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These are very early days, and there are good reasons to be skeptical of any public statements made by elected officials, diplomats, and other trained liars. But Trump announced his trade deal with the Europeans, the largest features of which are agreements to purchase American energy and arms. Those are major investments. A lesser component was the opening of European markets to more American goods at lower tariffs than what European goods will face coming here. Jim Geraghty uses cars to helpfully illustrate one problem for American manufacturers for breaking into the European market. Europe’s regulatory environment and lifestyle just...

Back in April, the rental car company Hertz announced that it would be using UVeye, an AI damage scanning hardward and software system from a former defense contractor of the same name, to check its cars for damage after they were returned. It didn't take long for problems to arise. As our sister site The Drive reported last month, customers soon started complaining that Hertz was charging them hundreds of dollars for minor cosmetic scuffs that would have been shrugged off by a human employee, or in some cases for phantom damage when none was visible at all. As much...

No economy rises or falls for just one reason, even a shock as big as Donald Trump’s trade policy, says Ruchir Sharma for the Financial Times.At the beginning of the year, the world was in striking agreement on one point: If Donald Trump went ahead with tariffs, it would strengthen the dollar and trigger stagflation. Chief executives, investors and commentators all said the same. Economists estimated that every percentage point increase in the tariff rate would shave 0.1 per cent off US growth and add 0.1 per cent to inflation. But so far, the consequences have been far less disruptive...

He wrote the classic that’s been covered hundreds of times, and made other fine records of his own.He wrote and recorded a classic soul song that has been covered by hundreds of artists, from Georgie Fame to Del Shannon, and from Wilson Pickett to the Four Tops. He was the versatile Bobby Hebb, the R&B man from Nashville born on July 26, 1936, who gave us “Sunny.” Hebb performed on stage even before he was in kindergarten, and when he wrote “Sunny,” inspiration came at perhaps the darkest time in his life. It was in November 1963, when President Kennedy...

Donald Trump’s administration has denied permission for Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te to stop in New York en route to Central America, after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. Lai planned to transit the US in August en route to Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize, which recognise Taiwan as a country. But the US told Lai he could not visit New York on the way, according to three people familiar with the decision. ***** The White House’s decision will deepen concerns among Taiwan’s supporters in Washington that Trump is taking a softer stance on China as he pushes to hold...

The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ rights organization, is taking its LGBTQ equality message on the road with a multicity tour focused on changing more hearts and minds, particularly in red states. The “American Dreams Tour” will kick off Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, and travel to cities in predominantly Republican-led states through November. The tour’s goal, according to HRC, is to amplify LGBTQ people’s stories “at a time of rising political attacks and cultural erasure” and “celebrate the communities pushing back against hate and fighting for a future of equality for all.” “For half a century, our movement...

Russia's war machine has become such an integral part of its economic engine that its military industry is likely to keep expanding even after the fighting in Ukraine ends, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The end of hostilities will not lead to a radical cut-off of military investment," wrote CSIS analysts in a report published on Thursday. Now in its fourth year, Russia's war with Ukraine continues even as Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration weathers sweeping Western sanctions. And while cracks are starting to show, the Russian economy may still be able to...

Enquiring minds want to know: What the heck is up with Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein? Whether it’s a slow news month or just proof that the news business has a sweet tooth for the salacious, all media outlets – both old and new – have been working overtime to explain the bizarre machinations of Team Trump to either expose or cover up (take your pick) the truth about Epstein’s predilection for pedophilia. SNIP I posit that we can build a logical explanation for why Trump is protesting so hard that the Epstein story is a hoax or a waste...

Kids came for pizza, stayed for a cartoon rodent in handcuffs.The worker allegedly stole a customer's credit card during a June birthday celebration and racked up charges across town. He's now facing three felony charges—and no, dressing like a mouse did not help him sneak away. In news that feels extremely 2025, a Chuck E. Cheese employee was arrested in full mouse costume for allegedly committing credit card fraud—because apparently, some days you wake up thinking you'll spend the afternoon making kids smile, and end it in handcuffs with a giant foam head on the squad car. Jermel Jones, 41,...

