“A federal judge agreed Thursday to issue a new nationwide block against President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.
The ruling from US District Judge Joseph Laplante is significant because the Supreme Court last month curbed the power of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, while keeping intact the ability of plaintiffs to seek a widespread block of the order through class action lawsuits, which is what happened Thursday in New Hampshire.”
“Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, whose role in campus protests against Israel led to his detention for over three months in immigration jail, is now seeking $20 million in damages from the Trump administration. The government has accused him of leading protests aligned with Hamas, but has not provided any evidence of a link to the terror group.” Read More at AP News
Trump threatens 35% tariff for Canada
“President Donald Trump announced a 35% tariff on goods from Canada, one of the USA's largest trading partners. The USA's neighbor got hit with a higher rate than that threatened for other close allies. The announcement Thursday came amid a flurry of letters going out this week dictating tariff rates for more than a dozen countries. Trump has offered to continue trade talks before the rates go into effect Aug. 1. Among the three largest U.S. trading partners, Trump reached a framework for talks with China and still doesn’t have agreements with Canada or Mexico.” Read more at USA Today
“The firings will affect 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers, the notice said. It comes as the State Department implements a drastic reorganization as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to shrink the federal government.
Hundreds of offices and bureaus are being eliminated or altered as a result of the changes.”
Search and recovery crews use a large excavator to remove debris from the bank of the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
FEMA
“For months, officials at FEMA have been warning that the agency is unprepared for disasters due to the mass exodus of experienced emergency managers and the looming threat of it being dismantled. They were proven right last week when floodwaters surged across central Texas and bureaucratic obstacles hindered FEMA's ability to respond, four officials inside the agency told CNN. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a memo in June that said she must personally approve every contract and grant over $100,000. Under that directive, FEMA officials couldn’t pre-position Urban Search and Rescue crews closer to the disaster zone because Noem didn’t authorize their deployment until more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN. Texas also requested aerial imagery from FEMA to aid search operations, a source told CNN; however, that response was delayed while awaiting Noem’s signature on the necessary contract.” [CNN]
“More cabins and buildings at Camp Mystic were at greater risk of flooding than previously reported by the federal government, according to new analysis from NPR, PBS's FRONTLINE and data scientists. Over two dozen campers died in the Texas flood. Maps by First Street, a climate risk modeling company, indicate that at least 17 structures were located in the path of flood waters, compared to maps produced by FEMA. The analysis also shows that at least four cabins for young campers were in an area marked by FEMA as an extreme flood hazard, where water moves with the highest velocity and depth.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
In Kerr County, where the camp is located, FEMA says around 2,500 homes were at risk, but First Street found the number is closer to 4,500. The FEMA data is vastly different from private data companies because FEMA is not mapping rainfall, NPR’s Laura Sullivan tells Up First. FEMA’s maps are based on historic data from tidal surges and large river flooding. Sullivan says this is a problem because much of the danger comes from these large rain events. FEMA has scientists who can address the problem, but they don’t have a mandate or funding from Congress to tackle it.
New satellite imagery collected Tuesday shows the aftermath of the flood along the Guadalupe River. See the before and after images showing the destruction here.
Floods are becoming more dangerous around the country, not just in Texas. Climate change is making floods worse and heavy storms are projected to drop more rain as Earth continues to warm.” [NPR]
Trump expected to visit site of Texas flooding
“President Donald Trump is expected to visit central Texas on Friday, a week after deadly floods killed at least 120 people.
The visit will mark seven days after torrential rains hit a swath of central-west Texas Hill Country in the early morning hours of July 4. As of July 10, rescue teams continued their search for more than 150 missing victims.
•Of the at least 120 people found dead as of Thursday afternoon, 95 were from Kerr County, the hardest hit area that includes the devastated Christian girls camp, Camp Mystic.
•Trump plans to meet with family members of flood victims and first responders during his trip, according to a White House official. Officials say they haven't rescued anyone alive since the day of the flood.
People place a cross by the Guadalupe River, across from Camp Mystic, following deadly flooding, in Hunt, Texas, U.S., July 10, 2025.
