Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump

Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump

Democratic California Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains is reportedly preparing to run against Republican California Rep. David Valadao in the 2026 midterms as Valadao's district continues to trend further to the right. Bains, a family medicine and addiction doctor, will be launching her bid for California's 22nd congressional district this month, Punchbowl Newsreported. The state lawmaker has alreadyrun adsacross the district urging Valadao to vote against President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful" bill — which Valadao voted for onThursday. and previously onMay 22. "I'm trying to see as many patients as I can because Congress is trying to cut their Medi-Cal [California Medical Assistance Program]," Bains said in the ad paid for by a group called Health Care Saves Lives. Medi-CalisCalifornia's Medicaid program. (YouTube / Screenshot / Public — User: KBAK Eyewitness News) Bains has represented Kern County in the state legislature since 2023. She is also the Central Valley's Chief Medical Officer for the California Medical Assistance Team — anorganizationthat oversees some emergency health services for California. Notably, Bains was the sole Democrat in the State Assembly tovoteagainst a 2023 gas price gouging bill targeting oil companies. The bill was backed by and eventuallysignedinto law by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Days after her vote, Bains was temporarilyremovedfrom the Business and Professions Committee by then Democratic California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. "I will never throw my constituents under the bus," Bains wrote in an Xpostat the time describing her opposition to the bill. Kern County iswidelydescribedas being at the center of California's oil industry. The 22nd congressional district, spanning from Bakersfield to Tulare County, isover 70%Hispanic and has moved 19 points to the right between the 2020 and the 2024 presidential election cycles. Former President Joe Biden beat Trump there by 13 percentage points in 2020, but Trump beat former Vice PresidentKamala Harristhere by 6 points in 2024, according todatafrom the California Secretary of State's officeandDave's Redistricting App. Trump's gains in the district reflect hisgainswith Hispanic voters nationwide. Valadao, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, refrained from endorsing Trump in the 2016 election andlost his seatto Democrat TJ Cox in 2018. Valadao quicklywonthe district back in 2020 andvoted to impeachTrump following Jan. 6, 2021. Nonetheless, the congressmanmetwith the president on Wednesday to discuss his concerns over the reconciliation bill, although his office wouldn'tprovidecomment on how the talks went. Valadao was worried about Medicaid provisions and rural hospitals, as his rural agriculture-based district has a large population of Medicaid recipients. He said in astatementafter the vote that he voted for the bill due to its provisions that would help the district itself such as water infrastructure and crop research for his district, and tax credits for the Central Valley's clean energy sector, claiming he "came to Congress to be a voice for our community." "It does preserve the Medicaid program for its intended recipients—children, pregnant women, the disabled, and elderly," Valadao said in the statement. "The bill also includes dozens of other policy provisions that directly benefit CA-22, including blocking the largest tax hike on working families in American history, eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, expanding the Child Tax Credit, enhancing deductions for seniors, and keeping provisions in place that double the standard deduction for over 90% of taxpayers in my district." Also in the race for the congressional seat isRandy Villegas, a Democratic school board trustee from Visalia, and Democratic State Assemblyman Rudy Salas who hasreportedlyfiled paperwork to run in 2026. Salas lost to Valadao in both the 2024 and 2022 general elections. California uses a top-two all-party primary system for congressional elections — where the candidates with the highest and second-highest number of votes in the primary advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. Valadao and Bains' offices did not respond to the DCNF's request for comment. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contactlicensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump

Dem Eyes House Seat That Swung Nearly 20 Points To Trump Democratic California Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains is reportedly preparing to run ag...

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Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana

Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana

(The Center Square) — State Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, said President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" would affect 1.6 million Louisiana residents' access to healthcare. "Me and my lawmakers down in Baton Rouge have some very serious concerns about the potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP," Jenkins said during the Thursday Caddo Parish Commission meeting. "Significant federal cuts could lead to a multi-billion dollar loss for Louisiana." Jenkins made it clear he was not giving any political statement towards the bill but was specifically focused on numbers. According to Jenkins, the massive budget reconciliation bill proposes cutting $1 trillion to Medicaid and $180 billion to SNAP nationwide. Data released byUSAFactsshowed roughly 847,100, or 18.4%, of Louisiana residents received SNAP benefits monthly during fiscal year 2024, larger than the 12.3% receiving benefits nationwide. In 2012, nearly 948,800 people in Louisiana received monthly SNAP benefits. In 2024, Louisiana ranked third in the U.S. for the state population receiving SNAP benefits. KFFdata shows that as of May, 1.8 million people in Louisiana have Medicaid, and 79% of Medicaid spending is federally funded. Louisiana currently receives $13 billion in federal funds for Medicaid. The state budget for the 2025-2026 year is $47.9 billion-- $24.2 billion of the budget is state funds, and $23.7 billion is federal funds. Of the $23.7 billion federally funded dollars, $16.4 billion supports healthcare for Louisiana residents. The Center Square previouslyreportedpositive and negative responses from lawmakers surrounding the passage of the president's bill, which he is expected to sign into law on Friday. The bill is said to add $4.1 trillion to the primary deficit over the next 10 years, raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, add cost-saving reforms to Medicaid and SNAP and fund border construction. "Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and Congressman Steve Scalise, Americans just received: largest tax cut in history, no tax on tips, overtime and social security, permanently secure our borders, permanent increase to the child tax credit, protects two million family farms from punitive double taxation, unless American Energy Dominance, modernizes the American military and ends fraud, waste and abuse in our federal government," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said on X. Landry, U.S Rep. Julia Letlow, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, all Republicans, shared their support for the bill. Democratic Congressmen Cleo Fields and Troy A. Carter released statements of concern.

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana

Sen. Jenkins says 'one, big beautiful bill' could impact 1.6M in Louisiana (The Center Square) — State Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shrevepor...

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Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women’s major tournament at Euro 2025

Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women's major tournament at Euro 2025

LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wales coach Rhian Wilkinson and midfielder Angharad James celebrated their country's first ever press conference at a women's major tournament at Euro 2025 on Friday. Wales press officer Owain Harries informed assembled journalists of the premiere and was rewarded by a round of applause and cheers. Wilkinson and James laughed and clapped, while Wilkinson did a little dance in her seat before the questions started. "This is it," said Wilkinson, a former Canada player and assistant coach. "I can't wait for the bus to arrive, to watch these women walk out onto the field, to see where they're going to get, to step on and make history." Wales, the lowest-ranked team in the competition, makes its uropean Championship debut against the Netherlands in Group D on Saturday. The Welsh threatened to qualify for major tournaments in recent years but it took a playoff win over Ireland to make the dream a reality. "It's been something that we've always strived to achieve, and we've always come short but not anymore. We're here," James said. Wales has been landed in arguably the toughest group, however, with heavyweights France and England, the defending champion, also in Group D. "Underestimate us all you want but we know that we're ready for the fight, we're ready for each game and we're ready to be here, to be present and take on each team as it comes," James said. "We're ready." After the players' training session in the stadium, they were joined on the field by all of the team staff and coaches for a photo. ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women’s major tournament at Euro 2025

Wales celebrates its first ever press conference at a women's major tournament at Euro 2025 LUCERNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wales coach Rhia...

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Wimbledon: Ben Shelton needs 4 points and about a minute to wrap up a win

Wimbledon: Ben Shelton needs 4 points and about a minute to wrap up a win

LONDON (AP) — Four points. Three aces. About a minute. That's all it took forBen Sheltonto wrap up a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Rinky Hijikata on Friday in a second-roundWimbledonmatch suspended the night before because of darkness at 5-4 in the third set. "I wasn't really going for four aces," the 10th-seeded Shelton said. Sure, Ben. Either way, the two-time Grand Slam semifinalist was in a much better mood than he was on Thursday night around 9:30 p.m., when he didn't agree with the decision to stop right as he was about to try to serve out the victory at No. 2 Court. There are no artificial lights there, plus Shelton said he was told that the electronic line-calling system was about to stop working. He looked rather animated, and someone came between Shelton and the chair umpire, although the player said Friday that wasn't really necessary. "I guess when he saw a guy my size walking quickly towards the umpire, maybe he thought I was ready to throw hands or something. I definitely wasn't," Shelton said. "I got over it pretty quickly. ... It probably looked more tense than it was." The American, who reached the final four at the 2023 U.S. Open and this year's Australian Open, and Hijikata, an Australian ranked 87th, returned to the same stadium a little less than 16 hours later after the suspension for what turned out to be just one game. "A little bit bizarre," Hijikata said. After a warmup period quite a bit longer than the resumption of actual play, Shelton began with a 141 mph ace. The 22-year-old left-hander then hit a second serve that resulted in a framed return by Hijikata, followed with an ace at 140 mph and one more at 118 mph to end things quickly. "I'm just happy with the way I handled it coming out today and taking care of my business," said Shelton, who will face 105th-ranked Marton Fucsovics of Hungary for a chance toreach the fourth round at the All England Clubfor the second consecutive year. "It's never ideal, mentally, having to wake up another day and be on and know that it's a match day. Obviously I went out there prepared to play 2 1/2 sets. You can't just go out there (and) be like, 'Yeah, I'm going to hold.' What happens if you don't?" Right before things were halted Thursday — both players thought they should have stopped sooner, because it was tough to see for a while and slippery on the grass — Shelton held three match points while leading 5-3 and at love-40 on Hijikata's serve. Hijikata grabbed the next five points to extend the contest. But not for long. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here:https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis:https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Wimbledon: Ben Shelton needs 4 points and about a minute to wrap up a win

Wimbledon: Ben Shelton needs 4 points and about a minute to wrap up a win LONDON (AP) — Four points. Three aces. About a minute. That's ...

