Thursday, June 25th, 2026 - Mamdani Picks Sweep NY Primaries, Trump Holds Housing Bill Hostage, Hegseth’s Military Purge

Today's Headlines: In a rare occurrence, we’re starting with good news. The FDA approved a new drug called Trodelvy that reduces aggressive triple-negative breast cancer progression by 40% compared to chemo — affecting 48,000 Americans a year — science is awesome. Zohran Mamdani swept Tuesday's New York primaries, no he wasn’t on the ballot but all three of his DSA-endorsed challengers defeated incumbent Democrats including Dan Goldman and Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair Adriano Espaillat, triggering a full Democratic Party freakout — Letitia James called out Mamdani on CNN, former DNC chair Jaime Harrison posted a barely-veiled "if you hate the party don't use its resources" thread, and Mamdani responded with a Jalen Brunson clip from the Knicks parade. In Trump shenanigans, Donald admitted at a Pennsylvania rally that he personally called the US attorney in California to "take a look" at the governor's primary results, claiming Steve Hilton started winning about an hour after the call, which is either a confession of election interference or the most casual admission of abuse of power we've heard yet. He then refused to sign the bipartisan housing bill his own White House negotiated unless Republicans first pass the SAVE Act to overhaul voting laws before the midterms, got into a screaming match with Bill Cassidy at a Senate lunch over the Iran war vote. As expected, Speaker Mike Johnson immediately announced he'd push the SAVE Act through budget reconciliation to appease him — which is not what budget reconciliation is for, but here we are. In other news, Pete Hegseth forced out highly respected four-star General Christopher Donohue, who headed the Army in Europe and Africa, with more "personnel changes" expected next week as Hegseth continues his speed run of replacing competent military commanders with pliant ones. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the Oval Office, kissed Trump's ring, and had to sit there while Trump ranted for the fourth consecutive day about someone cutting the reflecting pool with a box cutter. And finally, Bending Spoons — the Italian tech company that owns Vimeo, WeTransfer, AOL, and Eventbrite — is planning a $19 billion US IPO. Resources/Articles mentioned: WSJ: New Drugs Are Replacing Chemo for Aggressive Breast Cancer NYT: Cait Conley Wins Primary to Face Mike Lawler in N.Y. Swing District NBC News: Trump endorses a second candidate in the South Carolina governor’s race Axios: Socialist "earthquake" in NY leaves Democrats reeling: "Huge defeat" Politico: Trump says he asked US attorney for California election probe: ‘Do me a favor’ AP News: Live updates: Trump speaks at National Mall rally for America 250 CNN: What’s in the ‘SAVE America Act’ and why is it so important to Donald Trump? MS Now: Inside Trump's closed-door clash with Senate Republicans The Hill: Speaker Johnson says he will push SAVE America Act through reconciliation 3.0 The Hill: Trump lays out new details on Reflecting Pool ‘vandals’ WSJ: Hegseth Cuts Army Commander’s Storied Career Short as Part of Broader Shake-Up Reuters: Vimeo owner Bending Spoons seeks $1.62 billion US IPO, sources say Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices