Monday, July 21, 2025

July 21, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

'Years-long Coup': Gabbard Teases Release Of More Details On Obama Russia Intel Controversy . . . More details are coming out concerning alleged efforts by former President Barack Obama and his team's efforts to gin up intelligence to create a narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Sunday. Gabbard first disclosed last week what she dubbed a "treasonous conspiracy" by high-level Obama administration officials to undermine President Donald Trump's first term. Daily Wire

'This Is Simply Illegal': House Republicans Demand Obama Russia Hoax Arrests . . . House Republicans are calling for arrests following bombshell allegations that former President Barack Obama and his team sought to gin up intelligence to create a narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election. On "Sunday Morning Futures," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) outlined just what crime may have been committed in response to what Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has dubbed a "treasonous conspiracy" by high-level officials to undermine President Donald Trump's first term. Daily Wire

Politics

Request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts likely to disappoint, ex-prosecutors say . . . A Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the prosecution of chronic sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend is unlikely to produce much, if anything, to satisfy the public's appetite for new revelations about the financier's crimes, former federal prosecutors say. Attorney Sarah Krissoff, an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, called the request in the prosecutions of Epstein and imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell "a distraction." Associated Press

Gavin Newsom Pushed Private Foundation To Donate $500,000 to Anti-ICE Defund Police Group . . . California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) personally secured $500,000 in 2023 for a nonprofit group that supports defunding police and recently launched a bond fund for illegal immigrants in ICE custody. Newsom in July 2023 asked the James Irvine Foundation, a private foundation that supports low-income workers in California, to donate $500,000 to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a group that supports defunding the police. Washington Free Beacon

This Nuclear Bureaucrat Was Too Radical to Keep His Job, but Taxpayers Got Stuck With the Bill Anyway . . . Jeff Baran, a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, failed to secure enough support in the Senate to keep his job when his term expired in June 2023, but he found another job in the federal bureaucracy and stuck around long enough to take the buyout offer under the Trump administration. The Office of Personnel Management tracks when political appointees transition to career positions—a process often referred to as "burrowing in" to the bureaucracy—and Baran did so last year. Daily Signal

Omar Fateh Wins Democrat Endorsement For Minneapolis Mayor . . . State Senator Omar Fateh, who had positioned himself as the most progressive of the mayoral candidates for Minneapolis, won the DFL's endorsement over incumbent Jacob Frey. "I am incredibly honored to be the [Democratic Farm-Labor Party-endorsed] candidate for Minneapolis Mayor. This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual," Fateh posted on X. Daily Caller

Fateh's platform is similar to that of Zohran Mamdani, the communist running for mayor of New York City.

Mamdani takes family trip to Uganda . . . Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamadani is embarking on a trip to Uganda to celebrate his wedding, he announced Sunday — six weeks after indicating he would not take any foreign trips if elected mayor.

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and lived there until the age of five, announced the trip via a video posted to the social media network X. Politico

Stay there.

Culture

Trump Tells Washington Commanders To Un-Woke Their Name If They Want A New Stadium . . . President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to block the Washington Commanders organization from building a new stadium in its home city unless it reverts to its former name "Redskins." The president also called on the Cleveland Guardians to change its name, as well, and reimbrace "Indians," which it dropped in 2021. The Washington football team dropped its "Redskins" name in 2020. Daily Wire

National Security

Pentagon shifts focus to drone warfare to bolster American military power . . . Drone warfare is emerging as a central strategic tool in the Trump administration's plan to expand American military power. The U.S. pioneered remotely piloted weapons during the war on terrorism in the post-9/11 era, when the term "drone" became a verb for effective strikes against al Qaeda figures in several corners of the world. The military term for missile attacks by large Predator and later Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles was simply "death from above." Washington Times

Under Biden, drone warfare meant trying to bore the enemy to death.

