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The Daily Beans
Courts Push Back
00:38:39
Thursday, June 25, 2026 Today, Mamdani’s endorsed candidates sweep the primaries in New York; mail-in voting is under attack as Democrats sound the alarm on Trump’s Postal Service; the first appeals court has rejected Trump’s bid to force states to hand over voter rolls; a federal judge has blocked Trump’s bid to require proof of citizenship to vote; Donald cancels the signing of a bipartisan housing bill until the Senate passes the SAVE Act; Amazon retaliated against workers who supported regulating data centers; Stephen Miller is said to be behind a memo eroding disability rights; a US boat strike in the Eastern Pacific kills two and leaves six survivors as the Senate threatens to freeze Hegseth’s travel; plus Allison delivers your Good News.
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- [00:01]
Brian Caram
I'm Brian Caram and I've spent decades covering politics. Now I'm taking you behind the scenes, one interview at a time. Join us as each week Brian confronts the issues that matter, posing the questions you wish you could ask. No filter, no agenda, just the truth. We're not here for sound bites. We're here for substance. Join me, Brian Caram, every week as we cut through the noise and get straight to it. This is Just Ask the Question where curiosity will lead us to the facts. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and remember, when you want answers, all you have to do is just ask the question.
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Allison Gill
Msw media.
- [00:55]
Podcast Narrator (Rainy Day Rabbit Holes)
News.
- [00:56]
Allison Gill
We're swearing daily beans. Daily beans. Daily beans.
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Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
Daily beans.
- [01:10]
Allison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Thursday, June 25, 2026. Today, Mamdani's endorsed candidates sweep the primaries in New York. Mail in voting is under attack as Democrats sound the alarm on Trump's postal service issues. The first appeals court has rejected Trump's bid to force states to hand over voter rolls. A federal judge has blocked Trump's bid to require proof of citizenship to vote. Donald has canceled the signing of a bipartisan housing bill until the Senate passes the SAVE Act. Amazon retaliated against workers who supported regulating data centers. Stephen Miller is said to be behind a memo eroding disability rights. And a US Boat strike in the Eastern Pacific kills two and leaves six survivors as the Senate threatens to freeze Hegseth's travel. I'm your host, Alison Gill. Hey everybody, happy Thursday. Dana's out. She'll be back next week. She's out doing some really important work, so we always support her when she does that. So thanks for hanging in with me solo. There is just so much news today, I don't even know where to start. So let's just jump in with the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, everybody. First up from the Washington Post. Democratic socialist candidates swept key primary races in New York on Tuesday, accelerating their rise within the Democratic Party, while more traditional center left candidates and moderates backed by corporate interests prevailed in other contests. Results of primaries across four states Tuesday cemented the growing influence of New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani's brand of progressive populism while demonstrating its potential limits outside of large east coast cities. New York city voters nominated three left wing U.S. house candidates endorsed by Mamdani, boosting his clout as a political kingmaker and ousting two incumbents in the process. Comparatively moderate Democrats prevailed in other primaries, including in Maryland and Utah. Artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and pro Israel groups also figured heavily into Tuesday's contests, and here's five takeaways from Tuesday night's primaries in New York, Maryland, Utah and a runoff in South Carolina. The biggest winner of the night, no contest in New York, was arguably someone not even on the ballot, Mayor Zoran Mamdani. Less than six months into his term as mayor, Mamdani put his political capital on the line by endorsing three in insurgent candidates over two sitting members of Congress and a retiring incumbent's chosen successor. All three of his picks won. In a signal of strength for Mamdani's political brand and the Democratic Socialist movement that powered his rise to City hall, the Democratic Socialists of America formally endorsed two of Mamdani's choices, activist and PhD student Avila Chevalier, who beat Representative Adriano Espailet. I'm not sure if I'm saying that name right. I'm sorry if I'm if I'm mispronouncing it, you can send a correction into our website and State assembly member Claire Valdez, who was nominated to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velasquez. Brad Lander, Mamdani's third pick, was not officially backed by the group, but received significant support from its members and allied organizations on his path to unseating Representative Dan Goldman. A congressional race in Denver next week will test the DSA appeal outside an east coast city as Malak heroes challenges Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat in Colorado. Now in New York, DSA backed challengers also ousted at least three more moderate members of the State assembly at an election night watch party. Mamdani said the victories for Valdez and those down ballot candidates represented a sequel to his own primary win, he said. A year ago was not the end of a political movement, he told the crowd. It's the beginning now. The Democratic Party's old guard came out on top in New York's 12th congressional district, where Mamdani did not make an endorsement. State assembly member Michael Lasher, a longtime fixture of the city's Democratic Party, defeated a star studded cast