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AT&T Business Advertiser
Wake up to the power of AT and T business. Get fast, reliable and secure coverage today. Connecting changes everything.
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Senate Official / Politician
On this vote, the ayes are 60, the nays are 40. The bill, as amended, is passed.
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Hannah Jewell
The Senate took another step toward ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history. That's where we're starting the Seven.
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From the Washington Post, I'm Hannah Jewell. It's Tuesday, November 11th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Last night, a bill to fund and reopen the federal government passed the Senate. It took 60 votes to do it. Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, and one of them voted no, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. So Republicans needed to source eight votes, and they got them from seven Democrats and one independent who's aligned with Democrats. The compromise bill funds specific parts of the government for a year and the rest of it through January 30th. It appropriates funding for snap food benefits, and it reverses some federal layoffs. But here's the key it would not extend subsidies for Affordable Care act plans.
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Continuing them had been the Democrats main demand throughout the shutdown. Even though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against the bill, some House Democrats are so furious with his failure to prevent it that they called for him to step down from his leadership role. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries defended Schumer and said the fight would continue in the House, where the bill heads next.
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Senate Official / Politician
As I've indicated, listen, Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats over the last seven weeks have waged a valiant fight on behalf of the American people. And I'm not going to explain what a handful of Senate Democrats have decided to do. That's their explanation to offer to the American people.
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Hannah Jewell
The House will return to Washington later this week to vote on the plan. After more than 50 days away from the Capitol, the Supreme Court said it won't hear a challenge to a landmark gay marriage ruling. That's our second story. Ten years ago, the Supreme Court recognized a constitutional right to same sex marriage. The case, known as Obergefell v. Hodges, was one of the court's most significant decisions in recent years. But since then, the court has moved significantly to the right. Three of the five justices who ruled in favor of same sex marriage rights are no longer on the court, and two have been replaced by more conservative justices. When the court overturned its Roe v. WADE ruling in 2022, which had guaranteed the right to abortion, gay rights advocates warned that same sex marriage could be the next precedent to be overturned. But yesterday, the court said it will not consider a challenge to Obergefell. The announcement came with no comment from the justices. 3. You probably won't get a tariff rebate, despite what President Donald Trump says. Trump has imposed tariffs on goods from nearly every country this year, leading to the highest tariff rate for American consumers in decades. The US Government is collecting billions of dollars from the levies. Trump has suggested sending direct payments to Americans on Truth Social this weekend. He said a dividend of at least $2,000 will be paid to everyone, excluding some high income people, but that would be difficult and ultimately unlikely. For one thing, there might not be enough money to fund it, at least not yet, and Trump would need Congress to appropriate money before it could be sent out. It's not something the president can do unilaterally, so if you were hoping for $2,000 to land in your account anytime soon, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. 4. A father accused ICE agents of pepper spraying his one year old daugh daughter, Rafael Varasa, said he was in a grocery store parking lot with his family in a Chicago suburb on Saturday when he noticed ICE trucks as he was leaving the lot with his windows open. He said someone in an ICE truck sprayed him as the vehicles passed each other. Viraza said he and his family were doused, including his baby daughter, who appeared to struggle to breathe. The family sought medical treatment after the incident. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ice, disputed Verraz's account in a statement on social media, saying its agents do not pepper spray children. ICE has been accused of overstepping its authority during the Trump administration's recent crackdowns in Chicago. Number five is a Post exclusive. A Trump plan would open California to offshore oil drilling. The Post reviewed a draft five year plan for offshore oil development from the Trump administration. It proposes selling leases on the west coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. The federal government has not held lease sales on the Pacific coast since the 1980s. The plan has raised concerns about oil spills, and it is sure to antagonize California governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who frequently fights with the president on social media and is eyeing the 2028 presidential race. The draft drilling proposal is probably at least a year away from final approval, and any new production would take several more years. The FDA will remove warnings on hormone therapies for menopause. That's number six. Hormone replacement therapies treat symptoms of menopause like hot flashes. But since 2003, the drugs have included a label warning that they may raise the risk of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and certain cancers. That warning caused usage to plummet. Two decades ago, about 27% of women used hormone replacement therapy, compared with about 5% in 2020, according to studies. But more recent research shows that for healthy, newly menopausal women, the therapy is generally safe, so the FDA is acting to change the labels. That process could take a few months. Removing the warning could make it easier for women to access the treatment. And at number seven Viruses created by artificial intelligence are sparking a debate about life itself. In September, a group of Stanford University scientists posted a paper online. It described their work using AI to design new viruses capable of killing bacteria. The scientists used an AI model trained on the genomes of living things, ingesting 9 trillion letters of DNA from an atlas spanning all domains of life. That's had a mixed reception in the scientific community. Some scientists worry about the possibility of AI being used to generate novel forms of life, including dangerous ones. Others, though, think it's not that big a deal and just a case of scientists using better tools to do the kind of work people have been doing for years. Scientists have also been using AI tools to devise new antivenom therapies for snakebites, invent new antibiotics, improve vaccines, and break down harmful forever chemicals. So whether you have a glass half full or empty approach to the use of AI in biology, the debate rages on about what life actually is and whether the machines can really create it.
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Senate Official / Politician
Foreign.
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Hannah Jewell
You'Re all caught up. We are continuing to celebrate our birthday this week. The Seven podcast is turning three years old on Friday after more than 700 episodes. If you'd like to send us a birthday wish, email us a voice note@the7podoshpost.com that's the number seven. We might include it on Friday's show. Tell us your name and where you're from, and keep it on the shorter side so it's not too big to email. We don't have all day. I can't wait to hear what you have to say. And thank you so much for listening. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'll meet you back here tomorrow.
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Washington Post Subscription Advertiser
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