Trina's Kitchen

Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Eat Your Greens Chickpea Medley in the Kitchen

From earlier tonight, Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "MAGA Loves The Stink Of Him" and I really enjoyed it.

Brad's garden is producing spinach. And he loves Oh She Glow's Eat Your Greens Chickpea Medley recipe which uses spinach as a main ingredient:

Ingredients

For the chickpea medley

2 cups dried/uncooked chickpeas (makes 5 1/2-6 cups cooked)

1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach

1 1/2 cups cilantro, large stems removed (or parsley)

3/4 cup red onion, chopped finely

For the dressing

1/4 cup fresh lime juice2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil2 garlic cloves, minced1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener), or more to taste3/4 tsp fine sea salt + ground pepper, or to taste

Directions

To cook chickpeas: Soak 2 cups dried chickpeas in a large bowl of water overnight (I find around 12 hours or a bit longer is ideal). Soaking beans makes them digest easier and it also cuts down on cooking time. Drain and rinse the beans in the morning and add to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, uncovered, until fork tender, about 40 minutes (this will vary depending on how fresh your dried beans are). Feel free to set the timer, walk away, and go about your business!

Rinse and drain the spinach and cilantro (or parsley). Spin until dry in a salad spinner.

In a food processor, add the spinach and cilantro and pulse until chopped very small. You can do this in a couple batches if your processor is smaller. Add the processed spinach and cilantro, drained cooked chickpeas, and chopped onion into a large bowl and stir.

In a small jar, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, maple syrup, and salt.

Pour the dressing on top of the spinach chickpea mixture and stir well. Let stand for about 10 minutes (or overnight) to let the flavours develop. Will keep for a few days, or longer, in the fridge.

Chickpeas. If you want to do the recipe above but don't want to boil dried chickpeas, you can use 3.5 to 4 cans of chickpeas. This is a salad recipe so let's note the other ones from this year and last:

"3 Bean Salad in the Kitchen"

"DIY Salad in a Jar in the Kitchen"

"Avocado, Watermelon and Cantaloupe Salad in the Kitchen"

"Peach, Arugula and Blue Cheese Salad"

"Green Goddess Roasted Carrot Salad in the Kitchen"

"Deviled Egg Salad in the Kitchen"

"Corn and Tomato Salad"

"Blue Cheese Wedge Salad in the Kitchen"

"Chickpea Salad Sandwiches in the Kitchen"

"Summer Salad with Fruit in the Kitchen"

"Tomato and Watermelon Salad"

"Summer Vegetable Saute in the Kitchen"

"Pasta Salad in the Kitchen"

"Salad Pasta in the Kitchen ."

"Corn Tomato Avocado Salad in the Kitchen"

"Dill Pickle Pasta Salad in the Kitchen"

"Creamy Cucumber Salad in the Kitchen"

"Peach and Cucumber Salad in the Kitchen"

"Watermelon Feta Salad in the Kitchen"

"Broccoli Salad in the Kitchen"

"Yellow Beans & Potato Salad in the Kitchen"

"Greek Spaghetti Pasta Salad in the Kitchen"

"Pepperoni Pasta Salad in the Kitchen"

"Cold Salmon Salad with Avocado Dressing in the Kitchen"

"Carrot salad with cumin and radish in the Kitchen"

"Easy Cucumber Salad in the Kitchen"

"Simple Summer Tomato Salad in the Kitchen"

"Epic summer salad in the Kitchen"

"Fresh Summer Salad in the Kitchen"

"Cucumber Salads (two) in the Kitchen"

"Watermelon Tomato Salad in the Kitchen"

"Avocado Salad in the Kitcehn"

"Antipasto Salad in the Kitchen"

"Caprese Salad in the Kitchen"

"Easy Summer Pasta in the Kitchen"

News? Chris Perez (Law & Crime) reports:

A coalition of 16 states is going after the Trump administration over the cancellation of more than $1 billion in "bipartisan mental health funding" for students in low-income and rural communities — filing a lawsuit Monday that accuses the government of breaching grant agreements and violating federal regulations, "leaving schools and students to suffer the consequences," the states say.

Attorneys general in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin are suing the Department of Education for, in their words, "illegally cutting congressionally approved funding" for mental health programs in K-12 schools.

"The tragic events of the Uvalde school shooting prompted a bipartisan Congress to dramatically increase the historical funding levels for the programs and ensure future funds would be available through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," the AGs wrote in a 48-page complaint filed in the Western District of Washington state.

"On or about April 29 … the Department decided to discontinue program grants based on an alleged conflict with the current Administration's priorities," the complaint later says. "The Department implemented its Non-Continuation Decision by sending boilerplate notices to plaintiffs claiming that their grants conflicted with the Trump Administration's priorities and would not be continued."

Chump is outrageous and belongs behind bars. I think C.I.'s right, the MAGA motto is now "We're all going to die" and "People die" which is their excuse for defunding needed programs and doing nothing about issues that need addressing. They're a do-nothing band of idiots who are destroying this country.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Wednesday:

Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Since "we're all going to die," the GOP decides to rob the American people before they're in the grave.

Donald Chump's desire to rob from the poor to give to the rich bill has passed the Senate and has gone back to the House which is expected to vote for it today so that they can rush home to their districts where they will continue to ignore their constituents while sleeping in their own beds. Edith Olmsted (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes, "A survey by The Washington Post found that 42 percent of Americans opposed the bill, while only 23 percent supported it, leaving the legislation with a net favorable rating of -19 -- and that was the most positive that the results got. A Pew Research Center poll found that the bill had a net favorable rating of -20, Fox News found a net favorable rating of -21, Quinnipiac found a net favorable rating of -26, and KFF found a net favorable rating of -29."

The American people are not being listened to and this is going to harm the GOP in next year's midterm elections. Some grasp that and are bailing with announcements right now that they won't be seeking re-election. Most others will be shown the door by others.

Yesterday, Andrew Keshner (MARKET WATCH) reported:

America’s social safety net is poised to become thinner if the Republicans’ massive tax and spending bill crosses the finish line, at a time when low-income consumers are struggling and recession fears linger.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed its version in a 51-50 vote. Vice President J.D. Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. The version that passed the Senate included last-minute adjustments to try strengthening the finances of rural hospitals, which treat many Medicaid enrollees. Next the bill goes back to the U.S. House of Representatives for a final vote.

If President Donald Trump signs the megabill into law, it would result in stingier subsidies and tighter eligibility rules for government-funded healthcare. It would potentially create more requirements for people to qualify for food stamps, and those benefits would do less to keep up with grocery prices over time. The bill would also create more paperwork for people who want to keep using these anti-poverty programs and tax credits.

