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  • Bitcoin Climbs as Trump’s $5 Trillion Bill Sparks Market Volatility and Political Tensions: Your Weekly Crypto Market Update

    Bitcoin Climbs as Trump’s $5 Trillion Bill Sparks Market Volatility and Political Tensions: Your Weekly Crypto Market Update

    Bitcoin had a relatively strong week, which helped it end the second quarter with almost 30% gains and trading around $109,000 by July 4th – pretty close to its all-time highs. The price briefly dipped to around $105K midweek following the Senate’s approval of Donald Trump’s massive budget legislation but it was quick to rebound.

    Analysts remain split on the short-term outlook: Standard Chartered maintains a positive view with a $200,000 year-end target, while BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes warns of a potentail dip to $90K before another rally.

    The major political development during this week was the passage of Trump’s $5 trillion legislation “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which makes the 2017 individual tax cuts permanent, lifts the debt ceiling, and rolls back programs such as Medicaid expansion and green energy incentives. After a narrow vote in the Senate on July 1st, the House approved the bill on July 3rd, following a lengthy Democratic nailbiter. Trump is expected to sign the bill on July 4th.

    The crypto market reacted with a temporary weakness. However, many see the bill’s inflationary impact, as well as the ballooning US debt as a long-term bullish sign for Bitcoin. Similar fiscal stimulus packages in the past (recall the 2020 COVID relief efforts) led to sharp crypto market rallies. Hence, some analysts believe that this could be a comparable setup.

    Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized the bill’s cuts to clean energy and its impact on federal debt. He even went so far to suggest that he might create a third political party in response. Trump, of course, fired back, suggesting Musk could even face deportation, which escalated tensions between both of them.

    Other notable developments include the removal of a crypto tax relief amendment, which disappointed miners and stakers. However, the discussions around a US strategic Bitcoin reserve continue to gain moment.

    While Bitcoin is currently holding strong, regulatory uncertainty, macro shifts, and political risks remain some of the key variables for the coming weeks.

    Market Data

    Screenshot 2025-07-04 at 15.48.58
    Source: Quantify Crypto

    Market Cap: $3.43T | 24H Vol: $88B | BTC Dominance: 63%

    BTC: $108,793 (+1.7%) | ETH: $2,549 (+4.2%) | XRP: $2.24 (+7.3%)

    This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

    Experts Positive on Crypto Altcoin ETFs This Year: Will XRP, ADA, and SOL Benefit? Experts believe that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will likely approve the applications for spot-based XRP, SOL, and ADA ETFs later this year. The question is if this will have a positive impact on these altcoins.

    Does Ethereum Have an Advantage over Bitcoin for Corporate Treasuries? There is little doubt that public companies are have been stacking Bitcoin throughout the year. But corporations may as well start buying Ethereum next and industry experts like Tom Lee and Joseph Lubin are betting big on it.

    Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill TLDR: Good or Bad for Bitcoin? Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill” has passed Congress voting and will be signed into existence very soon. Here is a condensed explanation of what it means for the cryptocurrency industry and whether or not we should expect an explosive rally.

    BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF ‘Machine’ Outearns Legendary S&P 500 Fund: Details. The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has managed to achieve an incredibly impressive milestone. It is now generating more annual fee revenue than the firm’s legendary and flagship S&P 500 tracking, despite being tremendously smaller in size.

    Fight for 40,000 BTC Continues: Judge Allows Celsius’s Lawsuit Against Tether to Proceed. The fight over close to 40,000 BTC between Celsius and Tether will continue. A U.S. bankruptcy judge has ruled that the former can go on with its lawsuit, currently worth around $4.3 billion, against the world’s largest issuer of stablecoins. Should we be worried?

    When Will Bitcoin’s Price Reach its Top This Cycle? Analysts Give Key Insights. The biggest question: is the cycle’s top already in or are we going to see an outsized blow-off bull run in the second half of 2025? An on-chain data expert from CryptoQuant shares his perspectives on the matters and reveals some very interesting findings.

    Charts

    This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Binance Coin – click here for the complete price analysis.

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    Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

    Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.


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  • ‘Spared by God’: Trump allies reflect on assassination attempt in Butler one year later

    ‘Spared by God’: Trump allies reflect on assassination attempt in Butler one year later

    God’s got his back.

    One year after President Trump came within an inch of his life after a failed assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., he is more determined than ever to “turn around the ship” — and believes divine intervention is allowing him to do it, his allies told The Post ahead of the July 13 anniversary.

    “He told me directly that he believes he was spared by God for the purpose of restoring the nation to greatness, and that he believes deeply that he is protected now by the Lord,” Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone told The Post.

    “I also think he gained a sense of urgency, and he realizes he has four years to turn around the ship by closing our borders, deporting those harming [the] country and creating a boom economy.”

    Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon told The Post the assassination attempt had a lasting effect on the president — and that many in Trump’s inner circle now see his survival as an act of “divine providence.”

    Donald Trump at a rally, appearing injured and surrounded by Secret Service agents.

    One year after President Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, PA, he is more determined than ever to “turn around the ship” — and believes divine intervention is allowing him to do it, his allies told The Post. AP

    “There’s something very different about President Trump today post that assassination attempt,” Bannon said. “He understands that only by a bare fraction of an inch . . . he didn’t have his head blown off on national TV, global TV and that God saved him. And for somebody who’s not particularly outwardly religious, it’s had a very deep impact.”

    The near-death experience gave Trump a renewed sense of “urgency” that’s shaped the rapid-fire pace of his second term — and mobilized his base, who believe he was “saved for greater things” and rallied to get him re-elected, Bannon said.

    “It’s nonstop . . . whether it’s the 12-Day War [between Israel and Iran], Ukraine, the Big, Beautiful Bill — he’s whipping the vote at 2:30 a.m.” he said. “It’s like a man possessed to make sure that he finishes his work in the time that he has remaining on this Earth.”

    Thomas Matthew Crooks walking through a crowd at a Trump rally.

    Thomas Matthew Crooks caught on video walking during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, PA, on July 13, less than two hours before his failed assassination attempt. Iron-Clad-USA.com via Storyful

    Trump, 79, spoke about the shooting in an interview that aired Saturday night with daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News Channel’s “My View.” He said the agents who protected him were skilled and capable, but the Secret Service had a “bad day.”

    “Well, it was unforgettable,” Trump said. “I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I got whacked. There’s no question about that. And fortunately, I got down quickly.”

    “They should have had somebody in the building [Crooks shot from],” he added. “They should have had communications with the local police . . . there were mistakes made . . . But I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot.”

    Officers standing over a shooter on a rooftop after an assassination attempt.

    Authorities stand over the body of shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks after his failed assassination attempt. Obtained by NY Post

    The president told Fox News Channel’s “The Will Cain Show” Friday he still occasionally feels a “throbbing” sensation in his right ear from being struck by a bullet during the assassination attempt.

    Trump’s polling numbers rose following the attack – in which he famously raised a clenched fist and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as blood trickled down his face — with one CBS poll showing his lead over Biden widen from two to five points nationally within five days.

    Author Salena Zito, who was standing mere feet from Trump when he was shot, said the “strength and resiliency” he immediately showed after being struck was not lost on the Butler crowd.

    “In that moment it created great calm …,” said Zito, also a long-time New York Post contributing writer who authored the new book “Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland.”

    “There [was] 50,000 people there. You would expect them to stampede, but the temperature changed immediately when he did that, and people didn’t panic.”

    “I still get goose bumps about this,” said Zito.

    New York Post headline:

    How the New York Post covered the Trump assassination attempt in the following day’s newspaper. csuarez

    But the dramatic moment that helped propel Trump back into the White House came at a devastating cost.

    Corey Comperatore, 50, a fire chief and father of two, was fatally shot at the rally while shielding his wife and daughters from gunfire. Two others in attendance were wounded.