to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. Nadler, a 17 term incumbent, had endorsed Lasher to represent the rich and highly educated district that includes much of Midtown Manhattan and the Upper east and Upper west sides. Lasher also had the support of governor Kathy Hochul and former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who invested millions of dollars in the super PAC to support Lasher. Mamdani, who lives and votes in the district, stayed neutral in the race and wouldn't tell anyone who he voted for. The race drew national attention for high profile runs of Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, and George Conway, the former Republican who was previously married to former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. Heavy spending by groups aligned with cryptocurrency, AI and the polarizing AIPAC American Israel Public Affairs Committee helped define several of Tuesday's contests as their preferred candidates won. Some of those special interests claim victory, too. Maryland Democrat Adrian Boafo, for example, benefited from more than $5 million in super PAC spending connected to the crypto organization Fairshake, quote. We went big and we went early, fairshake said. That's a spokesperson Jeff Vetter. We did our part to move Adrian Boaffo from fifth place to the halls of Congress. He's poised to be a leader in the largest pro crypto Congress in history. Boaffo, the preferred successor of retiring former majority leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, was also boosted by another 5 million from APAC, an APAC aligned super PAC. Independent expenditures from crypto money in Maryland also boosted Rep. April McLean Delaney as she fended off a comeback bid by former Congressman David Trone, the co founder of the national liquor retailer Total Wine and more, who spent 25 million of his own money trying to oust her. And I'm really, I'm really upset about Boafo, Steny Hoyer's guy, $10 million from AIPAC and cryptocurrency to defeat our Harry Dunn, who didn't take any PAC money at all and actually would have made it one of his key platform issues in Congress had he won this primary to defeat money in politics by overturning Citizens United. Now in Utah, in a district that Democrats are poised to flip because of court ordered redistricting, AI related groups spent $400,000 trying to elevate former Congressman Ben McAdams from a field of more liberal challengers. McAdams, who is also former Salt LA City mayor, is the guy who won. And technically President Trump endorsed the runoff winner in the Republican race for governor, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, but that's only because he endorsed both candidates in the race. Trump only endorsed him over the weekend after his first pick, lieutenant governor Pamela Ivette, faced a high likelihood of losing. His last minute switch spared him the embarrassment of three preferred candidates in governor's primaries, losing in one month following defeats in Iowa and Georgia. Before Trump's endorsement, conservative activists and state GOP leaders lined up behind Wilson despite Trump preferring his opponent. Trump shifted his endorsements in the face of similar pushback from conservative activists before in Texas, when it got out that he thought was thinking about endorsing Senator John Cornyn. That angered his MAGA base, so Trump ultimately decided not to endorse Cornyn and eventually backing Cornyn's MAGA friendly GOP challenger, Attorney General Ken Paxton, much to the chagrin of the Senate. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson was one of the few Democrats to torpedo his party's redistricting efforts, drawing the most competitive primary challenge of his career. But he actually survived the challenge. Now Ferguson refused to entertain new districts that would oust Maryland's lone Republican House member, Andy Harris, arguing the move was legally questionable and could backfire on the courts. During the campaign, Ferguson changed course and said he would consider redistricting after the primaries, but it's too late for 2026. All right, next up from Reuters. In more voting news, a US Appeals court on Wednesday upheld a court order blocking the Justice Department from obtaining Michigan's voter rolls, dealing a blow to the Trump administration's push to boost the federal government's role in elections. The decision from The Cincinnati based 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals comes as President Donald Trump's Republicans are locked in a tight battle to control of both houses and Congress in the November 3rd midterm elections. I don't know if I'd call it a tight battle. This is the first appeals court to shut him down on voter rolls. DOJ has lost nine cases in district court. The lower courts. The U.S. constitution assigns individual states the responsibility of administering federal elections, though the federal government has some oversight authority. Trump, who maintains his false claim that 2020 was stolen due to fraud, has long asserted that states are not doing enough to prevent ineligible people from casting ballots. He has said Republicans should nationalize and take over voting. So now we have an appeals court in addition to the nine lower courts rejecting this now tons. I think 17 red states have voluntarily turned over their voter rolls, which really sucks because in those cities I think that that could really disenfranchise a lot of Democratic voters. Next up from the Associated Press, A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred President Trump's administration from implementing most of his first executive Order on Elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary of proof of citizenship when they register to vote. The ruling by U.S. district Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump's efforts to overhaul elections into a permanent ban. Casper rejected the Republican administration's argument that the lawsuit to block the challenges brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be put in place. