Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Growing pressure on the Trump administration has prompted the US president to direct his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the release of grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking case. The announcement came as Trump seeks to tamp down controversy over a story published in the Wall Street Journal that alleges the US president contributed a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein’s 50th birthday album. The president has said the letter is a fake, and that he will sue the publication over the story. … Trump’s efforts to dismiss the criticism over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a ‘hoax’ showed no sign of working on Thursday as more prominent figures from across the political spectrum emerged to attack the US president and some of his supporters recorded videos burning their signature Make America Great Again hats.” (07/18/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/18/trump-administration-news-today
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan
“Although Hillsdale was founded in the mid-19th century, the U.S. government waited until the 1970s to start suing them for non-compliance with federal anti-discrimination rules. Remarkably, the government did not even accuse Hillsdale of actually discriminating against anyone; they sued Hillsdale merely for refusing to document their compliance with federal discrimination law. After many years of litigation, the courts finally ruled that Hillsdale could ignore government regulation if they refused government funding. … Given the Hillsdale precedent, I say two things with confidence. First, since Hillsdale is not legally entitled to government funding, neither is any other notable college in America. Why? Because unlike Hillsdale, virtually every college in the United States has been flagrantly discriminating on the basis of race and sex for decades. … Second, every college in America that wishes to continue discriminating has a legally straightforward way to do so: be Hillsdale.” (07/17/25)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/let-them-be-hillsdale
Source: The Fifth Column
“Big Trouble in Little MAGA.” (07/17/25)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/515-big-trouble-in-little-maga
Source: Bitcoin.com
“The House of Representatives voted July 17 to pass three major cryptocurrency bills, signaling a decisive move toward establishing a regulatory foundation for digital assets in the United States. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act passed 307-122 and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. It sets standards for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, including reserve requirements and consumer protections. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY Act), which passed 294-134, advances to the Senate and aims to clarify oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). … The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act also passed.” (07/17/25)
https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-scores-huge-win-house-passes-3-landmark-crypto-bills/
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“Tax preparation costs are really taxes themselves — government just has you pay them to its ‘public-private partners’ instead of to the IRS. Therefore they should be deducted from the total bill, right?” (07/17/25)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19804
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“A parish priest and several others were injured after the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza was struck in an attack on Thursday morning, officials with the Catholic Church said. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said a strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church injured several people on Thursday, including the parish priest, as well as causing damage to the building. … The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in critical condition, and others injured included one child with disabilities, two women, and an elderly person, Naem said. Earlier, doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City said two women had been killed in the strike. The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the strike.” (07/17/25)
https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-strike-targets-gazas-only-catholic-church
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s so funny how Trump has stopped even pretending to be a populist. As soon as he was re-elected he was just ‘Yeah okay so Israel comes first and forget everything I said about free speech and the Ukraine war is continuing and there will be no Epstein investigation, fuck you.’ It has long been obvious to anyone with half a brain that Donald Trump is just another Republican swamp monster playing on public discontent with the status quo to win votes and support, but it is genuinely surprising how completely he has stopped pretending to care about fighting the deep state and sticking up for ordinary Americans as soon as he got back into office. He’s just dropped the populist schtick entirely and is giving the finger to anyone who complains.” (07/17/25)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/07/17/trump-has-completely-dropped-his-populist-act/
Source: United Press International
“The European Union on Friday reached an agreement to impose its 18th round of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine after Slovakia ended its protest. The package targets Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of ships as well as the energy and banking sectors. It also lowers the oil cap from $60 to $45 a barrel and prohibiting the EU from accessing Russian Nord Stream pipelines. The EU is also, for the first time, sanctioning a flag registry and Russian oil company Rosneft’s largest refinery in India.” (07/18/25)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/07/18/belgium-EU-approves-new-Russia-sanctions/9061752822129/
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“If you’ve ever seen a video comparing AI-generated videos from just two years ago to those today, you’ll appreciate the jump in progress, and the feeling of whiplash it causes. Videos generated in 2023 were, frankly, abominations: clunky, looking like they were drawn by a kindergartener, and with physics-breaking movements. In 2025, however, they are terrifyingly real. … AI offers a world of opportunities. In the same way that people born even in my generation never imagined a powerful computer in their pockets capable of connecting people with video calls across the world, answering questions in mere seconds, or broadcasting thoughts instantly, imagining that AI could become powerful enough to produce an entirely fake video about people who have never existed was the stuff of science fiction. And yet, here we are.” (07/17/25)
https://fee.org/articles/deepfakes-and-the-digital-wild-west/
Source: Yahoo! News
“The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence a former Louisville police officer who was convicted last year of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights to serve just one day in prison, despite the fact the conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. In a court filing, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division late on Wednesday downplayed the conviction of former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, noting he ‘did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.’ … Taylor, a [b]lack woman, was [murdered] by police in 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant during a botched raid of her home. Her boyfriend, who was carrying a legally owned firearm, shot at [the intruders, who then fired indiscriminately] 22 times into the apartment.” (07/17/25)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-seeks-one-day-sentence-153144413.html
