Republican leaders push back on Musk ‘abomination’ criticism of Trump bill

Republican congressional leaders pushed back Wednesday on Elon Musk’s harsh criticism of President Donald Trump’s signature budget bill as a fiscally dangerous “disgusting abomination.”

Sen. John Thune and Rep. Mike Johnson both aggressively defended Trump’s sprawling Big Beautiful Bill even as a non-partisan congressional watchdog group said it would add 2.4 trillion to the national debt, seemingly bolstering Musk’s point.

“I think he’s flat wrong, and I’ve told him as much,” Johnson, the House Speaker, told reporters at a news conference

Thune, the Senate majority leader, likewise downplayed the influence of Musk, who recently left the administration after a mostly failed effort to slash spending using his Department of Government Efficiency.

—New York Daily News

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz backs transgender kids in sports as Democrats grapple with debate over bans

WASHINGTON — Months after California Gov. Gavin Newsom told a conservative podcast it’s “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete in women and girls sports, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took the stage at the Democratic Party’s annual state convention in Newsom’s home state to let his party know he disagrees.

“I’m just going to say it, shame on any of us who throws a trans child under the bus for thinking they’re going to get elected,” the 2024 vice presidential nominee said last Saturday. “That child deserves our support. Don’t worry about the pollsters calling it distractions, because we need to be the party of human dignity.”

Walz is doubling down on trans rights — and criticizing members of his party who are retreating — at a time when the issue has become a lightning rod nationally and at home.

Attorney General Keith Ellison, a fellow Democrat, and other state officials are being sued by three Maple Grove and Farmington high school softball players in an effort to remove trans athletes from competing in their sport.

—The Minnesota Star Tribune

Air quality alert issued for all of Wisconsin due to Canadian wildfires

Officials issued an alert Wednesday as air quality was expected to reach unhealthy levels in all of Wisconsin until noon Thursday.

Sensitive groups should consider moving all activities inside especially those with asthma or people with heart disease. Officials asks those with health conditions to keep outdoor activities shorter and less intense.

An air quality advisory was called for all east central, south central and southeast Wisconsin.

Current conditions at O’Hare International Airport are light rain at 66 degrees, and farther south at Midway Airport conditions are light rain, fog and mist at 68 degrees. On Wednesday, there is a 50 to 90 percent chance of rain with temperatures in the low 60s, officials said.

—Chicago Tribune

Iran’s Khamenei spurns ‘arrogant’ US nuclear-deal proposal

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized a U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal and called American officials “arrogant” for expecting the Islamic Republic to cease uranium enrichment.

Iran and the U.S. have been engaged in negotiations since April in a bid to end a tense, years-long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program and have so far had five rounds of talks mediated by Oman.

Addressing crowds of worshipers in the capital Tehran, Khamenei said the latest U.S. plan presented to Iranian diplomats was “100% against our ‘can do’” spirit.

“The arrogant U.S. leaders keep repeating this demand in various ways. They oppose Iran’s progress,” he said in the televised speech, adding that Iran’s nuclear sector was a “foundation industry” that would be rendered “useless” without uranium enrichment.

—Bloomberg News