July 1, 2025
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Welcome to the news for independent thinkers
Leading the News . . .
Lisa Murkowski slams the brakes on the GOP megabill . . . Senate Majority Leader John Thune's ability to pass the "big, beautiful bill" is hinging on Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The Alaska senator has been the subject of an intense whip effort by GOP leaders over the past couple of hours as they try to offer her reassurances on Medicaid and food assistance. Thune, Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso talked to Murkowski on the floor for roughly an hour overnight. Politico
She wants carve-outs for Alaska from welfare reform and for "clean energy" laws not to be rolled back. Anyway, this looks like another cliffhanger bill lots of people hate that somehow passes in the end, as usual.
House GOP fumes over Senate megabill: 'How did it get so much f‑‑‑ing worse?'
Major Conservative Org Endorses Senate's Big Beautiful Bill . . . Heritage Action, which has 2.5 million grassroots activists nationwide, came out swinging for the U.S. Senate's budget reconciliation bill in a press statement released Monday. The group, one of the largest conservative grassroots organizations in the United States, backed the budget bill that is set to pass the upper chamber early this week. It will then proceed back to the House of Representatives for a vote with the hope that it can be on the president's desk to be signed into law by July Fourth. Daily Signal
Politics
Trump threatens to unleash DOGE on Musk to save money tied to his numerous federal subsidies . . . President Trump threatened to unleash Elon Musk's brainchild, DOGE, against him to investigate his company's government subsidies — warning his former ally that he may have "to close up shop and head back home to South Africa." "Elon Musk knew, long before he so strongly Endorsed me for President, that I was strongly against the EV Mandate," the president posted on Truth Social early Tuesday. "Electric cars are fine, but not everyone should be forced to own one." New York Post
Musk vows to back primaries against lawmakers who support Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
California Dismantles Landmark Environmental Law to Tackle Housing Crisis . . . The Democratic governor—widely viewed as a 2028 presidential contender—made passage of two bills addressing an acute housing shortage a condition of his signing the 2025-2026 budget. A cornerstone of the legislation reigns in the California Environmental Quality Act, which for more than a half-century has been used by opponents to block almost any kind of development project. "Too much demand chasing too little supply. This is not complicated, it is Econ 101," Newsom said. Wall Street Journal
A Democrat who understands basic economics could be dangerous for the GOP . . .
Mamdani mayoralship threatens NYC with massive crime wave . . . Of all the terrible policies 33-year-old New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has embraced over the last five years, none threaten New York City more than his ideas about the police and law and order. Though he's tried to soften his position about defunding the police a bit in recent days, Mamdani has made it clear on social media over the years that he's hostile to traditional policing. Taking money from the NYPD and giving it to social workers is defunding the police whether Mamdani admits it or not. Daily Signal
Mamdani would be NYC's first communist mayor . . . Mamdani, at his core, holds a strong affinity for straight-up Communism: praising and campaigning with a Marxist state senator in New York; declaring that NYC needed a mayor just like a famously young Indian mayor who was a member of an explicitly Marxist and Communist Party; praising the bloody 1917 Russian Revolution which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union at the cost of millions of lives; arguing about the need to "seize the means of production" in a reference to a core Marxist principle; praising famous radical Communist figures; and much more. Just the News
Culture
Jewish Teen Hid in Locked Classroom as Anti-Semitic Mob Pounded on Door: Lawsuit . . . A Seattle teen feared for her life in a locked classroom as a mob of students pounded on the door, "threatening to physically assault her based on her Jewish identity," according to a recently filed lawsuit. The incident was the culmination of anti-Semitic harassment the student had endured for months, leaving the now-15-year-old with "terrifying nightmares and flashbacks," the June 12 suit her parents filed against Seattle Public Schools alleges. School officials repeatedly failed to address the harassment and refused to turn over surveillance footage, according to the complaint. Washington Free Beacon
82-Year-Old Jewish Woman Dies From Injuries Suffered in Anti-Semitic Colorado Terror Attack
Danish women to face conscription by lottery . . . Danish women now face being called up for 11 months of military service when they turn 18, after a change in the law came into effect. The change was brought in as Nato countries boost defence spending amid heightened security concerns in Europe. Up to now, women were allowed to participate in military service when they turned 18, but on a voluntary basis. BBC
National pride slips among Americans: Gallup . . . The share of Americans who say they're "extremely" or "very" proud to be an American slipped 9 percentage points from last year, falling to the lowest level ever recorded by Gallup. In the Gallup poll released days before the Fourth of July, 58 percent of Americans expressed enthusiastic pride in their national identity, down from the 67 percent recorded in the 2024 survey. The drop is driven exclusively from a decline in those who say they're "very" proud to be American. The Hill
National Security
Israel and Ukraine Used Smuggled Drones To Wreak Havoc on Their Enemies. Could China Do the Same? . . . "Mossad did this in secret. The Chinese Communist Party is doing it openly," warned Michael Sobolik, a veteran China analyst with the Hudson Institute. "The mullahs in Iran had no idea. Putin had no idea. But we know, and we have no excuse. Do we have the political will and the self respect to make sure we can survive in a crisis?" Several China experts told the Washington Free Beacon that the United States has left the door wide open for its communist adversary to establish a foothold in the country. Washington Free Beacon
Chinese nationals have already been caught flying drones near US military bases. They are buying farmland nearby. They have established their own "police stations" throughout the United States. And God only knows to what extent they've infiltrated our online networks that control our infrastructure. China's upcoming attack against Taiwan will be fought on the US mainland as well.