Umit Bektas, REUTERS
A decade of missed opportunities: Texas couldn’t find $1M for flood warning system near camps
“Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies have missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of people in Kerr County, Texas. The agencies failed to secure roughly $1 million for a project to better protect the county’s 50,000 residents and thousands of youth campers and tourists in an area along the Guadalupe River known as “flash-flood alley.” Read more.
Why this matters:
Local authorities and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have urged the public not to point fingers after the flooding, which killed at least 120 people and left scores more reported missing.
The plan, which would have installed flood monitoring equipment near Camp Mystic, cost about as much as the county spends on courthouse security every two years, or 1.5% of its annual budget. Meanwhile, other communities moved ahead with sirens and warning systems. In nearby Comfort, a three-minute warning sound signifying flood danger helped evacuate the town of 2,000 people as practiced.
A deadly 2015 Memorial Day flood in Kerr County rekindled debate over whether to install a flood monitoring system and public evacuation sirens when the river rose to dangerous levels. Some officials thought it was finally time. But the idea ran into opposition. Residents and elected officials opposed the installation of sirens, citing the cost and noise that they feared would result from repeated alarms.” [AP News]
Senate confirms new FAA administrator at a time of rising concern about air safety
“The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, putting him in charge of the agency at a precarious time for the airline industry after recent accidents, including the January collision near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. Read more.
Why this matters:
Bedford was confirmed on a near party-line vote, 53-43. Republicans and industry leaders lauded Trump’s choice of Bedford, citing his experience as CEO of regional airline Republic Airways since 1999.
Democrats and flight safety advocates opposed his nomination, citing Bedford’s lack of commitment to the 1,500-hour training requirement for pilots that was put in place by Congress after a 2009 New York plane crash. Bedford declined during his confirmation hearing to commit to upholding the 1,500-hour training rule, saying only that he would not ‘have anything that will reduce safety.’
Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, made famous for safely landing a plane in the Hudson River, also opposed Trump’s pick, posting on social media that ‘with the nomination of Bryan Bedford to be FAA Administrator, my life’s work could be undone.’” [AP News]
Secret Service
“Secret Service agents who were involved in securing the 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump was injured and a rallygoer was killed by a would-be assassin, have been suspended, according to multiple sources. Several agents at the service’s Pittsburgh field office, along with one agent on Trump’s detail that day and a counter-sniper, were issued suspensions ranging from a few weeks to over a month. At least two are appealing their suspensions. Numerous Congressional investigations and federal reports found multiple failures that day, including communication breakdowns with local police who spotted the shooter and confronted him on a nearby roof.” [CNN]
“The Trump administration is firing and pushing out employees in multiple departments, creating rampant speculation and worry over who might be terminated next, according to multiple people with knowledge of the removals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. The terminations appear more individually targeted than the high-profile ousters of senior Justice Department and FBI officials in the early months of President Donald Trump’s second term.”
“Most local election officials say they need more funding and help from state governments to offset the Trump administration's cuts to the country's top cybersecurity agency, Axios' Sam Sabin writes from a new Brennan Center poll.
Why it matters: Preparations for the midterm elections are already underway, and without proper funding, local officials could lack the tools needed to fend off a growing list of physical and digital threats to elections.
By the numbers: Most of the 858 election officials surveyed said they're either very or somewhat concerned about federal cuts to election security programs.
61% also said they're specifically concerned about cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's election security offerings.” [Axios]
The Pentagon is taking a 15% stake in a rare-earths producer in an unusual deal aimed at undercutting China’s dominance.
“The government is committing to investing billions of dollars in MP Materials and purchasing its output, the company said. The miner will build a new factory to vastly increase U.S. production of rare-earth magnets; the facility is expected to come online in 2028. The magnets—needed for industrial products such as cars, wind turbines and missile systems—have been at the center of the U.S.-China trade war this year.” [Wall Street Journal]
Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
Wife of Ken Paxton Files for Divorce, Citing ‘Recent Discoveries’
“The Texas attorney general’s wife filed for divorce ‘on biblical grounds.’ The move could have a significant impact on Paxton’s primary challenge to Senator John Cornyn.”