International

Why Israel's Chaotic New Food Program in Gaza Has Turned So Deadly . . . Since the program began two months ago, hundreds of people have died and hundreds more have been wounded trying to get food from the four GHF sites, according to local health authorities. Israel's military acknowledges opening fire on crowds that come too close to its troops, but a military spokesman disputed the figures reported by Gazan authorities, saying the numbers are inflated. Israel said the new system is intended to prevent Hamas from diverting aid to fuel its operations. Wall Street Journal

Israel needs to do the best it can to make the food distribution orderly and safe. But it's not clear it isn't doing the best it can. There is a war going on that Israel didn't start. The blame ultimately goes to Hamas and its many former supporters in Gaza, who brutally attacked Israel and now steal humanitarian aid for themselves.

Money

The U.S. Economy Is Regaining Its Swagger . . . When President Trump slapped tariffs on nations across the globe this spring, many economists feared higher prices and spending cuts would flatten the economy. But that didn't happen. The stock market is reaching record highs. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, which tumbled in April to its lowest reading in almost three years, has begun climbing again. Retail sales are up more than economists had forecast, and sky-high inflation hasn't materialized—at least not yet. Wall Street Journal

After Pledging to Keep Prices Low, Amazon Hiked Them on Hundreds of Essentials . . . In January, a can of Campbell's New England Clam Chowder cost less than $2 on Amazon. This month, that same soup cost $2.58 on Amazon—a 30% increase. In April, Amazon said it would hold the line on prices. The Journal's analysis of prices from e-commerce data firm Traject Data found that while Amazon's price rose on 1,200 of its cheapest household goods, competitor Walmart lowered prices on the same items by nearly 2%. Wall Street Journal

Weak password allowed hackers to sink a 158-year-old company . . . One password is believed to have been all it took for a ransomware gang to destroy a 158-year-old company and put 700 people out of work. It's thought the hackers managed to gain entry to the computer system by guessing an employee's password, after which they encrypted the company's data and locked its internal systems. KNP director Paul Abbott says he hasn't told the employee that their compromised password most likely led to the destruction of the company. "Would you want to know if it was you?" he asks. BBC

My birthday was so easy to remember. Now I'm thinking of changing it.

You should also know

ICE arrests illegal immigrant accused of decapitating deceased Illinois woman after judge set him free . . . Immigration authorities in Chicago arrested a Mexican illegal immigrant accused of decapitating a missing Illinois woman and storing her body in a storage container filled with bleach. Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, of Waukegan, Illinois, was arrested in April and charged with concealing a corpse, abusing a corpse and obstruction of justice. Immediately after his first court appearance, Lake County Judge Randie Bruno released Mendoza-Gonzalez from custody. Fox News

Seems like a candidate to go back to Mexico.

Delta pilot's 'aggressive maneuver' evades B-52 bomber, prevents midair collision . . . The Embraer E175 jet — en route from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Minot International Airport in North Dakota — came perilously close to colliding with a B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base during the 90-minute flight Saturday night. The SkyWest Airlines pilot performed an "aggressive maneuver" to avoid the incoming bomber, which crew members as well as passengers on the right side of the jet could see from their windows. Passengers said the atmosphere on board was "weirdly calm" as the commercial jet made an unexpected series of sharp turns. New York Post

NYers can't agree if it's OK to 'save' a parking space, take sides on vicious three-way brawl over spot . . . A wild caught-on-video street brawl over a Queens parking space has reignited a longtime debate over whether it's ever OK to claim a public spot on the street with an item — or even your body. A now-viral video captured a mother-daughter duo, Andreea Dumitru, 45, and Sabrina Starman, 21, savagely attacking driver Jada McPherson after she tried to pull into a Ridgewood street spot that the pair were allegedly "guarding" with their bodies. New York Post

Guilty Pleasures

King Charles sees 11 of his 12 'overwhelmed and underpaid' gardeners quit Highgrove over demands . . . A mass exodus has rocked King Charles's sprawling Highgrove estate, with 11 of his 12 full-time gardeners resigning in the last year over allegations of a toxic workplace environment. Exasperated staffers have handed in their resignations after growing increasingly frustrated with the monarch's "demands," The Sunday Times reports. According to the damning new report, among the 11 gardeners who have stepped down are two heads of gardens and a deputy head gardener. New York Post

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