--:-- [Up First theme music fades out]
--:-- Leila Fodil: The Senate is moving ahead on the president's massive tax and spending bill, but there is dissent in the ranks of the GOP, mainly over cuts to Medicaid.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Do leaders have the votes to get this bill over the finish line?
--:-- Leila Fodil: I'm Leila Fodil, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- [Up First theme music continues for a few seconds before fading out]
--:-- Leila Fodil: Russia pummeled Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones. It was the largest attacks since the full-scale invasion began in 2022 and targeted several areas, including Western Ukraine.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Are the two countries moving any closer to a breakthrough that could end three years of war?
--:-- Leila Fodil: And the latest on the attack on the firefighters who were responding to a wildfire in Idaho. Two were killed and a third was injured.
--:-- Michelle Martin: This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
--:-- [Up First theme music fades in and out]
--:-- Leila Fodil: This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice, like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice. But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- Michelle Martin: This message comes from NPR sponsor AARP.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Where do you see your career in 12 years? What are you doing now to help you get there?
--:-- Michelle Martin: The sooner you start enhancing your skills, the sooner you'll be ready.
--:-- Leila Fodil: That's why AARP has management, finance, and small business reskilling courses, all to help your income live as long as you do.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Because the steps you choose to take today will help you love what you do in the future.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Learn more at aarp.org slash skills.
--:-- Michelle Martin: This message comes from Adobe.
--:-- Leila Fodil: The Senate worked throughout the evening and is still debating the sweeping Republican tax and spending bill.
--:-- Michelle Martin: President Trump lobbied Republicans over the weekend and wants Congress to send him a bill by July 4th.
--:-- Leila Fodil: But GOP leaders have little room for error as they negotiate key issues right up until the final vote.
--:-- Michelle Martin: NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh is with us now to tell us more.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Good morning, Michelle.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So do leaders have the votes to get this bill over the finish line?
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: You know, they're sounding confident, but they can only lose three votes.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And two Republicans already voted no to start debate on this bill Saturday night.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: North Carolina Republican Tom Tillis was one of those.
--:-- Michelle Martin: He's been warning that the fallout from the cuts to Medicaid in this package would mean shifting billions of dollars of costs to the states.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: And he said the president is flat out wrong to back this bill.
--:-- Michelle Martin: But I'm telling the president that you have been misinformed.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: You supporting the Senate mark will hurt people who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Speaking of Tillis, he made some news yesterday.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: He did. A day after President Trump blasted him on social media for opposing this bill and vowed to back a primary challenger to him, Tillis says he's not running for reelection next fall.
--:-- Michelle Martin: His race was expected to be very competitive but Tillis says his brand as a bipartisan lawmaker was essentially becoming an endangered species.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: So I take it there are Republicans who are still considered undecided.
--:-- Michelle Martin: What are they looking at as they weigh their votes?
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Right. There are a few. Conservatives like Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, Florida Senator Rick Scott want deeper spending cuts, and they're pushing for an amendment later this morning to change how much the federal government pays for people covered under the Medicaid expansion program that passed as part of the Affordable Care Act.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Moderate Republicans like Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski really want to limit changes to Medicaid, ensure there are resources for rural hospitals in their states to treat patients.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: How those Republicans view the final version after these amendment votes later this morning and the cost of the bill will determine if it passes.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So how much does this overall package cost and what are the key components?
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: This is really a tax bill. It makes the tax cuts enacted in 2017 in President Trump's first term permanent.
--:-- Michelle Martin: It adds some temporary tax breaks like no tax on tips, no tax on overtime.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: It also boosts spending for border enforcement, for the military, increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion to avoid a default later this summer.
--:-- Michelle Martin: But to offset all of those tax breaks, the legislation includes significant spending cuts.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: It cuts nutrition programs. It rolls back green energy tax breaks.
--:-- Michelle Martin: But the bulk of these spending cuts, almost a trillion dollars worth, come from changes to Medicaid.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: The Senate bill adds new work requirements for some enrolled in the program, changes the way states finance their Medicaid programs.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And Congress's nonpartisan scorekeeper said yesterday this version of the bill adds $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, and almost 12 million Americans could lose their coverage.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: So let's say if the Senate approves this bill, what is likely to happen in the House?
--:-- Michelle Martin: Will the House pass it this week?
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: It's going to be tough. You know, House Speaker Mike Johnson has a razor-thin margin.