New York’s Financial Crowd Rushes to Build Anti-Mamdani War Chest
“Some of New York’s wealthiest financiers are uniting against Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani, with a plan to raise $20 million to fight the surging progressive candidate.”
Joni Ernst is the next GOP senator on retirement watch
“Senate Republicans are bracing for another one of their colleagues to possibly call it quits: Joni Ernst.
The two-term Iowa senator hasn’t officially announced her plans for 2026, and she’s gone through some of the motions of launching another campaign, including recently hiring someone to manage it and announcing her annual fall fundraiser.
But three people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions said there is rising concern among fellow Senate Republicans that Ernst will retire rather than run for reelection, giving Republicans another seat to defend next fall.
Many will be watching closely for clues next week when Ernst files new campaign fundraising totals. She raised just over $1 million in the first quarter of 2025, a solid but not overwhelming number for an in-cycle senator.”
President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, holds a gavel after signing the "One, Big Beautiful Bill" Act into law on the South Lawn of the White House on July 04, 2025. | Eric Lee/Getty Images
“AMBITIOUS AGENDA — In the days since President Donald Trump signed his “One Big, Beautiful Bill” into law, the big ticket items in the multi-trillion dollar legislation have dominated the conversation about the bill’s far-reaching impact. Tax relief, spending increases for defense and border security, cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits, raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion — these are among the key planks of the ambitious agenda that the Trump administration squeaked through Congress.
But the bill also includes all kinds of smaller provisions that could have an outsized impact on American life. Some were the hobbyhorses of individual lawmakers — like the special tax breaks for Alaskan fishers and venture capitalists — while others were quietly slipped into the 900-page legislation by lawmakers on behalf of special interest groups. Here are six notable provisions that you might have missed.
FEES FOR MIGRANTS
Keeping in line with the administration’s aggressive efforts to limit immigration, the bill adds a host of new fees in the immigration and asylum application processes. People will now have to pay a $100 fee to apply for asylum and a $500 fee to apply for temporary protected status, which only applies to those unable to return to their home country due to ‘extraordinary and temporary conditions,’ such as an armed conflict, environmental disaster or epidemic.
Pro-immigration advocates say that these fees and taxes will be burdensome for people, including citizens and permanent residents. Migrants and immigrants in the U.S. will also now have to pay a 1% tax on all remittances (money sent back to their country of origin), which would raise billions of dollars in revenue. In 2022, $79.15 billion in remittances were sent from the U.S. to countries like India, Mexico and China.
STUDENT LOAN CHANGES
Major changes are coming to the federal student loan process as well. The bill introduced new borrowing limits for both students and parents starting July 2026. Now, loans for graduate school will be capped at $20,500 per year and $50,000 per year for professional degrees. Subsidized loans, which do not accrue interest while a student is actively enrolled, will no longer be available starting next year.
These borrowing loans raise alarms for affordability advocates as on average, graduate students and average debt in 2024 was $234,597 for medical school graduates and $130,000 for law school graduates, according to the Education Data Initiative. Caps on how much a student can borrow will make it difficult for many to afford the kind of higher education that often leads to lucrative post-graduation jobs, though they could also serve as an incentive for educational institutions to attempt to bring down costs.
The bill also sets a lifetime limit of $257,500 for education-related borrowing as a student or a parent, and parents would only be able to borrow up to a total of $65,000 in Federal Direct PLUS loans for all their children. Students enrolled in programs whose graduates make less than the median of people who don’t have that degree will not be eligible for federal loans.
The bill also cuts down on repayment options. Starting in 2026, there will be only two repayment options: a standard repayment plan that has a fixed monthly payment over the repayment period, typically 10 years, and an income-based repayment plan that takes either 10% or 15% of a borrower’s discretionary income.
ENVIRONMENTAL ROLLBACKS
While fights over clean energy tax credits slowed down the so-called megabill’s passage, other environmental programs, first passed under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, were cut. Billions of dollars allocated towards monitoring climate change and environmental programs will be rolled back if the funds were not allocated to specific federal agencies. Climate researchers at Columbia University estimate that up to $9.65 billion of the $62 billion appropriated in the IRA will be rescinded.
