Trump: Sending Tariff Letters To More Than 150 Countries

President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday night that his administration will notify over 150 countries that their exports to the U.S. could soon face tariffs ranging from 10% to 15%. Trade letters have already been sent to major partners, including the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, which are set to take effect on August 1 unless new agreements are reached. Negotiations with China remain ongoing.

"We'll have well over 150 countries that we're just going to send a notice of payment out, and the notice of payment is going to say what the tariff" rate will be, President Trump told reporters during a meeting with the Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House.

"It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group," Trump said, adding that many of the countries that would receive the letters were "not big countries, and they don't do that much business. Not like the ones we've agreed with, like China, like Japan."

All countries are currently subject to a baseline 10% tariff imposed by Trump in April. While the president had previously floated raising that floor to 15–20%, he did not specify the new rate or timing for the 150 countries during his remarks on Wednesday.

Trump has already sent nearly two dozen letters to top trading partners, including the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, and others, informing them of new levies effective August 1, unless a deal can be struck by the deadline.

Also on Wednesday, Trump spoke with broadcaster Real America's Voice, stating that the tariff rate for the roughly 150 countries would be "10 or 15%," adding, "We haven't decided yet." He said his administration was very close to a trade deal with India and that an agreement with Europe was in the works.

Commenting on the new trade developments, Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis, told Bloomberg that "for much of the world — and Asia in particular, which faces among the highest levies — the rate announcement could be read as a positive, providing some certainty for smaller countries with a lower rate than initially threatened." She said the rate also signals "Trump is realizing that too high tariffs are disruptive."

Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius updated his U.S. effective tariff rate to a higher level, but with a slower rise…

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/trump-sending-tariff-letter-more-150-countries

Journalism a ‘crime’ in UK – RT reporter after detention

Steve Sweeney has said working for the Russian broadcaster has made him “a dissident living in exile”

The head of RT’s Lebanon bureau, Steve Sweeney, has said British counterterrorism officers who briefly detained him at a London airport wanted to know if he had links with Russian officials and if he still loved his home country, the UK.

RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan revealed in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Sweeney had been apprehended on arrival at Heathrow Airport and interrogated at length about his work for the Russian broadcaster.

The British journalist, who has since returned to Lebanon, appeared live on RT on Thursday, saying that as soon as he got off the plane he was met by “two plain-clothed police officers,” who took him away for questioning.

The officers told Sweeney that he was not under suspicion or arrest, but “merely detained,” which still allowed them to seize his phones, laptop, and other devices, he recalled.

During the questioning, which lasted “about four hours,” the officers were “particularly focusing on Russia and my reporting for RT. They asked me whether I have links to Russian officials, which is a fairly… a broad description,” Sweeney said.

“Then they switch focus… to Lebanon. They were very interested in the nature of my relationship with Hezbollah, for example,” the journalist stated.

The officers also asked “about my feelings towards my own country, whether I love my country, whether I feel uncomfortable in my country. Why do I come back to my country if I do not like it?” he recalled. According to Sweeney, he flew to the UK to “spend a week with family and friends, take my daughter to a concert, [and] see my mother.”

The journalist said that following his detention, he could “no longer feel safe in my own country.” As a result of the “dystopian” policies pursued by the government of Keir Starmer, he has become “a dissident living in exile,” simply because he was doing his job, he added.

“The political climate is not just the same in Britain – this is Europe-wide. You know, journalism is not a crime, but in those countries, journalism is a crime,” Sweeney stressed.

https://www.rt.com/news/621612-uk-police-rt-journalist/

Ben-Menashe claims Epstein was introduced by Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine’s father and a known spy, and that the pair ran operations for military intelligence.

https://youtu.be/O-e9q_Tz48s

Senate GOP Blocks Dem Effort To Release Epstein Files

Senate Republicans moved to block an effort from their Democratic counterparts Thursday afternoon to demand the Trump administration release records related to the convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a rumored 2028 presidential candidate, asked for unanimous consent to pass his resolution demanding the Department of Justice to release records regarding Epstein. Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin objected, arguing Gallego’s resolution was “political theater.”

“It’s so obvious that the Democrats are just using this for a political football,” Mullin said. “If they’re really serious about it what happened the last four years?”

https://dailycaller.com/2025/07/17/senate-gop-blocks-dem-effort-release-epstein-files/

Labour Government Kills Voter ID Law, Slashes Voting Age to 16

Labour government announces wrecking amendment to Britain’s Voter ID law by removing photo identification requirement, and slashes voting age from 18 to 16.

Under international and UK law, a child is any person below the age of 18, but by the time of the next UK General Election those age 16 and 17-years-old will be legally allowed to vote for their next Member of Parliament and won’t need photo-ID to do it, the Labour government has announced.