    “Evil may have taken you from us, but Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, received you,” Comperatore’s sister, Kelly Comperatore Meeder, wrote in a Facebook post in June marking what would have been his 51st birthday. “Your birthday is a reminder that YOU were a gift to all of us.”

    The gunman, 20-year-old Pennsylvanian Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper just seconds after firing eight bullets at Trump from a rooftop outside the rally’s security perimeter. His motive remains unclear. 

    His immediate family hasn’t spoken publicly — not even to relatives.

    “My dad reached out to my uncle, [Crooks’ father, Matthew], multiple times . . . and my uncle just doesn’t get back to him,” Crooks’ cousin, Mark, told The Post.

    The assassination attempt stunned the country and prompted a sweeping federal investigation into what lawmakers later called a “preventable” attack.

    Six Secret Service employees were suspended for failures related to the assassination attempt, the Secret Service confirmed this week. Their punishment includes unpaid leave and reassignment to restricted roles.

    The former director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned less than two weeks after the shooting and told the Post Wednesday the incident was “an organizational failure of the Secret Service.”

    “It is my sincere hope that the agency has emerged from that day stronger so our nation never has to experience such a tragedy again,” she said.

    Trump appointed Sean Curran — an agent who helped rush him offstage — as the agency’s new director.

    Video still showing a figure on a rooftop before a shooting at a Trump rally.

    Video taken by shooting victim James Copenhaver shows a figure moving across a rooftop just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump’s rally in Butler, PA, July 13, 2024. Copenhaver was wounded. James Copenhaver

    “One year ago, I was by President Trump’s side when a lone gunman attempted to assassinate him in Butler, Pennsylvania,” Curran said. “My heart will always be with all those impacted on that day, especially Corey Comperatore.” 

    Curran said the Secret Service has completed 21 of the 46 congressional reforms recommended after the attack. Sixteen more are still in progress. The rest, he added, fall outside the agency’s authority. 

    For Comperatore’s family, it was the day everything changed.

    Corey, a proud Army veteran, was remembered as a devoted “girl dad” and a man of compassion, quiet strength and service. His obituary described him as someone who “loved Jesus with every fiber of his being” and lifted the spirits of everyone he met.

    His widow, Helen, has since spoken out, calling the Secret Service “garbage” and demanding answers for the failures that led to her husband’s death.

    Saturday, hundreds of bikers are expected to ride in his honor at “Corey’s Cruise,” a memorial event starting at Freeport High School and ending with a concert in Russellton, PA.

    “Motorcyclists, this is your chance to hit the open road, celebrate Corey’s legacy, and make a difference,” organizers wrote.

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  • This company could save NASA’s doomed Martian Sample Return mission

    This company could save NASA’s doomed Martian Sample Return mission

    Published Jul 12th, 2025 10:30AM EDT

    mars

    Lockheed Martin is trying to position itself as a savior for many NASA missions currently facing the chopping block at the hands of the Trump administration. The administration has already detailed massive budget cuts to NASA, which could include a complete shutdown of the Mars Sample Return mission, which Perseverance has been working on for the past several years.

    However, Lockheed Martin — yes, the same company known for its extensive role in America’s defense system — has come up with a fixed budget plan to save the Sample Return mission and bring back the collections Perseverance has already made.

    Over the years, NASA has struggled to bring its plans for Mars exploration to life. While the Mars Sample Return mission was a great idea, its actual execution has been less than smooth, with the budget often skyrocketing above the original numbers NASA provided years ago when it started operating on the mission. The numbers have changed so much, in fact, that even before the Trump administration’s shocking budget cuts, NASA was already looking at possibly canceling the MSR or finding cheaper alternatives. Thankfully, those cuts seem to have been relinquished for now, but it doesn’t mean NASA is out of the fire just yet.

    But Lockheed Martin’s plan could make that unnecessary. According to a detailed post and video shared to Lockheed Martin’s website, the company has come up with at least one way it could utilize existing services and vehicles to complete NASA’s expensive Mars Sample Return mission. Further, the company says it would be able to pull it off for $3 billion, less than half NASA’s current $7 billion projection.