Funds for building coastal management, monitoring air pollution and reducing it in schools, reducing the impact of climate disasters on low-income communities, collecting data on greenhouse gas emissions and standardization of corporate climate action commitments are all under threat of being revoked.
However, lawmakers expanded conservation programs directed at farmers and rural communities through the USDA after pressure from lobbyists to include a farm amendment in the megabill.
TAX BREAKS FOR GUN SILENCERS
A $200 tax has been lifted on silencers and short-barrel rifle purchases, which will result in an estimated $1.7 billion loss in tax revenue. Now, only machine guns and ‘destructive devices’ like bombs and missiles are federally required to be taxed $200 and undergo more intensive background checks and waiting periods.
‘Federal red tape continues to follow the false Hollywood narrative that suppressors are silent, and ignores the reality that they serve a genuine purpose in protecting the hearing of law-abiding American citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights,’ said Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who reintroduced a bill to remove the tax in February.
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who chairs the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, wrote in a statement earlier this month that the proposal would ‘flood our communities with these firearms and make it easier for mass shooters and criminals to access these weapons makes our communities less safe.’
PRIVATE SCHOOL VOUCHERS
After decades of fights over school choice, Congress passed a first-of-its-kind national private school voucher program.
Starting in 2027, taxpayers can file for a tax credit of up to $1,700 if they donate money to a nonprofit that provides scholarships to students who want to attend private school or cover other education-related expenses including tutoring or technology for their studies.
Students who receive the scholarships from qualified organizations cannot have a family income that is more than 300 percent of their area’s median gross income, which could be over $300,000 in some locations.
While advocates of school choice have long said vouchers will help low-income students get a higher quality education, students who use existing state voucher programs often already attend private schools.
States will have the choice to participate in the federal program, raising the prospect of a political fight in liberal-led states with strong teacher unions who generally oppose school vouchers because they argue the programs reduce tax funding and other resources available for public schools. There is no cap on the federal program’s costs; lawmakers jettisoned a proposed $4 billion cap originally proposed by Senate Republicans.
HIGHER TAXES ON GAMBLING
While casinos are expected to benefit from corporate tax cuts passed in the megabill, individual players can expect higher taxes next year. Under the new law, gamblers may now only deduct 90% of their losses. Previously, gamblers could deduct their losses up to the value of their earnings from their taxes. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the new tax will raise $1.1 billion.
The result is that high-volume, professional gamblers who could end up paying enough in taxes on their losses that it becomes virtually impossible to regularly turn a legal profit.
Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, introduced a bill on Wednesday to restore the full deduction of losses. ‘We should be encouraging players to properly report their winnings and wager using legal operators. The Senate change will only push people to not report their winnings and to use unregulated platforms,’ Titus wrote in a statement.” [POLITICO]
Emil Bove is heading for a big Senate committee vote next week. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
“JUDGE FOR YOURSELF: Ahead of next week’s high-stakes Senate committee vote on Emil Bove for a federal judgeship, whistleblower Erez Reuveni is prompting new — and sharply denied — questions about whether the top Justice Department official raised the specter of a constitutional crisis.
The details: Reuveni, a career attorney who was fired after saying in court that the administration had accidentally deported someone, has given Congress new batches of documents (see them here and here) to back up his allegations against Bove, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney report. The messages center on the Alien Enemies Act case of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador, in which the administration has repeatedly pushed legal boundaries. They ‘show increasing alarm among Justice Department lawyers that the administration had in fact defied court orders’ not to send the men (who remain disappeared), reinforcing Reuveni’s claims, Josh and Kyle write.
Going public: In his first interviews, Reuveni tells NYT’s Devlin Barrett that he’s willing to testify. He warns that Bove and President Donald Trump’s Justice Department have presided over ‘a degradation of the principles of honesty to the courts that have long guided the Justice Department … [and] a deliberate strategy of deceiving and disregarding federal judges,’ Barrett writes. ‘Trump 1.0, they didn’t say ‘Fuck you’ to the courts,’ Reuveni tells Ruth Marcus for The New Yorker, referring to a key meeting when he alleges Bove said DOJ might have to do that. The watchdog group American Oversight sued today to obtain Bove records, per The Hill.
