After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago, the question of abortion's legality and availability returned to the states. As of now, abortion remains broadly legal in more than 30 states and Washington, D.C. In some, like Kansas, Missouri and Montana, abortion is still legal largely because of voters. But while Trump spent a lot of time on the campaign trail trying to avoid the topic of abortion, his new tax and spending law proves that the GOP has stayed laser focused on restricting the rights of everyday Americans. It contains a provision that prevents health care nonprofits like Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion care provider, from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for one year for ANY services – even those not related to abortion. Mary Ziegler, a professor at UC Davis School of Law who focuses on the history and politics of reproduction, healthcare and conservatism, explains how the new law could limit your ability to access health care and threaten Planned Parenthood.

And in headlines: Trump announced the U.S. will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine, a bunch of states sued the Trump administration for withholding money for after-school care and English language programs, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he'll stay in the race to be New York City's next mayor.

Show Notes:

• Check out Mary's work – workstatecourtreport.org/about/mary-ziegler
• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
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• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

President Donald Trump’s new spending and tax law is set to balloon the budget for immigration and detention enforcement. With an extra $170 billion over the next four years, the government is hoping to hire 10 thousand new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, build new detention facilities, and otherwise ramp up every aspect of arrests and removals. In fact, under the new spending plan, ICE will become the most well-funded law enforcement agency in the federal government. Garrett Graff is a historian and longtime politics and national security reporter who currently writes the ‘Doomsday Scenario’ newsletter. He joins us to talk about why dramatically expanding the federal immigration enforcement budget so quickly is a bad idea.

And in headlines: President Trump threatened new tariffs on Mexico and the European Union, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pushed back on critical reports of her handling of the response to the deadly Texas floods, and the State Department laid off more than 1,000 staffers.

Show Notes:

• Check out Garrett's work – https://tinyurl.com/33p63f8v
• Long Shadow: The Lingering Questions of 9/11 –https://tinyurl.com/32bdmpny
• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to central Texas today to tour damage of the devastating July 4th weekend floods. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead, and nearly 200 are still missing a week later. As people in the region continue to mourn their loved ones and assess the destruction, there has been a lot of finger-pointing over whether more could have been done to alert people about the flood risks. If staffing cuts at the National Weather Service played a role, and who’s to blame for the mounting death toll? Richard Spinrad, the former administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, talks about how staffing cuts make the agency’s job harder.

And in headlines: A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked the Trump Administration’s order ending birthright citizenship after a class-action challenge, retiring Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tills unloads during a CNN exclusive interview, and former Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil filed a claim against the Trump administration for $20 million in damages.

Show Notes:

• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Federal agents descended on a park in the middle of Los Angeles midday Monday, showing up on horseback, in armored tanks, and carrying rifles. While it’s still not at all clear if the agents made any arrests, a regional Customs and Border Protection chief told a local FOX News reporter, “Better get used to us now, because this is gonna be normal very soon.” He may not be wrong. President Donald Trump’s new spending and tax law explodes the budget for immigration and border enforcement, setting aside around $170 billion extra dollars for Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Around $75 billion of that money is earmarked specifically for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla joins us to talk about ICE’s aggressive tactics, how immigrants in California are feeling right now, and what Democrats — and all of us — can do to respond.

And in headlines: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent Wednesday waltzing around Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers, Trump sent out threatening tariffs letters to more countries, and the CEO of the platform formerly known as Twitter coincidentally quit just a day after Elon Musk’s AI chatbot went full antisemite.

Show Notes:

• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

In just a few short months on the job, Health And Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has managed to upend the American public health system, successfully inserting his decades of vaccine skepticism into national policy. Late last month, he fired every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, replacing them mostly with people who’ve voiced skepticism about vaccines. In May, he announced the CDC would stop recommending COVID vaccines for pregnant people and babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other health groups are now suing him and HHS over the latter decision. Dr. Fiona Havers, a former senior advisor on vaccine policy at the CDC, resigned from the agency over Kennedy’s changes to federal vaccine policy. She joins us to talk about what everyday people should do to keep themselves and their family safe.

And in headlines: President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course on sending defense weapons to Ukraine, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins doubles down on “no amnesty” for undocumented farmworkers, and someone out there is using AI to impersonate Secretary of State/National Security Advisor/Acting Archivist Marco Rubio.

Show Notes:

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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Now that President Donald Trump has gotten exactly what he wanted, and signed his major domestic tax and policy agenda into law, what should Democrats do now? Poll after poll has shown the legislation is wildly unpopular, but also that voters don’t know a ton about it. The legislation is projected to strip millions of people of health care and food assistance over the next decade. And for Democrats, tying Republicans to the law’s most unpopular provisions will be imperative to their hopes of regaining power in Congress in next year’s midterm elections. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins us to talk about how Democrats plan to respond, both to Trump’s big beautiful disaster of a law and to the onslaught of attacks from the Trump administration more broadly.

And in headlines: Texas officials said they’ve confirmed more than 100 deaths from Friday’s devastating floods, Trump announced new 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, and immigration officers staged another massive show of force in Los Angeles.

Show Notes:

• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Despite months of handwringing and a litany complaints from dozens of Congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump scored yet another major political victory Friday when he signed his One Big Beautiful Bill into law, just like he wanted. The measure, stuffed with Republican spending and policy priorities, threatens to balloon the federal deficit by more than $3 trillion dollars over the next decade while kicking millions of poor Americans off safety net programs like Medicaid and food assistance. But the effects won’t be felt immediately. Jacob Bogage, Congressional economics correspondent for The Washington Post, breaks down the details of the new law.

And in headlines: The death toll from the devastating flooding in central Texas topped 70 people, the White House sent mixed messages on the future of Trump’s tariffs, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to the White House again amid a renewed push for a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

Show Notes:

• Check out Jacob's work – www.washingtonpost.com/people/jacob-bogage/
• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
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• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The New York City Board of Elections on Tuesday confirmed Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman, beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city's Democratic primary for mayor. And not by a thin margin – the results show Mamdani won by 12 points after the ranked choice vote count. The decisive victory puts Mamdani in pole position to win November’s general election and become the city’s next mayor, though Cuomo and current Mayor Eric Adams are set to run as independents. New York City Comptroller Brand Lander, who also ran for mayor (he and Mamdani cross-endorsed each other), talks about what Mamdani’s win says about the state of national Democratic politics.

And in headlines: House Republicans bickered over the latest version of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, a New York jury convicted disgraced rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted him of more serious charges, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a nearly 200-year-old law does not ban abortion in the state.

Show Notes:

• Call Congress – 202-224-3121
• Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
• What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
• Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
• For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday