NPR News Now - NPR News: 07-02-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: July 2, 2025

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It is so hot outside, why not chill out with a nice breezy book? Over on NPR's Book of the Day podcast, we're doing a whole week of summer reads. Novels about romance and friendship and weddings and sex. You know, what summer is all about. So if you are packing for a vacation or just appreciating a nice air-conditioned library, find your next read by listening to NPR's Book of the Day podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakhshmi Singh. At Sean Diddycombs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial in New York, the verdict is in. Guilty on two counts, not guilty on three others. NPR's Anastasiya Ciulkas was in the courtroom.

Anastasiya Ciulkas He was found not guilty of the most serious charges, racketeering and the sex trafficking of two alleged victims, his ex-girlfriends, Cassandra Cassie Ventura, and another woman who testified on the stand under the pseudonym Jane. He was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution, two counts of those. The charges on prostitution, transportation carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each.

Anastasia Tsilakis, NPR News, New York. On Capitol Hill, the U.S. House is now debating President Trump's big bill of tax cuts and spending cuts. The Republican leadership is working to overcome internal GOP resistance. Some lawmakers believe that cuts in social safety net programs go too far. Other Republican holdouts argue the cuts don't go far enough. And Pierce Deirdre Walsh has more on the divisions over the legislation of deep spending cuts and tax breaks. So far from the message from Republicans is Congress has to pass this to avoid a tax hike

since these tax cuts expire at the end of this year. But that's really a complicated message. Most people won't see big changes in their paychecks. But a lot of working class voters who voted for Trump could potentially lose their Medicaid coverage. The president argues that it's waste, fraud, and abuse that's being cut, but a nonpartisan scorekeeper estimated that close to 12 million people could lose their health care coverage. NPR's Deidre Walsh reporting. President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza. And he tells Hamas they better accept it.

Trump told reporters he thinks the deal could come next week. That's when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be visiting the White House. And Piers Hadil Al-Shalchi has the latest. In a post on social media, President Trump said that his representatives have had, quote, long and productive meetings with the Israelis. A person briefed by Israeli officials who couldn't speak publicly because they're not authorized to talk to the media said there will likely be an Israeli US agreement next week that will set the ground rules for entering ceasefire

talks but a ceasefire will not begin next week. Hamas did not immediately comment. The deal includes a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for Hamas releasing 10 living hostages, and the person briefed said that there will be a partial Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas insists on guarantees to permanently end the war. Israel has only agreed to a temporary ceasefire. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

You're listening to NPR News. Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle President Trump's lawsuit. He had issues with the way CBS News edited and cross-promoted portions of a 60-minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump suggested CBS sought to make Harris look better by airing different responses to the same question. CBS News disputed that claim. But like with other companies Trump sued and where he prevailed, CBS's parent company opted to settle further fueling debate over how far organizations

would go to gain favor or avoid a legal fight with President Trump. The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, has announced plans for his succession after he dies. And speculation that the centuries-old institution would end with him. And as Anthony Kuhn reports from Tokyo, the renowned spiritual leader turns 90 on Sunday. After meeting with other high-ranking monks in Dharamsala, India, where he settled after fleeing Tibet in 1959, the Dalai Lama said he will reincarnate because that's what Tibetan people want. A foundation under his office will handle the succession,

he added, and nobody else is allowed to interfere. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that reincarnations of high-ranking monks, including the Dalai Lama, must be approved by China's government. Process, she added, should follow religious rituals and historical customs and be handled in accordance with national laws and regulations. The concern is that Tibet may end up with rival Dalai Lamas, one recognized by the Chinese

government and another by Tibetan exiles. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Tokyo. It's NPR.