Strong rebuttals: Despite the new documents backing up Reuveni, DOJ’s Chad Gilmartin told The New Yorker there ‘were absolutely no court orders to discuss at this meeting — no matter how many times the media suggests otherwise.’ Bove has repeatedly denied that he ever encouraged anyone to violate a court order, including at his confirmation hearing. ‘We support legitimate whistleblowers, but this disgruntled employee is not a whistleblower — he’s a leaker asserting false claims,’ AG Pam Bondi said today on X. And it seems likely Senate Republicans will at least move Bove’s nomination out of committee, after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he’d ‘probably’ vote yes.
Another big court fight: The administration’s clash with the judiciary over its zealous expansion of executive power for an immigration crackdown has been a key throughline of Trump’s second term. And despite the Supreme Court’s recent order restricting nationwide injunctions, Trump suffered a loss today as a federal judge issued a new injunction to block his birthright citizenship ban, per CNN. Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s ruling left open the opportunity for nationwide curbs from class-action lawsuits — which is what the plaintiffs here turned their challenge into. Judge Joseph Laplante in New Hampshire granted their request and said it was ‘just not a close call’ to block the executive order. He stayed the ruling to allow time for appeal.
The crackdown vs. the courts: Even as immigration arrests surge to their highest levels in years, the pace of deportations hasn’t yet caught up, remaining lower than Barack Obama’s, NBC’s Julia Ainsley and Laura Strickler scooped. That’s because many of the detainees are protected from rapid deportation by asylum claims or other court orders. As a result, there has been documented overcrowding at detention facilities, which DHS’ Tricia McLaughlin called ‘categorically false.’
Up next: Roughly 12,000 Afghans in the U.S. are due to lose Temporary Protected Status on Monday, rendering them newly vulnerable to deportation, NewsNation’s Jackie Koppell reports. Many fear retaliation from the Taliban if they’re sent back. And some members of Congress from both parties hope the Trump administration changes course at the last minute.
The politics: Count John Kerry among the Democrats who think the party failed on immigration. The former secretary of State tells BBC’s Anthony Zurcher that ‘Trump was right’ about enforcing the law and protecting the border, which he says came
‘under siege’ during Joe Biden’s presidency.” [POLITICO]
“ICE occupies an exalted place in President Donald Trump’s hierarchy of law enforcement. He praises the bravery and fortitude of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers—’the toughest people you’ll ever meet,’ he says—and depicts them as heroes in the central plot of his presidency …
The reality of Trump’s mass-deportation campaign is far less glamorous. Officers and agents have spent much of the past five months clocking weekends and waking up at 4 a.m. for predawn raids. Their top leaders have been ousted or demoted, and their supervisors—themselves under threat of being fired—are pressuring them to make more and more arrests to meet quotas set by the Trump adviser Stephen Miller. Having insisted for years that capturing criminals is its priority, ICE is now shelving major criminal investigations to prioritize civil immigration arrests, grabbing asylum seekers at their courthouse hearings, handcuffing mothers as their U.S.-citizen children cry, chasing day laborers through Home Depot parking lots. As angry onlookers attempt to shame ICE officers with obscenities, and activists try to dox them, officers are retreating further behind masks and tactical gear.”
Some of Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived Attacks, Israeli Official Says
“The assessment came as experts are trying to determine how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program in the aftermath of U.S. and Israeli strikes.”
