Supreme Court: States can block Medicaid money for health care at Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says states can block the country’s biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid money for health services such as contraception and cancer screenings. Planned Parenthood says the court’s Thursday ruling will hinder access to certain kinds of care for 1 million patients in South Carolina and could allow for wider funding cuts in other states. South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, applauds the court’s ruling. South Carolina argued no public money should go to Planned Parenthood, even if it’s not paying for abortions. The White House says the ruling underscores President Donald Trump’s position that states should determine abortion policy.

US economy shrank 0.5% in the first quarter, worse than earlier estimates had revealed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March as President Donald Trump’s import taxes at least temporarily disrupted business, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in a downgrade from its previous estimate. First-quarter growth sank under a surge of imports as companies in the United States rushed to bring in foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. The Commerce Department previously estimated that the economy fell 0.2% in the first quarter. The January-March drop in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — reversed a 2.4% increase in the last three months of 2024 and marked the first time in three years that the economy contracted.

Key Medicaid provision in Trump’s bill is found to violate Senate rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to the chamber’s procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week. Guidance from the parliamentarian is rarely ignored and Republican leaders are now forced to consider difficult options. Republicans were counting on big cuts to Medicaid and other programs to offset trillions of dollars in Trump tax breaks, their top priority. Additionally, the Senate’s chief arbiter of its often complicated rules had advised against various GOP provisions barring certain immigrants from health care programs.

Former top aide to Jill Biden is subpoenaed by House Oversight panel

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have subpoenaed a senior aide to former first lady Jill Biden. The subpoena from the House Oversight Committee requires Anthony Bernal to appear for a deposition on July 16. Bernal is the second former Biden staffer to be subpoenaed by the committee as part of the GOP’s rapidly expanding investigation into former President Joe Biden’s mental fitness while in office. President Donald Trump’s White House has boosted the investigation by waiving executive privilege for eight former Biden administration officials to testify, including Bernal. Democrats say the investigation is a waste of time.