline he imposed to pass the bill.

What Do Americans Think?

Polls show that the bill is currently deeply unpopular and Democrats have said it cuts critical government programs like Medicaid and SNAP food assistance to fund tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

Polling taken throughout June showed that Americans largely disapprove of the mega-bill.

Quinnipiac polling conducted June 22 to 24 and released last week found that 55% of voters oppose the bill, while 29% support it. Another 20% did not offer an opinion.

Several other recent polls showed the same widespread disapproval among Americans.

Fox News (38% favored vs. 59% opposed), KFF (64% viewed unfavorably, 35% viewed unfavorably) and Pew Research Center (49% opposed and 29% in favor).

But President Trump’s supporters largely view the legislation positively.

Among MAGA-supporting Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 72% viewed the bill favorably, whereas only 33% of non-MAGA supporters agreed.

What’s Next

The Congressional Progressive Caucus plans to hold “Accountability Summer” events targeting Republican members who voted for the bill. They are planning news conferences outside rural hospitals and nursing homes in Republican districts that will be hit by Medicaid cuts.

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING

Pride In America Reaches Record Low, Especially Among Democrats, Gen Z

As we head into the 4th of July holiday, a new Gallup poll finds American patriotism has declined to a new low. National pride has fallen especially among Democrats, independents, and younger generations.

The poll, which surveyed 1,000 adults living in the U.S. during June 2025, found that only 58% of Americans overall said they were extremely or very proud to be an American in 2025.
- The rate is a decline from 67% last year, and it is a new low since Gallup started conducting the annual poll on American pride in 2001.

Just over a third (36%) of Democrats said they felt proud to be an American in 2025, down from 62% in 2024.

This is the second time fewer than half of Democrats have said they were proud to be American since the survey began.
- The first time was during 2020, in which the Gallup survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and shortly after the murder of George Floyd.

Among political independents, just over half (53%) of respondents said they were extremely or very proud to be an American, down from 60% in 2024, and also a record low.

Pride among Republicans, in contrast, has increased over the past year, with 92% of Republicans saying they were proud to be an American in 2025, up from 85% in 2024.

Republicans have consistently ranked above Democrats and political independents in American pride since the survey began.

The poll also found that younger generations are less likely to be proud to be Americans than older birth cohorts.

Fewer than half (41%) of Gen Z respondents said they were proud to be an American between 2021-2025, compared to 58% of millennials, 71% of Gen X, and three quarters of Baby Boomers.
- Pride has decreased among all age cohorts since the previous five-year period.

What these numbers show us is that each generation is less patriotic than the prior generation, and Gen Z definitely identifies less with patriotism than older people. Even among the older generations, they’ve become less patriotic over time. That change is primarily driven by Democrats within those generations.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

First detainees arrive at Alligator Alcatraz facility in Everglades (CBS)
Supreme Court to rule on state bans on transgender students' participation in girls' and women's sports (NBC)
Kilmar Abrego Garcia says he was beaten and subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail (AP)
UMass Amherst Congressional intern killed in Washington, D.C. shooting, police offer reward for suspects (FOX)
B-2 pilots who conducted raid on Iran’s nuclear sites invited to White House for 4th of July; no public ceremony planned (ABC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Deputy commander of Russian navy killed in strike near Ukraine frontline (GUARDIAN)
Gaza hospital director killed in Israeli strike, relative says (BBC)
Wildfires on Greek island Crete force thousands to evacuate (CBS)
US teen influencer detained in Antarctica while attempting solo flight to 7 continents (CNN)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

U.S. hiring solid in latest jobs report, but there are also signs for concern (MO NEWS)
Dow jumps more than 300 points, S&P 500 sets new record after strong June jobs report (CNBC)
Gas prices near lowest level in 4 years ahead of Fourth of July (ABC)
NASA spots a new comet flying in from a distant star system (NPR)
12,000 pounds of blueberries recalled over listeria risks (USA TODAY)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Michael Madsen, known for roles in 'Reservoir Dogs,' 'Kill Bill' films, dies at 67 (ABC7)
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother die in car crash (ESPN)
Fans complain Lorde's new album won't work in CD players (BBC)
Jeopardy! contestants make history as first married couple ever to win game show (E! NEWS)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Europe is enduring a relentless heat wave 🥵, and zoos across the continent are doing all they can to keep their animals safe and cool.

The extreme heat, which began over a week ago, has brought sweltering temperatures to western Europe and is now blanketing much of southern and central Europe.

In Prague, animals were given pounds of ice to lay on and stay cool and enjoyed sprinklers and shade, while zoo in Germany gave their polar bears a frozen treat. 🐻‍❄️🧊