“Overall, we would be left with an economic security system that barely functions in the best of economic times and will be completely overwhelmed when we encounter our next economic downturn,” said Indivar Dutta-Gupta, a distinguished visiting fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Medicaid is in the center of the debate on whether to scale back government aid and how to do it. But the proposed Medicaid cuts are only one of the ways the megabill will touch safety-net programs that Americans have relied on for decades. The nearing overhaul also targets other programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, and tax subsidies for people who buy their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s exchange.

For anyone not getting it, Yasmeen Abutaleb (WASHINGTON POST) explains:

The Senate version of President Donald Trump’s massive tax and immigration spending plan would wipe out many of the strides made by the Affordable Care Act in reducing the number of uninsured Americans, resulting in at least 17 million Americans losing their health coverage, according to nonpartisan estimates and experts.

The bill, which narrowly passed the Senate on Tuesday and now heads back to the House, would effectively accomplish what Republicans have long failed to do: unwind many of the key components of the ACA, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement that dramatically increased the number of Americans with access to health insurance.

To start, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the Senate version of the bill would result in 11.8 million more uninsured in 2034, mostly because of Medicaid cuts, compared with 10.9 million if the House version became law.

In addition, both versions of the bill would allow pandemic-era enhanced subsidies for health insurance through ACA marketplaces to expire at the end of the year, sharply raising out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans. The CBO estimates that 4.2 million people would lose insurance as a result. An additional 1 million are likely to become uninsured because of a combination of other Trump administration cuts and the Republican legislation, according to the CBO.

The bill also includes other, less-noticed changes that over several years would make it harder for states to maintain the ACA’s Medicaid expansion at existing levels, which currently cover some 20 million Americans, according to KFF, a health policy research organization.

“This bill-- if passed, and if the enhanced subsidies expire -- will be a very effective undermining of the vision of the Affordable Care Act to move the United States to a country where universal coverage is in sight,” said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. “This was the 100-year fight to get to the passage of the Affordable Care Act.”

Senator Patty Murray is the longest serving Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. Her office issued the following:

In Washington state, at least 328,695 people will lose health care under Republican bill; 900,000 Washingtonians could see SNAP benefits reduced or eliminated; 14 rural hospitals will be at risk of closure

ICYMI: In Senate Floor Speech, Murray Rails Against Republican Bill That Rips Away Health Care, Nutrition Assistance, Abortion Access & Balloons National Debt to Fund Tax Cuts for Billionaires; VIDEO HERE

ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Murray Again Slams Republicans for Using Deceptive Tactics to Hide True Cost of Deficit-Busting Tax Cuts for Billionaires

ICYMI: Republicans Block Murray Amendment to Stop Republicans’ Big Ugly Betrayal Bill From Defunding Planned Parenthood

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on Senate Republicans passing their partisan reconciliation bill—the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—by a vote of 51-50 on Tuesday, with Vice President Vance voting with Republicans to break the tie, after an overnight “vote-a-rama” where Democrats forced Republicans to take dozens of tough votes on a wide array of issues, from protecting rural hospitals to preserving food assistance for families to extending expiring tax credits that help millions of families afford health care. The nearly 30-hour vote-a-rama came after Democrats forced more than 10 hours of debate and a full reading of every word of Republicans’ 940-page bill that will kick 17 million Americans off their health care and make the largest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in history to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

Senator Murray put forward an amendment to strike a provision of the legislation that achieves anti-abortion extremists’ long-sought goal of “defunding” Planned Parenthood by cutting off Planned Parenthood health centers from receiving federal Medicaid funding for the care they provide for millions of low-income women across the country—including birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and wellness exams. Republicans blocked the amendment, 51-49.

“This monstrosity of a bill is about one thing: Republicans’ insistence on passing more tax breaks for billionaires and giant corporations while they kick working people off their health care, rip away nutrition assistance, and make it harder for struggling families to get by. It’s about taking away programs that give American families a hand up in hard times, to pay for a handout for the people who need it the least.

“This should be obvious: if a bill is so bad that you have to exempt entire states from its consequences to win the votes you need—just don’t pass the bill!

“Republicans’ legislation will mean 17 million Americans will lose their health insurance, including more than 328,000 people in Washington state who rely on Apple Health and Affordable Care Act coverage. Families will lose the SNAP benefits they rely on to afford food because of new Republican red tape positively meant to keep people from getting the benefits they are eligible for. Rural hospitals in Central and Eastern Washington that are already operating on the tightest of margins will be forced to close their doors, ripping away health care access from entire communities. Planned Parenthood health centers will shutter and women will be left with nowhere they can go to get birth control, cancer screenings, and other preventive care they can actually afford.

“When it comes to the all-out assault on clean energy in this bill, even Elon Musk understands the plain facts of the matter—Republicans’ cuts are ‘utterly insane and destructive’ and will ‘destroy millions of jobs in America.’ Republicans are also ripping away tens of millions of dollars for critical NOAA facilities in Washington state as part of this bill.

“This fight is not over—this bill is not yet law and I am not going to stop raising my voice and making sure the American people know exactly what is in it. Communities in Eastern and Central Washington will be among the hardest hit by these gigantic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP—now is the time to raise your voices and tell your Republican Members of Congress to vote NO. Republicans in the House need to listen to the American people and abandon this disaster of a bill.

“In the end, every Republican who votes for this bill will have to explain to their constituents why they voted to shutter local hospitals and punish struggling families to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”

Earlier on Sunday, Senator Murray delivered a lengthy speech on the Senate floor where she laid out in detail how Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act will rip away health care from millions of Americans, shutter the doors of hospitals and health care clinics across the country, make the largest cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance in history, and blow up the national debt—all so Republicans can fund massive tax breaks for billionaires. Murray also spoke out repeatedly during debate on the Senate floor against Republicans’ use of a so-called “current policy baseline” to hide the true cost of their deficit-busting tax cuts for billionaires.

Republicans’ 940-page bill, which they released in the dead of night, cuts more than $900 billion from Medicaid—$100 billion more than the House bill. That means about 17 million Americans will lose their health care, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and more than 300 rural hospitals and over 500 nursing homes could close because of the legislation. The legislation makes the largest cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in history and will rip away nutrition assistance entirely from more than 5 million Americans and shift tens of billions of dollars in costs to states. The legislation also increases the debt by nearly $4 trillion dollars—nearly a trillion more than the House bill. About two in three Americans oppose the bill.