Angela Rayner, Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy prime minister, heralded the change by saying “For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline”, apparently implying the trust issue in British politics has been caused by restricting elections to adults only, rather than decades of scandals and zero-mandate forced demographic change.

Announcing the answer to this breakdown in faith, Rayner continued: “We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy”.

In the past, the franchise was pegged at 18 alongside other major issues judged to require a higher level of mental maturity. Criminals are not generally tried in adult courts until the age of 18, and a soldier cannot be operationally deployed until the age of 18, for instance.

The new discrepancy in government-imposed age limits was picked up by Conservative spokesman Paul Holmes, who said: “Why does this Government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry or go to war or even stand in the elections they’re voting in? Isn’t the Government’s position on the age of majority just hopelessly confused?”.

Another Conservative called the move “shameless gerrymandering” and stated: “If we don’t think 16 is the age of adult maturity, why is the Government doing this?”.

Unlike some of the radical changes wrought in recent months by the Starmer government, the votes-for-children change was at least promised in their manifesto, and Labour can claim there is a democratic mandate for the change. As reported at the time the idea was first floated:

…the move would add around 1.5 million people under the age of 18 to the voter rolls, marking the largest expansion of the electorate since the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 by the Labour government of Harold Wilson in 1969.

The plan had appeared to be on the verge of abandonment in recent months, however, as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party soaring among younger voters seemed to kill Labour’s incentive to drag teenagers into the electorate.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/07/17/leftist-utopia-labour-government-kills-voter-id-law-slashes-voting-age-to-16/

Israeli Tank Strikes Gaza’s Only Catholic Church, Killing Three and Injuring a Priest

At least eight others were also wounded, including a young altar server

An Israeli military tank on Thursday struck the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, killing three people and wounding at least nine others.

Two of the dead have been identified as Saad Salameh, the parish’s 60-year-old janitor, and Fumayya Ayyad, an 84-year-old woman who was receiving psychosocial support from the Catholic charity Caritas in a tent located at the church.

Among the wounded was Father Gabriel Romanelli, the church’s priest from Argentina, who regularly held phone calls with the late Pope Francis. Suhail Shadi Abu Dawoud, a young altar server, was also wounded in the attack, according to the Church’s Facebook page.

“The people in the Holy Family Compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuary—hoping that the horrors of war might at least spare their lives, after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away,” the Latin Patriarchate said in a statement on the attack.

“The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place. However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza. Many other innocent civilians have also been harmed, displaced and killed. Death, suffering and destruction are everywhere,” the Patriarchate added.

Pope Leo XIV also released a statement on the attack. “I am deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza,” he said. “I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. Only dialogue and reconciliation can ensure enduring peace!”

The Israeli military claimed that the strike was an accident, but the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, cast doubt on the IDF statement. “What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church,” he said. “We don’t have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple.”

Sources close to the Patriarchate told The Pillar that internally, Church authorities were considering the possibility that the tank attack was a direct response to a recent meeting of Christian leaders in the West Bank town of Taybeh on Monday. Taybeh is a Christian village that’s been under Jewish settler attack, and Pizzaballa and other church leaders released a statement strongly condemning the violence and calling out Israeli authorities for “facilitating and enabling” the violent settlers.

The Holy Family Church is Gaza’s sole Catholic church and has previously come under attack by Israeli forces. In December 2024, two Christian women at the church were killed and seven people were wounded by Israeli snipers, an incident Pope Francis condemned as “terrorism.”

The IDF has also attacked the nearby St. Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church. In October 2023, an Israeli strike killed 18 Palestinian civilians who were sheltering at St. Porphyrius, including relatives of former House Rep. Justin Amash.

A funeral was held on Thursday at the St. Porphyrius Church for Saad Salameh and Fumayya Ayyadon, who were both Orthodox Christians. “May the souls of the victims rest in eternal peace and may the Lord grant you all His Peace,” the Latin Patriarchate said in its statement.

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/07/17/israeli-tank-strikes-gazas-only-catholic-church-killing-three-and-injuring-a-priest/

Trump Considering ‘Mega Deal’ To Exchange Drones, Weapons With Zelensky

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are on the cusp of striking a “mega deal” that would send battle-tested Ukrainian drones to the United States in exchange for Kyiv receiving another batch of weapons from Washington, the New York Post reportedon Thursday.

Zelensky revealed the potential deal in a discussion with the Post, saying, “The people of America need this [drone] technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal.” If a deal is struck, Ukraine also promised to share information with the United States on what it has learned about modern warfare during the conflict with Russia, according to Zelensky.

“I think this is really a mega deal, a win-win, as they say,” he said.

The White House did not respond to The Daily Wire’s request to comment.