--:-- Michelle Martin: President Trump is going to put a lot of pressure on Republicans there to pass it.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: He's going to have to help the Speaker lock in those votes.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Paris, Deirdre Walsh.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Deirdre, thank you.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Thanks, Michelle.
--:-- [Up First theme music fades in]
--:-- Leila Fodil: This weekend, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces launched the largest air assault on Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Russia has been bombing Ukrainian cities more often over the last few months.
--:-- Leila Fodil: And that battlefield remains a bloody war of attrition with no end in sight.
--:-- Michelle Martin: NPR's Ukraine correspondent Joanna Kakisis is on the line with us now from Kiev to tell us more.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: Good morning, Michelle.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So tell us about this weekend's airstrikes. What happened?
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: The Ukrainian Air Force told us this attack was the largest of the war because of the sheer number of weapons used.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Russia fired more than 500 drones, missiles, and guided air bombs at several Ukrainian cities and regions.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: About half were shot down.
--:-- Michelle Martin: We in Kiev were largely spared this time, but the capital has been repeatedly targeted, including earlier this month when 28 people were killed.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: And was anybody hurt this time?
--:-- Michelle Martin: Yes. At least six civilians died across the country and at least a dozen were injured.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: Businesses, residential areas, and utilities were damaged.
--:-- Michelle Martin: The Air Force also lost an F-16 fighter jet and its pilot, 32-year-old Maxim Ustamanco, who shot down seven aerial targets before his plane went down.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: So Russia is obviously escalating its attacks on Ukraine.
--:-- Michelle Martin: How are Ukrainian cities protecting themselves?
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: So here in Kyiv the military usually shoots down attack drones using anti-missiles.
--:-- Michelle Martin: They also have these machine gunners moving around on trucks.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: And in another city that often hit the southern port of Odessa the Navy uses mobile air defense units on speedboats in the Black Sea.
--:-- Michelle Martin: We rode with one of the speedboat units recently and spoke with the crew, including Pirat or Pirate.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: We are using only his call sign at the request of the Ukrainian military, which cites security reasons.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Pirate always carries a photo of his wife and baby son.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: He's saying the crew celebrates whenever they shoot down a drone because it means that drone will not hit a neighborhood.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And one drone hit very close to his own family's home recently.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: Now, I should add, Michelle, that military experts say Russia is using these aerial assaults to deplete Ukraine's supply of air defense munitions.
--:-- Michelle Martin: You know, Odessa and even Kiev aren't that close to the front line.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: So how is Ukraine's attempt to defend its territory on the ground going?
--:-- Michelle Martin: Well, Michelle, it's been very difficult for Ukraine's ground forces.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: The front line stretches hundreds of miles, and the Russians are making incremental gains pushing farther west into Ukraine.
--:-- Michelle Martin: But I should say at this rate, it would take Russia years to conquer Ukraine, and the war has also cost Russia.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: The UK's defense ministry estimates that more than a million Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded during the full-scale war.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So amid all this, Joanna, is there any hope for a ceasefire?
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: Well, not right now.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Representatives from Ukraine and Russia have met in Istanbul and agreed to prisoner exchanges, but no ceasefire.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: And another sign that this war will not end anytime soon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just signed a decree withdrawing his country from the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the production and use of anti-personal landmines.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Now, he says landmines are instruments of defense against Russia.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: And some other countries bordering Russia have also said that they will withdraw from the treaty.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Russia, by the way, has not signed this treaty and has used anti-personnel mines extensively.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: That is.
--:-- Michelle Martin: NPR's Joanna Kakisis in Kiev. Joanna, thank you.
--:-- Joanna Kakisis: You're welcome.
--:-- [Up First theme music fades in]
--:-- Leila Fodil: Two firefighters are dead in North Idaho, along with the man suspected of shooting them.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Yeah, authorities called it an ambush by sniper.
--:-- Leila Fodil: The city of Coeur d'Alene was under a shelter-in-place order most of yesterday afternoon.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Investigators are still trying to determine exactly what happened and why.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Spokane Public Radio reporter Eliza Billingham is with us now from nearby Spokane, Washington.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: Good morning.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So what can you tell us so far about what happened? What are the authorities saying?
--:-- Eliza Billingham: Well, yesterday afternoon, firefighters responded to a 911 call for a grass fire on Canfield Mountain, which is a small mountain just north of Coeur d'Alene.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And pretty soon after the firefighters arrived, officials say that somebody opened fire on them.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris was clear that he thinks this was intentional.