In Washington state, 1.95 million people rely on Apple Health, Washington state’s Medicaid program, and over 300,000 Washingtonians access coverage through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace (Washington Healthplanfinder). The Joint Economic Committee estimates that at least 328,695 people in Washington state would lose their health insurance under the Republican legislation—that includes 198,050 people who would be kicked off Medicaid and 108,262 people who would lose their coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Among other things, Republicans’ bill would institute work reporting requirements for Medicaid, which have been proven not to increase employment and just strip health care coverage from people who are already working or exempt—this would put more than 620,000 Washingtonians at risk of losing their health care coverage or having it delayed. Fourteen rural hospitals in Washington state would be at risk of closure under the Republican bill. The legislation also “defunds” Planned Parenthood for the next year, threatening the closure of up to 200 health centers across the country—90 percent of them in states where abortion is legal. 11 percent of Washington state residents rely on SNAP, and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services estimated that more than 900,000 people across the state could their see SNAP benefits reduced or eliminated under the House bill—the Senate bill is just as extreme.

Senator Murray has held constant recent events—including multiple events in Washington state—to sound the alarm on Republicans’ devastating reconciliation bill and encourage constituents to raise their voices and call on their Members of Congress to oppose the legislation.

###

The bill has been sent back to the House, it has not yet been passed. Many are urging people to contact their House Representatives and urge them not to vote for the bill.

Paul Krugman explains:

Does anyone remember the 1995 government shutdown and why it happened? Basically Newt Gingrich, fresh off a big Republican victory in the midterm election, was trying to force Bill Clinton to make big cuts in Medicare. He failed, in large part because Medicare was and is an immensely popular program.

A decade later, George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security. But he, too, failed, because Social Security is also immensely popular.

But the Republican quest to rip up as much of the social safety net as possible never ends. And for the past 15 years or so that has meant steering clear, for now, of Medicare and Social Security, which are middle-class programs, and going after Medicaid instead. If the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which is, incredibly, the legislation’s actual name — goes into effect, Medicaid will be cut by around a trillion dollars over the next decade. (As of this morning, the fate of that bill remains uncertain.)

What is Medicaid? Like Medicare, it’s government-provided health insurance. But unlike Medicare, it’s “means-tested”: your income has to fall below a certain level before you’re eligible. This makes Medicaid a program for the poor or near-poor — and that, for many on the right, suggests a political opportunity.

Ostensibly, the right attacks Medicaid because it costs too much. I mean, it’s a government program, which means that it must be riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse, right? And surely there must be millions of lazy people getting health care through Medicaid who should be getting up off their couches and going to work.

The reality is that none of this is true.

MSNBC this morning states the GOP can only afford to lose three votes in the House.

As more facts come out, Nikki McCann Ramirez (ROLLING STONE) notes that liars like the vice president rush to weigh in:

President Donald Trump and the GOP's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" is far from beautiful and deeply unpopular with the public. Battling concerns from voters about increased barriers to accessing programs like Medicaid and food assistance; massive transfers of wealth from less fortunate Americans to corporations and the rich; and the mass deregulation of industries like crypto and AI, Vice President J.D. Vance is attempting a new tactic to persuade the hesitant: ignore all of that and focus on how much money the bill is giving to ICE.

"The thing that will bankrupt this country more than any other policy is flooding the country with illegal immigration and then giving those migrants generous benefits. The [One Big Beautiful Bill] fixes this problem. And therefore it must pass," Vance wrote Tuesday on X.

"Everything else - the CBO score, the proper baseline, the minutiae of the Medicaid policy - is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions," he added.

The millions of people who are expected to lose access to their health insurance as a result of the legislation would likely beg to differ.

I think Miss Sassy's confused. Millions losing health insurance, JD, is not "minutiae." Minutiae is actually that lifeless, little extension in the front of your pants.

Governor Gavin Newsom's office issued the following two weeks ago:

With the risk of catastrophic wildfire on the rise as peak fire season sets in across California, the state’s firefighting and prevention resources are facing new strain resulting from President Trump’s actions.

President Trump’s illegal militarization of Los Angeles is cutting into valuable firefighting resources. As a federal judge noted yesterday in ruling that President Trump’s actions are illegal and should be halted, five of California’s 14 National Guard fire crews – who staff Joint Task Force Rattlesnake – are now understaffed due to the federalization and diversion of 300 California National Guard (CalGuard) soldiers from those crews to armories in the Los Angeles region. That represents three-quarters of CalGuard’s fire response and prevention resources.

Trump is endangering communities across California. He’s pulling National Guard members off of critical wildfire prevention and response missions for his political stunt in Los Angeles. And this is on top of his dangerous cuts to the Forest Service.

It’s critical that Trump heeds his own advice: restore funding to the Forest Service, support federal firefighters and Make America Rake Again.

Governor Gavin Newsom

The National Guard impact is on top of the Trump administration’s dangerous cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, which also threatens the safety of communities across the state. The U.S. Forest Service has lost 10% of all positions and 25% of positions outside of direct wildfire response – both of which are likely to impact wildfire response this year. The cuts come as the President issued an executive order yesterday on wildfire response – another order that rings hollow given the President’s actions.

“In just the first five months of 2025 California has experienced more than 2,300 wildfires,” said CAL FIRE Director and Fire Chief Joe Tyler. “Having the necessary firefighting apparatus and personnel is critical to our mission at CAL FIRE.”

Now Gen Gregory Guillot is asking for 200 to be returned to him to continue the California wildfire mission. No one wanted to address the needs to fight the wild fires -- not even the Supreme Court. Fighters needed for that effort have been sent to Los Angeles where they slept on floors and waited around for something to do. Wasted resources.

Moving over to Florida, Josh Fiallo (DAILY BEAST) notes:

A Florida city welcomed President Donald Trump to the state Tuesday by making life harder for his ICE goons.

Hours before Trump touched down at Florida’s so-called “Alligator Alcatraz,” city commissioners in Key West voted 6-1 in favor of scrapping an agreement requiring local police to coordinate with federal immigration officials.

The vote “basically invalidated the city’s most recent agreement with ICE,” which was reached in March, reported Local 10.

“People who are seeking political asylum are important members of our community,” Commissioner Samuel Kaufman said, according to WLRN. “We have thousands of them here, by the way. And they deserve the respect that anybody else does.”

On the deathcamp that Chump and Doo-Doo DeSantis are creating, Alex Leary and Meridith McGraw (WALL STREET JOURNAL) report:

President Trump traveled to the steaming hot heart of the Everglades for a tour of a newly constructed migrant detention center—and a reunion with one of his fiercest political rivals.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has worked over the past year to mend a tattered relationship with the president after challenging him in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. DeSantis has sought to make Florida a proving ground for Trump’s policies. And he is selling a nickname for the detention facility that has caught Trump’s eye: Alligator Alcatraz.

