🇨🇳Trump admin moves to block China from buying farmland. The Department of Agriculture announced a National Farm Security Action Plan to prevent foreign adversaries from purchasing American farmland and stealing agricultural research. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, joined by cabinet members including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, noted that Chinese nationals already own 265,000 acres of US land, much of it located near military bases. This plan targets what conservatives have considered a long-standing security gap that let China buy land near military bases for years.
🇺🇦Trump resumes weapons shipments to Ukraine. President Trump ordered the Pentagon to send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine as Russia continues launching massive airstrikes. Trump expressed disappointment with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and stated that Ukraine has to "be able to defend themselves" while criticizing Russia for "killing too many people." The sudden policy reversal contradicts last week's unexplained weapons shipment pause, revealing some inconsistency in the administration's approach.
✅Supreme Court green lights Trump's mass layoffs. The Supreme Court stayed a district judge's injunction that had blocked Trump's "critical transformation of the federal bureaucracy," ruling that the Trump administration "is likely to succeed on its argument" that its executive order is lawful. Even Justice Sotomayor concurred, noting the order directs agencies to act "consistent with applicable law." This ruling clears the path for Trump's ambitious restructuring of federal agencies while overcoming judicial roadblocks.
🚒Texas fire chief blocked flood rescues. The Austin Firefighters Association (AFA) revealed that Fire Chief Joel Baker denied deployment of water rescue teams to Kerrville two days before catastrophic flooding began. The union called it an "egregious dereliction of duty" that likely cost lives, claiming Baker's decision was made to save money despite the state fully reimbursing such deployments. The AFA president is calling for Baker's removal, and he will face a vote of no confidence next week.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayorrebuked Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in a concurring opinion on Trump's mass layoffs case.
Iran's top clericcalled for the execution of President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu during a sermon in Tehran.
Benjamin Netanyahunominated President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize during his Washington visit.
America's largest teachers unionvoted to cut all ties with the Anti-Defamation League for being too supportive of Israel.
INSIDER EXCLUSIVE
The Big, Beautiful Bill passed. Thank Mike Johnson.
The Big, Beautiful Bill will be signed today by President Donald Trump after a historic vote in the House of Representatives.
While lots of attention has been placed on Trump's efforts at winning over wavering House Republicans, House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) efforts were essential to its passage…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has now stated that churches can endorse political candidates during religious services without risking their tax-exempt status.
In a joint court filing with the National Religious Broadcasters Association and two Texas churches, the tax agency effectively created a carve-out from the Johnson Amendment — a 1954 provision that prohibits tax-exempt organizations from engaging in political campaigns.
This move fulfills a long-standing promise from President Donald Trump, who vowed in 2017 to "totally destroy" the amendment and allow faith leaders to speak freely about politics.
_THE FACTS_
The Johnson Amendment, passed in 1954 by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, bars tax-exempt groups from political campaigning.
For years, pastors would send their political sermons to the IRS as a form of civil disobedience. The IRS never dared to prosecute because they knew they'd lose in court.
In 2008, the Alliance Defending Freedom launched "Freedom Pulpit Sunday," encouraging thousands of pastors nationwide to defy the IRS with political preaching.
The National Religious Broadcasters just argued in the court filing that churches "cannot fulfill their spiritual duties … if they fail to address [political] issues and inform their listeners how the views of various candidates compare to the Bible."
The IRS now acknowledges that the Johnson Amendment infringed upon churches' free exercise of religion and freedom of speech.
This means churches can now preach on candidates and name names from the pulpit, all without fearing the IRS.
President Barack Obama used to campaign in churches, but those churches never faced an IRS penalty. The same goes for Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Trump.
Numerous conservative churches previously faced complaints for endorsing candidates in national elections.
Today's newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman, Anthony Constantini, and Ariel David. We scoured 100s of sources to bring you stories and insights you won't find in the mainstream media.
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