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections and that Trump's requirements violated the separation of powers. The Constitution, quote, does not grant the president any specific powers over elections. That's what she wrote. Among other proposed changes, Trump's order would have required people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, prevented mail ballots from being counted if they arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by then, and punished states that failed to comply by withholding certain federal money. California Attorney General Rob Bonta just won reelection well, won a primary whose state was the lead plaintiff in the case, said the ruling reaffirms the constitutional principle that it's up to states and Congress to set election rules, quote. While we're proud of this result, we are clear eyed that President Trump's attacks on voting rights in our elections show no signs of slowing down, bonta, a Democrat, said in a statement and continued. So let me be clear, we will keep fighting back every step of the way. And from Ms. Now Senate Democrats are calling on the US Postal Service not to move ahead with the new mail in ballot regulations that they say will establish President Trump's control over federal elections. In a new letter first shared with msNow, all 47 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus warned Postal Service leaders that the proposed changes would fundamentally upend the role of the Postal Service, transforming it into a Federal Election Administration agency with frightening authorities to disenfranchise Americans. The letter, sent by Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, was sent to the USPS in advance of Postmaster General David Steiner's scheduled appearance before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Wednesday. The Postal Service announced the new rules in May in accordance with a March executive order from Trump, which called for tightening mail in voting regulations. Among other things, the new rules would require states to submit to the Postal Service the names and addresses of voters receiving mail in or absentee ballots. They would also set mandatory best practices for federal elections, including creating new requirements for mail in ballot envelopes and tracking barcodes. The new rules, per an analysis from cnbc, would apply to general, special and runoff federal elections. Primaries or ballots sent to military and overseas voters would not be affected. So, for example, the U.S. senate race between Talarico and Paxton in Texas would be impacted by this. In its filing with the Federal Register earlier this month, the Postal Service said the proposed requirement that states submit voter lists will help facilitate law enforcement efforts. The provided lists will evidence how many ballots have been mailed. That's what the filing said, and allow law enforcement officials to compare the total number of mailed ballots to the total number of received ballots to detect potential issues meriting further investigation. However, in their letter, Senate Democrats warned this proposal would leave the Trump administration with extensive power over the polls, ones not in compliance with the Constitution, which says that times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof. The Democratic senators argue the rule change would amount to the creation of a master list that would be controlled by the post office and ultimately President Trump, a prospect they say would be especially worrisome in states such as California, Colorado and Utah, which have universal vote by mail. Quote, we again insist that you follow the law, refuse to implement Trump's executive order and withdraw this presidentially directed proposed rule. That's what the senators wrote. Now, for months, Democrats have sounded the alarm that Trump could try to interfere or try to overturn the Results of the 2026 midterm elections. Election prognosticators say Democrats have a chance of winning control of one or even both chambers of Congress in the midterms, offering the party a chance to put a check on the White House. So we'll see what happens. All right, we have a lot more news to get to, but we have to take a quick break, so everybody stick around. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, it's summer. That means schedules change, things get busy, a lot more energy is expended and the best way I have found to stick to a routine and get my myself that energy is Ag1. It is just one scoop in eight ounces of water every morning, just 30 quick seconds at the top of the day. And I know everything's going to stay on schedule. So please join us in welcoming AG1 back to our show. Visit drink ag1.comdailybeans to get a free morning person hat and a free AG1 flavor sampler in your welcome kit with your first AG1 subscription. AG1 works best because it cuts through the excuses and the distractions. Like I said, it's easy to incorporate into your routine and those kinds of habits are the ones that stick. It's one scoop, eight ounces of water and you're done. You get a daily health drink with a multivitamin, pre and probiotics, superfoods and antioxidants without turning your morning into a whole production. The next gen formula includes over 75 ingredients. It's backed by four clinical trials and it's been clinically shown to support gut health fill common nutrient gaps, and it improves key nutrient levels within three months. Ag1 holds up even when life gets messy. Summer weekends, like I said, travel plans, changing schedules. None of that changes the fact I can still start my day with AG1. It gives me one easy habit I can rely on, and it keeps me consistent. And that consistency matters more than perfection ever will. So visit drinkag1.com dailybeans to get a free morning person hat and a free AG1 flavor sampler in your welcome kit with your first AG1 subscription. That's an $82 value. That's drinkag1.com dailybeans. You'll be glad you did.