“That’s not a place I want to go hiking any day soon,” Trump said Tuesday. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is really deportation.” The president added, “It might be as good as the real Alcatraz.”

As we noted yesterday, attacks on immigrants is big business and a lot of trash is getting rich on these attacks. Andrew Perez and Nikki McCann Ramirez (ROLLING STONE) note just how big the business is:

As it turns out, two contractors who worked to quickly build out Alligator Alcatraz, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has called a "one-stop shop" for detention, adjudication, and deportation of migrants, have been significant donors to DeSantis and Trump.

Trump and DeSantis, who were bitter rivals in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, toured Alligator Alcatraz together on Tuesday alongside Kristi Noem, who leads Trump's Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "Ron worked beautifully with Kristi and all of the people at Homeland Security and got it done in how many days, Ron?" Trump marveled.

Earlier Tuesday, Bloomberg News identified several contractors working on Alligator Alcatraz - a group of disaster relief firms selected by Florida's Division of Emergency Management, which is part of DeSantis' administration.

Among the contractors is CDR Companies, which Bloomberg reported "will run medical services and did some site preparation." CDR's president Carlos Duart and businesses affiliated with his firm have made significant donations to DeSantis and Trump, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

CDR Enterprises donated $1 million in December 2023 to Fight Right Inc., a super PAC that supported DeSantis' presidential campaign. Late last year, DeSantis announced he was appointing Duart to the board of trustees at Florida International University, and named his wife, Tina Vidal-Duart, to the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Debbie Downers of the Dining Set" went up yesterday.

Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Debbie Downers of the Dining Set." Pray they never crash your dinner party. Border czar and War Criminal Tom Homan sighs, "People die." Senator Joni Ernst heaves, "We're all going to die." The hostess complains, "No one wants to sit next to them!" While the host asks, "Who invited them?" Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS.

A person dies in Florida detention and Homan says, "People die." That's at least the fourth immigrant who has died in detention in Florida since the start of the year and Holman's response is "People die." Senator Joni Ernst is confronted by her own constituents who do not want these cuts to Medicaid, who point out to her the people will die as a result and Joni Phoney's response? "We're all doing to die."

Those are the GOP slogans: "We're all going to die" and "People die." That explains why they take no action on climate change.

Why bother because "People die" and "We're all going to die." It's their excuse for doing nothing to help the American people or anyone else.

Fight back. That's the only answer. In "Media shocks (Ava and C.I.)," Ava and I noted the various shocks last week and concluded with this:

It's very distressing but people are standing up and speaking out.

And with that in mind, last week actually contained one more shock. Chump was threatening to sue various outlets -- one of which was THE NEW YORK TIMES. In response to his ranting and raving, the paper's deputy general counsel David McGraw stated, "No retraction is needed. No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so."

Contrast that response with the caving on the part of ABC NEWS and the expected caving on the part of Sheri Redstone on behalf of CBS NEWS and McGraw's stance is a very happy shock.

Ahmad Austin Jr. (MEDIAITE) reports:

CNN fired back at President Donald Trump on Tuesday for threatening to prosecute the network over its reporting of a new ICE-tracking app.

The day before, CNN ran a segment about the creation of ICEBlock, an app used to track the movements of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the area. At the time of the reporting, there were more than 20,000 users on the app — with a large portion of users the users in Los Angeles.

Hours after that report, Trump Border Czar Tom Homan called for the Justice Department to investigate CNN for “pushing” the app. He also called the segment “disgusting.” The CNN report on the app made clear that it was “controversial.”

The next day, Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed that they intend to prosecute CNN over the reporting. Those comments were made during a visit to “Alligator Alcatraz,” the new migrant detention center located in the Florida Everglades.

Ailia Zehra notes Chump backed down after raging at another media outlet:

President Donald Trump has quietly withdrawn his lawsuit against prominent Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register.

The lawsuit, initiated in December 2024 under Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act, accused Selzer and the newspaper of “brazen election interference” after her final pre‑election poll showed former Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump by three points in deep‑red Iowa — a poll that ultimately missed the mark by approximately 16 points, as Trump won the state by 13 points.

However, the craven always collapse. Sara Fischer (AXIOS) reports this morning:

CBS parent Paramount Global on Tuesday said it would pay $16 million to settle a voter interference lawsuit filed by President Trump last October, even as press freedom advocates warned the company was buckling to political pressure.

Why it matters: A settlement likely clears the way for Paramount Global to merge with Skydance Media.

Paramount and Skydance agreed to merge in a deal worth more than $8 billion last July.
The deal is largely seen as an escape valve for owner Shari Redstone, who has faced pressure from shareholders to offload the legacy TV asset while it still has value.

We'll wind down with this press release from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Watch the Video (YouTube)

Washington, D.C. — In a new video reacting to the passage of President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) slammed Senate Republicans for “cheer[ing] over taking away health care from around 17 million people… giving huge tax breaks to a handful of billionaires.”

On Tuesday, the Senate completed 26 hours of debate on the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” following Democrats' successful delay of the bill’s passage. Despite Republicans’ efforts to rush the bill through, it only passed after Vice President JD Vance broke the 50-50 Senate tie.

During the debate and amendment process, Senate Democrats successfully pushed to strike provisions that would have devastated the deployment of clean energy and prohibited the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) at the state level for ten years.

“[W]e proved why we stay in the fight, because actually, there are pieces of this bill that we got better…It's always the reminder: all of those calls matter,” said Senator Warren.

The bill now heads back to the House of Representatives for consideration of the Senate’s amended version of the bill.

Senator Warren urged people across the country to continue fighting back as the bill continues to make its way through Congress.

“We stay in it not because it's an easy fight, not because we're guaranteed to win every time. We stay in it, because it's the right fight,” Senator Warren concluded.

Transcript: Senator Warren’s Reaction to Senate Passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill”
July 1, 2025

Senator Elizabeth Warren: I’m leaving the Senate now at the end of the vote. When the Republicans won, they cheered.

They cheered over taking away health care from around 17 million people. They cheered over giving huge tax breaks to a handful of billionaires. They cheered over running up the national debt by another three and a half trillion dollars.

You know, this bill is bad. It's bad economically, it's bad morally. This bill is just wrong.

But, we stay in the fight. We stay in the fight. And we proved why we stay in the fight, because actually, there are pieces of this bill that we got better.

