Thursday, July 24, 2025

​ July 24, 2025 Good morning, ​ ​ It's Day Two of our fundraising drive for Cut to the News. To all of you who have donated, our warmest thanks. If you have not, there is still time to help. Please click here now to contribute and help us continue providing you the news you want to read every morning. Remember, there are no ads here, and it's no cost to subscribe. And there is no big hidden benefactor. This is the only way we are funded. It's just you and us. Thank you!​ ​ Leading the News ​ New Russiagate evidence 'directly' points to Obama, DOJ will decide 'criminal implications': Gabbard . . . Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard alleged the Obama administration promoted a "contrived narrative" that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. "There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false," Gabbard said. "They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true. It wasn't." Fox News​ ​ Justice Department launches strike force to investigate Russia collusion evidence . . . The Justice Department on Wednesday announced the creation of a strike force that will assess evidence released by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard related to the Russia election interference hoax. Gabbard earlier Wednesday declassified and released a House Intelligence Committee report that alleges that the Obama-era intelligence assessment on Russian election meddling used the discredited Steele Dossier to underpin its conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin aspired to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election. Just the News​ ​ ​Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has 'lawyered up' amid DOJ scrutiny​ Politics House Panel Votes to Subpoena Clintons for Alleged Epstein Links . . . A House Oversight panel subcommittee voted to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton on Wednesday over their alleged ties to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) introduced the motion for subpoenas. The Clintons and several former top Justice Department officials — ex-FBI Director James Comey, one-time special counsel Robert Mueller and former Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Bill Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales — were included in the list of subpoenas. New York Post​ ​ Well, you know 'ole Bill was gonna miss out on the action. ​ Newly declassified report reveals Putin's 'kompromat' on Clinton in 2016 . . . Russian President Vladimir Putin possessed "devastating" information about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election campaign, including internal party emails fretting that her health was terrible and claiming she was on a daily dose of "heavy tranquilizers" because of psychological problems. Yet Moscow, predicting a Clinton victory in November 2016, kept this information secret so Russia could use it against her when she entered the White House. Washington Times​ ​ If this is true, and the Russians actually wanted to help Trump win, they surely would have released it. ​ White House pushes back after reports Trump is named in Epstein files . . . The White House has pushed back after reports that US President Donald Trump was told in May that he was among hundreds of names mentioned in justice department documents relating to late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The Wall Street Journal said the president was informed of the fact by Attorney General Pam Bondi during a routine briefing. It noted that appearing in the documents was not a sign of any wrongdoing by Trump. In response, a White House spokesman called it a "fake news story". BBC​ ​ Lara Trump chooses not to run for Senate in North Carolina . . . Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley will run for Senate in North Carolina and will have the blessing of President Donald Trump after his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, opted not to seek the seat, two people familiar with the decision told POLITICO. Whatley's entry into the race sets up the prospect of a highly-competitive and well-funded election in a state where Democrats believe they have one of their best chances of picking up a Senate seat. Politico​ ​ Supreme Court backs Trump's ability to fire independent agency leaders as legal battles take shape . . . The Supreme Court expressed displeasure Wednesday with lower court judges who continue to block President Trump's firings of agency heads, saying it has made clear the president can carry out firings while the legal battles develop. The court ruled specifically that Mr. Trump can, at least for now, boot three Consumer Product Safety Commission members. In an unusually stern order, the high court majority said it had settled the issue earlier this year when it allowed Mr. Trump to fire members of the National Labor Relations Board. Washington Times​ ​ Biden Sells Memoir for Roughly $10 Million, Less Than Obama and Clinton . . . Former President Joe Biden has sold his presidential memoir to the Hachette Book Group for an advance in the range of $10 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The memoir's publisher, Hachette's Little, Brown & Co., hasn't yet set a publication date. Biden, who is 82, said at an event earlier this month that he was "working my tail off" to write a memoir, and indicated that he would focus on the four years he served as president. Wall Street Journal​ ​ Probably not a good idea to call it a "memoir," because it's not clear that he remembers anything. It's "a book." Culture Columbia University to pay out more than $220M in massive win for Trump admin . . . The Trump administration has won unprecedented concessions from Columbia University in a sweeping settlement — with the Ivy League university paying more than $220 million and pledging to reverse racially discriminatory practices and resolve civil rights violations against Jewish students, The Post can exclusively reveal. The settlement, under which Columbia will agree to submit to independent monitoring to ensure it is complying with merit-based hiring and admissions requirements, is likely to put pressure on other schools. New York Post​ ​ How Your Tax Dollars Pushed DEI in Schools . . . Taxpayers heavily subsidized the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda in schools and nonprofits under the Biden administration's Department of Education. Watchdog groups and the White House's Department of Government Efficiency recently brought many of the department's DEI-related grants to the public's attention, including almost $20 million in grants for an advocacy group with "equity" in its name, $14 million to a teacher certification organization's diversity project, and numerous other multimillion-dollar grants to university DEI-related projects. Daily Signal​ ​ ​The Daily Wire Tested The Woke AI Chatbot Used To Train NYC Teachers. Here's What It Said.