Daily Briefing: Trimming $9 billion

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Here's how to respond to the "Gen Z stare."

Quick look at Thursday's news:

• The Senate narrowly approved a spending cuts package in the early hours of Thursday.
• Releases from ICE detention may slow even further.
• Just under 50 days until the 2025 NFL season kicks off.

Senate approves cuts to public broadcasting, foreign aid

Following more than 12 hours of debate and marathon series' of votes, Republicans in Congress are one step closer to officially trimming $9 billion in federal funds from public broadcasting, global health initiatives and other foreign aid programs.

What happens next? Now that the Senate has signed off, the bill returns to the House, where lawmakers must approve the upper chamber's changes. The House is expected to pass the Trump administration's priority spending cuts before an end-of-week deadline.

• Two Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — voted against the measure.
• How the vote cleared: Republicans, including Collins, had criticized proposed rescissions for global AIDS prevention programs. Then $400 million cut to AIDS prevention was removed by the Senate during the hours-long deliberation process ahead of the final vote.
• A big hit to America's broadcasters: Local stations will likely see the biggest strain, particularly those in rural areas.

‘Good Trouble’ protesters gathering across the nation today

'People are showing up in their communities in the ways that they feel led to show up, and that's just exactly what Congressman Lewis meant when he talked about good trouble: finding ways to be of service to your community.'

~ Allison Pulliam, co-director of Declaration for American Democracy Coalition, one of the organizing groups behind Good Trouble Lives On protests set for Thursday. Tens thousands of protesters are expected to gather at more than 1,600 locations nationwide to rally against many of the Trump administration's policies. The name comes from a phrase commonly used by the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, who insisted it was important to engage in "good trouble, necessary trouble" in order to achieve positive social change.

More news to know now

• Your morning cup of coffee may get pricier.
• Her mom got sick, she moved in to help. Years later, they both feel trapped.
• An American hiker has been missing in rugged Spanish mountains for a week.
• Meet the robo-bunny taking on invasive pythons in Florida.
• An Icelandic volcano is erupting ... again.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Immigration detainees might stay locked up longer

A new policy rolling out nationally prevents judges from granting bond to most detained migrants. Those hearings often end with a judge releasing the detainee if they agree to post a cash bond and, in some cases, be tracked by a GPS device. Migrant-rights advocates say the loss of bond hearings means detainees will increasingly have to fight their deportation cases without legal representation or support and advice from community members. In many cases, detainees are being shipped to holding facilities thousands of miles from home, advocates say. Contesting deportation can take months, and migrant-rights groups said they suspect the policy change is intended to pressure migrants into agreeing to be deported even if they have a solid legal case for remaining in the United States.

Trump denies plans to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell 

President Donald Trump denied that he's close to firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after telling Republican lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that he would likely make the move. Trump has recently seized on the Federal Reserve's $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project of three historic buildings on the National Mall, suggesting the ballooning cost could be grounds for Powell's termination. Meanwhile, Powell has cited anticipated rising inflation from Trump's massive tariffs on imports as a reason to keep rates unchanged. Whether Trump would even have the legal authority to fire Powell is unclear.

• Many finance and economic experts say Trump's attacks on Powell are damaging to financial markets, and perhaps the U.S. political system, too.

Today's talkers

• "Love Island" winner Amaya Espinal weighed in on Cierra Ortega's controversial exit.
• I have goosebumps from the "Stranger Things" Season 5 trailer.
• Does Lena Dunham's "Too Much" Netflix series talk about sex ... too much?
• Lady Gaga's Mayhem Ball tour is filled with cheeky melodrama.

Is it too early to start thinking about football?

Paste BN Sports says "no." In less than 50 days, the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the Dallas Cowboys on September 4 to kick off the 2025 regular season. We thought a football primer might be helpful just in case you’ve been focused on baseball, basketball, soccer, "Love Island USA" and/or piña coladas. Here are 50 things to know ahead of the league’s upcoming season (like could Detroit and the Chargers be providing the earliest of Super Bowl 60 previews?!).

Photo of the day: Iconic athletes

The entire sports world united Wednesday night at the 2025 ESPY Awards to celebrate all of the remarkable moments and athletes who captivated the world in the past year. Paste BN Sports has the top moments and winners, including Diana Taurasi and Alex Morgan winning the Icon Award.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.