We got the tax on solar and wind knocked out, and that's going to help with clean energy. We got a few different pieces and made them better. So that's reason number one. It's always the reminder: all of those calls matter.

Reason number two is: it’s still not over. The bill has now got to go back over to the House, and there are a lot of Republicans who are feeling really squeamish about this bill at this point, so that means we got to stay in the fight.

And reason number three is: yeah, they may do this now, but come November 2026, they're going to have to face the voters. They're going to have to face the people, the families of the people whose health care they took away, and they're going to have to explain exactly what they just did just now on the floor of the United States Senate and whatever they do next.

So, this is hard, but damn, we stay in the fight. We stay in it not because it's an easy fight, not because we're guaranteed to win every time. We stay in it, because it's the right fight.

###

The following sites updated:

Raw Story

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1 day ago

Crispy Orzo with Artichokes and Lemon in the Kitchen

Two comics two days in a row, Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Debbie Downers of the Dining Set."

And one of the secrets to a good dinner party is not allowing War Criminals like Tom Holman and corrupt politicians like Senator Joni Ernst to crash.

Peggy e-mailed to note a recipe she loves ("and I love anything and everything with artichokes") from How Sweet Eat, Crispy Orzo with Artichokes and Lemon:

Ingredients

3 cups cooked orzo

4 ounces prosciutto

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 12 ounce jars artichoke hearts, drained (and chopped if you wish)

1 lemon, zest grated and juiced

salt and pepper, to taste

3 to 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

fresh mint or herbs for garnish

Instructions

If you haven’t cooked the orzo yet, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook 1 ½ cups according to the package directions. This is usually to boil for 8 to 10 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and cook until crisp and golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the prosciutto and place it on a paper towel to cool. Prosciutto does not render as much fat as bacon, so you will most likely need olive oil here. If you use bacon instead, there may be enough fat in the skillet to cook the orzo. Ideally you want about 2 tablespoons.

In the same skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add in the shallots and the garlic with a pinch of salt and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add in the orzo and toss well. Press the orzo into an even layer in the pan so it covers the entire bottom. Let it cook and crispy for a few minutes, then toss and repeat the process, pressing it into the bottom of the pan to cook. You want to do this a few times over, until the orzo is a bit crisp and golden in color.

Once the orzo is finished, add in the artichoke hearts. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat.

Crumble the goat cheese into the orzo and toss. Stir in the fresh mint. Crumble the prosciutto on top and serve immediately.

News? MoneyWise reports:

The founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, has voiced concern that President Donald Trump’s economic agenda could lead to “something worse than a recession.”

“Right now, we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession,” billionaire investor Ray Dalio told NBC’s Meet the Press. “And I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.”

A recession is typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. A much more “profound” change would be a breakdown of the current monetary order (it’s worth pointing out that Dalio correctly predicted the 2008 financial crisis).

Trump has triggered global economic chaos with his on-again, off-again tariffs, with steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from China and the EU now at 50%, and the president’s 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs to reach expiration in mid-July.

With markets in turmoil and consumer confidence plummeting, more economists believe a recession is likely.

But Dalio believes Americans could be facing more than a recession. Tariffs, combined with a high level of debt and a rising superpower challenging the existing superpower, could lead to “profound changes” in the world order.

“Such times are very much like the 1930s,” he told NBC.

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Tuesday:

Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Chump's actions have consequences if the media would like to examine that they can start with efforts to deport an Afghan who helped the US military in the Afghanistan War, Chump continues to terrorize immigrants and is he using the 2025 equivalent of Blackwater on US streets, the economy goes further down the toilet and all Chump wants to do is give tax breaks for the extremely wealthy while gutting the safety net.

Let's start with Sayed Naser Noor, the Afghan who worked with US troops in Afghanistan and who Donald Chump is now trying to deport. Rebecca Kheel (MILITARY.COM) notes:

"I believed in you. I worked with you. I helped you for years, side by side. I trusted your words and followed your rules. That trust brought me here," Noori said in a written statement read aloud by a supporter during Monday's news conference. "Now, I sit in detention, treated like a criminal for doing exactly what I was told to do. I crossed borders to be safe, I asked for protection the right way, and yet I am punished."

Noori's last hope to avoid deportation is a so-called credible fear interview, which migrants slated for expedited removal are entitled to to determine whether they might be eligible for asylum. Noori requested an interview, and immigration officials have acknowledged his right to one, but an interview hasn't been scheduled yet, McGoldrick said. Theoretically, Noori cannot be deported until after the interview.

Before someone e-mails about our using his full name, the article notes, "Noori's legal team had originally requested reporters withhold his last name for his protection but is now using it publicly after the Department of Homeland Security identified him by his full name in public statements." As we noted Saturday, Homeland Security posted his full name on their Twitter account June 19th.

We need to stop a moment. The immigration attacks Chump is carrying out are outrageous. Each and everyone. But they are often outrageous in their own certain way.

Sayed helped US forces. Around the world -- not just in declared war zones -- this government has foreigners who assist in so many ways. And one of the reasons they do do is because of a level of trust.

By trying to deport Sayed, Chump is revoking that trust and that can have serious consequences around the world. There's no one brave enough in the administration to tell him this is a mistake. Would he listen if they did? Actually, he would. He'd listen just because he'd be in shock that the automatic response was not, "Mr. President, you're a genius!" He is not a genius, he is an imbicile.

And someone needs to be talking -- David Ignatius, isn't their your area of expertise? -- about the blowback that can result in what Chump's doing to Sayed.

Instead, we just watch as our home grown Adolf, surrounded by his little Eichmann's is encouraged to move further and further away from humanity. Nicole Lafond (TPM) notes:

It is difficult to find any recent photos of President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis together.

That’s because the two of them have largely been at odds since DeSantis tried to test his MAGA bonafides and was utterly humiliated by Trump on the national stage during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. Trump has made a point of continuing to humiliate DeSantis since he returned to office, while the soon-to-be term-limited governor of Florida tries to make MAGA amends, his political relevance fading fast.

But it appears the two are going to bury the hatchet tomorrow to come together in a shared passion: finding creative new ways to dehumanize immigrants, carried out with a trollish flair.

You’ll remember DeSantis’ infamous stunt during the Biden administration, when, following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s lead, he duped, transported and dumped a plane full of migrants in Martha’s Vineyard. In the months following the incident it was revealed that the DeSantis administration lied to those it put on the plane, promising jobs and shelter only to dump them in a community that was not prepared to assist them.

