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The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on May 22, 2025. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said on Sunday that there was enough opposition to the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act to “stop the process” in the Senate and force President Donald Trump to negotiate changes to the bill.

“I think we have enough to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit,” Johnson told CNN in response to a question about how many senators were currently opposed to the bill.

After weeks of negotiations, the House of Representatives on May 22 approved the legislation in a tight 215–214 vote just before 7 a.m. ET. That vote marked a huge win for House Republican leadership. But Sen. Johnson and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) say they’re skeptical of the package to carry out Trump’s agenda.

Both tied their objections to the megabill’s potential impact on the federal budget.

“This is our moment: We have faced an unprecedented moment of increased spending—58 percent—since 2019 … This is our only chance to reset that to reasonable, pre-pandemic spending,” Johnson said. He said if the process were carried carefully, “people wouldn’t even notice” the bulk of the spending cuts.

“Part of the problem here is we’ve rushed this process, we haven’t taken the time,” Johnson said.

It’s an early warning sign of the difficulties the package will face in the upper chamber, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) can spare no more than three defections to pass the bill—in which case Vice President JD Vance would need to cast the tie-breaking vote. (💬 Comment)

More Politics:

As celebrity Twitch streamer Kaitlyn Siragusa (better known as Amouranth) slept at her home in Houston, three men broke in and pistol-whipped her, demanding she hand over her cryptocurrency.

What the thieves didn’t know was that Siragusa’s husband, Nick Lee, was in the bathroom. Lee emerged with a gun and fired at the men, causing them to flee, Siragusa told Fox News.

The incident is just one in a recent string that has prompted authorities to warn investors in cryptocurrency and people owning large amounts of digital assets about their vulnerability to kidnapping and robbery.

Elsewhere, a kidnapping attempt was caught on camera and broadcast by Le Parisien media outlet. It showed footage from a May 13 attempt to abduct the relatives—a 34-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter—of a cryptocurrency investor.

Jameson Lopp, the chief technology officer of crypto asset custody solutions firm Casa, has compiled a database of physical attacks, which shows 23 reported incidents so far this year, compared with 32 for all of 2024.

Lopp said he believes several people have been targeted because they flaunted their crypto wealth on social media.

“Amouranth, for example, who was hit in Texas, she almost assuredly got hit because she posted a screenshot of her wallet that had $20 million worth of Bitcoin in it,” he said.

While most U.S. banks will ask customers to give prior notice before withdrawing large amounts from their accounts, this extra precaution is unavailable in the digital-asset space. (More)

More U.S. News

Malaysia’s decision to detain dozens of Falun Gong practitioners before and during a visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping has drawn alarm from the U.S. State Department and human rights advocates.

Two days before Xi’s arrival in mid-April in the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, about two dozen police officers appeared at a private venue where nearly 80 Falun Gong practitioners had gathered for a routine study of spiritual texts. The officers demanded their identification documents and forcibly detained them.

Those arrested include a woman older than 80 and a 10-year-old child. Among the group were also 29 people originally from China who are seeking protection from the sweeping persecution targeting their beliefs in China. Several are U.N. refugees. The 47 Malaysian citizens were released hours after Xi left, and the Chinese nationals were freed during the two weeks that followed.

The mass arrest marked the first of its kind in Malaysia, taking place as Xi toured Southeast Asia to promote the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a reliable trading partner amid a tariff war with the United States.

The U.S. State Department expressed concern about the reports.

“We call on the Chinese Communist Party to end its nearly 26-year campaign to eradicate Falun Gong and to cease its attempts to pressure other governments to repress the practice of Falun Gong,” a department spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“We call on Malaysia to respect the principle of non-refoulement and to not return Falun Gong practitioners to China where they reportedly have been subjected to torture and imprisonment for their beliefs.” (More)

More World News:

📷 Photo of the Day: Britain’s Daniel Goodman crashes during the British Talent Cup ahead of the MotoGP British Grand Prix at Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, England, on May 25, 2025. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)

Our photography editors comb through the best images in the world every day. See their picks for today here ➞ Vintage Motorcycle Race, Jerusalem Day, and Kristi Noem in Bahrain

🎙️ Podcast: California’s EV Mandate Overturned by Congress: Larry Elder (Listen)

✍️ Opinion: Patients Should Have Access to the Full Spectrum of a Chiropractor’s Skills by David Mansdoerfer (Read)

🎵 Music: Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92 (Listen)

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Children learn respect for the flag and the fallen through the good example of their family. (Biba Kayewich)

Memorial Day is the day specifically set aside for honoring those Americans who died in service of their country while on active duty in our military.

This is a day designed to bring all Americans together in gratitude for those who laid down their lives to preserve our liberties. This is the day when a simple act—”close your eyes and remember me”—requires but a few seconds out of our holiday schedule to give thanks for their sacrifice.

And if we wish to take on a bit more to honor these men and women? Here are three more things we can do that require little of us but serve as reminders of those who paid the ultimate price for our liberties.

The Flag—Memorial Day is an ideal time to look with fresh eyes at the Red, White, and Blue. We can teach children, for instance, that red stands for valor, blue for vigilance and justice, and white for innocence and purity.

1 Minute of Silence—This year, let’s set the alarms on our phones and watches at 3 p.m. and take one minute to show our appreciation for the fallen and to pray for peace as well.

Gravesite Gratitude—Even if the name on that fallen veteran’s marker belongs to a stranger, a visit to their graves is an excellent way to remember the fallen and to remind ourselves of the meaning and cost of the American promise of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” (More)

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Thanks for reading.

Have a wonderful day.

—Ivan Pentchoukov, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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