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July 9, 2025
Trump predicted 90 trade deals in 90 days. So far there have been two.
(AP) President Donald Trump and his advisers promised a lightning round of global trade negotiations with dozens of countries back in April. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro predicted “90 deals in 90 days.’’ Administration officials declared that other countries were desperate to make concessions to avoid the massive import taxes – tariffs -- that Trump was threatening to plaster on their products starting July 9. But the 90 days have come and gone. And the tally of trade deals stands at two – one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam.
Go to discussionLoss of Foreign Workers Begins to Bite U.S. Economy
(Political Wire) “President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration is starting to ripple across the U.S. economy,” Politico reports. “From small farms in California, to meat packing facilities in Nebraska to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent administration actions have taken immigrants, both legal and illegal, out of the labor force, including several hundred thousand people who had been given temporary work permits under President Joe Biden.”
Go to discussionU.S. Measles Cases Reach a Record High Since the Disease Was Declared Eliminated 25 Years Ago
(Smithsonian Magazine) Measles cases in the United States have reached a record high since the disease was declared eliminated from the country 25 years ago. Officials had declared measles eliminated in 2000, when there had not been continuous transmission for more than a year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls it “a historic public health achievement.” Now, however, experts warn that the U.S. could soon lose its elimination status, if the nation reaches 12 months of continuous spread of related measles cases.
Go to discussion'Off The Rails': Trump's Ramble In The Middle Of Cabinet Meeting Is 24-Karat Nonsense
(Huff Post) President Donald Trump delivered a wild and rambling performance at a Cabinet meeting that ran for more than 90 minutes, ending with a long aside about interior decorating. Trump said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ― who is Jewish ― has “abandoned the Jews” and “become a Palestinian,” then compared Schumer to Jon Lovitz’s lying “Saturday Night Live” character Tommy Flanagan, complete with an impression. He described the B-2 bombers that flew to Iran for last month’s attack, saying they “went skedaddle” and then tried to define the word “skedaddle.” "Do you know the word skedaddle?” he asked. “It means skedaddle.”
Go to discussionHegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized pause on weapon shipments to Ukraine, sources say
(CNN) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, according to five sources familiar with the matter, setting off a scramble inside the administration to understand why the halt was implemented and explain it to Congress and the Ukrainian government. President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that he was not responsible for the move.
Go to discussionSenate Democrats press ICE on uniform, mask protocol
(The Hill) A group of Senate Democrats are pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the masking of officers not in uniform during its operations. In the letter, sent to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, the group of Democrats argued the masks and lack of uniforms have led to chaos in Los Angeles as agents have looked to make arrests. The letter also accused ICE of seeking to meet “arbitrary quotas” set by Stephen Miller, a key adviser to President Trump widely seen as demanding huge increases in ICE detentions.
Go to discussionGiant bugs, heat and a hospital visit: Inside Alligator Alcatraz's first days
(Miami Herald) The calls from Alligator Alcatraz’s first detainees brought distressing news: Toilets that didn’t flush. Temperatures that went from freezing to sweltering. A hospital visit. Giant bugs. And little or no access to showers or toothbrushes, much less confidential calls with attorneys. The stories, relayed to the Miami Herald by the wives of detainees housed in Florida’s makeshift detention center for migrants in the Everglades, offer the first snapshots of the conditions inside the newly opened facility, which began accepting detainees on July 2.
Go to discussionReuters FBI launches probes into former FBI, CIA directors, Fox News reports
(Reuters) The FBI has launched criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday, citing sources. The probes are over alleged wrongdoing related to past government investigations about claims of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections in which President Donald Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the news report said.
Go to discussionSuperman's An Immigrant? Director James Gunn Faces Right-Wing Backlash For Claim
(Forbes) Gunn, writer-director of “Superman” and co-CEO of DC Studios, told The Sunday Times over the weekend the superhero movie is “the story of America,” stating it is about “an immigrant that came from other places” and how “basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.” Gunn’s comments were swiftly criticized by right-wing commentators, including Kellyanne Conway, who said in a Fox News segment Monday people “don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us.”
Go to discussionWall Street's debt warnings went unheeded as GOP pushed megabill forward
(Politico) As congressional Republicans advanced their megabill in recent months, many fiscal hawks in the party figured they had a powerful force on their side: wary titans of finance who had started sending powerful signals that their appetite for purchasing U.S. debt was not, in fact, endless. Turns out Wall Street was barely a bump in the road. In passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last week, GOP leaders blew past a host of warnings to potentially add several trillion dollars of additional borrowing — brushing off concerns that they were missing a late opportunity to put the nation on a more sustainable fiscal trajectory in favor of piling on expensive new tax cuts.
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