International
Man accused of gathering information on Jews in Berlin for Iran arrested in Denmark, officials say . . . A man suspected of gathering information on Jewish locations and individuals in Berlin for Iranian intelligence, possibly with a view to carrying out attacks, has been arrested in Denmark, German prosecutors said Tuesday. The Danish national, identified only as Ali S. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested on Thursday in the Danish city of Aarhus, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Associated Press
Iranian Women Hold Babies Aloft as Symbolic Sacrifice While Chanting 'Death to America, Death to Israel' . . . Hundreds of Iranian mothers lifted their babies above their heads in a symbolic act of sacrifice during the annual Hosseini Infants Ceremony in Tehran on Friday. The ceremony, with similar celebrations held across Iran on June 27, takes place on the first Friday of the Islamic month of Muharram and commemorates the death of Shia Islam leader Husayn ibn Ali's 6-month-old son in 680 A.D. Daily Signal
Europe gripped by massive heat wave . . . Both Portugal and Spain recorded their hottest June ever as scorching temperatures continue to grip Europe. Spain's national weather service Aemet said the country's "extremely hot" June 2025 "has pulverised records", surpassing the normal average for July and August. The Portuguese meteorological service said 115C was the highest temperature recorded in June. Elsewhere on the continent on Tuesday, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated because of wildfires in western Turkey, while two people died in Italy following separate heat-related deaths. BBC
No one can say for sure that this is directly due to global warming. It gets hot sometimes.
Money
Trump tariffs have earned $81.5 billion in new money, DHS says . . . The Department of Homeland Security has collected more than $106 billion in tariff revenue since President Trump took office, and most of that — $81.5 billion — is directly tied to the new levies the president has imposed on worldwide goods. The department announced the eye-popping totals late Monday, saying it's evidence of Mr. Trump's America First trade policy in action. Washington Times
You should also know
Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to murder in Idaho student stabbings to avoid death penalty . . . Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim's family said. Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, confirmed Monday that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it. Associated Press
More than 300 charged in $14.6 billion health care fraud schemes takedown, DOJ says . . . State and federal prosecutors have charged more than 320 people and uncovered nearly $15 billion in false claims in what they described Monday as the largest coordinated takedown of health care fraud schemes in Justice Department history. Law enforcement seized more than $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets as prosecutors warned of a growing push by transnational criminal networks to exploit the U.S. health care system. Associated Press
Alligator Alcatraz: There is no escape . . . Illegal aliens detained at the new ICE facility have little hope of escape. If they were to make it out of the detention facility's walls, they'd be forced to navigate forests, marshes, challenging terrain, and a variety of fearsome predators — including, but not limited to, alligators — as they make a grueling trek towards civilization. Daily Wire
Guilty Pleasures
China's humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts . . . While China's men's soccer team hasn't generated much excitement in recent years, humanoid robot teams have won over fans in Beijing based more on the AI technology involved than any athletic prowess shown. Four teams of humanoid robots faced off in fully autonomous 3-on-3 soccer matches powered entirely by artificial intelligence on Saturday night in China's capital in what was touted as a first in China and a preview for the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, set to take place in Beijing. Associated Press
Every parent who has ever attended their five-year-old's "soccer game" will find this familiar.
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