“U.S. President Donald Trump’s praise of the ‘beautiful’ English of Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai drew confusion Thursday in the English-speaking African country and umbrage over what many considered condescending remarks.” Read More at AP News
“European officials struck a new deal with Israel to allow desperately needed food and fuel into Gaza, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said Thursday as an Israeli airstrike killed 10 children and five adults waiting for care outside a medical clinic.” Read More at AP News
“A top US State Department official waived nine mandatory counterterrorism and anti-fraud safeguards to rush a $30 million award last month to a Gaza aid group backed by the Trump administration and Israel, according to an internal memorandum seen by Reuters.” [Reuters]
Anglo-French Deals
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) greets French President Emmanuel Macron at No. 10 Downing St. ahead of a France-U.K. summit in London on July 10.Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a joint migration deal on Thursday that is aimed at reducing the flow of migrants across the English Channel, which divides France and the United Kingdom. The announcement came at the end of Macron’s three-day trip to Britain, which also included high-level discussions on defense and energy.
Under the agreement, the two countries will launch a pilot ‘one in, one out’ scheme in which Britain will be able to deport to France migrants who arrive illegally by boat, in exchange for accepting an equal number of migrants from France who might have stronger cases for asylum in the United Kingdom. However, it remains unclear when the agreement will be implemented, as it is subject to legal scrutiny by the European Commission and EU member states.
Small boat crossings have become a political flash point in Britain, which recently witnessed a surge in popularity for the far-right, anti-immigration Reform U.K. party during local elections. In 2024, around 37,000 people crossed into the United Kingdom in small boats via the English Channel, and arrivals increased further in the first half of 2025.
‘There is no silver bullet here, but with a united effort, new tactics and a new level of intent, we can finally turn the tables,’ Starmer told reporters. However, the deal has drawn criticism from the opposition Conservative Party, which called it a ‘weak and ineffective gimmick,’ as well as from aid groups, which say it ignores the root causes of migration. A lawmaker from Starmer’s own Labour Party also said he was ‘skeptical that this is the answer.’
Macron and Starmer also signed new defense cooperation agreements in response to what Macron described as a ‘markedly more threatening environment’ in Europe amid the fourth year of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Among the agreements is a pledge to coordinate the use of the two countries’ nuclear arsenals in the event of a serious attack on the continent, a commitment to boost bilateral nuclear research cooperation, and a deal to jointly develop a new cruise missile and advanced anti-drone weapons.
The agreements signal a new chapter of post-Brexit Anglo-French cooperation, and they come as the United States—under President Donald Trump—has pushed Europe to do more to shoulder the burden of defending the continent. In a speech in front of British lawmakers on Tuesday, Macron called on London and Paris to defend the international order. ‘The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,’ he said.” [Foreign Policy]
“Trade war. Trade tensions between the United States and Brazil sharply escalated this week after Trump announced plans to charge a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods starting Aug. 1. It’s not just Brazil that could face tougher measures, either; Trump sent a raft of letters to other world leaders this week with new tariff levels, although none of the others are as high as 50 percent.
The steeper tariff appears to be at least partly motivated by Trump’s support for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a longtime Trump ally who is on trial in Brazil on allegations of making a coup attempt. Trump cited Bolsonaro’s trial in his tariff announcement, calling it a ‘Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!’
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has vowed to reciprocate the measures and said in a statement on X that his predecessor’s judicial proceedings ‘are not subject to any interference or threats that could compromise the independence of national institutions.’ He added, ‘Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage.’” [Foreign Policy]
“‘Frank conversation.’ U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Malaysia on Thursday, on the sidelines of a foreign ministers’ conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Afterward, Rubio said he used the meeting with Lavrov—which he called a ‘frank conversation’—to voice U.S. frustrations with stalled peace talks in the Russia-Ukraine war.
‘Look, the president’s been pretty clear,’ Rubio told reporters afterward. ‘He’s disappointed and frustrated that there’s not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict.’
Russia fired hundreds of drones at Ukraine on Wednesday in an attack that Ukrainian officials said was of record scale, coming just days after Trump promised to resume arms deliveries to Ukraine. The White House had previously said that the Pentagon would halt some of those shipments in an announcement that shocked Kyiv, Ukraine’s European allies, and some Republican lawmakers.” [Foreign Policy]
“Deadly toll. An Israeli strike in Gaza on Thursday killed 16 civilians—including 10 children and two women—at a health clinic in the city of Deir al-Balah. According to Project Hope, the U.S.-based aid group that runs the clinic, the victims were waiting outside for the facility to open to receive treatment for malnutrition, infection, and chronic illness.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was targeting and struck a Hamas operative who was involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, adding that it was ‘aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals in the area’ and would review the strike. ‘The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible,’ the military said in a statement.
