'Start Here': Mexico tariff talks continue and Biden reverses on abortion measure
It's Friday, June 7, 2019. Let's start here.
1. Tariff demands
As President Donald Trump heads home from his European trip today, White House officials are readying for Trump's plan to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican imports next week.
On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence said discussions with Mexican officials to reach an agreement on the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border were "encouraging," but the Trump administration would "continue to stand strong" on its demands.
Republican lawmakers meanwhile are hoping the president doesn't follow through with the tariffs, ABC News' Trish Turner tells "Start Here" today, "Congress is standing by to terminate whatever it is that President Trump tries to do and that includes Senate Republicans, some of his top allies on the Hill."
2. Hyde and Biden
Former Vice President Joe Biden has reversed his stance on the Hyde Amendment, telling Democratic voters at an event in Atlanta, "I can no longer support" the measure that prevents federal funds from being used for abortions.
"I can't justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to exercise their constitutionally protected right," he said at the DNC "IWillVote" Gala in Atlanta on Thursday night.
Biden came under pressure this week from women's rights groups and other Democratic presidential candidates after he reaffirmed his support for the abortion measure. He said his reversal was due to recently passed abortion bans challenging Roe v. Wade.
Was this political strategy for a centrist candidate moving to the left, or a stumble? ABC News Deputy Political Director MaryAlice Parks says, "Maybe this could have been kind of a smart savvy political position to be different from other Democrats, but it just wasn't presented like that."
3. Robocall battle
The Federal Communications Commission has voted to allow telecom providers to block illegal robocalls before they reach consumers.
It's a positive step towards targeting the illegal and unwanted calls, but there's still a long battle ahead in completely eliminating robocalls, explains Jessica Rosenworcel, a member of the FCC.
"This is actually legal permission for [phone companies] to deploy this type of technology, but it doesn't require them to do so," she says. "The next thing that the FCC need to do is to require something called call authentication technology, and that's a cryptic logical solution that will help us identify trusted and untrusted calls."
4. U-S-A! U-S-A!
The Women's World Cup kicks off today in Paris, where the hosts and the reigning champs, the U.S. women's national soccer team, are seen as the favorites, according to ESPN's Julie Foudy, a former American soccer midfielder.
"This will be by far the most competitive women's world cup we've ever seen," she says on "Start Here."
The U.S. women's team is aiming for their fourth World Cup and will face Thailand for their opening match on Tuesday.
"Start Here," ABC News' flagship podcast, offers a straightforward look at the day's top stories in 20 minutes. Listen for free every weekday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or the ABC News app. Follow @StartHereABC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for exclusive content and show updates.
Elsewhere:
Tracking an attack: A man has been detained after he discussed detonating grenades in Times Square.
'Unacceptable, weak and counterproductive': A police sergeant, the second-highest paid city employee in 2018, was arrested for assault after he allegedly tackled a man.
'He had no reason to touch me': The Golden State Warriors have banned minority owner Mark Stevens for a year and fined him half a million dollars for shoving Raptors guard Kyle Lowry during Game 3.
From our friends at FiveThirtyEight:
Bernie Sanders Has The Highest Floor - And It's Pretty Damn Low: Everybody in the race has a pretty low floor, Nate Silver writes.
Doff your cap:
To all of the ladies in the Women's World Cup.
Even if you're not a soccer fan, everyone can get behind their home country as the World Cup opens today. (Well, maybe except Ada Hederberg.)
We talk a bit more about the U.S. team on the podcast, but how about Scotland, Chile, South Africa and Jamaica -- all four countries are making their debuts in the tournament.
"The current generation are making it impossible for people to ignore women's football," U.S. legend Mia Hamm said at a FIFA press conference Friday morning.
