News From Around the Web
#10 How Europe’s ‘Trade Bazooka’ Could Be a Last Resort Against Trump’s Tariffs - Holly Ellyatt for CNBC, Thomas Reich, dalton, benny, and James Boyce/Eric Manich on X
The European Union appears to be considering whether to deploy its “Anti-Coercion Instrument” — characterized as a “nuclear option” to try to deter trade disputes — as the threat of a 30% tariff on EU imports looms large. A number of EU member states, including France and Germany, are reportedly considering using “anti-coercion” measures targeting the U.S. if the bloc cannot reach a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, EU diplomats told Reuters this week. The measures could see the EU restrict U.S. suppliers’ access to the EU market, excluding them from participation in public tenders in the bloc, as well as putting export and import restrictions on goods and services, and limits on foreign direct investment in the region...
#9 At Oral Arguments in Harvard Funding Lawsuit, Judge Casts Doubt on Government’s Case - Matan H. Josephy and William C. Mao for The Harvard Crimson, Nicholas V. Chen, NewsNuzzle, Tom Pauken II, MassPolicyResort, and Bloomberg Law on X
A federal judge on Monday appeared skeptical of the federal government’s justification for freezing nearly $3 billion in research funding to Harvard, as lawyers for the two parties asked for a speedy decision in a high-stakes case that could determine the future of Harvard’s research enterprise. Speaking in front of a packed Boston courtroom, United States District Judge Allison D. Burroughs pressed a lawyer for the Department of Justice to explain how steep funding cuts to Harvard’s research centers were connected to the White House’s stated goal of combatting antisemitism within the University. “They’re not funding speech, they’re funding research. And you’re tying that research to speech,” Burroughs said to Michael K. Velchik ’12, who represented the government alone...
#8 Johnson Shuts Door on House Vote Before September on Releasing Epstein Files - CNN, Nick, ken hanley, BP.Dailyl, The National Desk, @shelia6725 and Pete Shuster on X
Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday said he does not plan to allow votes on any measures related to the Jeffrey Epstein case in the House’s final week in Washington before a weekslong recess, despite intense pressure from some of his own GOP members to go on the record on the issue. Some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters in Congress have been pressing party leaders to allow for a vote to show they support transparency around the Epstein saga — an issue that continues to animate the MAGA base even as Trump has repeatedly sought to blame Democrats for fanning the flames. The House forcing the Trump administration to turn over materials against its will would represent a remarkable rebuke of the president by his base. But the push has shown little forward momentum among the party’s leadership on Capitol Hill...
#7 Elon Musk Devotees Camp Out for Hours to Get a Glimpse of New Tesla Diner - Angela Yang for NBC News, LazyRichAs$an, PHO/Whole Mars Catalog, Evanverse, Information Alert, and Gazing Citizen on X
Tesla enthusiasts began lining up outside Elon Musk’s long-awaited Tesla Diner & Drive-In in Hollywood early Monday, eager to get their first glimpse of what’s inside. But with little clarity about when the gates would open, some of Musk’s most ardent fans waited hours before they were finally allowed in at 4:20 p.m., a classic reference Musk often makes to marijuana. Built in the bustling Hollywood location where a Shakey’s Pizza used to be, the retro-futuristic diner, which also doubles as a drive-in movie theater, is filled with Tesla technology — including its humanoid robot, Optimus — and merch, such as Cybertruck-themed food containers...
#6 Trump Administration Releases Records on Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination - Joe Walsh for CBS, J.B. DoesNotConsent, Fox6 News, JFK Files, circ North America, Reaniac, and Betsy MAGA on X
The federal government on Monday released thousands of records on the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. — a move that was ordered by President Trump earlier this year. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the documents, which number over 230,000 pages, "had never been digitized and sat collecting dust in facilities across the federal government for decades, until today." The records include the FBI's "discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, and documents related to James Earl Ray's former cellmate, who stated he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot," according to ODNI. The agency says the release also includes CIA records on the search for Ray, who fled the U.S. before he was eventually captured and pleaded guilty to assassinating King...
#5 China Finds Cover-up in Lead Poisoning of 200 Children - Kelly Ng for BBC News, Pippin17, Mothership, News18, TheStarKenya/thestarhealth, and UnreadWhy on X
Dozens of provincial officials and hospital staff attempted to cover up a lead poisoning case that made hundreds of children sick in north-west China and sparked widespread outrage, an official investigation has found. The officials tampered with the blood tests of students who were poisoned at Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city, Gansu provincial authorities said in a report on Sunday. City officials also accepted bribes from an investor in Peixin while neglecting food safety inspections across several pre-schools, the report said. In an attempt to attract more students, Peixin chefs had used inedible paint to "enhance the look" of its meals, the report said...
#4 Gen Xers Mourn Drowning Death of Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Known as Theo on ‘The Cosby Show’ - Corey Williams for AP News, Ace Football Analytics/Tyrese Gibson, Deborah/Renee/Darla Hattan, errolsam, Jay/BlogBoi and Mirror TV on X
For Black youth and teens growing up in the mid-1980s, “The Cosby Show” offered something rarely seen on television up until that time: a sitcom that placed characters who looked like them in a positive light. And Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Theo Huxtable was the character Generation X most related to. Fans took quickly to social media on Monday as news of Warner’s accidental drowning in Costa Rica spread. “It’s like losing one of us,” said Harriet Cammock, a 58-year-old Detroit author and speaker. “This is the thing with television. When you’re watching people every week on television, you think you know them and you’re related to them.”
#3 Trump’s Golden Dome Looks for Alternatives to Musk’s SpaceX - Mike Stone for Reuters, Alma Angeles, Alexandre Chateaub, Lre, The Dibster, and Nigel on X
The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to U.S. military communications...#2 Speaker Mike Johnson Says Congress Might Subpoena Obama Over Russia Conspiracy - Paul Bois for Breitbart, Ken Kmak, Dinesh D'Souza/Troy Johnson, Owen Gregorian, Glen Woodfin/David Brody YourNEWS.com, and magamanvegas on X
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Congress may subpoena former President Barack Obama for allegedly colluding with America’s intelligence agencies to tie President Donald Trump to Russia during the 2016 election. Johnson revealed to reporter David Brody that he has been considering a subpoena of former President Barack Obama. “I think we have a responsibility to follow the truth, where it leads,” said Johnson. “To do effectively the opposite of what that other team did — they were engaged in a partisan political plot to take down their foe in the other party. We need to be about the rule of law and bring an order to the chaos and searching out the truth because the American people are owed those answers.”