--:-- Michelle Martin: This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: Two firefighters were killed, another was injured, and later that afternoon, law enforcement was able to recover the body of the suspect from the ongoing fire.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So Eliza, I understand that the authorities are saying that they think there was only one shooter and that he is dead.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: They don't yet know how he died.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Could you walk us through how they went about figuring that part out?
--:-- Eliza Billingham: So lots of law enforcement from nearby jurisdictions showed up, plus the FBI.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Apart from the fire, the sheriff said this is a really difficult type of terrain to conduct a search.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: When you have an environment where you don't know where the bullets are coming from because of the trees and the shrubbery and what have you, it's daunting for police officers, let alone firefighters.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And the FBI was able to locate a cell phone signal and when they followed that signal they were able to find a body and they say that body was near a type of weapon that made them think this was the suspect and the only shooter.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: But they're not saying what kind of weapon that is.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And they're not saying anything about his identity, his politics, his past, or anything that might explain why he did this.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: So we don't want to speculate, but North Idaho does have a reputation as a place where white supremacist organizations or anti-government militia groups have gone to set themselves up at some point.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Did authorities there talk about that at all?
--:-- Eliza Billingham: Right. Well, County Commissioner Bruce Matari did acknowledge the region's history with violence against authority, but he stressed that that's not what defines the area today.
--:-- Michelle Martin: He said that this is an area that loves first responders.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: And when they moved the bodies of the firefighters from the North Idaho hospital to the Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office, people were lining the interstate for miles on both sides of the state line, waving American flags.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Despite its history, this is a place that people have been moving to raise young families.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: And this type of attack against firefighters is especially strange and difficult for this community to process.
--:-- Michelle Martin: So where does this investigation go from here?
--:-- Eliza Billingham: Authorities said that they've contained the fire and they'll resume the investigation on the mountain this morning.
--:-- Michelle Martin: The sheriff is thinking that they may find more weapons.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: But meanwhile, local and federal agents are working to ID the suspect and they hope to uncover more about his motive.
--:-- Michelle Martin: That is Spokane Public Radio's Eliza Billingham. Eliza, thank you.
--:-- Eliza Billingham: You're welcome.
--:-- [Up First theme music fades in]
--:-- Leila Fodil: And that's Up First for Monday, June 30th.
--:-- Michelle Martin: I'm Michelle Martin.
--:-- Leila Fodil: And I'm Leila Fodil.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Your next listen is Consider This from NPR.
--:-- Leila Fodil: We here at Up First give you the three big stories of the day.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Our Consider This team takes a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you.
--:-- Leila Fodil: That means you can learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- [Up First theme music fades out]
--:-- Leila Fodil: Today's episode of Up First was edited by Jason Breslow, Ryland Barton, Kevin Drew, Janaya Williams, and Alice Woelfle.
--:-- Michelle Martin: It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Destinee Adams, and Christopher Thomas.
--:-- Leila Fodil: We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And our technical director is Zac Coleman.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Join us again tomorrow.
--:-- Michelle Martin: This message comes from Progressive Insurance.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Try it at Progressive.com.
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--:-- Michelle Martin: Potential savings will vary.
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--:-- Leila Fodil: Nothing ruins your holiday faster than the customer emails like, Where's my order?
--:-- Michelle Martin: Or worst of all, why can't you deliver by Christmas?
--:-- Leila Fodil: But Peak doesn't have to be chaotic when ShipBob's in your corner.
--:-- Michelle Martin: ShipBob helps brands like Our Place, Bloom Nutrition, and Tony's win the holidays with reliable, scalable, fast, and cost-effective fulfillment.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Make this your best holiday season yet with ShipBob.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Go to shipbob.com slash NPR for a free quote.
--:-- Leila Fodil: This message comes from the Nature Conservancy.
--:-- Michelle Martin: Nature is common ground for everyone, and uniting to protect nature can help solve today's challenges and create a thriving tomorrow for future generations.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Discover why at nature.org slash NPR.
--:-- Michelle Martin: That's all for today.
--:-- Leila Fodil: Thanks for listening to Up First.
--:-- Michelle Martin: We'll be back tomorrow.
--:-- Leila Fodil: This is NPR.
--:-- Michelle Martin: And this is NPR.
