The House Budget Committee rejected President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" today — a significant setback that highlights the GOP's major internal divisions.

• Four hardline conservatives — Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) sank the bill.
• They want to see more aggressive spending cuts, particularly to Medicaid.

👀 What we're watching: Medicaid is one of the stickiest sticking points for Speaker Mike Johnson, Axios' Kathleen Hunter notes.

• Johnson is also trying to land a separate compromise with blue-state Republicans over the deduction for state and local taxes.
• And even if the House can come back together and ultimately pass a bill, Senate Republicans will have their own changes.

💬 What they're saying: "Republicans MUST UNITE behind, "THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!" Trump said on Truth Social. "We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!"

Charter Communications has agreed to buy Cox Communications for approximately $34.5 billion, Axios' Dan Primack reports.

• The combined company would leapfrog Comcast to become America's largest cable TV and broadband provider.

Between the lines: The announcement says the "proposed transaction puts America first by returning jobs from overseas and creating new, good-paying customer service and sales careers."

📺 Zoom in: The company eventually will be called Cox Communications. Charter CEO Chris Winfrey will retain his title, and Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor will serve as chairman.

• Some layoffs are expected to result from the merger. Other Cox Enterprises businesses, including Axios and Autotrader, aren't directly impacted since they're not part of Cox Communications, a subsidiary.

💰 By the numbers: Cox Enterprises would remain privately held by the Cox family and receive a 23% stake in the merged entity, plus $4 billion in cash.

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1. 🚄 Train engineers in New Jersey's enormous transit system are on strike, demanding better pay. The system serves about 350,000 people per day when it's running. Go deeper.
2. 🏦 The Fed plans to cut its staff by about 10%, mainly through attrition. Go deeper.
3. 🤖 Grok, the AI engine owned by Elon Musk, has recently been bringing up debunked claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa in response to unrelated prompts. An "unauthorized modification" caused the issue, xAI said today. Go deeper.

The WNBA is back in action — and a chance to see Caitlin Clark remains the hottest ticket, by far, in the increasingly popular league.

• The WNBA All-Star game is the most in-demand event of the season, Axios' Analis Bailey reports, based on the average price fans are willing to pay for a ticket through Vivid Seats.

🎟️ The rest of the top 5 are all Indiana Fever road games — including a game against the Washington Mystics with an average ticket price of $461.

• A ticket to the corresponding NBA matchup — Indiana vs. Washington — costs just $36 on average, per Vivid Seats.

🗽 What we're watching: The WNBA season tips off this weekend.

• The defending champion New York Liberty will host the Las Vegas Aces at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The Fever host the Chicago Sky at 3 p.m. Both games are on ABC.

Go deeper ... Full schedule.