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Jackson Financial
This message comes from Jackson. Seek clarity in retirement planning@jackson.com Jackson is short for Jackson Financial Inc. Jackson National Life Insurance Co. Lansing, Michigan, and Jackson National Life Insurance Co. Of New York, Purchase, New York.
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Jack Spear
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Senate Republicans are nearing a final vote on their tax and spending bill. The massive package hits on a number of President Trump's key campaign promises, like making his 2017 tax cuts permanent and approving more money for border security and defense. It also cuts Medicaid. And some lawmakers, like Florida's Rick Scott, want even deeper cuts. But NPR's Laina Moore says that could be a problem for some GOP lawmakers.
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Laina Moore
Democrats on the Joint Economic committee say nearly 20 million people could lose health insurance if they pass the bill with Scott's amendment. And even without it, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says almost 12 million people could lose coverage under the current bill. And that could be a real problem for Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa McCall of Alaska, who have been concerned about Medicaid changes. And remember, I mean, Republicans can only afford to lose three votes. Every vote is critical.
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Jack Spear
Trump, meanwhile, is demanding lawmakers finish the job ahead of his July 4 deadline. For nearly 250 years, the US has gone without a list of every one of its citizens. But as NPR's Miles park explains, in less than five months, the Trump administration has built a tool that moves the country in that direction.
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Tammy Patrick
For the first time ever, the Trump administration has built a searchable national citizenship data system. It's designed to be used by state and local election officials to ensure only citizens are voting. Lots of outstanding questions remain, including whether the development conformed with federal privacy laws. Voting officials are also troubled by the lack of public insight into the system. Here's Tammy Patrick of the nonprofit Election Center.
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Miles Parks
One of the basic tenets of free and fair elections is transparency, and that's transparency of policy, transparency of process, and transparency of impact.
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Tammy Patrick
If the tool isn't 100% accurate, experts worry that eligible voters could end up having their citizenship questioned. Miles Parks, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
A federal investigation has found that Harvard University violated civil rights law by failing to protect Jewish students on campus. NPR's Alyssa Nadworney reports the finding puts the school at risk of losing additional government funding.
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Alyssa Nadworney
It is the latest in a battle between the Trump administration and the world's wealthiest university. A federal anti Semitism task force led by the U.S. department of Health and Human Services said Harvard has been, quote, deliberately indifferent and in some cases case is, quote, a willful participant in anti semitic harassment of Jewish students, faculty and staff. In a statement, a Harvard spokesperson said the university is far from indifferent and strongly disagrees with the government's findings. The school pointed to a number of steps it has taken to better protect against anti Semitism and support Jewish students on campus. The White House says negotiations with the university to avoid losing more federal funding are ongoing. Alyssa Nadworny, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
U.S. stock market indexes added to their record highs from last week, both the Nasdaq and S and P powering further into record territory. The NASDAQ was up 96 points today. You're listening to NPR. An Israeli airstrike on a seaside cafe in Gaza is said to have killed at least 30 people, according to a hospital official there. Israeli forces also reportedly fired on crowds returning from a food aid site in a warehouse, killing at least 22 people. The cafe was a gathering spot for residents seeking Internet access and a place to charge their food phones. A judge in St Louis has given approval for the bankrupt biotech company 23andMe to be bought by a nonprofit led by the company's co founder. NPR's John Rubich reports. The deal effectively avoids the controversial transfer of DNA data to a third party.
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John Rubich
23Andme collected spit from its customers and provided genetic information about ancestry and potential risks for disease. It had trouble attracting repeat customers, though, and filed for bankruptcy in March. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals won an auction to buy buy it, but more than two dozen states sued to halt the sale. They argued that genetic information was too sensitive to simply go to the highest bidder. A nonprofit called TTAM Research Institute, then swooped in with a higher offer. TTAM was set up by one of 23andMe's co founders to make the trove of genetic data available for medical research. The deal effectively keeps the genetic data of more than 15 million people under the same roof with the same safeguards as before. John Ruich, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
The Home Depot says its buying building supply business GMS for $4.3 billion, second major purchase by the home and garden improvement chain in a little over a year. It marks a shift by the company toward professional builders. GMS distributes things like drywall, steel framing and other supplies, with debt factored in deals worth just over 5 billion. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News.
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Jackson Financial
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