​ ​ Health Care Provider Stops Trans Surgeries On Kids . . . Health care provider Kaiser Permanente confirmed to The Daily Wire on Wednesday that it was pausing all transgender surgeries for patients under the age of 19 in response to pressure from the Trump administration. The health care giant said that effective August 29 it would stop doing transgender surgeries — which includes procedures like removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys or other genital procedures. The company said the pause was a result of pressure from the Trump administration cracking down on transgender procedures on minors. Daily Wire​ National Security Alumni of CCP-controlled group hold senior positions in sensitive industries . . . Dozens of members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, which the State Department says was established to "monitor Chinese students and mobilize them against views that dissent from the CCP," have found their way into high-level positions at American technology firms, pharmaceutical corporations, academia, and national labs — sparking industrial espionage concerns. Despite the CSSA's well-reported links to the Chinese government's influence and intelligence operations, American companies and institutions possessing sensitive trade information have hired dozens of the group's alumni in recent years. Washington Examiner​ ​ ​Air Force intercepts Russian bombers off the coast of Alaska​ International Russian plane crashes in Russia's far east, nearly 50 people on board feared dead . . . A Russian Antonov An-24 passenger plane carrying about 50 people crashed in the country's far east on Thursday and everyone on board was feared to have been killed, emergency services officials said. The burning fuselage of the plane, which was made in the Soviet era and was nearly 50 years old, was spotted on the ground by a helicopter and rescue crews were rushing to the scene. Video shot from a helicopter and posted on social media, showed the plane came down in a densely forested area. Pale smoke could be seen rising from the crash site. Reuters​ ​ France's first couple sue Candace Owens for defamation over claims that Brigitte Macron is a man . . . A lawyer for France 's first couple said they'll be seeking "substantial" damages from U.S. conservative influencer Candace Owens if she persists with claims that President Emmanuel Macron 's wife, Brigitte, is a man. The lawyer, Tom Clare, said in an interview with CNN that a defamation suit filed Wednesday for the Macrons in a Delaware court was "really a last resort" after a fruitless yearlong effort to engage with Owens and requests that she "do the right thing: tell the truth, stop spreading these lies." Associated Press​ ​ One supposes Mrs. Macron will have to demonstrate proof, but hopefully not in a court of law . . . Money Trump's New Trade Standard Takes Shape With 15% Tariff Deal . . . President Trump's push to introduce a new standard for global trade is coming into sharper focus as U.S. and European Union officials converge on a possible 15% tariff deal, which could come on the heels of a similar agreement with Japan. Taken together, the two developments represent a turning point in months of global trade negotiations that have stoked uncertainty among investors and America's biggest trading partners. Wall Street Journal​ ​ As of now, we are getting fairer trade deals and the world economy is not sinking into a depression. Looks like maybe the dealmaker-in-chief was right. You should also know DHS and ICE Working to Find Missing Unaccompanied Alien Children . . . For four years, hundreds of thousands of minors arrived at the southern border without a parent or a legal guardian. The whereabouts of many of those children remain unknown, but immigration authorities are working to confirm their status, the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security says."Among the most vulnerable populations [the DHS] encounters are unaccompanied alien children, referred to as UACs," Joseph Cuffari said Wednesday at a House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement hearing. Daily Signal​ ​ Just 7,000 steps a day cuts risk of health issues . . . Walking 7,000 steps a day can be enough to boost your brainpower and help protect against a range of different diseases, a major study suggests. It may be a more realistic target than 10,000 steps, which is often seen as the benchmark to reach. The research, published in the Lancet Public Health, found that the figure was linked with a reduced risk of serious health issues, including cancer, dementia and heart disease. BBC​ ​ Guilty Pleasures A cat named Leonardo da Pinchy doesn't want your affection. He wants to steal your underwear . . . His prolific laundry-pinching from clotheslines and bedrooms in the placid beachside neighborhood of Mairangi Bay has turned 15-month-old Leo into a local celebrity and earned him a new moniker. He now goes by Leonardo da Pinchy. And he's got expensive taste. His frequent hauls include silk boxer shorts, thick men's work socks — preferably with clothespins still attached — and in one mortifying episode for his humans, a brand-new 300 New Zealand dollar ($181) cashmere sweater. Associated Press​ ​ Don't forget to participate in our fundraiser. Please ​Click here to donate. ​ Have a great day! ​ 2302 Gallows Road #625, Dunn Loring, VA 22027 Unsubscribe · Preferences​ ​