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Trump, the octagon and the nation's birthday: How did they all end up in the cage together?

Trump, the octagon and the nation's birthday: How did they all end up in the cage together?

PresidentDonald Trumplikes to be cage-side for a battle. And fansgive raucous cheerswhen they see him there, adding to a constituency base Trump has built among fighting sports fanatics. Trump's announcementon Thursday, July 3 that he plans to host anUltimate Fighting Championship event at the White Housenext year may come as a shock to some. But Trump's love for the octagon - and his support for its fans and stars -isn't new. His public relations team says it's part of his appeal to a segment of the public that is not known for reading mainstream news media. "The audience gets to see him through an unvarnished filter that isn't tainted by news media and political biases," Trump's White House communications director Steven Cheungtold the Associated Press in 2023."It gives us the great opportunity to connect with voters who are, quite frankly, turned off by many traditional news outlets." Cheung himself is intimately familiar with the cage fighting world of the UFC.He was the organization's spokesmanbefore Trump handpicked him to be his communications director. It's not all about votes and public image. Trump's fascination for mixed martial arts goes back years and his support for fighting sports goes back even further to his dayshosting WrestleManiain Atlantic City, N.J. in 1988. Trump said this week that the UFC event during the White House's celebration of the nation's 250th birthday will be part of a broader package of events. But he emphasized it as a highlight. "We're going to have some incredible events, some professional events, some amateur events. But the UFC fight is going to be a big deal, too," Trump told acrowd at the Iowa State Fairgroundson July 3. "We're going to have a UFC fight on the grounds of the White House. Championship fight - full fight." He said he expects that the fighting card will host close to 25,000 spectators at the White House. The UFC's CEO Dana White is a friend of the president. Whiteintroduced Trumpat the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in 2024. "I know President Trump is a fighter," White said whileintroducingTrump to the crowd. "I'm in the tough guy business and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I've ever met in my life." White and Trump have been friends for 25 years, the CEO said at the convention. The first UFC fight held under the ownership of White and his partners was held at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City in 2001. Trump "gave us our start when nobody would talk to us," White told Fox News in 2018. Trump has frequented UFC bouts with famous entourages in the years since the first fight under White. His first public appearance after hisconviction on hush money chargesin 2024 was at a high-profile UFC event in Newark, N.J. Video from the event shows Trump, newlyconvicted felon on all 34 counts, entering the stadium through the fighters' tunnel to raucous applause. Trump attendedanother UFC eventwith White,Elon Muskand Kid Rock last November shortly after becoming president-elect. Again, Trump received a warm welcome from the crowd before the start of the main card action. Cheung, theformer UFC director of communications, became the Trump campaign's director of rapid response, whose focus was on "keeping the campaign up to date on breaking news and pushing back on false or unbalanced reporting." According toSports Joe, Cheung had a reputation of revoking the media credentials of reporters he didn't like. At least four reporters had their credentials revoked due to Cheung, the sports news outlet reported. A former high school football player, Cheung became a martial arts fan and dabbled in taekwondo and Muay Thai boxing, according to aMother Jones profile of Cheung."To the Trump campaign, which had a hard time attracting seasoned professionals, Cheung's past political work—and perhaps even more so his role with the UFC—made him an ideal hire," the publication wrote. Politicalanalysts have opinedfor years that Trump has cleverly used combat sports venues such as UFC to cheaply and effectively reach out to voters who don't read mainstream news media or follow election campaigns. It's also given him visual appeal as a fellow UFC fan to Latino and Black fans of UFC. Trump'shigh-profile visibilityat Ultimate Fighting Championship events has garnered praise from past champions of the sport, includingColby Covington, who have openly praised Trump in front of UFC crowds and elsewhere. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump's UFC birthday plan and how it came to be

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

Trump, the octagon and the nation's birthday: How did they all end up in the cage together?

Trump, the octagon and the nation's birthday: How did they all end up in the cage together? PresidentDonald Trumplikes to be cage-side f...