It’s becoming a well worn tactic for DeSantis — upending the lives of migrants in a headline-grabbing way to own the libs/score some media coverage to boost his political significance. At the time of the Martha’s Vineyard incident, DeSantis was toying with the idea of a Trump primary challenge. Much of his second term work as governor of Florida was seen as an attempt to establish himself as a MAGA prodigy by trafficking in Trump-adjacent authoritarian extremes, like a new police force to ferret out people who may have illegally voted in the 2020 election — an effort to play into Trump’s various election-related conspiracy theories.

What Trump and DeSantis are doing in Florida this week is similar. By now you’ve likely seen the new name for the facility that the pair are meeting up to cut the ribbon for on Tuesday. “Alligator Alcatraz” is opening at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades. It will have up to 5,000 beds to hold immigrant detainees and process them for deportation. The facility will cost about $450 million a year in operational costs, according to the Associated Press. The state of Florida will pay to run the facility and the federal government will reimburse Florida with FEMA funds that are typically used to house people displaced by natural disasters. (You’ll recall, the Biden administration was ripped to shreds by Trump and his allies for using those funds to house migrants in hotels while they went through the immigration process.)

$450 million a year? Yes, a lot of people are getting rich by attacking immigrants. And once you start detaining them, you are under no obligation to suddenly discover humanity. That's how you end up with people dying in custody. Aaron Parnas (MEDIAITE) reports:

A 75-year-old Cuban man who first arrived in the United States in 1966 has died after spending three weeks in immigration detention in Miami, making him the fifth person to die in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Florida this year.

Isidro Perez, who was detained by ICE on June 5 during an unspecified law enforcement operation in Key Largo, passed away Thursday night at Florida Kendall Hospital. His death underscores a troubling trend: Half of all deaths in ICE custody nationwide in 2024 have occurred in Florida.

According to an ICE press release, Perez was arrested for immigration violations due to his ineligibility to remain in the country—citing two controlled substance convictions from the early 1980s. No other arrests were mentioned.

Again, it's big business and about to get even bigger if Chump's budget bill passes. Big business and it's one that's not really monitored which is why you have deaths and abuse taking place. Greg Sargent (THE NEW REPUBLIC) adds of Isidro Perez:

According to the notification, he was in detention at the Krome detention center in Miami, which is already coming under scrutiny, after two deaths there this year. Krome is where migrants recently lined up to spell out “S.O.S.” in the yard, highlighting growing concerns about detention conditions.

Perez reported chest pains, leading to the summoning of paramedics, who attempted to resuscitate him, after which he died at a Florida hospital, the notification says. While there’s no reason to assume as of now that Perez’s death was directly due to mishandling by ICE, its notification says he’d been diagnosed upon getting booked into Krome and then transferred temporarily to that hospital during his detention, so ICE knew he faced serious health risks.

Immigration law experts tell me they think that given his 1966 arrival in the United States, Perez was likely paroled into the U.S. as part of the parole programs that the U.S. implemented for Cubans fleeing Castro’s reign.

Per NPR's count, Isidro is the tenth person to die in ICE custody in calendar year 2025. Marina Dunbar (GUARDIAN) explains:

Under the past three administrations, the worst year saw 12 deaths in Ice custody. If the current pace continues, the total for 2025 could double those numbers.

Critics say the system is collapsing under the pressure of Ice’s target of detaining about 3,000 people each day. As of mid-June, more than 56,000 migrants were being held – that is 140% of the agency’s stated capacity.

“These are the worst conditions I have seen in my 20-year career,” Paul Chavez, litigation and advocacy director at Americans for Immigrant Justice, told the New York Times. “Conditions were never great, but this is horrendous.”

Among the recent fatalities are 49-year-old Johnny Noviello, a Canadian who was found unresponsive on 23 June at a detention facility in Miami. Another is Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, who died on 7 June while in Ice custody in Atlanta.

Molina-Veya, from Mexico, was found unconscious with a ligature around his neck, according to officials. His death remains under investigation.

And the kidnappings and round ups continue. Jason Weisberger (BOING-BOING) notes:

A family is desperately seeking help in freeing their father, a twenty-year California resident, before he disappears altogether into CBP's for-profit detention and deportation system.

Picking up supplies to fix a fence for a customer, a local handyman was chased down and abducted by ICE. Carlos Mejia Osorio's family is concerned that he will be lost in the US's terrible detention systems, and they will be unable to help him.

Public opinion has turned and continue to turn. If, for example, you're a member of Congress appearing in a public forum, you better expect this issue to be raised. Steve Ahlquist reports US House Rep Seth Magaziner spoke with a League of Women Voters chapter and the transcript includes the following:

Representative Magaziner: Like many of you, I feel a profound sense of anger and rage at many things the administration is doing, but particularly in the immigration space, I sit on the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives. I’m on two committees, Homeland Security and Natural Resources. On the Homeland Security Committee, we are very much in the trenches fighting against the deportation of innocent people, the tearing apart of families, and the rolling back of the fabric of who we are as a country.

We are a country of immigrants. Unless there’s somebody here in this room who’s a hundred percent native, every one of us is descended from immigrants, and our state, Rhode Island, was founded by a refugee as a place of refuge for other refugees. This is our identity as a country and a state, and always has been. The cruelty that we’re seeing from the administration is being driven, certainly, by Trump, but particularly by Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who I had the pleasure of arguing with strenuously when she was in front of our committee a few weeks ago.

What they are doing is different from what they have said their goal is. What they have said their goal is, in whatever over the top language they use, is to get rid of criminals, gang members, rapists, et cetera. That, for the most part, is not what they have been doing, according to their data. Since the administration started six months ago, they have detained and or deported just under 300,000 people. Of those, more than 70%, more than 200,000, had no criminal record. These are mothers, children, and people just trying to work, make a living, provide for their families, and contribute to our economy.

It’s been widely reported that a month or two ago, Stephen Miller called all of the regional heads of ICE to come to Washington in person and yelled at them for not deporting enough people and not meeting this artificial quota of 3000 people a day. One of the regional directors said, “But we’ve seen you all say on TV that you want us to focus on criminals and people with removal orders.” And Stephen Miller has reportedly said, “No, forget about that. Go to Home Depot, go to 711, round up whoever you can.” So the administration’s goal is not to do what they say they will.

Speaking for myself, if all they were doing was focusing on people with criminal records or removal orders, we could quibble over whether some of those people should be removed. If that’s all they were going to do, I think most Americans would be okay with that. But that’s not what they’ve been doing. Their goal is to remove immigrants from this country, period, whether they have committed any crimes or not, whether they’re here legally or not, because, as you all are aware, there have been many, many people who have been detained who are here lawfully and committed no crimes: [such as] students expressing political opinions or writing op-eds.

