The Final Vote, and the Sean Combs Verdict

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From the New York Times, it's the headlines.

I'm Tracy Mumford.

Today's Thursday, July 3rd.

Here's what we're covering.

We must pass this bill to unleash economic growth and rural prosperity.

Let's make President Trump's one big, beautiful bill, the law of the land.

At the Capitol, President Trump's marquee domestic policy bill, which will cement sweeping tax cuts and slash federal safety net programs, is now facing the final hurdle.

We're securing our border in this bill, too.

We're opening up American energy in this spill.

After an all-nighter, representatives are currently making their last-ditch cases in the chamber.

I urge all my colleagues to oppose debt, death, and hunger.

Oppose this cruel legislation.

A handful of GOP representatives could still defy their party over objections to the bill and sink it.

But the vote won't begin until the lawmakers have finished speaking.

Hakeem Jeffries took the floor just before 5 a.m.

And because he's the Democratic leader, he has no time limit.

Not a single hardworking American taxpayer should ever have to choose between food or medicine or rent or putting clothing on their back.

He's used the opportunity to share stories of people he says will be negatively impacted by the cuts in the bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also plans to take the floor, after which point things will likely move quickly to the vote.

For the latest, with analysis from my colleagues at the Capitol, go to nytimes.com.

At the U.S.-Mexico border, illegal crossings have plunged to the lowest level in decades.

In June, immigration agents made just over 6,000 arrests along the border.

It's a significant drop from the roughly 50,000 people agents were arresting each month at the end of the Biden administration.

The decline seems to be a sign that President Trump's sweeping anti-immigrant policies are working as intended, deterring people from trying to enter.

The administration has aggressively ramped up arrests of migrants already in the U.S.

and deported people to detention centers in countries they're not from.

One border expert told the Times that people thinking about coming to the U.S.

are likely, quote, getting scary messages on WhatsApp, TikTok, and elsewhere about how bad for migrants the climate is in the United States.

Crucially, Trump also closed the door on America's long-standing policy of allowing people who are fleeing violence or persecution to seek refuge.

On his first day in office, he signed an executive order blocking all asylum claims for those crossing illegally.

Whether that policy can continue, however, is now in question.

Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot categorically deny those claims since Congress had established those immigration policies.

Trump argued that he could usurp Congress's power because illegal crossings had become a, quote, invasion, a claim the judge rejected.

Under the order, the restrictive border policy will end in two weeks.

The administration has already filed an appeal and the case is likely to reach the Supreme Court.

I'm Olivia Bensimo.

I've been covering the Sean Combs trial for The Times and I was inside the courtroom on Wednesday when the verdict came in.

In New York City yesterday, a jury reached its verdict in the case of hip-hop mogul Sean Combs after an eight-week trial that had captured global attention.

When the first count came back not guilty, someone in the courtroom, in the family row, gasped, and Combs looked back at his family and said, we're going to be okay.

And then the rest of the charges were read out, not guilty, guilty, not guilty, guilty.

And as they were were going through, he was nodding to the jurors.

He was mouthing, thank you, thank you, thank you, and it seemed like he was praying.

The jury found Combs guilty of transporting prostitutes who had participated in the days-long drug-fueled sexual encounters that were at the center of the case.

But they found him not guilty of the most serious charges against him, sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.

Combs had faced up to life in prison.

Now, the maximum he could get is 20 years, and legal experts think he's likely to get less than that.

The judge has yet to set a sentencing date, but he said that Combs must stay in prison for now.

One of the key witnesses, Cassie Ventura, who testified that Combs abused her when they were dating, said he still poses a danger to her and others involved in the case.

Beyond this trial, Combs still faces dozens of lawsuits from other people who've accused him of abuse stretching back years.

He's denied those accusations.

For a deeper analysis of the trial and the mixed verdict, listen to today's episode of The Daily.

In Russia, the harsh sanctions the U.S.

put in place after the invasion of Ukraine are beginning to lose their bite under President Trump's hands-off approach.

When the war began, the Biden administration started imposing sanction after sanction, putting restrictions on banks, the oil trade, technology sales, etc., in an attempt to cut Russia off from the world, cripple it financially, and prevent it from getting the raw materials needed to produce more weapons.

Those sanctions had mixed results, but for them to remain effective at all, experts say you need to keep issuing new ones to catch the shadowy back-channel deals that pop up as workarounds.

The Biden administration was putting on nearly 200 new sanctions every month.

Since Trump returned to office, though, the U.S.

has issued no new sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine, and in some cases, has even eased restrictions on Russia.

The Times was able to identify more than 130 companies located in China now advertising sales of restricted computer chips to Russia.

None of them are under sanctions.

One of the companies is even offering the kind of chip essential to Russian cruise missiles, which Russia has been using in its intensified, deadly attacks on Ukraine.

And finally, fashion knockoffs have always been a thing.

People walking around with channel purses instead of Chanel or Adidas sneakers with four stripes.

But for Lululemon, the empire that Yoga Pants built, the duping has stretched too far.

Recently, the company filed a lawsuit against Costco, accusing it of selling rip-offs of its activewear at a fraction of the price.

It's arguing Costco sold items that not only looked a lot like Lululemon, but also used similar marketing terms.

For example, they both described blue-colored sweatshirts that they were selling as tidewater teal.

Costco didn't immediately respond to the Times' questions.

Experts say these kinds of lawsuits are notoriously difficult to win, partly because design trademark law is really lax in the U.S.

compared to some other markets.

But many companies are newly concerned about dupes because the internet has gone all in on them.

Today, I'm going to write some of the dupes that I've tried in 2024.

Influencers promoting the cheap version of brand name items that they swear are just as good are everywhere.

When I saw this, I knew I had to tell you.

These kinds of videos have billions of views.

It's basically life hacks for your shopping cart.

$12.99.

They're the same.

Even down to the drawstring.

The same.

One fashion law expert told The Times that while there used to be a stigma around wearing knockoffs, it's now lost a lot of that shame to the point that finding and rocking the affordable version, maybe even the Kirkland version, is now almost a point of pride.

Those are the headlines.

The show will be back on Monday after the July 4th holiday.

That means no Friday quiz this week, but we're going to throw you one question to tide you over.

This week, the WNBA announced big expansion plans, adding teams in three cities across the U.S.

as the league ramps up to meet a surge in demand from fans of women's basketball.

I'm going to give you a list of cities.

You have to guess which of these, could be more than one, is getting a team.

A.

Cleveland, B, Detroit, C, Philadelphia, D, San Francisco.

So again, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco.

The answer is

the first three, the WNBA WNBA said Cleveland, Detroit, and Philly will all get teams of their own in the next few years.

San Francisco, that final option, actually just got a new team that started playing this year, the Golden State Valkyries.

It was the first new WNBA expansion team since 2008.

They actually let fans decide the team name.

We don't know if the other teams will do that, but it's kind of a fun idea.

Valkyries was the top pick in a public poll.

Other options out there included the Sea Lions

and the fog, which would just have been a lot harder to cheer for.

Like, go fog.

This show is made by Will Jarvis, Jessica Metzger, Jan Stewart, and me, Tracy Mumford.

Original theme by Dan Powell.

Special thanks to Isabella Anderson, Larissa Anderson, Ruth Agelnick, Jake Lucas, Zoe Murphy, Katie O'Brien, and Paula Schuman.