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TRANSCRIPT: The debate comes after two long years of stalemate over taxes and spending in Illinois government. The basic outlines of the impasse are unchanged: Gov. Rauner has resisted a tax increase until he passes his economic and political agenda — which includes freezing property tax rates and changing how on-the-job injuries are compensated. What's new is that Illinois's situation is going from bad to worse. Road construction projects have been suspended, social service agencies are trying to decide whether to shut down, and the state's credit rating could be lowered to "junk" status at any time. Then there's the growing pile of overdue bills — approaching $15 billion dollars. State Rep. David Harris, a Republican from Arlington Heights, says the interest alone on that debt will cost taxpayers $800 million dollars. Rep. DAVID HARRIS: "We might as well put a pile of $800m there in the center of the floor, light a match to it — be...

The Illinois House on Sunday approved a major income tax increase as more than a dozen Republicans broke ranks with Gov. Bruce Rauner amid the intense pressure of a budget impasse that's entered its third year. The Republican governor immediately vowed to veto the measure, saying Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan was "protecting the special interests and refusing to reform the status quo."

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa and Nolan Arenado led a new generation of All-Stars, among 12 first-time starters elected by fans for the July 11 game at Marlins Park. "I've got to call my family and tell them to book a flight to Miami. They're going to be excited," Judge said after rosters were announced Sunday. The dozen first-time starters are the most since voting was returned to fans in 1970. Just one player was picked from the World Series champion Cubs: reliever Wade Davis, who wasn't even with Chicago when it ended a 108-year title drought last fall. The Cubs had seven All-Stars last season, including their entire starting infield. "Frankly, we haven't had many guys who were all that deserving," Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta. Just past the halfway point, the Cubs are 41-41. "Maybe this is actually a good thing. Right now, rest is not a bad word," said Chicago's Joe Maddon, who will manage the NL. In a ...

LEIPZIG, Germany — A bus carrying a tour group of 46 seniors and two drivers on a main north-south artery in Germany crashed on Monday into a tractor-trailer and burst into flames, killing at least 18 people, the Bavarian police said. The crash occurred around 7 a.m. in stop-and-go traffic caused by construction along the A9 highway near Stammbach, in the southeastern state of Bavaria, the police said. At least 30 people were wounded, the police said, and two of them were reportedly in serious condition. “It is now clear that all 18 missing bus passengers lost their life in the accident,” the regional police of Upper Franconia, in Bavaria, said on Twitter. Forensic specialists have been called in to help recover and identify the bodies. Anne Höfer, a spokeswoman for the Bavarian police, said the bus was already in flames when officers and firefighters arrived at the scene. Rescue helicopters and ambulances took the most seriously injured to nearby hospitals, while ...

Police say a group of people from Saxony in eastern Germany was aboard the bus that went up in flames after it crashed into a truck on southern Germany. Police say they fear a number of fatalities in the accident Monday morning, in which 31 people were injured and 17 have not been accounted for. Oberfranken police tweeted that family members could call a special number for further information on the accident. ___ 10:30 a.m. German police fear that there may be a number of fatalities after a collision in Germany engulfed a coach in flames. Some 31 people were reported injured with 17 other remaining to be accounted for. German news channel n-tv showed footage of the bus which was burned down to a black, smoking skeleton. Police spokeswoman Irene Brandenstein says, "We're afrai...

President Trump ’s Twitter account again stole the spotlight Sunday, drawing fire from both sides of the aisle as Republicans stepped up their rebukes and claimed the commander in chief is using social media as a key part of a sinister strategy to “weaponize distrust” in his No. 1 enemy: the media. While Mr. Trump has been waging war against the press since the early days of his campaign, it reached new heights over the past week, culminating in a Sunday morning presidential tweet of a doctored video of him attacking WWE chief Vince McMahon, with the CNN logo superimposed over Mr. McMahon’s face. The footage was taken from WrestleMania 23 in 2007, and the video led critics, including CNN, to claim Mr. Trump was overtly encouraging violence against reporters. Mr. Trump took personal shots at MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski via Twitter last week and castigated the press during a speech this weekend. Even some Republicans say the president’s testy relationship with the Fourth ...

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) on Sunday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s attacks on the press as “the enemy of the American people.” “There’s an important distinction to draw between bad stories or crappy coverage and the right that citizens have to argue about that and complain about that and trying to weaponize distrust,” Sasse said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He said without differing opinions in journalism, people can end up in “echo chambers and silos of people that already believe only what they believe.” Sasse called it “a recipe for a new kind of tribalism.” “It’s not helpful to call the press the enemy of the American people,” Sasse said. “The First Amendment is the beating heart of the American experiment and you don’t get to separate the freedoms that are in there.” Over the past four days, Trump attacked “Morning Joe” hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, NBC News executives and CNN. On Sunday he tweeted a video of himself attack...

Venus Williams , who is readying to make her 20th Wimbledon appearance on Monday, opened up about a fatal car crash she was involved in earlier this month that left a 78-year-old man dead. "I am devasted [sic] and heartbroken by this accident," she wrote on Facebook on Friday night, speaking of the June 9 incident in which police determined she was "at fault." "My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Barson and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers," she added, referring to the man in the other vehicle involved in the incident who died on June 23 after a 14-day stay in the hospital. Williams's statement comes as news broke that the Barson's wife had filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against her, saying her husband's death came "as a result of the negligence" on the tennis star's part, the Palm Beach Post reports. According to TMZ, which obtained a copy of the lawsuit, Linda Ba...

Tennis star Venus Williams said she is "heartbroken" over a car crash in the US in which a 78-year-old man died. According to police, Williams (37) was crossing a junction in her Florida home town on June 9 when her vehicle collided with a car being driven by Linda Barson, whose husband Jerome was in the passenger seat. Mr Barson died 13 days later. Civil court documents filed by the couple's daughter Audrey Gassner-Dunayer in Palm Beach County, Florida, claim Williams was "driving carelessly and recklessly" which "led to the catastrophic injuries and death of Jerome Barson". The suit says the injuries sustained by Mr Barson in the crash include "massive internal bleeding, a fractured spine and massive internal organ damage", and added that he died on his wife's 68th birthday. Writing on her Facebook page, the five-time Wimbledon champion said: "I am devastated and heartbroken by this accident. "My hea...

Venus Williams breaks her silence after being involved in a fatal car crash . The 37-year-old tennis pro writes that she's "devastated" in a Facebook post shared on Friday. Williams' collision, which happened on June 9, sent a 78-year-old man, Jerome Barson, to a hospital in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he reportedly died 14 days later. RELATED: Venus Williams Reportedly Involved in Fatal Car Crash in Florida "I am devastated and heartbroken by this accident," Williams wrote. "My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Barson and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers." WATCH: Serena Williams Cheers ​on Sister Venus at French Open -- See Her Baby Bump! According to a police report, obtained by TMZ , Williams was trying to make it through an intersection when she was T-boned by Barson's wife, who did not have enough time to stop before Williams cleared the lane. Barson reported...