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Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you mean in your life the Final Word podcast. Yes, you do. That's right. It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear. That's right. We think you need to hear it. Okay. Yeah. It's what we say.
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Podcast Narrator (Rainy Day Rabbit Holes)
So.
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Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, Idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.
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Allison Gill
Okay. All we do is give. All right, everybody, welcome back to this just incredibly long news day. There's so much news going on right now, and this is a pretty big one. This is from NBC. Trump abruptly canceled his plan to sign a major bipartisan housing bill on Wednesday, saying he's not going to do it until Congress passes the Save America act, which is a sweeping elections bill that has become a focal point of his second term. It will disenfranchise millions of voters. Quote Today's housing news conference and signing is hereby canceled until such a time as we pass the desperately needed Save America act, which I consider to be a national emergency if. Really. Because you won't. You won the White House. You won the Senate. You won the House. How? Okay, but that's what he posted on Truth Social. It was not immediately clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it. And Trump did not address the bill at all in comments to reporters after meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill for lunch. Now, Trump has repeatedly pressed Republicans to pass the Save Act. We've seen this over and over again, which would overhaul elections in all 50 states and add new proof of citizenship and voter ID requirements. But that proof of citizenship part was just blocked by a judge permanently. Nationwide, Republican leadership insists they don't have the votes to pass it, given Democrats strong opposition and unwillingness among Republicans to get rid of the filibuster. Trump's decision to cancel the signing ceremony for the housing bill that passed the House and Senate this week with huge bipartisan majorities will only add to the tension between the White House and Senate Republicans who are trying to get reelected. The housing bill aims to lower costs in part by building more homes and restricting large investors from buying up single family homes. It gives Republicans a major legislative accomplishment to point to as voters rank the cost of living as a top issue in the November elections. It's the kind of thing Republicans have been clamoring for amid worries that the Iran war driving up gas prices going to cost them control of Congress. But Trump undercut the bill just hours before he canceled the planned signing, writing in another true social post that it was of minor importance. Housing affordability is of minor importance. Before pivoting back to the SAVE act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune laughed when reporters asked him about Trump canceling the signing. He said, I just heard that. I guess I would say at this point I don't have any observations about that. Kind of like what the, what the do you say, you know? House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the president's decision to hold up the housing bill as leverage for the SAVE Act. Quote, he has a window of time before he has to sign a bill and he's going to use a little bit more of that window of time and we're going to go through this together, the speaker said at the House GOP leadership news conference, adding that his estimation, in his estimation, Trump will sign it within the 10 day window that the Constitution sets for the president to sign bills before they just automatically become law. Now, other Houses, some folks have asked me, but you know, because if the Congress isn't in session, the bill dies and Congress goes on break, Senate goes on break in five days, four days. But they can just not completely close out the session and have what's called a pro forma session. So there's a way around that. So it will automatically become the law. But other House Republicans were dumbfounded by Trump's decision, but they spoke candidly on the condition of anonymity. Quote, what a shit show. Crazy, crazy, crazy. That's what one House Republican said in a text to NBC News. A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts is what they said. I wish they would say who they were. Another expressed less surprise that Trump did something outrageous to keep the spotlights focused on him. Shocker. So they seem to be real happy about this. A third House Republican who represents a district Trump won handily in 2024, warned the potential consequences for November. Quote, I'm not that safe. No incumbent is safe, the Republican