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Federal Judge Blocks a Major Provision in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’

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A federal judge has halted enforcement of a provision in the 2025 Reconciliation Act that would cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.

The provision would have prohibited Medicaid reimbursements to any abortion provider affiliated with the organization that performs elective abortions and receives over $800,000 in funding.

US District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that this measure violates multiple constitutional protections — especially for Planned Parenthood affiliates that do not provide abortions. She argued that the provision “burdens the exercise of Planned Parenthood Federation and its Members First Amendment rights of association and is thus subject to strict scrutiny review.”

Her argument was that the government does not possess the authority to compel organizations to disaffiliate from Planned Parenthood by using the threat of withholding federal funds — especially when the affiliation is expressive and based on shared values and advocacy.

Talwani referred to the longstanding political effort to defund the organization based on its advocacy rather than its abortion services. She pointed to the provision, which says the measure is “designed to ensure nearly all of the entitites covered are Planned Parenthood Members.”

(Read more from “Federal Judge Blocks a Major Provision in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill'” HERE)

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Trump Secures $1.35 Trillion Trade Deal With EU

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President Donald Trump announced on Sunday a historic trade agreement with the European Union, calling it a “landmark victory” for American energy and economic leadership. The deal, struck after high-stakes negotiations with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, will see the EU purchase $750 billion in U.S. energy exports and invest an additional $600 billion in the United States, solidifying America’s position as a global energy powerhouse.

“This agreement strengthens our transatlantic ties while putting American workers, industries, and the broader economy first,” Trump said. “The European Union is going to agree to purchase from the United States $750 billion worth of energy. They are going to agree to invest into the United States $600 billion more than they’re investing already.”

The breakthrough comes after weeks of tense talks and looming tariff threats. Trump had signaled that, without a deal by Friday, tariffs on most European imports would jump from 10% to 30% starting August 1—part of his broader push to address what he called “one of the largest trade deficits” between the U.S. and the EU.

“Most of the deals—aside from steel and aluminum, where we’ve already been hitting them with 50 percent—will see new duties starting Friday,” Trump warned, emphasizing that no exceptions would be made for nations unwilling to reach new trade agreements.

The agreement marks another major policy victory for Trump, who has prioritized “America-first” trade strategies throughout his presidency. Analysts say the deal could have far-reaching implications for global energy markets and U.S. industries, providing a massive boost to American energy exports and domestic investments.

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Trump Says He’s ‘Thinking About’ Sending Tariff-Funded Rebate Checks To Americans

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President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was contemplating sending rebate checks to Americans using tariff revenue.

The U.S. government ran a $27 billion budget surplus in June, fueled partly by record tariff revenue, which exceeded $100 billion for the first time in a fiscal year, Reuters reported. When a reporter asked Trump at the White House if there was a chance of a rebate for Americans due to the revenue, the president said his administration was prioritizing paying off debt, but that a small rebate for some Americans was possible.

“We’re thinking about that, actually. We have so much money coming in,” Trump said. “We’re thinking about a little rebate, but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt. But we’re thinking about a rebate.”

“That’s a very good question. You just made a lot of news,” he continued. “We’re thinking about a rebate because we have so much money coming in from tariffs that a little rebate for people of a certain income level might be very nice.”

Trump unveiled sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on nearly every other nation on April 2, but announced a 90-day pause one week later, which cut most of them to a 10% baseline rate. (Read more from “Trump Says He’s ‘Thinking About’ Sending Tariff-Funded Rebate Checks To Americans” HERE)

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Trump Signs Executive Order Forcing Homeless off America’s Streets

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President Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling on states and cities to end “endemic vagrancy” — and rehouse homeless people including drug addicts and those suffering from mental problems in “treatment centers.”

The order redirects federal funding to prioritize “shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment.”

On average, more than 274,000 people were sleeping on the streets each night last year under then-President Joe Biden, the order says.

“The overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health disorder, or both,” the document says.

“The Federal Government and the States have spent tens of billions of dollars on failed programs that address homelessness but not its root causes, leaving other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats.” (Read more from “Trump Signs Executive Order Forcing Homeless off America’s Streets” HERE)

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Social Security Benefits to Be Cut by 24% over Next Seven Years: Fiscal Watchdog

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Social Security beneficiaries are expected to face a 24% cut in payments by late 2032 following the enactment of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to new projections from a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog.

The projected cut would equal an $18,100 annual benefit cut for a dual-earning, middle-class couple that retires at the start of 2033, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget revealed in an analysis released Thursday. In comparison, a single-income couple at the same class level that retires at the end of the seven-year period would see a lower benefit cut of $13,600 per year.

“Policymakers pledging not to touch Social Security are implicitly endorsing these deep benefit cuts for 62 million retirees in 2032 and beyond,” the nonprofit organization said. “It is time for policymakers to tell the truth about the program’s finances and to pursue trust fund solutions to head off insolvency and improve the program for current and future generations.”

The new tax law essentially reduces the incoming tax revenue toward Social Security’s trust fund, accelerating the retirement program’s depletion. The drastic cut would take effect once the Social Security trust fund runs out of money in less than a decade.