A gentleman from New Hampshire was being held at the Wyatt in Central Falls for a few months. He was a legal green card holder. His only criminal record was a simple possession of marijuana from about 12 years ago, but otherwise, he had a clean record and was a legal green card holder, here legally. What they are doing is so expansive, unnecessary, cruel, and self-defeating.

The vast majority of undocumented people here have no criminal record and are actively contributing and working. It is estimated that 20% of the construction industry, 30% of the hospitality industry—food, beverage, and hotel workers—and 40% of agricultural workers are undocumented. They are central to our supply chain and our ability to keep costs down for American consumers.

What do we do about it? There are three things to consider: litigation, legislation, and agitation. Let’s start with litigation. There are over 300 lawsuits that have been filed against actions that the Trump Administration has taken: funding freezes to states and agencies, potentially illegal actions on immigration, birthright citizenship, etc. If you look at those 300 or so lawsuits, the administration has been losing more than they have been winning, and for the most part, the administration has been following court orders. Earlier in the year, there was a big fear that Trump would just ignore the courts.

“I’m going to do whatever I want. I control the military, I control ICE, I’m going to do whatever I want,” but, for the most part, that has not happened yet. Instead, they will do something illegal, like round up three airplanes of people and send them to a prison in El Salvador with no due process, and no hearing. A court will say, “You should not have done that,” then the administration won’t do it again until they appeal to a higher court to tell them they can. I compare it to Jurassic Park, when the velociraptors kept trying different parts of the fence to see where they could bust through.

That’s the way the administration is handling these deportations: They keep testing the fence and doing things they know are probably going to be found illegal by the courts, but maybe there’s one court that will say, “Okay, you can do that,” and then they find an opening. That’s he way the administration has been handling it. They’re hoping that ultimately, the Supreme Court will be very permissive with them, but in the meantime, they’ve mostly been doing what the courts have told them to do, so we’ve got to keep supporting these lawsuits. Several good organizations are involved: Democracy Forward as One, the ACLU, and others. The litigation front has been very active and, for the most part, has been our most effective arena so far. It’s not perfect, and I’m not saying we’re winning everything, but there’s some effectiveness there.

In Chicago today, officials will be questioned. WLS reports:

A council committee meeting will happen on Tuesday over ICE detainments in the South Loop.

City leaders said they are concerned that Chicago's Welcoming Ordinance may have been violated during an ICE operation in the South Loop.

On June 4, several were detained outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program Office, known as ISAP.

ABC7 blurred out their faces, because it is unknown if they are facing any charges.

Several people reported getting texts to check-in for their immigration cases and were later detained.

On Tuesday, the committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights will vote on a measure for Chicago Police, the Office of Emergency Management Chicago, and the mayor's office to provide all data and communication related to that day.

If you pay attention, you may notice some changes in your surroundings. When we were last in DC, a server was very helpful when we were having lunch. But that's not what stood out. What stood out was a man two tables away watching the server and coming over to ask about her accent. Nazis need informers after all. And look closely around you and you may start noticing little rats who would feel like their pitiful life finally mattered if they knew that they'd destroyed some immigrant's life. Ben Conarck and John-John Williams IV (BALTIMORE BULLETIN) report:

The Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it is investigating a Maryland corrections department employee after ICE agents made a rare and apparently invited visit to the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse last week and detained someone.

On June 24, ICE agents appeared at the courthouse indicating that they had an appointment with the employee, causing sheriff’s deputies to escort the agents to the fourth floor, where the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services runs pretrial services, the sheriff’s office said.

The deputies then watched the agents detain an individual in what they later confirmed was a federal immigration action taken by ICE officers, the first of its kind to take place in the courthouse since President Donald Trump took over the federal government, according to Nicholas Blendy, assistant sheriff and spokesperson for the department.

Blendy said that “it appears that a single pretrial employee contacted ICE to cause a federal immigration enforcement action to occur on Monday outside the scope of their standard duties.” He said the investigation started as an inquiry into a breach of protocols by the corrections department employee. But, he said, it has become a criminal probe into the apparent misuse of information for actions outside official duties.

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Your Anti-Social Neighborhood ICE Agent."

Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Your Anti-Social Neighborhood ICE Agent." The agent explains, "I wear a mask because I'm proud of the job I do as an ICE agent and, of course, to avoid lawsuits for beating up women and children." Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS.

Sean Ogden (WHO WHAT WHY) reports:

This continuing misconduct reflects the actions of unqualified or untrained personnel and exposes serious failures in operational training, oversight, and accountability within the agencies involved.

These private contractors also all lack qualified immunity, leaving them open to prosecution — which many believe is the actual reason for the masks. Victims can sue for civil rights violations, false arrest, personal injury, and wrongful death.

Chump has created a gestapo police force for the US. That will allow him to go down in history and be remembered, yes, but not in a good way. Are these Blackwater mercenaries? Who has he unleashed upon the streets? Congress needs to be asking that question because the moment they showed up, they were wearing masks suggesting they had something to hide.

Adam Daly (AMNY) reports:

A bill to ban federal immigration agents from wearing masks while making arrests is set to be introduced in the House of Representatives by two New York Democrats, amNewYork has learned.

Reps. Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) plan to formally introduce the “No Secret Police Act” in the House on Thursday morning. The bill would prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other Department of Homeland Security officers from concealing their faces during civil immigration enforcement and would require them to clearly display official identification and insignia.

The legislation comes amid a string of ICE detentions at immigration courts in New York and across the country, where masked, plainclothes agents have taken individuals attending immigration appointments into custody.

Nicholas Ballasy (JUST THE NEWS) adds:

New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez held a press conference outside an immigration court to advocate for passage of her bill to ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from wearing masks while making arrests.

Velazquez gathered with other Democrats and activists at the Federal Plaza Immigration Court to push for passage of the "No Masks For ICE" Act.

And that's how it should be. There is not supposed to be a secret police in the US.

Tim Reid, Pilar Olivares, Sebastian Rocandio and Leah Douglas (INDEPENDENT) report:

Recent raids carried out by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California's agricultural heartland are causing a widespread exodus of workers, threatening the harvest of billions of dollars worth of produce.

Farmers say the raids earlier this month, as part of President Donald Trump's migration crackdown, have frightened off workers and left fields in Ventura County and beyond critically understaffed.

Ventura County produces billions of dollars worth of fruit and vegetables each year, much of it hand-picked by immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Lisa Tate, a sixth-generation farmer in the area, has observed the immediate and chilling effect of the ICE operations.

"In the fields, I would say 70 percent of the workers are gone," she said.

