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Morning Rundown: Iowa apartment demolition, Memorial Day weekend shootings and debt ceiling bill

Officials in Davenport, Iowa, are re-evaluating plans to demolish the apartment building that partially collapsed after the rescue of a woman more than 24 hours after the incident.
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The bipartisan debt ceiling bill faces criticism from hard-line Republicans. The quickly-announced demolition of a partially collapsed Iowa apartment building is "under evaluation" after two rescues. And Elizabeth Holmes is headed to prison.  

Here’s what to know today.

House GOP hard-liners trash debt limit bill as ‘insanity,’ ‘turd-sandwich’

The House Rules Committee will meet today to consider the bipartisan compromise struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend, but the bill faces skepticism and criticism, including from Republicans who trashed the deal to avert debt default. 

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman called the deal "insanity" and said the bill had "virtually no cuts." Texas Rep. Chip Roy blasted the deal as a "turd-sandwich" in a torrent of tweets. And Sen. Rand Paul lamented the bill's "fake spending cuts," adding in a tweet, "Conservatives have been sold out again!" 

But these criticisms may be the minority opinion.

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"I've talked to dozens of members — and listen, not every single member is on board," South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson said. "But when is the last time that every single member of Congress agreed on anything?"

House Democratic leaders on the other side of the aisle are encouraging lawmakers to sell the legislation as a defeat for "extreme MAGA Republicans." Privately, some progressives are disappointed with some of the bill's provisions and upset they were largely left out of negotiations.

Still, leaders on both sides are confident the bill will pass. A full House vote is expected tomorrow.

More on the debt limit bill

Drones attack Moscow, damaging residential buildings

Moscow was hit by drones Tuesday morning, in what appeared to be the first attack on residential areas of the Russian capital since the invasion of Ukraine and a dramatic display that the Kremlin’s war was increasingly coming home.

The incident caused damage to some buildings in Moscow and forced residents to evacuate homes, local officials said. 

It comes weeks after an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin itself and following days of deadly Russian bombardment against civilians in Kyiv, as events far from the front lines take the spotlight ahead of Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive. 

Iowa officials re-evaluate apartment demolition after rescues

The rescue of a woman more than 24 hours after an apartment building partially collapsed has prompted officials in Davenport, Iowa, to re-evaluate their quickly announced demolition plans.

Lisa Brooks stayed put under her couch when she felt the collapse. She called for help when her phone started working again, relatives said, and after hiding for more than 24 hours, she was rescued uninjured. Video showed firefighters assisting Brooks as onlookers gathered. 

Earlier that day, rescuers pulled Quanishia White-Berry from the rubble. Her wife, Lexus Berry, said they were on their way out of their apartment — they could hear the building cracking — when part of the building violently surrendered to gravity. “Where I was standing was just a plank of laminate floor, enough for me to stand on” Berry said, as she recalled that terrifying moment. White-Berry was in critical condition as of last night.  

U-Haul crash suspect’s journal had a coup speech, prosecutors say

The 19-year-old accused of crashing a box truck into barriers near the White House last week in a bid to overthrow the government should stay behind bars ahead of trial, federal prosecutors argued in a memo filed last week. Sai Varshith Kandula kept a journal that he described as a “green book,” the memo states, and it included excerpts from a coup speech he planned to give had he taken over the government after the crash.

Memorial Day weekend gun violence included nine injured in Florida shooting

At least nine people were injured in a shooting yesterday evening in Hollywood Beach, Florida, part of a holiday weekend of gun violence that resulted in at least 16 deaths and dozens of injuries across the country. Police said an altercation between two groups led to the Florida violence.

Reports of other shootings dotted the rest of the U.S., including incidents in Maryland, Arizona and California.

▼ Today’s Talker

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes begins…

her 11-year prison sentence at a minimum-security facility in Texas today. Last year, Holmes was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud. Her conviction was the culmination of a saga that began in 2003, when she dropped out of Stanford University to start the company that would become Theranos. 

▼ Politics in Brief

2024 election: Eyeing a likely Biden and Trump rematch, Democratic groups want to keep the third-party vote share as small as possible. Take a look at how the third-party vote affected the last two elections.

Texas politics: A trial to determine whether Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be permanently removed will begin no later than August. The jury that would determine his future could include his wife. 

▼ Staff Pick

He brought back the Mexican pizza

“Imagine never eating your favorite food again,” Krish Jagirdar said of the Taco Bell dish he loved most. That heartbreak propelled him to start a petition to bring back the Mexican pizza — and it worked! But this story is about more than a petition. Reporter Brahmjot Kaur explains the delicious appeal of Taco Bell to generations of South Asian American communities compared to other fast-food options. — Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor

▼ In Case You Missed It

▼ Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

 Traveling with young kids takes a good deal of planning and packing. Plus, your stress levels could hinge on your little ones being safe and comfortable for a long period of time. A high-quality travel car seat can help with that. Here are a few of the best options and some tips for choosing one.

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