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    If true, it could give NASA the extra hand that it needs to get the Mars Sample Return mission back on track. While Trump and others have put a renewed focus on actually getting humans to Mars, being able to understand the Red Planet better will be key to surviving there and creating a human colony that can thrive. That’s why these samples are so important.

    They could finally help us answer vital questions about the history of water on Mars, as well as determine the best places to land and colonize the planet. Of course, NASA and the U.S. government have to say yes to all of that first. But it’s at least a nice plan that the bigwigs out there can mull over in the meantime. And, with a little luck, we could see the plans to can the Mars Sample Return turned on their head. And that would be a great thing to see.

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  • As a former “Moonie,” Trump’s cult tactics are eerily familiar

    As a former “Moonie,” Trump’s cult tactics are eerily familiar

    commentary

    I grew up in the Unification Church. Like them, ICE is tearing families apart

    Published

    Reverend Hyung Jin

    Reverend Hyung Jin “Sean” Moon poses for a portrait with his gold AR-15 “rod of iron.” (Bryan Anselm/Redux For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

    A few weeks ago on a sunny Friday afternoon, my child’s preschool sent out an alert that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were nearby. I picked my child up early from school, passing a Home Depot that had apparently been raided a few hours earlier, sending day laborers and street vendors fleeing. The following day, ICE was seen in the city of Paramount where my friend lives, and I checked for alternate routes to her graduation party held that evening. On Sunday morning, as I was looking for shoes and packing snacks, I heard a rumor that ICE was on the same block as my child’s playdate. I searched for concrete details, scrolling through images of the previous day’s protests in Los Angeles only a few miles away — cops shooting rubber-coated steel bullets at protestors, tear gas wafting down the street like morning fog.

    By the end of the weekend I was agitated and frayed, unable to focus. That’s when it struck me: I used to feel like this all the time, when I was growing up in the Unification Church, a doomsday cult known for arranged mass weddings of its members. Founded by the self-proclaimed messiah Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church gained notoriety in the seventies when members known as “Moonies” became ubiquitous on city corners, selling trinkets and inviting passersby to a nearby center for a meal. Dinner would turn into a weekend at a rural property, and soon new members would vanish from their normal lives. Accusations of kidnapping were leveled on both sides, with distraught families claiming the Unification Church was keeping their children away from them, and the church alleging  families had hired deprogrammers to kidnap them back. Families were torn apart, a situation that was repeated again when church offspring like myself wanted to leave. 

    While the reach of the Unification Church has diminished over the years, ICE is now on our street corners, arresting our neighbors and loved ones, disappearing them into a legally dubious network of prisons and holding facilities.

    While the reach of the Unification Church has diminished over the years, ICE is now on our street corners, arresting our neighbors and loved ones, disappearing them into a legally dubious network of prisons and holding facilities. In observing these actions, I can’t help but notice the numerous parallels between the church and the current administration. Allegations of brainwashing, tax evasion and sexual abuse hounded Reverend Moon despite his growing wealth and political influence. Today the news is filled with stories about President Donald Trump, another alleged tax cheat and sex abuser, and his unprecedented monetization of the presidency for himself and his extended family through dubious cryptocurrency and international real estate deals, and tawdry commercialism that includes selling a $250 Victory 45-47 fragrance

    Most concerningly, both Trump and Moon have used scapegoats to distract their followers from their power grabs. Scapegoats are integral for a cult; they promote social cohesion, both by binding the in-group together over a common enemy, and by widening the gulf between members and outsiders. They cleave the world into a binary of us and them. Scapegoats are vilified as a tacit warning to cult members, an example of what could happen to them if they stray too far from the rest of the flock. The cohesion provided by the scapegoat places cult members in a position of further manipulation, when they don’t look past the easy answers and see their leaders taking advantage of them. 

    When I was a child, I remember Moon preaching about an apocalyptic battle taking place between God and Satan, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. I was taught to be suspicious of all outsiders, but there were a few enemies he particularly liked to single out: feminists, homosexuals and communists. They, Moon said, were stymying our efforts at world peace and were the reason why we were all struggling in poverty.