said. People are pissed off that we're not taking care of business now. At a meeting in the Oval Office with Republican lawmakers in recent weeks, ostensibly to discuss housing affordability legislation, Trump, quote, talked about his building stuff for all about 15 minutes. That's what a person familiar said about the meeting. He then said, I don't care about housing, but if you want me to help, I will. I don't care about housing. The housing bill was negotiated across the House and Senate by committee leaders in both parties. Senator Tim Scott. That guy. Republican Elizabeth Warren. Reps. French Hill, a Republican from Arkansas, Maxine Waters. They were all together on this. Now, Johnson said Republicans should pass the Save America act through this Mike Johnson budget reconciliation, which, as we know, is the expedited procedure that allows the Senate to circumvent the filibuster by advancing partisan in tax or spending bills with a simple majority. But the parliamentarian ain't gonna let the SAVE act be in a budget reconciliation bill. She's turned it down before. And when Trump called her for her to be fired, John Thune was like, I'm not firing the parliamentarian. So they should just change it to the FETCH act because you have to stop trying to make fetch happen. It's not going to happen. Next up from NBC. The U.S. military has conducted another strike against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, immediately killing two people and leaving six survivors amid an ongoing campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America. And let me be clear, this is last Thursday. The latest attack, which now number more than 60, brings the number of people who've been killed in boat strikes by the US military to more than 210 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls narco terrorists in early September. It's unclear if the survivors of the strike or the one conducted Tuesday, which left two survivors were rescued. However, in both cases, U.S. centcom Central Command said it notified the Coast Guard. The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about the outcome. As with most of the military statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, US Southern Command said it targeted the boat along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs, and even if it did, you can't kill the people on board. Now a black and white video posted on Twitter showed a boat speeding through the water before being struck by a visible projectile and then bursting into flames. On Thursday, US Lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release unedited video of the very first strike that the military conducted after reports emerged that the US Chose to conduct a follow on strike on survivors of its initial attack. A double tap. But get this, Politico is reporting that Senate lawmakers are threatening to freeze Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel budget if the Pentagon does not turn over more details about the deadly bombing of an Iranian girls school in February and those full videos of the lethal boat strikes against alleged drug smugglers in the waters of Latin America. The provisions, tucked into the Senate Armed Service Committee's Defense Policy bill would withhold 75% of the Pentagon chief's travel budget until lawmakers receive what they're asking for. So we'll see how that goes and from the Times Amazon illegally retaliated against three of its employees for publicly testifying that Seattle should regulate data centers, according to a complaint filed on Thursday with the city's Office for Civil Rights. The complaint was filed on the workers behalf by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice. It's an independent group of corporate employees at Amazon that since 2018 has organized around climate issues. It said the company started investigations and told the employees that they could face discipline in one case up to potential termination in an act of intimidation that violated the city's civil rights protections against discrimination for political beliefs. Five Amazon Tech workers affiliated with Amazon Employees for Climate justice testified at several different hearings before the Seattle City Council and two of its committees. Their testimony in the company's hometown drew national attention and put the tech giant in the awkward position of responding to public criticism of data centers and artificial intelligence from its own employees. Data center construction faces significant pushback It's a massive bipartisan issue around the country as the tech industry races to build enough capacity to serve the demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence. And I think Bezos was caught saying that humans are taking the water away that's needed for AI. That's just banana pants. The complaints asked the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to investigate