Throughout the war, Ukraine’s drone fleet has proved to be vital in defending the country from Russia’s aerial assaults. Kyiv’s drones have also been used to launch attacks on Russia. Last month, Ukraine smuggled 117 drones into Russia, which were used for a massive assault on Russian air bases, taking out 41 Russian aircraft, including roughly one-third of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, The Daily Wire previously reported.

The United States military has fallen behind its adversaries, including Russia and China, in producing drones and training troops to use them in battle, according to a report earlier this week from The New York Times. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged that the United States must catch up on drone warfare technology and moved last week to rescind “restrictive policies” and “red tape” getting in the way “of American manufacturing and warfighter ingenuity.”

“So while our adversaries have produced millions of cheap drones before us, we were mired in bureaucratic red tape. Not anymore,” Hegseth said in a video filmed alongside U.S. military members outside the Pentagon.

“In June, President Trump issued an executive order unleashing American drone dominance to bolster our drone industry and arm our warfighters because that’s what we’re all about,” he added.

Hegseth said that the move includes bolstering “the nascent U.S. drone manufacturing base by approving hundreds of American products for purchase by our military.”

Trump’s relationship with Zelensky has grown warmer in recent weeks after the Ukrainian president was blasted in the Oval Office in February for his continued requests for American assistance. Earlier this month, Trump vowed to send Ukraine more defensive weapons as Moscow ratchets up attacks on Ukrainian cities.

“They are getting hit very hard. … We’re gonna have to send more weapons,” Trump said, adding, “I’m disappointed, frankly, that President Putin hasn’t stopped.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1943748870993064004

https://www.stationgossip.com/2025/07/trump-considering-mega-deal-to-exchange.html

https://www.antiwar.com/

https://www.antiwar.com/

GOP’s Burchett Makes Head-Turning Claim About ‘Epstein Files’

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) stated last week that he believes a client list tied to Jeffrey Epstein once existed but was “destroyed” by the Biden administration.

“I think the files existed at one time,” Burchett said in an interview on NewsNation’s “On Balance” with host Leland Vittert. “I think they were destroyed in the previous administration.”

“I think if they’d ever had anything on Trump, it would have been out Day 1 under the Biden administration,” the Tennessee Republican said.

“I think there’s some very prominent people. There’s Hollywood people,” he added. “I mean, I think there’s world leaders too. And would it have caused economic disruption around the globe? Maybe. But I don’t really care. I want to bury those dirtbags.”

Asked why Attorney General Pam Bondi wouldn’t come out and just say that the evidence has been destroyed, Burchett responded, “She doesn’t have any proof of it.”

“I’m just telling you what I think. I’ve been around this town enough,” the lawmaker continued. “I think she got over her skis pretty much saying all this stuff, the files are on my desk, I’m going to release it, and then she releases stuff that I knew.”

“I think they all got out there, got a little excited, and I don’t think they exist,” he added, referring to the files.

https://conservativebrief.com/gops-epstein-93207/

Capitol Hill Republicans back Trump-Epstein coverup or back away

https://youtu.be/D4BRU4Qebrw

Israel and US to forge $200m tech hub for AI and quantum science development

Initiative eyes partnerships with UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait for a regional alliance to counter the Iran-China-Russia axis

Israel and the US are advancing a strategic initiative to create a joint science center for artificial intelligence and quantum innovation at an investment of $200 million. The center will serve as a hub to promote technology-driven cooperation and diplomacy with Gulf countries in the realms of AI and quantum science and challenge China in the global race for supremacy of next-generation technologies.

The initiative led by Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman, the director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), and Dr. Smadar Itzkovich, founder and CEO of AI & Quantum Sovereignty Lab (AIQ-Lab), is expected to be implemented either through a presidential executive order signed by US President Donald Trump or a legislative process.

“This is a strategic initiative that aims to reshape the Middle East through US-Israel scientific and technological collaboration in AI and quantum,” Itzkovich told The Times of Israel. “Israel is a powerhouse for physics and quantum technology, and by using our advantage, we can translate it to unbelievable achievements for economic growth and prosperity and for stability and security to create regional sovereignty in the areas of AI and quantum science.”

As part of the proposed initiative for the science center, each nation will contribute $20 million annually, starting in 2026 and through 2030, to support research and development projects at dual headquarters in Tel Aviv and Arlington, Virginia. The technology collaboration will focus on shared, urgent regional challenges, including cybersecurity, medicine and genetics, and water and food security in arid environments.

