Senate braces for first big vote on Trump agenda – with support still unclear
Senate Republicans are about to face a major test of loyalty to President Donald Trump, as the chamber braces for its first vote on whether to advance the president's giant tax cuts and spending bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his team have been fiercely lobbying their members to get in line behind the measure, with Trump and White House officials also leaning heavily on the remaining GOP holdouts.
Trump met with two key holdouts — Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — on Saturday, just hours before GOP leaders hoped to hold the vote, according to those senators' close colleague, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. He has also spoken to other critical votes, like Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who earlier Saturday declared his support for the bill. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, another critic of the bill, golfed with the president on Saturday morning, according to Sen. Lindsay Graham.
But it's not yet clear whether Thune will be able to limit defections on a procedural vote, to start centrists like Sen. Thom Tillis and a small group of GOP hardliners — Lee, Scott and Johnson — still pushing for changes to the bill. But GOP leadership believe they will ultimately succeed, thanks, in part, to immense pressure from Trump.
Already two Republicans, Tillis and Johnson, have said they would block the bill from moving ahead. That leaves Thune just one more vote to lose.
It all amounts to an intense Saturday scramble for Trump and GOP leaders, who are intent on passing the president's agenda as quickly as possible. Trump has told GOP leaders he wants to sign the bill at the White House on July 4 – but that would still require approval from the narrowly divided GOP-controlled House, which is also no guarantee.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore
Declining foot traffic and rising e-commerce have led thousands of stores to permanently close. Former household names like Borders, Circuit City, and Blockbuster are now just retail history. BI rounded up dozens of once-beloved stores that no longer have a meaningful brick-and-mortar presence. Brick-and-mortar retail is a tough business. One day, your favorite brand can be riding high and enjoying strong sales from loyal customers, while the next it's fighting for survival and fending off creditors. Emerging trends, changing shopping patterns, and new e-commerce players are increasingly reshuffling the game. Here's a look back at some of the retail brands whose stores once greeted thousands of people each day, but are now consigned to retail's history books — or exist only online or as a tiny fraction of what they once were. Blockbuster Blockbuster started in 1985 and acquired the Sound Warehouse and Music Plus music chains to create Blockbuster Music in 1992. The music division was sold to Wherehouse Entertainment in 1998 before closing for good, but there remains one single Blockbuster video rental store in Bend, Oregon. Thom McAn Thom McAn was a chain of shoe stores that peaked in the 1960's and closed up shop by 1996. The brand's shoes continued to be available at Sears and Kmart. Kinney Shoes First opened in 1894, Kinney Shoes had 467 stores at its peak, all of which shuttered in 1998. Warner Bros. Studio Store Warner Bros. Studio Store competed with the Disney store until the company closed all of its locations in 2001. Zany Brainy Zany Brainy filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and closed all locations in 2003. The educational toy retailer's founder, David Schlessinger, co-founded the discount company Five Below. Ames Department Store Debt and poor sales forced Ames Department Store into bankruptcy twice, and in 2002, the remaining Ames stores closed. Imaginarium Imaginarium was an educational toy store in the 1980s. Stores started closing in the 1990s, and by 2003, parent company Toys R Us closed all remaining locations. Hecht's Department Store Hecht's was purchased by Macy's in 2005, and all locations were either turned into Macy's stores or closed. Marshall Fields Federated Department Stores bought Marshall Fields in 2005 and converted the stores to the company's more recognizable flagship brand, Macy's. Gadzooks Gadzooks was a teen clothing store that was around from 1983 to 2005. It filed for bankruptcy in its final year and was purchased by Forever 21, which then closed all of the stores. Kaufmann's In 2006, Macy's retired the Kaufmann's name, and the brand disappeared. Tower Records Tower Records couldn't keep up with the rise of digital music, and all stores in the US were closed in 2006. Media Play Media Play was a big box store that sold books, movies, software, toys, and video games. It closed in 2006. Discovery Channel Discovery Channel's 103 stand-alone stores closed in 2007. KB Toys KB Toys announced it would be going out of business in 2008, and by early 2009 all locations were closed. Sharper Image Sharper Image declared bankruptcy in 2008, but the company still sells merchandise through its website, catalog, and third-party retail partners. Levitz Furniture Levitz Furniture declared bankruptcy twice — first in 1997, and then in 2005. It closed all of its stores in 2008. Linens 'n Things Linens 'n Things had more than 500 stores in 2006, but by the end of 2008, they were all closed. The company still does business online. Mervyn's Mervyn's once had almost 200 locations in the western US. In 2008, the company declared bankruptcy and closed all of its stores. Limited Too Limited Too's success began dwindling in the early 2000s, and all stores were eventually rebranded as Justice by 2008. Tweeter Tweeter filed for bankruptcy in 2008, and all of its stores were closed by the end of the year. Circuit City Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and shuttered all stores the following Spring. Steve & Barry's Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and closed all of its stores in 2009. Filene's