    Today, Trump has used many of the same scapegoats as Moon, but his most popular target is the immigrant community. Trump is using immigrants as scapegoats to distract us from his unpopular policies like cuts to Medicare and tax breaks for the wealthy, and he is using ICE as the enforcement mechanism.

    Both the Unification Church and MAGA are masters of the manipulation tactic psychologists refer to as DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender, in which perpetrators of abuse attempt to play the victim to avoid being held accountable. When Japan recently investigated the Unification Church for defrauding its members, leading to bankruptcies and suicides, the church decried the prosecution as an attack on religious freedom. Now, amid reports of attempted kidnappings of first-graders at schools, Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, complained to news outlets that agents have been harassed online, harming their well being.


    Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.


    Cult leaders hope that by being loud enough, the rest of us will accept their version of events. Like Moon, Trump favors the rhetorical tactic known as the Gish gallop or shotgun argument, which presents as many arguments as possible without regard to their validity or relevancy. The point is not to win a debate by making a cogent case, but to overwhelm opponents and tire them out. 

    This can be seen most clearly in Trump’s anti-immigration arguments, such as when he says he’s for legal immigration, but then proceeds to cancel visas and arrest people who are here legally or are abiding by court orders. Trump claims to be guided by Christian values, when the Bible never wavers from the bedrock principle of being neighborly and welcoming to foreigners. He and his followers want us to get so overwhelmed that we will become paralyzed in a state of indecision and hypernormalization. If we are frozen by fear and confusion, Trump can force through his cruel policies with less resistance. 

    The shocking images of heavily armed ICE agents in my beloved city reminds me of photos of events at Sanctuary Church. Also known as Rod of Iron Ministries, Sanctuary Church is a splinter cult of the Unification Church that my parents belong to. Sanctuary Church members literally worship with their guns, at times donning crowns made from bullets and bringing their AR-15s to church. 

    For years, I tried to keep quiet about my past, in hopes that my parents and their ilk would leave me alone. Not anymore. As a child, more than once I had to walk by people protesting the Unification Church on the way to services. I stared with horror at signs portraying Moon with devil horns. I tried to push the images out of my mind, but they never fully left. They planted a small seed of doubt that maybe something we were doing wasn’t right. These encounters put a human face to the opposition, so as that doubt grew, I knew that I wasn’t alone. Those protests hurt the church in a way I didn’t understand as a child — they made it less popular to join, ultimately stunting its growth.

    Watching the current protests against ICE unfold, I feel extraordinarily privileged. I am a white, natural-born citizen. Being undocumented is a civil offense, not a criminal one, and I cannot abide a society that rips babies from their parents over a paperwork issue. The people ICE arrested are supposed to be a danger to me and my child. But ICE is the one bringing in military vehicles, guns, and other “less-lethal” — but still deadly — weapons to my neighborhood. It’s reminiscent of when the Unification Church promoted world peace while manufacturing weapons, or how the Sanctuary Church created the “Peace Police Peace Militia,” a group of armed cult members “practicing to be deadly because [they] love people.” 

    Engaging in these arguments at face value risks being drawn into their reality distortion field. Instead, the best response to these bad-faith tactics is to reject them through protest and direct action. Anti-ICE demonstrations are a public refusal of Trump’s attempts to fracture our communities. By binding ourselves with our neighbors, we are choosing each other over the avarice of Trump and his cronies. 

    I thought by leaving the Unification Church I would no longer be haunted by the specter of violence in my community, the horror of families being ripped apart, of leaders sowing division and chaos to distract from their greed and hate. But somehow, here I am again.

    By

    Akina Cox

    Akina Cox is an artist and writer. She moved to Los Angeles in 2003 after being raised in the Unification Church. She received an MFA in Visual Arts from CalArts in 2012, and her artwork has been included in exhibitions at Commonwealth and Council, Bozo Mag and Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles. Her artist books have been sold or exhibited at Centre de Pompidou, Art Metropole, Printed Matter and MoCA. Cox is currently working on a memoir about growing up in the Unification Church.