the claims under the department's process. If it finds reasonable cause that discrimination occurred, it gives the parties a week to reach a settlement. And if they can't reach an agreement, the office passes the case onto the city attorney's office to bring to an administrative law judge who can impose various forms of monetary or process relief. And from Bloomberg Law White House advisor Stephen Miller, yes, that guy was the driving force behind the Justice Department's recent memo authorizing states to institutionalize people with disabilities rather than fund community based care, according to people briefed on the situation. Miller, the president's powerful deputy chief of staff, was frustrated that the department's civil rights division, led by Harmeet Dhillon, was still reaching settlements compelling states to transfer those experiencing mental illness out of institutions. And that's according to the individuals, who spoke anonymously. They said Miller felt DOJ's agreements, including one reached with South Carolina in December, would increase homelessness and didn't adhere to President Trump's July executive order pressuring cities and states to move homeless people into treatment centers. The June 18 DOJ Office of Legal Counsel opinion concludes states may disregard decades of Supreme Court precedent and ensuing regulations mandating integration of individuals with disabilities into home or community settings. Now this comes on top of them trying to do the same thing to disabled veterans because they're getting federal care. They wanted to involuntarily institutionalize them. Now all the veterans organizations pushed back and the secretary of the VA walked that back. Oh, I didn't mean it that way and kind of came off it. But Stephen Miller is the one trying to do this through the Department of Justice. For everyone else, it's frightening. All right, everybody, we need some good news. Please send it to us dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact. We'll be right back with it.
- [28:06]
Podcast Narrator (Rainy Day Rabbit Holes)
History is messy. It's weird, wild, and anything but boring. Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is a history podcast about unhinged stories that make you stop and ask, wait, is this real life?
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From crazy disasters and tasty scandals to enlightening and surprising heartwarming tales, we explore the moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully.
- [28:28]
We've got naughty politicians, cultural chaos, and a deep love for the Pacific Northwest, including Bigfoot.
- [28:34]
It's thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining. Let's fall down the rabbit hole.
- [28:41]
Allison Gill
MSW Media.
- [28:52]
Production Announcer (Daily Beans credits)
Everybody.
- [28:52]
Allison Gill
Welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news?
- [28:56]
Podcast Narrator (Rainy Day Rabbit Holes)
Everyone?
- [28:57]
Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)
Then good news, everyone.
- [29:12]
Allison Gill
And if you have any good news, good trouble suggestions. By the way, your good news doesn't have to be recent. It can be from 25 years ago. As long as it's a fun story. Maybe something you like to tell friends when you're sitting around having a having a chat or hanging out. Or maybe you have a street joke you want us to hear, or misheard song lyrics or something you learn to Today I learned. I was today years old when I learned something that you probably should have known for a really long time. It happens to me every day. We would love to hear about that. You can also send a shout out to a loved one or a non profit or a government program that's helped you or a loved one. We also love self shout outs. Tell us why you're awesome because we know you all are. Send it all to us. Dailybeanspod.com click on Contact and all you got to do is attach a photo, pay your pod pet tariff. Which can be a pet. It can be an adoptable pet, it can be a random animal on the Internet. It can be not pets, it can be babies, photos, family pictures, pictures of what you're making or creating. Are you crocheting? Knitting? Quilting? Are you throwing pots on a on a potter's wheel? Are you, you know, gardening? Are you raising chickens? Do you got goats? You know, send us a photo. Sunset, maybe a funny meme. Whatever it is, bring a smile to our faces. Dailybeanspod.com click on Contact first up is your good trouble. Good trouble today comes from Gillian Brockow posted on Blue Sky Hey Chicago, Chicago. The city wants to sell your parking meter company to the same private equity firm that owns Omni Air International, the worst of the worst of ICE's charter airlines. The city Council's finance committee is meeting about it today. Why is Omni the worst of the worst? Because they do all the large jet ICE removals to Africa and Asia, so everyone