Trump appeals judge’s ruling that accused him of manipulating courts in IRS lawsuit

Source: Politico

“President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s decision to continue investigating whether his lawsuit against the IRS was part of a greater scheme to mislead the court. Trump filed his notice to appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, who ruled earlier this month that her court had the authority to continue probing a $10 billion lawsuit Trump, his family and businesses filed against the IRS for failing to safeguard his tax return information from leaks. The parties announced a controversial out-of-court agreement in May in which the Justice Department — representing the IRS — would create a nearly $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’ …. In a blistering order July 13, Williams accused Trump of filing the lawsuit to ‘gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.’ She also said exempting Trump from audits would violate a federal law that prohibits the White House from directing IRS investigations.” (07/31/26)

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/31/trump-appeals-judges-ruling-that-accused-him-of-manipulating-courts-in-irs-lawsuit-01020894

Are You Rich?

Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman

“The long-run trend has been this: necessities and an array of luxuries (which have become necessities) are spectacularly cheap by historical standards. This is seen clearly in terms of the time price of goods. Governments, of course, have kept the trendline from being smooth. In a thousand ways, politicians and bureaucrats impede the general fall in prices.” (07/31/26)

https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-are-you-rich

The Fifth for Fauci and the Administrative State

Source: American Greatness
by Thaddeus G McCotter

“It seems like a lifetime ago, and in many ways it was. Now called to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci’s craven charade of invoking his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent lest he incriminate himself (even after he had been preemptively pardoned by President Biden) the baleful memories of the COVID-19 pandemic flooded back: the insanity, misery, hubris, and hypocrisy of the ‘trust the science’ mob; and the crushing of dissenting voices and the canceling of the unvaccinated by the lockdown Left. I vividly recollected my disgust when the ‘medical community’s experts’ told us it was acceptable, if not imperative, in the midst of a readily communicable and lethal pandemic to pause the lockdowns and go protest against systemic racism, which, while an abstraction was supposedly more dangerous than COVID-19.” (08/01/26)

https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/01/the-fifth-for-fauci-and-the-administrative-state/

Satellite images show evidence of oil leak spreading from sanctioned vessel near Oman

Source: Fox News

“A sanctioned tanker loaded with crude is leaving a growing trail of oil in protected waters off the coast of Oman, according to newly reviewed satellite images, as experts warn the stranded vessel could break apart during the region’s rough monsoon season. Satellite images reviewed by The Associated Press show an oil sheen covering roughly 20 square kilometers, or about 8 square miles, around Dhofar’s Qibliyah Island, part of Oman’s protected Hallaniyat Islands. Dark patches of crude have also reached the shoreline. … The 899-foot, Cameroon-flagged Caroline Bezengi has been stranded off Oman’s southern coast since June after its crew reported an onboard explosion, according to maritime news outlets.” (08/02/26)

https://www.foxnews.com/world/satellite-images-show-evidence-oil-leak-spreading-sanctioned-vessel-near-oman

AI Won’t Destroy Work — It Will Just Change It

Source: Independent Institute
by Scott Beyer

“The first time I realized how disruptive artificial intelligence could become wasn’t from reading an academic paper or watching a keynote speech. It was while working on a home design for our family construction business. In the past, we’ve paid architects thousands and waited weeks for them to produce CAD renderings. But I found while experimenting with AI that renderings of near-equal quality could be generated in minutes for free. … it’s easy to conclude that AI will put numerous architects out of work. Might it bring the same widespread unemployment to other white-collar professions? I don’t think so. AI will likely follow the same historical pattern as every revolutionary technology. Rather than destroying labor, it will reallocate it through “creative destruction.'” (07/31/26)

https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/31/ai-wont-destroy-work-it-will-just-change-it/

The Comey Prosecution Is Dead

Source: The Bulwark
by Paul Rosenzweig

“The prosecution of James Comey is dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. It is as dead as a doornail. The manner of its death has yet to be determined, to be sure. But there is no doubt that it is dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing terrifying can come of the story I am going to relate. To be sure, its death is, in some ways, disappointing. Who does not yearn for a full-blown public trial where the government’s proof is exposed for the bag of vacuous nonsense that it is? The spectacle would sell popcorn by the bucketful—and with good reason.” (07/31/26)

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-james-comey-prosecution-is-dead-86-47-rule-of-law-trump-blanche-justice-department

Peru: Humala released after conviction overturned

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has been released from prison after the country’s Constitutional Court overturned his 15-year prison sentence for a case linked to a globe-spanning corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. Humala was serving his sentence at a special detention facility in eastern Lima that houses several of Peru’s jailed former leaders. The 64-year-old and his wife, Nadine Heredia, were found guilty last year of money laundering for receiving illegal contributions from Odebrecht, now known as Novonor, and the Venezuelan government in two presidential campaigns. … Humala, a former army officer who led the country from 2011 to 2016, was the first Peruvian ex-leader to face trial in the Odebrecht corruption scandal, which has also tainted three other former presidents.” (07/31/26)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/1/perus-ex-president-humala-released-after-conviction-overturned