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  • Trump’s Latest Attack: Revoking Rosie O’Donnell’s Rights

    Trump’s Latest Attack: Revoking Rosie O’Donnell’s Rights

    Trump’s feud with Rosie flares again, this time over citizenship after her move to Ireland with her child

    Published

    Trump and Rosie clash on social media again. She called him a

    Trump and Rosie clash on social media again. She called him a “dangerous, souless man”, so he threatened to revoke her U.S. citizenship. (Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images)

    President Donald Trump escalated his long-running feud with comedian Rosie O’Donnell Saturday, threatening on social media to revoke her U.S. citizenship.

    “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote. “She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

    O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old non-binary, autistic child earlier this year, posted earlier this week on Instagram and TikTok that Trump is “a criminal con man … who lacks empathy, compassion, and basic humanity.” She criticized Trump’s leadership and policies, calling him a “dangerous old soulless man” and a “mentally ill untreated criminal.”

    Legal experts were quick to note that the U.S. Constitution prohibits a president from unilaterally revoking the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen. Again, O’Donnell was born in New York, making her a natural-born citizen.

    This is not the first time Trump has threatened to revoke or challenge the citizenship or immigration status of individuals critical of him. Previous cases include first-generation Americans or naturalized citizens or international students who faced threats of losing their status over social media posts critical of Trump’s policies, some allege intimidation tactics related to their visas or citizenship status.

    The feud between Trump and O’Donnell dates back to 2006, when O’Donnell criticized Trump on “The View.” Since then, they have exchanged insults and criticisms on various platforms. O’Donnell has been a vocal critic of Trump’s policies, particularly his stance on LGBTQ+ rights and his handling of environmental issues.

    In response to Trump’s latest remarks, O’Donnell emphasized her commitment to truth and decency, stating that she moved to Ireland for the well-being of her child and to live in a place that values equality and safety.

    This latest chapter in their feud highlights the deep divisions in American politics and the personal animosities that often accompany them.

    By

    CK Smith

    CK Smith is Salon’s weekend editor.


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  • Rosie O’Donnell Hits Back at ‘Dangerous Old Soulless’ Donald Trump: ‘Ur a Bad Joke’

    Rosie O’Donnell Hits Back at ‘Dangerous Old Soulless’ Donald Trump: ‘Ur a Bad Joke’

    Rosie O’Donnell fired off a response to Donald Trump after the president said he’s considering revoking her American citizenship Saturday. The actress described Trump as “a dangerous old soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy compassion and basic humanity” and concluded, “ur a bad joke who cant form a coherent sentence” via two posts shared on Instagram the same day.

    “The president of the USA has always hated the fact that i see him for who he is – a criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation to serve himself,
    O’Donnell wrote in the first post. “This is why I moved to Ireland – he is a dangerous old soulless man with dementia who lacks empathy compassion and basic humanity – I stand in direct opposition all he represents.”

    “So do millions of others,” she continued. “U gonna deport all who stand against ur evil tendencies – ur a bad joke who cant form a coherent sentence.”

    The second featured a photo of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. “Hey donald –
    you’re rattled again?” she captioned the picture. “18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours. You call me a threat to humanity –
but I’m everything you fear:
a loud woman
a queer woman
a mother who tells the truth
an american who got out of the country b4 u set it ablaze.”

    “You build walls –
I build a life for my autistic kid in a country where decency still exists. You crave loyalty –
I teach my children to question power. You sell fear on golf courses –
I make art about surviving trauma. You lie, you steal, you degrade –
I nurture, I create, I persist. You are everything that is wrong with America,” O’Donnell continued.

    “And I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it. You want to revoke my citizenship?
go ahead and try, king joffrey with a tangerine spray tan. I’m not yours to silence
i never was 🇮🇪 rosie.”