on board is shackled at the wrists, ankles and waist for the duration of the flight, sometimes as long as 82 hours. Yes, 82 hours. That is torture and it can be deadly. Omni has done at least 31 third country deportations since Stone Peak bought them in April of 2025. They've flown hundreds of migrants to countries they've never even been to, including South Americans, to Dr. Congo in April, Syrians, Afghans and Iranians to the Central African Republic last week. Plus chain refoulements and third country removals of legal asylum seekers with no criminal records have been sent to Cameroon, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kuwait, Israel, Moldova, Poland, Qatar, Sierra Leone and Uzbekistan. A bunch of Omni flight attendants have quit recently because it's gotten so bad. One told me they were on a third country removal flight to Ghana where ICE contracted. GEO Group guards on board tied a guy up in a full body straight jacket who started screaming, I'm already dead. I'm already dead. So you can read this thread about this on Blue Sky. We'll have a link in the show notes. The hearing is this morning, June 25th, 11:00am City hall second floor council chamber. You can watch a live stream of the hearing and we'll have a link to the live stream as well. But reach out to your alderman and your Governor and tell the City of Chicago do not sell your parking meter contract to this private equity firm that owns Omni Air. All right, next up from Anonymous Pronoun she and her hello lovely legumes. I'd like to shout out the residents of Utah State house District District 16 who voted 2 to 1 against that stupid transphobic, racist MAGA piece of shit Trevor Lee during Tuesday's primary election. This is the asshole who wrote the bill that banned pride flags on state properties. So as a state University instructor I could be fined 500 for having a pride flag in my office. So fuck you Trevor Lee. You suck. And fellow Utah voters agree with me. For my pet tariff, I've attached a picture of Cheeto, who is a lovely senior cat that's available for adoption through Davis County Animal Care. Cheeto is an 11 year old gray male cat with the wisdom of an elder and the gentle heart of a lifelong companion. His soft silver gray coat gives him an air of quiet elegance and his shy demeanor only adds to his charm. He's a gorgeous baby. I love folks who adopt senior pets to give them those last quality years. So we'll have a link to that adoption in the show notes. And thank you for that note about Utah. Anonymous Next up from Gretchen ABC Disney got a new CEO. In the beginning it was Bob Iger and he's the one that paid out Trump. But they got a new CEO maybe who's going to fight Trump. I'm including a photo of my daughter with her colleagues marching for pride in Sacramento. Some companies aren't backing down. Oh I love this. Oh this is so beautiful. What a lovely day too. We received many thoughtful responses to the ABC question and we're going to cover a bunch in tomorrow's good news as well. So thank you for that. See, today I learned I was today years old. Next up from Sheila Pronoun she and her hi I hesitated for many months to contribute. The state of Kentucky's legislature passed a law that says the governor cannot appoint a person to fill a vacant Senate seat. There has to be a special election. The governor vetoed, but the state legislature overrode the veto. Well, thank you so much for letting me know that, Sheila. Now I know so that's what I had thought, but I didn't know the exact how it came about that the governor in Kentucky, if Mitch McConnell, if you know, dies that the governor can't appoint, that would they'll just be holding a special election. Next up from Elena Pronoun she and her I want to give a happy birthday shout out to my dad, Tom. My dad's name is Tom, who's turning 70 on Thursday. He's been a listener from the early Mueller. She wrote days and roped me into politics and then podcasts a decade before even that. In fact, my earliest memory of politics is asking my dad why people were protesting on street corners following the Bush v. Gore election as he drove me to karate class. And I've been. I've been indignant ever since. Not only is he a great dad and great grandpa who taught me to have an enthusiastic interest in the world and outer space, but he also volunteers with local educational and emergency organizations and give generously to worthy causes. Maybe it's not cool to be a Daddy's girl at 37, but I really think if more people were like my dad, the world would be a better place. Happy Birthday, Daddy, from Elena. Included a tariff is a photo of my dad attempting to snuggle his human granddaughter while our blank Toby refuses to share Grandpa's lap. Oh, that looks like a poodle of some sort. It's an adorable dog. Let's see what's behind the redaction bar. It's a miniature poodle.
- [35:58]
Podcast Narrator (Rainy Day Rabbit Holes)
All right.