The strike comes as the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 57,000 people since the war first erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. ‘This is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, and a stark reminder that no one and no place is safe in Gaza, even as ceasefire talks continue,’ Project Hope President Rabih Torbay said in a statement on X.” [Foreign Policy]
“Thousands of fans have flocked to Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo to celebrate Moo Deng’s first birthday. The adorable pygmy hippopotamus, who became an internet sensation last year, was greeted by as many as 12,000 visitors from around the world as of Thursday afternoon, the zoo director told The Associated Press. Ahead of the four-day birthday celebration, which began Thursday, the zoo held an online auction of Moo Deng-themed items in an effort to raise funds for the facility’s more than 2,000 animals. It also auctioned off the privilege of sponsoring the beloved icon’s cake—which reportedly went for about $3,000.” [Foreign Policy]
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Shoe sticker shock
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
“If there's one theme from the first wave of President Trump's tariff warning letters, it's this: You may pay a lot more for your next few pairs of shoes, Axios' Ben Berkowitz and Madison Mills write.
Why it matters: Almost every shoe sold in the U.S. is imported, and the vast majority of those imports come from places like China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
Those countries now face tariffs of anywhere from 20% to 40% — not quite as bad as feared in April, but still enough to potentially impact the market.
By the numbers: The Yale Budget Lab estimates that the new tariffs, as imposed, would raise some categories of shoe prices as much as 37% in the short term.” [Axios]
“Years of American-led investment into AIDS programs has reduced the number of people killed by the disease to the lowest levels seen in more than three decades. A new UNAIDS report says if U.S. funding is not replaced it could lead to more than 4 million AIDS-related deaths and 6 million more HIV infections by 2029.”Read More at AP News
HIGHER EDUCATION
“The Trump administration is intensifying its fight against Harvard University, warning that its accreditation may be in danger and formally moving to subpoena the school in a bid for information on foreign students.” [Bloomberg]
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University on Oct. 14, 2023. Photographer: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images
Immigration Officials Used Shadowy Pro-Israel Group to Target Student Activists
A senior Homeland Security official testified in court on Wednesday that his department had relied in part on an anonymously compiled list to identify foreign academics for investigation.
Peter Hatch, the assistant director of the Homeland Security Investigations department within ICE, testified that a team he oversaw had been directed to pore over the thousands of individuals profiled by the Canary Mission, an anonymous group that has been accused of doxxing individuals engaged in anti-Israeli activism.Credit...Valerie Plesch for The New York Times
“A senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official testified in federal court on Wednesday that his office had used opaque pro-Israel blacklisting websites to help target international student activists for investigation and possible deportation.
The admission by Peter Hatch, the assistant director of the Homeland Security Investigations department within ICE, appeared to be the first time that an administration official had acknowledged taking cues from the shadowy groups behind the sites, including Canary Mission, which has been accused of doxxing individuals engaged in pro-Palestinian activism.
Mr. Hatch’s testimony came during the third day of trial proceedings in a case that has emerged as a major challenge to the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students.
Lawyers representing the academic associations that sued the administration called Mr. Hatch as a witness to bolster their argument that detaining prominent critics of Israel was part of an official policy to chill political speech unaligned with President Trump’s agenda.
The government has denied that any official policy exists. Mr. Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other administration officials have consistently referred to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that swept across college campuses in response to the war in Gaza as detrimental to American interests. Mr. Rubio has denounced the campus protests as displays of support for Hamas, whose attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, set off the Israeli campaign in Gaza. The United States considers Hamas a terrorist organization.
Mr. Hatch’s testimony helped considerably to advance what is known about the sudden burst of student arrests that began in March of this year, when half a dozen noncitizen academics — including some of the most visible leaders in the pro-Palestinian movement — were abruptly whisked away by masked immigration officers.