and Filene's Basement Filene's Basement's parent company went bankrupt in 2009, and by 2011 all of its stores were closed. B. Dalton Books B. Dalton was acquired by Barnes & Noble in 1987, which officially closed the bookstore in January 2010, except for a single location in Oviedo, Florida. Waldenbooks Waldenbooks merged with Borders in 1994, and all Waldenbooks stores closed when Borders Group liquidated in 2011. Borders Books & Music Borders Books & Music stores closed shortly after the company was forced to liquidate in 2011. CompUSA CompUSA started in 1984, but by 2007, Best Buy and other superstores had taken over, and the last CompUSA closed in 2012. Sam Goody Sam Goody music stores suffered from the rise of digital media, and most Sam Goody stores were either ultimately shuttered or converted into other brands like FYE by 2012. A&P A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 and again in 2015, closing its stores that year. Sports Authority Competition drove Sports Authority into bankruptcy in 2016, when it closed all its stores and sold its website to Dick's Sporting Goods. Sport Chalet Sport Chalet, which first opened in 1959, abruptly closed all of its stores in 2016. Wet Seal Wet Seal, a teen clothing store, filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and closed for good in 2017. Virgin Megastores Virgin Megastores stopped operating in the US in 2017, but the brand continues online and in select international markets. The Limited The Limited abruptly shut down all of its stores in 2017, and the brand is now sold exclusively through Belk. Teavana Teavana's 379 locations were closed by its parent company, Starbucks, in 2018. Bon-Ton Stores The Bon-Ton stores included its namesake brand, as well as Bergner's, Boston Store, Elder-Beerman, and Younkers. Henri Bendel After 123 years of business, luxury retailer Henri Bendel closed all of its stores in 2019. Dress Barn Dress Barn shut down in 2019 after 50 years in business. Papyrus At its peak in 2009, Papyrus had 500 stores across the US and Canada, but the company ultimately filed for bankruptcy and closed its 254 stores in 2020. Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy in 2020, leading to the closure of its 38 stores. An attempt at reviving the brand as a "digital collective" was unsuccessful. Olympia Sports After a slow decline and a tumultuous stint with private equity owners, Maine-based Olympia Sports shut down its remaining stores in 2022. Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy and closed its 896 remaining stores in 2023, though the brand was sold and relaunched online. In October 2024, Beyond and Kirkland's Home announced a $25 million deal to open 15,000-square-foot small-format "neighborhood" Bed Bath & Beyond locations across the US in 2025. The companies said the concept would include an assortment of classic BB&B products. Tuesday Morning The Dallas-based home goods company shut down all of its stores in 2023 after it had only planned to close half of its stores amid bankruptcy proceedings. Christmas Tree Shops The Massachusetts-based seasonal specialty retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2023, winding down the remaining 72 locations across 20 states. Rue21 Teen apparel retailer rue21 — known for its presence in shopping malls — filed for bankruptcy for the third time in May 2024. The company's 540 locations also shut down. The retailer had attempted multiple turnaround plans after a 2017 bankruptcy and 2023 bankruptcy filing. Payless Shoesource Payless ShoeSource was once the largest and most successful family-owned business in the country. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and 2019, and ended up closing all of its locations. The brand still lives on as a store on Conn's HomePlus Conn's HomePlus, a home goods retailer known throughout the South, filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2024 before announcing that it was shuttering all of its stores. The chain operated more than 170 stores in 15 states. Joann Fabrics and Crafts In February 2025, Joann said that it had reached a deal to sell its assets and wind down operations, including closing around 300 remaining stores. "We deeply appreciate our dedicated Team Members, our customers and communities across the nation for their unwavering support for more than 80 years," the company said in a statement. The fabric and crafts chain experienced two rounds of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in less than a year. Party City Party City went bankrupt and announced in December 2024 that it was closing down all locations. Party City was impacted severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns and social distancing ended many celebratory gatherings, and other mass retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target stepped up their party supply offerings. A small number of Party City locations are still open for the time being, according to the store locator. Moosejaw Dick's Sporting Goods shut down outdoors retailer Moosejaw shortly after purchasing the brand from Walmart. The company was originally founded in Michigan in 1992, and was later bought by Walmart in 2017 for $51 million. Forever 21 Forever 21 was once an iconic fast-fashion mainstay of shopping malls, but it eventually succumbed to rising costs and new competition. The brand was a popular choice for budget-minded shoppers and helped inspire the fast-fashion trend later followed by brands like Temu and Shein, which the company later cited as threats to its existence. Read the original article on Business Insider
Forbes
21 minutes ago
- Forbes
Platform Engineering At A Crossroads: Golden Paths Or Dark Alleyways