- [36:00]
Allison Gill
Happy birthday, Tom. You have a great name. Perfect dad name. All right. From Karen. Worst name of the decade. Pronouns she and her. There are so many good Karens. Don't even worry about it. Dear AG and dg, I listen to you in the shower every morning. Thanks so much for keeping me sane. My good news is an idea my best friend and I came up with 14 years ago. We noticed just before our 50th birthdays that a lot of our friends were becoming less adventurous, and we decided we didn't want that to be us. So we decided that during our 50th year, we would do five things together that we'd never done before. We liked it so much, we've done it every year in our 50s, and when we turned 60, we upped it to six new things a year. And with that mindset, we always hit over the mark. Some things we've tried flying to another state to go tent camping, going to a real fashion show, a city scavenger hunt, a bird watching tour, wood Carving inner tubing, rapids and much more. We have shared our new things idea and know of friends who have started the same thing with their spouse or friend. For my puppet tax, I have my granddaughter Peyton. He's celebrating Pride month. He is tricky on the breeds. There are five of them, so I look forward to your guesses. I appreciate all you do, Karen. Worst name of the decade. The breeds of this little sweet, sweet baby. Oh my gosh. Okay, Chihuahua, let's go with Chihuahua. I wonder how big this dog is. Looks pretty small. Vizla. That beautiful brown color. Some kind of terrier. A dachshund maybe. And then there's probably like staffy or pity or something in there. All right, let's see. Maybe chow chow. Let's see what we got. Chihuahua, poodle, Pomeranian, border collie and pit bull. All right, I got two. I got two out of the five. But the Chihuahua part is 46% and the Pit Bull part is 7%. So I say I'm more than half right by the numbers. All right, next up from Shawna Pronoun. She and her Shawna. Again, thanks for reading my submission yesterday. And to answer your question, believe it or not, it was my boyfriend Gary's idea for the matching outfits. He has a great sense of style. He is so amazing. I know you guys love a good backstory, so here it is. We've actually known each other since we were 12 and 15 years old. We are now 36 and 39. He was part of my sister's friend group then I ended up dating his best friend in my late teens, but nothing wildly serious. Then Gary and I tried to date around eight years ago, but I was in college and wasn't focused on the future like he was. And there was some turbulence kicked up by the friend group around my brief time with his friend. Gary and I both enjoyed our time but ultimately decided to stop dating at that point. Point I ended up getting married and having a child with a guy I met in college. However, in the last two plus years, I realized how much I was forcing myself into who I thought I was supposed to be. Thank you. Therapy, right? Gary and I reconnected after my separation and it has been fireworks, laughs, and deep understanding of each other every day since. I truly don't think I understood what love was or looked like until falling into Gary. He has shown me how wildly I can bloom and be myself through and through. He also confessed the flame he's held for me ever since our teenage years. And I have to admit, I had one as well. So this time we said fuck this disapproval because I dated someone briefly almost 20 years ago. We love each other. Our closest people approve and we approve. That's all that matters. Thank you guys again. I'm forever grateful for this community that you've built. We're going to be okay if we stick together. A pic of Gary steaming my dress seven minutes before the gala. Ha ha, he offered. And our matching orange outfits from that night. Oh, and Allison, I forgot to say I loved your shoes. I wish we had a shoe pick together next time. Thanks guys. Thank you so very much. My shoes were one of my favorite designers named Kurt Geiger. He's super accessible and funky and amazing and a pro body positive, LGBTQ plus positive. Just a fantastic designer Kurt Geiger. All right, thank you all so much for your good news. Please send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on contact. Thanks for sticking with me through all the headlines today. I'll be back tomorrow with more. Until then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family. I've been ag and that's the Beans.
- [40:25]
Production Announcer (Daily Beans credits)
The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Allison Gill with additional research reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information Please visit msw media.com
- [40:49]
Allison Gill
msw Media
- [40:56]
Podcast Narrator (Rainy Day Rabbit Holes)
history is messy. It's weird, wild and anything but boring. Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is a history podcast about unhinged stories that make you stop and ask, wait, is this real life?
- [41:07]
From crazy disasters and tasty scandals to enlightening and surprising, heartwarming tales, we explore the moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully.
- [41:17]
We've got naughty politicians, cultural chaos and a deep love for the Pacific Northwest, including Bigfoot.
- [41:23]
It's thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining. Let's fall down the Rabbit Hole MSW.