“Troy Jackson has officially secured the Democratic nomination to replace Graham Platner — and now has 101 days to win a race that could determine whether Democrats control the Senate. The Maine Democratic Party convened Saturday morning and voted to make Jackson, a progressive fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, their nominee.The party has its eyes set on what’s been a white whale for Democrats: knocking out five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Jackson has been hitting Collins since he entered the race following former Senate nominee Graham Platner’s exit from the race less than three weeks ago.” (07/25/26)
“India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called off its five-week-long protest, hours after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. The CJP has called it a win for democracy and thousands of jubilant supporters continue to celebrate at Jantar Mantar, the main protest venue in Delhi. An online satirical campaign with an AI-generated cockroach as its mascot, the CJP is not a real party but has evolved into a powerful platform for young people’s anxieties and dissent. The protest has been the most visible expression of public anger against PM Narendra Modi’s government in recent years and gained momentum after Monday’s police crackdown on people marching to parliament left dozens injured.” (07/25/26)
“The Trump administration on Friday imposed broad tariffs on [American buyers of] goods from more than 80 countries, alleging they have failed to effectively prohibit the use of forced labor practices. The latest tariffs — applying to trade partners that cover 99.4% of U.S. trade — were brought under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which enables the government to impose import levies in response to unfair trade practices. … Just hours after they took effect, two small businesses sued, arguing that the government is using Section 301 as a pretext to re-create the same global tariff regime that the Supreme Court torpedoed five months earlier.” (07/24/26)
“A Romanian F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone that entered the country’s airspace without authorization Friday, marking the first time the NATO member has intercepted and destroyed a drone inside its national airspace, authorities said. Romanian officials have not yet identified the drone’s origin or purpose. Romania’s army chief said pilots described it as appearing to be a Shahed-type drone, Reuters reported, the Iran-designed attack drone widely used by Russia against Ukraine.” (07/24/26)
“The International Criminal Court voted to remove the global tribunal’s chief prosecutor on Friday, nearly two years after sexual misconduct allegations against him first emerged, the court’s oversight body announced. British barrister Karim Khan was accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, as outlined by The Associated Press in a series of stories, allegations which he has steadfastly denied. By a large majority, the ICC’s 125-member states ousted Khan from his position, the first time a chief prosecutor has ever been removed from office.” (07/24/26)
“President Donald Trump returned to the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Friday night, delivering a rambling, hourlong speech that praised some journalists, took potshots at others, made jokes about public figures’ weight and intellect, and quipped about a third presidential term. He assured the crowd of journalists, though, that he’d scrapped the most biting parts of his remarks. … Trump had entered the ballroom to polite applause, and was thanked for his support by outgoing White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang of CBS News. After dinner, he sat through more than an hour of awards presentations, shaking hands with each winner.” (07/25/26)
“President Mohammed Shahabuddin of Bangladesh resigned on Friday as Bangladeshis anticipated the return and surrender of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, his onetime ally who fled to India before being convicted of crimes against humanity last year. Mr. Shahabuddin, 76, who was halfway into his term in the largely ceremonial post of president, cited illness as the reason for his resignation. Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, the speaker of the country’s Parliament, announced at a news conference that he had assumed the role of interim president, in accordance with the country’s Constitution, which also states that an election to choose an official successor must be held within 90 days.” (07/24/26)
It’s a “Firehose Friday” at the freedom movement’s daily newspaper, with all our content — more than 100 news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links! — available only here at the web edition.
Why? Three reasons:
First, Steve Trinward is still traveling, I’m still covering, and a web-only edition saves me about half an hour of messing around versus putting out an email edition. I’m not doing that EVERY day (we do have extra content on the web every day!), but …
Second, I can make good use of that saved half hour this particular morning, as both my wife and I have medical appointments to get ready for and out to.
Third, it’s always a good time to remind you that we’re a reader-supported publication and point you to the “send us money” link:
“The Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 12.5% Friday on [American buyers of] goods from 60 U.S. trading partners it accused of failing to crack down on forced labor. The move, announced Thursday, extended the administration’s tariffs on much of the world. … The new tariffs went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, when a separate set of 10% levies on [American buyers of] most imports expired.” (07/24/26)
“The House on Thursday approved a Democratic-led proposal to end the Iran war, directing President Donald Trump to remove armed forces from hostilities. The resolution is nonbinding, however. The House voted 214-208, with four Republicans joining all Democrats to cast decisive votes for the measure: Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. Later in the day, the Senate voted 47-49 to reject a ‘joint resolution’ to end the Iran war that would have the force of law, unlike the House version, but would be subject to a presidential veto.” [editor’s note: Concurrent war powers resolutions are binding and not subject to veto — and the war was, and remains, illegal anyway in the absence of Congress declaring war. Impeachment and removal of a rogue president are the BARE MINIMUM appropriate response from Congress – TLK] (07/23/26)