Mr. Hatch said that his office of roughly 1,000 analysts has a mission to ‘dismantle transnational criminal organizations,’ and includes teams whose research supports investigations in areas such as human trafficking and child exploitation.
But in March, Mr. Hatch testified, he formed a ‘tiger team,’ or a specialized task force, to respond to abrupt orders that he rush analysis on thousands of people whose names and identities had been published by Canary Mission.
‘It was a list that made accusations or asserted a lot of information like, these protesters are involved in violent activities, are condoning or supporting violence, possibly even terrorist organizations,’ Mr. Hatch said, referring to what his team had gleaned from the organization’s website.
The group has said that its goals are to document ‘hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews.’
Mr. Hatch recalled a March meeting with senior Department of Homeland Security officials in which his office was told to expedite its research and prepare reports that the State Department could use to determine whether to pursue deportations.
‘We are in an organization or agency — in a world — where taking months to do things is not acceptable,’ Mr. Hatch said.
Pressed for specifics by a lawyer representing one of the academic groups, Mr. Hatch said his office was ‘getting names and leads from many different sources’ and had no formal relationship with Canary Mission.
But he said the team relied on both Canary Mission profiles and a similar list created by another anonymous pro-Israel group, Betar, to provide the names for its investigation, without a firm understanding of the methodology through which individuals came to be included on either record.
During the testimony, Judge William G. Young of the Federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts appeared taken aback by Mr. Hatch’s recollection that the team had been directed to pore over the thousands of individuals profiled by Canary Mission.
‘So that’s over 5,000 people, is that right?’ Judge Young asked.
‘Yes, sir, which shows why we needed a tiger team,’ Mr. Hatch said. ‘A normal division, a normal unit or section or group of analysts operating in a normal organizational construct couldn’t handle that workload.’
Mr. Hatch testified that after the team’s review, between 100 and 200 reports on noncitizen protesters were submitted to the State Department, which would determine whether to detain them.
For months, detained students have said that Canary Mission’s site provided immigration agents with a road map of potential targets, with some arguing that the group likely had a hand behind the scenes to orchestrate the deportation efforts and to silence critics of Israel.
Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student at Columbia University who was arrested and held in an immigration facility in Louisiana for more than three months, filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking details about Canary Mission’s role in his detainment after the group heralded his arrest.
Reached for comment through an anonymous email, the group said it had ‘no contact with this administration.’
‘We document individuals and groups that promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews,’ the emailed response, signed The Canary Mission Team, said.
Before Mr. Hatch’s testimony on Wednesday, lawyers also called to the witness stand the latest of several faculty members to speak to what they described as the arrests’ chilling effect on campus.
Nadia Abu El-Haj, an anthropology professor at Barnard College and Columbia, recalled seeing her own profile posted on the Canary Mission website while scanning to see who else had been listed after demonstrations flared on the Morningside Heights campus.
Ms. Abu El-Haj said that because she is a U.S. citizen, she felt a level of comfort speaking out in defense of the demonstrations, but that many of the students she worked with through the university’s Center for Palestine Studies began to retreat from public life around the time of the Trump administration’s March crackdown.
Over two days of testimony, she recalled seeing students become subdued after their personal information and photos were listed on the Canary Mission and Betar sites, over what she said was nonviolent protest and squarely political speech.
She mentioned Ranjani Srinivasan, an architecture student and Fulbright recipient who went into hiding after learning that her visa had been canceled. And Ms. Abu El-Haj spoke of her knowledge of Mr. Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, organizers of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia who had been detained for months by the Trump administration. Both have green cards.
She testified that the two men had always denounced antisemitism, and had turned away anyone espousing such views who attempted to join the demonstrations.
During cross-examination, a lawyer from the Justice Department repeatedly asked Ms. Abu El-Haj about her speeches and writings since March defending the campus protests at Columbia, ostensibly to demonstrate for Judge Young that she had never felt intimidated or forced to limit her own speech.
But after each example she stressed the same point, more than half a dozen times.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘But I’m a U.S. citizen.’” [New York Times]
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