Following the golden path to platform engineering success is not without its pitfalls and pernicios ... More passageways. getty Automation equals efficiency. It's a central promise that's now permeating every segment of the software application development lifecycle. From robotic process automation accelerators that work at the user level, through encapsulated best practices applied throughout the networking connection tier used to bring applications to production… and onward (especially now) to the agentic software functions that can take natural language prompts (written by developers) and convert them to software test cases and, subsequently, also write the code for those tests. Automation represents a key efficiency play that all teams are now being compelled to adopt. As an overarching practice now carrying automated software development tooling forward, platform engineering is widely regarded as (if not quite a panacea) an intelligent approach to encoding infrastructure services and development tools in a way that means developers can perform more self-service functions without having to ask the operations team for backup. Platform engineering encapsulates the deliberate design and delivery of internal software application development tools, services and processes that define how software engineers build software. It's a holistic approach that covers the underlying processes, people and (perhaps more crucially of all), the cultural workflow mindset of an organization. At the keyboard, platform engineering is not necessarily all about implementing new technologies (although the omniscient specter of agentic AI will never be far away); it's about fostering consistency and a shared understanding across diverse teams. Devotees who preach the gospel according to platform engineering talk of its ability to lead towards so-called "golden paths" today. These can be described as standardarized workflow routes where infrastructure and configuration parameters for software development are encoded, ratified and documented. Often referred to as an 'opinionated' software practice (i.e. one that takes a defined path and does things one way, not the other way) that help individual software engineers stay close to tooling and processes that will be used by all other developers in a team or department. 'One way to think of a golden path is to imagine baking a cake. The steps required to bake a cake include pre-heating the oven to a specific temperature, gathering the right baking tools… and having the necessary ingredients. It's more than following a recipe, it's also making sure you use the right tools and techniques. If you want more people to bake the same cake, you find ways to become more consistent and efficient, explains Red Hat , on its DevOps pages. According to Derek Webber, VP of engineering at AI-enabled software quality engineering company Tricentis , platform engineering does have the potential to be golden, but it can also lead teams down a dark and dusty track into the Wild West. Why The Wild West? 'Yes, the promise of platform engineering lies in creating golden paths for software delivery. However, the absence of a traditional structured approach to software development often leads to what can only be described as the 'Wild West' of software development, particularly within large, scaling enterprises,' stated Webber. 'In such environments, each product team might independently craft their own unique pipelines, tools and processes. While this might afford initial autonomy, it inevitably leads to fragmentation. As organizations grow from a few dozen to hundreds or thousands of engineers, the tight-knit integration and level of shared understanding that characterizes a startup are lost. Developers become isolated, building 'unique snowflakes' of software pipelines that are difficult to maintain, understand and transfer knowledge across.' This fragmentation might be argued to severely hamper an organization's ability to be flexible and nimble, with an ability to move fast (remember the pandemic, yeah, that kind of change). Why would this be so? Because every new feature, every bug fix and even basic team reorganization becomes a slower and more laborious task. This can happen because of cross-team dependencies when everything is so formally encoded, it can happen because developers see their work as a project, rather than it being a product… and it can happen simply as a result of poorly documented tools in the platform engineering firmament. A fragmented coding landscape also obviously presents challenges to an organization's security posture, making it more difficult to ensure consistent compliance and vulnerability management across all services. DevEx, The Software World On Time 'The true power of platform engineering, especially when championed by a dedicated developer experience (DevEx) team, comes when it is able to balance two critical, often conflicting, objectives: speed and quality. This can be achieved by providing the necessary checks and balances that promote operational consistency and efficiency at scale,' said Webber. 'A core tenet of effective platform engineering is, therefore, the integration of testing from the outset to ensure quality is inherent, not an afterthought. While the industry has long advocated a 'shift left' approach, empowering developers to take on more testing responsibilities earlier in the development lifecycle, it's vital not to overcorrect.' Shifting everything left without considering the end-to-end product can lead to a different kind of fragmentation further down the line. The suggestion here is that platform engineering, via, through and under the auspices of a DevEx team, enables a more holistic approach. Webber says he's convinced that the DevEx team plays a pivotal role in creating a consistent testing framework when applied in the realm of platform engineering. It works by providing developers with readily available, uniform tools and processes. It bridges the gap in domain knowledge that often plagues large organizations, ensuring software engineers have the context needed to build robust solutions that actually work and actually scale. By providing pipeline automation, self-serve tools, environment management and established practices for observability and compliance, the DevEx team frees developers from the burden of figuring out how to build the pipeline and hook in tools. They can instead focus on what they build: the core product functionality. 