“Shein says it swung to a quarterly loss as its sales slowed after US President Donald Trump removed an import duty exemption on small packages. It also comes as uncertainty remains over the tit-for-tat US-China tariffs wars, which is currently paused. The fast-fashion giant, which has its headquarters in Singapore but was founded in China, said it lost $99m (£74.1m) in the first three months of the year, compared with a net income of $395m a year earlier. … The so-called de minimis exemption had allowed goods valued at $800 or less to enter the US without paying any tariffs. US consumers relied on the exemption to buy cheap goods from online commerce sites like Shein and Temu.” (07/27/26)
“Having experienced the dangers of judge-controlled tribunals, the Founders were determined to preserve the jury as a cornerstone of American justice. But when it comes to denying Americans the right to a jury trial, King George III could not hold a candle to modern American prosecutors. Today, approximately 95 percent of criminal cases in the United States are resolved through guilty pleas rather than trials. In so-called plea bargaining, prosecutors threaten unduly severe sentences for those defendants who dare go to trial or offer unduly lenient sentences for dangerous offenders looking to avoid responsibility. The result is the virtual elimination of criminal trials of any sort, jury or judge. How did this transformation occur? The short answer is that the Supreme Court let it happen, caving to Richard Nixon’s ‘law and order’ agenda.” (07/26/26)
“Not only are Black people losing political power at the hands of a hostile Supreme Court; they are also losing majority or plurality status in any number of big cities, as the in-migration of Latinos, which dwarfs that of gentrifying whites, transforms once heavily Black neighborhoods. In Los Angeles, the South-of-the-I-10-Freeway neighborhoods that for decades sent three Black representatives to the U.S. House, are now overwhelmingly Latino. For this reason, paradoxically, it may be that the kind of voting we’ve seen from the Mamdani electoral base will turn out to be the best guarantor of Black elected officials. Whatever allegations may be made against America’s new new left, they don’t include voting based on race.” (07/27/26)
“Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has launched a new political party, formalising his split with former ally Ousmane Sonko and setting up a struggle for control of the reform movement that swept them to power in 2024. The creation of Kiiraay-The Republican Patriots on Saturday formalised the collapse of the alliance between Faye and Sonko after months of tensions over the direction of the government and Senegal’s mounting economic challenges. The new party grew out of the Diomaye President coalition, which backed Faye’s successful 2024 presidential campaign. Speaking before supporters in Dakar, Faye portrayed Kiiraay as a movement centred on institutions rather than personalities.” (07/26/26)
“If complete abolition of discretionary tariffs is impossible, Congress could at least reform any remaining delegations of tariff authority to 1) confine them to a narrow set of circumstances, and 2) eliminate judicial deference to executive determinations that the required circumstances actually exist. Make the government bear the burden of proof. Even if all this were done, a malicious, ignorant, or stupid president could still try to impose illegal tariffs. But businesses and trading partners could confident that his efforts would have no legal effect, and would be swiftly invalidated by courts.” (07/26/26)
“SpaceX launched it’s 13th Super Heavy-Starship rocket Friday, with the giant booster chalking up an on-target but ‘hard’ splashdown off the Texas Gulf Coast while the Starship upper stage carried out a successful sub-orbital hop to the Indian Ocean. … It was the second test flight of a third-generation Super Heavy-Starship, building on lessons learned during the initial flight of a ‘V3’ rocket in May when the booster missed its landing target and the Starship suffered an early engine shutdown on the way to space. This time around, the booster appeared to perform as planned throughout its ascent …. But as the booster dropped toward the Gulf, only 10 of 13 engines restarted and at the moment of splashdown, only five appeared to be running. … the Starship deployed 20 third-generation Starlink internet satellites in a real-world test of the rocket’s Pez-like payload dispenser, releasing the satellites one at a time from a slot near the nose of the vehicle.” (07/25/26)
“State ‘motor voter’ laws — especially those which, like New Jersey’s, automatically register people who interact with the license bureau to vote, only later allowing them to opt out — don’t just risk inaccuracies like those produced by this episode, they abandon a key element in any supposed democracy: Consent. When you beg the state of New Jersey for a driver’s license, government ID card, etc., the bureaucrat behind the counter doesn’t request your permission to add your name to yet another database and co-opt you as a ‘member of the electorate.’ It just happens without so much as a ‘by your leave.’ … If someone signed your name on a legal contract you didn’t agree to or a petition you didn’t agree with, you’d be angry — and you’d be right.” (07/26/26)
“Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke (D) was indicted on bribery charges on Friday following a monthslong state investigation into a campaign finance scandal. Luke was accused of accepting campaign finance contributions in 2022 while she was a state lawmaker in exchange for securing funding for COVID-19 testing sites. A Hawaii grand jury returned a 12-count indictment charging Luke with criminal conspiracy to commit bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports among other charges, according to the state’s Department of the Attorney General. … The charges stem from allegations that Luke accepted at least $35,000 in campaign contributions from businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum in exchange for support for testing sites operated by the National Kidney Foundation, where Solidum served as a lobbyist and consultant.” (07/25/26)
