From CNN, I'm Fez Jamil with the five things you need to know for Wednesday, July 2nd. The megabill is in the house, but the wrangling to get a past continues. President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson's influence is again being tested as GOP leaders look to deliver the president his first legislative win by the Fourth of July holiday. But as CNN's Sen.
Cervati tells us, President Trump's big, beautiful bill is facing criticism from some House Republicans. They are frustrated and concerned about the deep cuts that the Senate amended bill made to Medicaid. They want to go ahead and amend it again. That is something that House Republican leadership wants to avoid.
They want to see this pass on Wednesday in the House. But how they get there again is still an open question. The House Speaker can only afford to lose three Republican defectors at this point if there is full attendance in the House on Wednesday. There are severe storms in the East Coast and many members are facing flight delays.
The University of Pennsylvania will block transgender athletes from female sports teams and erase the swimming records set by one. The Department of Education announced a deal between U-PAN and the federal government and comes as part of the Trump administration's broader restrictions on transgender people, including banning them from competing in women's sports nationwide and serving in the military. Leah Thomas is a U-PAN graduate and transgender woman who won the 2022 NCAA Championship in the women's 500-yard freestyle. The University says Thomas' all-time school records will be removed and it will apologize to female athletes who lost to Thomas.
U-PAN's President released a statement saying the college has, quote, always followed and continues to follow Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. The White House had cut off $175 million in federal funding to the school, but it's not clear if it will now be restored. A group of Democratic-led cities are suing the Trump administration, overchanges to Obamacare, they say could lead to about 1.8 million Americans to lose their health insurance. The suit was launched yesterday after a new rule put in place last month that shortens the open enrollment period for Americans buying insurance on the marketplace.
It also ends a monthly special enrollment period for people with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty line, along with starting more pre-enrollment requirements, like income verification. The cities alleged several parts of the new rule violate the Affordable Care Act and other federal laws, saying the administration broke federal rule-making procedures, including by failing to respond to public comments submitted as a rule was being finalized. HHS spokesperson told CNN in a statement, quote, "...the rule closes loopholes, strengthens oversight, and ensures taxpayer subsidies go to those who are truly eligible. That's not controversial, it's common sense." North Korea sent to send another 25-30,000 troops to assist Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
That's according to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment seen by CNN that says the soldiers may arrive in the coming months. It would add to the 11,000 sent to November, who helped repel Ukraine's incursion into Russia's cursed region. Western officials say around 4,000 of those North Korean soldiers were killed or injured in that deployment. China's not happy with the Dalai Lama's plan for his reincarnation after death.
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Learn more about their customizable plans at squareup.com. In a recorded message to religious elders, the Dalai Lama has announced that he will have a successor after his death, but not one under Beijing's influence. It's a centuries-old tradition, but has also become a flashpoint in the struggle with China over Tibet's future, as CNN's Beijing bureau chief Stephen Jiang explains. When the Dalai Lama made the announcement that he intends to continue the centuries-old spiritual tradition to reincarnate after his death, he also emphasized his office has a so authority to recognize his reincarnation.
And he, of course, has also recently said his reincarnation, or successor, will be born in the free world, meaning outside China. Now, that's a notion Beijing authorities have firmly rejected. They say they have the final say in deciding the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. So all of this really setting up for another round of clashes between the current Dalai Lama and the communist leadership here in Beijing, which is something that's going on since now in 1959, when the Dalai Lama fled to bed after a failed uprising against Beijing's rule.
That's all for now. Our next episode drops at noon Eastern.