'This shift in responsibility is transformative,' enthused Tricentis' Webber. 'When developers aren't forced to create their own 'special flavour' of every operational component, they gain immense speed and agility. They can move faster, knowing that the underlying platform provides reliable, secure and quality-assured foundations.' It appears that the consistency instilled by platform engineering, not just in tools, but in processes and mindset, becomes the bedrock of what this approach means. Webber and others agree that this could be particularly critical in an era where advancements like AI (and the future allure of can rapidly generate code, necessitating robust and consistent guardrails to maintain quality and security. CNCF Overview View 'We're seeing real traction in the CNCF ecosystem where platform engineering, when paired with strong developer experience practices, helps teams improve efficiency and avoid fragmented tooling. The goal isn't rigid standardization; it's creating shared, supported paths that scale with the organization. Especially as AI speeds up engineering development, having consistent, observable and secure platforms in a cloud-native fashion is what keeps innovation sustainable,' said Chris Aniszczyk , CTO, Cloud Native Computing Foundation, a global non-profit dedicated to promoting open computing standards and platforms. Will Fleury, VP of engineering at enterprise AI coding agent company Zencoder sees platform engineering as an opportunity and a challenge. "One squad [developer team], one technology stack each? That's a tax on every software development sprint," he observes. 'The real price of skipping platform engineering isn't the complexity it might add, it's the chaos that fills the gap if we do it wrong. Building and running an internal developer platform takes effort, but letting every squad roll its own infrastructure, compliance hooks and operational plumbing burns far more time, money and ultimately complexity.' Golden Path, Tunnel Vision? It's important to remember that the focus on internal workflows can miss a critical dimension. Platform discussions obsess over shift left (test early) but equally important is what Soham Ganatra , co-founder at Composio calls 'shift out' i.e. when a new service has to handshake with a payments rail or partner API. "If your platform can't make that external connection trivial, developers will tunnel under a paved road and the whole notion of a golden path collapses,' said Ganatra. He saus he has seen teams spend months perfecting internal developer workflows only to watch everything fall apart at the network boundary. 'A beautiful continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline means nothing if deploying to production requires three Slack messages, two Jira tickets and a phone call to someone in a different timezone just to get firewall rules updated. The platform needs to extend beyond an organization's own chart; it has to anticipate and smooth over the messy realities of partner integrations, compliance audits and the fact that your biggest customer is still running Internet Explorer 11 in production," he said. Shared, standardized, supported software What this whole discussion aims to champion is not DevEx instead of platform engineering, but platform engineering with a crucial developer experience element in it to help avoid the use of isolated or custom-built tools in a shared, standardized and centrally supported ecosystem. For developers following the yellow brick road towards what they hope is elevation to a platform engineering golden path, we need to engineer people, processes and product just as much as we do platform. As the use of AI coding tools deepens across the software industry, it's actually the cultural human workplace factors that will now have an amplified effect on whether software projects succeed or fail.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I Sold My Tesla: Here's How Much I Got for It and What I'm Driving Instead
Driving a Tesla is a dream for many people, especially with the sleek design and no gas expenses. However, some of those people who have driven Teslas are selling their electric vehicles and making a switch. Read More: Find Out: GOBankingRates spoke to Geremy Yamamoto, founder of Eazy House Sale, who purchased a Tesla Model Y, drove it for four years, and eventually sold it. Here's how much he got after selling his Tesla and what he's driving now. After four years, Geremy found himself hitting the road more often for work. While the Model Y delivered on performance, the charging logistics became a growing concern. 'I sold it last November. The main reason was my frequent long-distance travel, which made charging along the way tedious and time-consuming,' said Yamamoto. 'Besides, due to my work, I travel to different terrains and need a full-size SUV to handle different road conditions.' While EV infrastructure has improved in many cities, rural driving can still pose a challenge. 'Despite its impressive performance, the Tesla Model Y did not fit my needs anymore.' Discover Next: One concern many car buyers have is how well their vehicle will hold its value over time. Tesla vehicles have generally maintained competitive resale values. But like all cars, depreciation is inevitable. 'I got $21,000 after selling the car. It was a decent price considering its age and mileage.' Factors like battery health, mileage, and market demand can impact resale value, but for a 4-year-old Tesla Model Y, $21,000 was a fair return. After driving an EV for four years, Yamamoto switched to a gas-powered vehicle. 'Now I am driving a 2024 Toyota Sequoia. It's a full-size SUV with an all-wheel drive system, perfect for my long-distance travels and varying road conditions,' he said. More From GOBankingRates 10 Used Cars That Will Last Longer Than an Average New Vehicle This article originally appeared on I Sold My Tesla: Here's How Much I Got for It and What I'm Driving Instead