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7 little-known items in Trump’s big agenda bill

7 little-known items in Trump's big agenda bill

When President Donald Trump signs his so-calledbig, beautiful billinto law Friday, much of the focus will be on its big-ticket items — tax cuts, slashes to Medicaid and food stamp spending and boosted border security funding. But lawmakers tucked a long list of measures that won't grab headlines into the massivetax and spending package. Here's a look at seven of the lesser-known provisions of the measure: The space shuttle Discovery, parked at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Northern Virginia since it was decommissioned in 2011, will be relocated. Its new home: Houston. The bill includes $85 million to pay for its relocation and housing at the Johnson Space Center. The move comes after a push by two Texas Republican senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who argued Houston's role in the space shuttle program should be recognized. Commercial space flight companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX will have to pay fees for their launches and reentries – phased in over eight years, and intended to help the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation keep up with the industry's rapid growth. The fees will start at 25 cents per pound, capped at $30,000 per launch and reach $1.50 per pound, capped at $200,000 per launch, in 2033, with increases tied to the consumer price index after that. The poker industry — including those who play for a living, online and in casinos — could be in serious trouble due to a provision that will eat into the profits of those who make money gambling. Currently, gamblers can deduct their losses before paying taxes on their winnings. Under Trump's bill, though, they'll be able to deduct just 90% of their losses. For example: Win $100,000, but lose $80,000? You'll have made $20,000 but owe taxes on $28,000. "This new amendment to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would end professional gambling in the US and hurt casual gamblers, too," professional poker player Phil Galfondsaid on X. "You could pay more in tax than you won." The bill includes $257 million to carry out Trump's often-mentioned plans for a makeover of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts — funding that comes despite the Trump administration's cancellation of grant offers to arts and humanities programs nationwide. Trump took over one of Washington's premiere cultural spots, remaking the Kennedy Center's board with political allies. He also last month attended the center's opening night of "Les Misérables," where he was met with a mix of cheers and boos. The bill eliminates a $200 fee that gun owners are charged when purchasing silencers and short-barrel rifles, as well as registration and ownership requirements. It removes those from the scope of the 1934 National Firearms Act, a Prohibition-era law intended to crack down on gangland crime. That law remains in effect for machine guns and explosive devices. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski used her leverage as the Senate's deciding vote to extract a series of concessions in the final bill for her home state. Among them: An increase, from $10,000 to $50,000, of a tax deduction for whaling-related expenses. Buying an American-made car between 2025 and 2028? You'll be able to write off up to $10,000 of interest paid on your auto loan. Reaching the full deduction would require a six-figure vehicle purchase, but those buying average cars, trucks and SUVs that qualify for the deduction could save several hundred dollars per year. On the other hand, those in the market for electric vehicles will see a tax credit created under former President Joe Biden and worth up to $7,500 eliminated at the end of September. It had originally been scheduled to last through 2032. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

7 little-known items in Trump’s big agenda bill

7 little-known items in Trump's big agenda bill When President Donald Trump signs his so-calledbig, beautiful billinto law Friday, much ...

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UEFA fines Chelsea $23.6M and Barcelona $17.7M for financial monitoring rules breaches

UEFA fines Chelsea $23.6M and Barcelona $17.7M for financial monitoring rules breaches

GENEVA (AP) — Chelsea was fined 20 million euros ($23.6 million) for breaking financial monitoring rules and Barcelona was ordered to pay 15 million euros ($17.7 million) by UEFA on Friday. Both clubs must pay tens of millions of more euros (dollars) in future seasons if they miss financial targets set by UEFA. Chelsea had been under investigation for the 76.5 million pounds ($104.4 million) sale of two hotels between subsidiaries of Chelsea's holding company, Blueco 22 Ltd. Chelsea has been owned since 2022 by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. Chelsea's fine matches the record 20 million euros ($23.6 million) sanction imposed in 2014 on Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain by UEFA. Those were the first round of penalties in the system then called Financial Fair Play. In other investigations settled on Friday, UEFA fined financially troubled French club Lyon 12.5 million euros ($14.7 million) with future fines conditional on meeting targets. The club owned by American businessman John Textor is fighting an appeal case next week against being demoted from Ligue 1 amid its financial turmoil, and could yet be excluded by UEFA from the Europa League next season. ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

byMario Satorik

in

July 04, 2025

UEFA fines Chelsea $23.6M and Barcelona $17.7M for financial monitoring rules breaches

UEFA fines Chelsea $23.6M and Barcelona $17.7M for financial monitoring rules breaches GENEVA (AP) — Chelsea was fined 20 million euros ($23...

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