President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a move, called a “pocket rescission,” that would effectively rescind federal funding and potentially bypass congressional approval, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said on July 27.The strategy occurs when a president submits a rescission proposal under the Impoundment Control Act—requesting Congress to cancel previously appropriated funds—within 45 days of the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. The funds are withheld during the 45-day congressional review period, and if Congress doesn’t act before the fiscal year ends, the funds expire.When a rescission request is made outside of the fiscal year-end window,...

China’s unexpected advances in artificial intelligence in recent months have top U.S. researchers baffled. DeepSeek, seen as a cost-effective AI breakthrough for China, was a wake-up call for U.S. industry technologists, but many appear to have hit the snooze button. DeepSeek’s rapid development of a model matching American frontier AI companies’ outputs for seemingly lower costs caught many national security officials and researchers off guard this year.OpenAI’s Katrina Mulligan, who is working to foster closer ties between her company and military and intelligence officials, said DeepSeek stunned government and industry sources alike.Ms. Mulligan told an AI conference in June that...

An attempted firearms purchase led to the arrest of a Jamaican citizen who the town of Old Orchard Beach had hired as a police officer, FOX News reported on Monday afternoon. Jon Luke Evans entered the U.S. legally in September 2023, but overstayed his visa, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) stated. He was due to return top Jamaica on October 1 of that year but never boarded his flight home. The Maine Wire contacted the Old Orchard Beach Police Department seeking information about when Evans was hired, the status of his employment and what type of vetting the...

A water monitor lizard that escaped from its owner's home in Massachusetts was spotted a week later across the state border in Connecticut. Police in Webster, Mass., said the 5-foot lizard, named Goose, escaped from his owner's home July 18 by jumping out from a second-story window. Monitor lizards are not legal to keep as pets in the state without a permit, and authorities said Goose's owner did not have the required paperwork. Goose was spotted Friday in Thompson, Conn., about 5 miles from Webster. Town officials said the monitor was seen in the Little Pond area of Wilsonville Road...

He joins an increasingly crowded field hoping to take control of one of South Carolina’s Senate seats. President Donald Trump has sought a court-ordered deposition of Rupert Murdoch as part of his ongoing defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.The president specifically asked that the court set the timeline for Murdoch's deposition to 15 days, Reuters reported.Trump has struggled to contain political fallout from his administration's handling of the Epstein case and reports about his relationship with the late billionaire have persisted throughout the controversy. The Wall Street Journal, for its...

Sir Keir Starmer has presented a UK-led peace plan for the Middle East to Donald Trump as he met the US president in Scotland. The Prime Minister started work on a plan with France and Germany over the weekend after an emergency call with the two countries’ leaders, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz. His official spokesman had said earlier that he planned to share details with key allies, including Arab states, in the coming days. In a readout of his meeting with the US president, Downing Street said the two reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire to pave the way...

New York State Attorney General Letitia James joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced at a joint press conference on Monday that they are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over demands to turn over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicant data. The attorneys general are leading a coalition of 20 states and Washington, DC in their lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration. The coalition argues that the extensive demand for SNAP applicant data will violate residents’ privacy, put immigrants at risk, and hinder the ability of states to provide food assistance to those...

A 44-year-old man who joined local politics as the face of a Democrat-led law enabling the expungement of criminal records, being a former cocaine dealer, has been charged after allegedly assaulting a woman, according to recently released court documents. Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) — whose “clean slate” criminal justice program allowed him to wipe his own criminal record, the New York Post reported. El‑Alamin was appointed to Flint City Council’s First Ward seat in March last year, filling the vacancy left by the passing of Councilman Eric Mays. He also subsequently won the special general election held on November 5,...

A Philadelphia landlord is fighting to evict squatters who broke into her rental property and have been living there for over two months. Naydia Smith tells The Daily Wire that a couple with five young children broke into the house in April or May, at which point they began trashing the home. She was first made aware of the squatters in June, when her business partner Richard Watson’s parents received an anonymous call about the intruders. On June 7, Watson’s parents confronted and filmed a man in the house. The man — whose documents found in the house appear to...

Trump has struggled to contain political fallout from his administration's handling of the Epstein case and reports about his relationship with the late billionaire have persisted throughout the controversy. President Donald Trump has sought a court-ordered deposition of Rupert Murdoch as part of his ongoing defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.The president specifically asked that the court set the timeline for Murdoch's deposition to 15 days, Reuters reported.Trump has struggled to contain political fallout from his administration's handling of the Epstein case and reports about his relationship with the late...