The initiative comes at a pivotal point, as concern has been growing that Israel could be missing out on a regional boom of investments into the next wave of technologies. In May, Trump and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced the joint launch of the largest AI campus outside the US. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia aims to become a global center for AI and reportedly has plans to create a $40 billion fund to invest in AI.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-and-us-to-forge-200m-tech-hub-for-ai-and-quantum-science-development/

And here it is:

The Single Biggest Coved Scam in American History:

This is the criminal the Democrats chose for the 2024 Vice Presidency,

Governor Tim ‘Tampon’ Walz allowed a group of politically connected Somali criminals, including Ilhan Omar, to embezzle approximately $250 million in public funds.

• This was the single largest coved-scam related fraud during the Xi-Jinping -19 pandemic.

• A government-funded non-governmental organization (NGO) called ‘Feeding Our Future’, based in Minnesota, received $250 million intended to provide meals for children in need.

— Almost none of the funds were used for food.

• Where did the money go?

—— Real estate

—— Luxury vehicles and car dealerships

—— Expensive international travel

—— $160,000 sent to a company in China

—— $500,000 used to buy an apartment in Kenya

• It gets worse:

—— Ilhan Omar received thousands in donations.

—— Donations were made using fake names like “Unique Problem” and “Friday Donations.”

• The Tampon administration flagged the suspicious activity and froze the funds.

—— In response, lawsuits were filed accusing Tampon of racism.

—— Despite concerns, the fraud continued.

• One of the individuals later indicted for fraud had received the Minnesota Outstanding Refugee Award from Tampon himself.

—— That same individual was later accused of attempting to bribe a juror by delivering $120,000 in cash, with a note promising “more to come if she acquits.”

How the fuck are

@Tim_Walz

and

@Ilhan

not in prison right now?

Their crimes are pretty clear: Bribery, racketeering, conspiracy, robbery, theft, extortion, obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting.

https://x.com/i/status/1945874670018089054

🇮🇱🇸🇾 Netyanahu announced that Israel is going to occupy Southern Syria

Netanyahu announces demilitarization and occupation of the region to south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945878988431249424

Even Alex Jones admits now that Trump is being controlled by Mossad blackmail

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945603746756792762

Tucker Carlson is 100% correct. Normal people can no longer win in America, and nobody in power cares

“Normal people with normal jobs no longer believe they can win in this system and that all the money is going to the worst people, and no one even stops to ask what the hell is going on. What I'm saying is that our leadership class should say something about it and should assign a moral value to it.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945855154693026243

UNEARTHED Video of Trumps Teen Victim HORRIFIES Internet

Keith Edwards discusses a resurfaced 2016 video where a woman, under the pseudonym "Jane Doe," accuses Donald Trump of raping her at age 13 during a party hosted by Jeffrey Epstein, reigniting public outrage over the unresolved and chilling allegations. The video’s reappearance has stunned the internet, highlighting the disturbing details and mysterious withdrawal of her case just before the 2016 election.

https://youtu.be/YNhOKuP7xrw

Trump Has Completely Dropped His "Populist" Act

It's so funny how Trump has stopped even pretending to be a populist. As soon as he was re-elected he was just "Yeah okay so Israel comes first and forget everything I said about free speech and the Ukraine war is continuing and there will be no Epstein investigation, fuck you."

https://youtu.be/_y41VeWBj4o

Everything for Israel! Rep. Thomas Massie: AIPAC Puts Israel Before America

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xcy7MX4k2Dc

Series Of Drone Attacks Hit Oil Fields In Iraq’s Kurdistan

A drone strike targeted on July 17 an oil field in Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, the latest in a series of attacks since early this month.

Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement the suicide drone hit Tawke field in the Zakho Administration which is operated by Norwegian oil and gas company DNO. The strike is the second on the DNO-operated field in the ongoing wave of drone attacks.

DNO, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabour oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Turkey, temporarily suspended production at the fields following explosions that caused no casualties, according to counter-terrorism service.

The service reported that another suicide drone fell in a village outside Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region, without causing any casualties casualties.

A day earlier, at least four suicide drones attacked oilfields in Kurdistan. The three oilfields are: Tawke and Peshkabir oilfields, and Ain Sifni oilfield operated by the United States-based Hunt Oil company. The attacks caused damage, but no casualties.

https://southfront.press/series-of-drone-attacks-hit-oil-fields-in-iraqs-kurdistan-videos/

>>23339823

o7

How do you go from this to - its a Democrat hoax

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945308974057972206

President Trump has shut down rumors about appointing a Special Counsel to look into the Jeffrey Epstein case, calling the reports false.

When questioned by a reporter, Trump quickly dismissed the idea, saying he has “nothing to do with it.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945587727270912505

Questions about 9/11 you're not allowed to ask.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945435723189850621

Our landmark autopsy study which found that 73.9% of deaths following COVID-19 vaccination were caused by the shots was illegally retracted just after becoming the #1 most-read scientific paper in the WORLD.

It’s time to dismantle the Journal Cartel.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1945600323470434480