Retirees may also find it harder to access healthcare due to an 11% cut in Medicare hospital insurance payments, the analysis shows. (Read more from “Social Security Benefits to Be Cut by 24% over Next Seven Years: Fiscal Watchdog” HERE)

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Obama’s Intel Agencies Interfered In The 2016 Election, And Of Course The Media Don’t Care

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If you told me a week ago that the federal government would release a bunch of official emails related to interference in the 2016 election and President Trump but virtually all of the media wouldn’t give a damn, I’d have assumed you were on drugs.

That’s what happened though. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Friday declassified a slew of internal government communications proving that then-President Obama’s intelligence agencies deliberately blocked the publication of a conclusive assessment that Russia had not manipulated votes in the 2016 election — contradicting the Russian-interference lie aggressively pushed by both Democrats and the dying news media.

As Margot Cleveland wrote this week here, “[T]he email threads declassified last week indicate the [Office of the Director of National Intelligence] … buried the PDB [President’s Daily Brief] to provide the intelligence community cover to issue a contrary assessment concerning Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election — and did so, against the recommendations of a wide array of intelligence professionals.”

At a minimum, that means a former president used American taxpayer dollars to smear his successor, sowing suspicion that Trump’s victory was illegitimate. That is, by definition, a scandal.

If it were Trump who did that to Biden, we would be hearing about this 50 years from now. Instead, the dying media are sweeping it away as a bore. (Read more from “Obama’s Intel Agencies Interfered In The 2016 Election, And Of Course The Media Don’t Care” HERE)

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Florida Judge Says ‘Hands Are Tied,’ Won’t Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts

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A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s request to unseal transcripts from Florida grand jury proceedings related to a 20-year-old criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, saying her “hands are tied.”

U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Florida Robin Rosenberg wrote in her denial that an unrelated 2020 ruling by the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “does not permit” her to unseal grand jury records in instances not covered by the criminal procedure rule, CNBC reported.

“Eleventh Circuit law does not permit this Court to grant the Government’s request; the Court’s hands are tied — a point the Government concedes,” Rosenberg wrote.

President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioned the U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, Florida, to obtain the transcripts from two grand juries that convened there in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

In its argument for the transcripts, which are normally left sealed in such cases, the DOJ pointed to a “strong public interest in the historical investigation into Jeffrey Epstein,” the convicted sex offender suspected of trafficking minors to other pedophiles. (Read more from “Florida Judge Says ‘Hands Are Tied,’ Won’t Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts” HERE)

Showdown: Trump DOJ Has Responded to the Federal Judges Who Tried to Boot One of His Prosecutors

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As Sarah wrote earlier today, federal judges in New Jersey tried to boot interim US Attorney Alina Habba. They refused to extend her interim term, and other shenanigans were happening in the backdrop[.]. .

Well, Ms. Grace won’t be the next interim US Attorney for New Jersey since Attorney General Pam Bondi fired her today. The reason: the Trump DOJ does not tolerate the extrajudicial antics of rogue judges (via ABC News):

The Justice Department on Tuesday said it fired Desiree Leigh Grace as the newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, hours after federal judges in the state chose her over President Donald Trump’s pick, Alina Habba.

The announcement came after federal judges in New Jersey opted not to appoint Habba, Trump’s former personal attorney, as the state’s top federal prosecutor on a permanent basis. Trump appointed Habba as the state’s acting U.S. attorney in March.

“This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X in announcing Grace’s firing.

(Read more from “Showdown: Trump DOJ Has Responded to the Federal Judges Who Tried to Boot One of His Prosecutors” HERE)

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Trump Says He May Eliminate Capital Gains Tax on Home Sales in Effort to Bolster the Housing Market

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President Trump said Tuesday he is considering eliminating the capital gains tax on home sales — a potentially massive financial break for sellers.

“We are thinking about no tax on capital gains on houses,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Trump was responding to a question from Real America Voice reporter Brian Glenn, who is in a relationship with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The Georgia GOP congresswoman recently introduced a bill in Congress calling for the elimination of the tax on home sales.

Minutes earlier, the president had unloaded on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates.

“It’s causing a problem for people who want to buy a home,” Trump said. (Read more from “Trump Says He May Eliminate Capital Gains Tax on Home Sales in Effort to Bolster the Housing Market” HERE)

Trump Says His FBI Found Nothing ‘Abnormal’ When Investigating Assassination Attempt

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President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that his FBI had concluded its investigation into Thomas Crooks and found nothing “abnormal” more than a year after the assassination attempt on his life.

While Trump’s FBI said there was no “there there” while investigating the assassination attempt in March, the president told Fox News that he was having a hard time believing the official narrative surrounding the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Ten days out from the anniversary of the assassination attempt, Trump told the Daily Caller that he was “very satisfied” with what his administration turned up.

A year after the assassination attempt, details on tragedy and 20-year-old Thomas Crooks remain limited.

“What an interesting world that we know more about two people at a Coldplay concert just hours after that viral video than we know of Thomas Crooks one year after the assassination attempt. What is holding back the investigation on Thomas Crooks?” Real America’s Voice White House correspondent Brian Glenn asked.

“They have reported to me and told me things. They really say they haven’t found anything abnormal. I will say this, the Secret Service was very brave because they were right there and they jumped on me. They made mistakes. They should’ve had someone on that roof. They should have had communication with the local police. They made some mistakes,” Trump said while taking questions at a meeting with the Philippines president. (Read more from “Trump Says His FBI Found Nothing ‘Abnormal’ When Investigating Assassination Attempt” HERE)