    “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote via Truth Social Saturday morning. “She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

    In March O’Donnell revealed she had traded the United States for Ireland in response to Trump’s reelection. In a video that lasted nearly 10 minutes, O’Donnell explained that she is also attempting to obtain Irish citizenship.

    O’Donnell and Trump have been on the outs for 20 years. In 2006, O’Donnell criticized Trump for being the “moral authority” surrounding the case of the year’s Miss Usa, Tara Conner, who was accused of underage drinking and drug use.

    “He annoys me on a multitude of levels. [He] left the first wife, had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair, had kids both times, but he’s the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America,” she said at the time.

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  • Trump announces 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico, starting Aug. 1

    Trump announces 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico, starting Aug. 1

    The flags of the European Union fly in front of the European Parliament.

    Philipp von Ditfurth | dpa | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

    President Donald Trump said Saturday the U.S. will impose a 30% tariff on goods from the European Union and Mexico that will take effect on Aug. 1.

    Trump revealed the new rates in letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, which he posted on his social media site Truth Social.

    “Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough,” Trump wrote to Sheinbaum.

    Trump said that there will not be tariffs on goods from the EU if the 27-member bloc “or companies within the EU, decide to build or manufacture product[s] within the United States,” he wrote.

    He said that if the EU or Mexico retaliates with higher tariffs, “then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 30% that we charge.”

    The EU was seeking at least a preliminary agreement that would spare it from becoming the latest recipient of a letter from Trump dictating a new, across-the-board tariff on its exports to the U.S.

    However, it still received a letter from Trump threatening new tariffs, despite both sides having recently signaled progress in their negotiations after Trump backed off a threat to slap 50% tariffs on the bloc.

    The EU collectively sells more to the U.S. than any single country: Total U.S. goods imports from the EU topped $553 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

    Total U.S. imports from Mexico were approximately $454.8 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.

    The two trading partners combined make up roughly one-third of U.S. imports.

    “Imposing 30 percent tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

    She said the EU remains “ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1.”

    “At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

    The Mexican government said in a Saturday statement that a delegation met Friday with U.S. trade officials “to establish the permanent binational working group that will address the main issues in the relationship.”

    They were informed at the meeting that they would receive new tariffs that would begin Aug. 1, according to the statement.

    “We stated at the meeting that this was unfair treatment and that we disagreed,” the statement said.

    “It is very significant that starting July 11, we established the necessary pathway and forum to resolve any possibility of new tariffs taking effect on August 1,” the statement continued.

    Trump has sent similar letters to 23 other U.S. trading partners this week, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, setting blanket tariff rates ranging from 20% up to 50%.

    The letters mostly frame the new tariff levels as a necessary part of the Trump administration’s efforts to quickly establish a more “reciprocal” global trade landscape.

    Trump had attempted to do that in one fell swoop with his “liberation day” tariff announcement on April 2, when he imposed a nearly global 10% tariff and slapped higher duties on imports from nearly 60 individual countries.

    The announcement prompted days of frenzied selling in global markets. Trump put a 90-day pause on nearly all of the higher tariffs a week later.

    His trade officials suggested that the U.S. could strike as many as 90 new trade deals during that interval. But by the time the pause was set to expire on Wednesday, the administration had only hashed out preliminary agreements with the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Saturday said the UK trade team “smartly secured an early deal.”

    “Let this be a lesson to other countries — earnest, good faith negotiations can produce powerful results that benefit both sides of the table, while correcting the imbalances that plague global trade,” Bessent wrote on X.

    The trade deal includes a blanket 10% levy on U.K. goods imported into the U.S.

    Trump on Monday extended his tariff pause until Aug. 1. The tariff rates he set in his recent spate of letters are all scheduled to kick in on the same day.

    Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he plans to ratchet up his global tariff baseline rate as high as 20%.

    “We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” Trump said.

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  • Federal Reserve quietly responds to Trump administration attacks over renovation

    Federal Reserve quietly responds to Trump administration attacks over renovation

    U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on “The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress,” on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 24, 2025.

    Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

    As the Trump administration escalates its criticisms of the Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell, the central bank is quietly pushing back with a new “Frequently Asked Questions” page on its website defending the central bank’s $2.5 billion renovation project.

    The page, last updated on Friday, directly responds to some of the administration’s criticisms of the renovation project of the Fed’s headquarters, which came under attack this week from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.

    Vought on Thursday claimed that Powell “has grossly mismanaged the Fed” and took aim at what he called “an ostentatious overhaul” of the Fed’s renovations, which seeks to modernize the campus for the Federal Reserve, including by renovating three buildings overlooking the National Mall.

    “It involves a complete overhaul and modernization that preserves two historic buildings that have not been comprehensively renovated since their construction in the 1930s,” according to the Fed’s website.

    Vought’s criticisms of the project, made via a letter posted on X, marked an escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against Powell. Trump has repeatedly claimed the central bank leader is playing politics by not lowering interest rates, and has called on Powell to resign.

    The letter — and Vought’s Friday pledge to pursue an investigation into the Fed’s renovations — suggest that the Trump administration is moving to remove Powell before his term ends next year.

    But Powell has repeatedly resisted Trump’s criticisms and repeated attempts to pressure him to cut interest rates, the main sticking point in Trump’s attacks.

    The Fed’s website defending the renovation project is the latest sign that the central bank is gearing up to fight against the Trump administration’s newest attacks.

    “No new VIP dining rooms are being constructed as part of the project,” the FAQs page on the website says.

    “Eccles has conference rooms, which are being renovated and preserved. They are also used for mealtime meetings,” the post says of the building.

    That line appears to be in direct response to Vought’s letter, which claimed that the plans for renovations called “for rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features, premium marble, and much more.”

    The FAQ page outlines “the main reasons for cost increases over the course of the project,” which has been a major line of attack for Trump allies.

    The cost of the construction is estimated to be about $700 million over budget.

    “Various factors have driven cost increases,” the page on the Federal Reserve website says, citing “changes to original building designs as a result of consultation with review agencies” and “unforeseen conditions,” such as “more asbestos than anticipated.”

    Taxpayers do not foot the bill for the cost of the renovations. The Fed is self-funded through interest it makes on securities held by the institution and through fees charged banks.

    Read more CNBC politics coverage

    Vought on Friday pledged to pursue an investigation of the renovations, saying on CNBC, “We want to make sure we have facts as to the largesse and the extent to which it’s overrun.”

    Vought’s Friday comments are a continuation of his X post the day prior, in which he said: “While continuing to run a deficit since FY23 (the first time in the Fed’s history), the Fed is way over budget on the renovation of its headquarters.”

    The page indicates it was last updated on July 11, but it’s unclear when the page was added to the site.

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  • Trump threatens to revoke comedian Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship

    Trump threatens to revoke comedian Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship

    President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is considering revoking comedian Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship, a dramatic escalation of Trump’s threats to use the executive branch to target his opponents.

    “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

    He called O’Donnell a “threat to humanity” and said that she should “remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland,” which is where she currently resides.

    O’Donnell moved to Ireland in January following Trump’s re-election.

    There is no legal precedent for a president revoking the citizenship of a U.S.-born citizen, and such a move has no legal basis under current law.

    It’s not the first time that Trump has mentioned an opponent’s U.S. citizenship in a not-so-subtle threat.

    Trump earlier this month falsely questioned the citizenship of Zohran Mamdani, who won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary.

    Read more CNBC politics coverage

    “A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” Trump said of Mamdani.

    “We’re going to look at everything. Ideally, he’s going to turn out to be much less than a communist. But right now he’s a communist. That’s not a socialist.”

    O’Donnell has been a vocal Trump critic, and the two have publicly feuded for years.

    After Trump’s Truth Social, O’Donnell took to Instagram to lob her own insults at the president.

    “The president of the usa has always hated the fact that i see him for who he is – a criminal con man sexual abusing liar out to harm our nation to serve himself – this is why i moved to ireland,” she wrote.

    She said that Trump is going to “deport all who stand against” his “evil tendencies.”

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