"If 70 percent of your workforce doesn't show up, 70 percent of your crop doesn't get picked and can go bad in one day. Most Americans don't want to do this work. Most farmers here are barely breaking even. I fear this has created a tipping point where many will go bust."

Billal Rahman and Dan Gooding (NEWSWEEK) add:

Immigration enforcement operations on farms have left crops rotting and farm operations disrupted in major agricultural states including California, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

Farm owners and industry representatives report that up to 70 percent of workers stopped reporting to work following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions, resulting in significant crop losses and financial strain.

"We do not have enough workforce in the United States to do manual work, to do those jobs that other people are not qualified to do and do not want to do it," Alexandra Sossa, CEO of Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project, told Newsweek. "For example, we are running into a problem where we do not have enough farm workers to grow the food we eat every day.

"Now we do not have enough workers to go to the meatpacking processing industries and factories to produce, to pack the food that we are eating."

This qualifies as an 'accomplishment' for Donald Chump and is why so many have turned against him. As noted last night on THE NEWSHOUR (PBS):

As President Donald Trump seeks to keep his campaign promise of mass deportations, a majority of Americans say actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have “gone too far,” according to a new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll.

More than half of U.S. adults — 54% — described ICE’s actions in enforcing the country’s immigration laws as having “gone too far.” Another 18% percent said the agency has not gone far enough, while 26% said they’d describe ICE’s actions as “about right.”

A majority of Democrats (83%) and independents (59%) said ICE has taken its actions too far. Republicans were more likely to say that the agency’s actions were appropriate, with nearly half (49%) agreeing, while another 31% said ICE “has not gone far enough.”

Those who can learn from history are already objecting to Chump's attacks on immigrants. Sharon Mizota is a fourth generation Japanese-American. At HYPERALLERGIC, she notes:

Many in the Japanese-American community share this intimate understanding of the lasting loss and pain such violations bring. Back in February, the Japanese American National Museum made a powerful statement declaring, “We stand with all immigrant families and communities at risk and will continue to fight for the rights of all people to be recognized as full members of society.” While many in the museum world remained silent or quietly acquiesced as due process, birthright citizenship, and DEI programs were threatened or summarily dismantled, JANM saw what was at stake and stayed true, not only to their mission to steward culture and history but to defend human and civil rights. (In full disclosure, I collaborate with the museum on a fellowship program.)

Only in Chump Land, Hannah Feuer (THE FORWARD) reports:

Nearly 60 years after the United States outlawed racial and religious discrimination in housing, one group in Arkansas is openly reviving it.

“Return to the Land,” a white supremacist group co-founded by Eric Orwoll and Peter Csere in 2023, owns 160 acres in northeast Arkansas, according to the group’s website. Jews and non-whites are explicitly banned. Prospective residents must verify their “ancestral heritage” in a written application and interview before becoming paying members and residing in the off-grid settlement, according to the group’s Substack.

The organization hopes to replicate its whites-only settlements across the country, with the stated aim of “trying to put land back under the control of Europeans.” Experts warn the group’s practices likely run afoul of anti-discrimination laws and express doubt about its long-term viability.

Still, the group’s financial and legal infrastructure makes it one of the most established white supremacist residential communities in the United States today, according to Morgan Moon, an investigative researcher with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Extremism.

Chump's self-imposed deadline of July 9th approaches. Deepti Sri (STOCKWITS) notes, "Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg that the U.S. could complete “top 10” deals with major economies by the deadline." 90 days and 90 treaties. Only now maybe only a handful of treaties as Chump fails yet again. Gabriela Leon (EXPLICAME) observes:

As the Trump administration champions tariffs as a path to economic revival, many economists are sounding alarms over their potential to disrupt investment, raise consumer prices, and deliver fewer manufacturing jobs than promised.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted tariffs as a cornerstone of his economic strategy. “Tariffs will bring our companies back home,” he declared at a rally, describing the policy as a way to supercharge domestic industry and cut dependence on foreign economies. However, leading economic analysts suggest the results may be far more mixed—and potentially harmful in the short term.

According to a wide range of experts, the administration’s use of tariffs as a negotiating tool has introduced uncertainty into the business environment, deterring companies from making long-term investments. “Everybody is kind of in a holding pattern until the uncertainty gets resolved,” said Jeff Bischoff, chief sales officer at Gray, a Kentucky-based construction firm. Recent Census Bureau data reflects this hesitation: manufacturing construction spending has declined slightly in recent months.

The costs of doing business under current trade policies are also rising. Nearly one-third of U.S. manufacturers depend on imported intermediate goods, and the increased cost of these inputs—exacerbated by tariffs—is squeezing margins. The National Association of Manufacturers and the Department of Commerce have both pointed to inflationary pressure and higher materials costs as significant threats to growth.

He's been allowed to destroy our economy and to destroy our economy. The only hope of any protections being put in place is a Democratic sweep in the mid-terms.

Dennis Muhanji (THE FINANCE KEY) adds:

Mark Cuban isn’t sugarcoating it anymore. The billionaire entrepreneur and Shark Tank star is practically shouting from the rooftops: China tariffs are costing you way more than you realize. And he’s right to be alarmed. Here’s the thing that’s got Cuban and economists like Justin Wolfers freaking out—tariffs don’t just replace each other. They stack. They build on top of existing rates.

As of June 2025, we’re looking at an average 51.1% tariff on Chinese imports, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.We’re talking about rates that can climb as high as 55% when you factor in the 10% baseline tariff, the 20% “fentanyl” tariff, and the 25% Section 301 tariffs, all piling on top of each other.

While there have been fluctuations and temporary reductions (such as the recent 90-day truce lowering some rates to 30%), the current effective average remains above 50% for most Chinese imports. But many Americans only see the new percentages in headlines, missing the cumulative effect.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) reports that the average tariff on Chinese goods now stands at 51.1%. These elevated tariffs are directly increasing the prices of everyday items. For example, recent analyses show that consumer technology products are facing sharp price hikes:

Smartphones: up 31%

Monitors: up 32%

Laptops and tablets: up 34%

Video game consoles: up 69%

Walmart and Target executives have been looking stressed lately. They can either absorb the additional costs—cutting into already narrow profit margins—or raise prices for consumers.

With approximately 60% of Walmart’s merchandise still sourced from China in 2025—spanning electronics, clothing, toys, and household goods—the company is highly exposed to tariff-driven price increases and supply chain disruptions.

Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer, John David Rainey, has publicly stated that these tariffs are “inflationary for customers,” meaning price hikes are now unavoidable for many products.

Got pets? Prepare to see a price increase.

James Liddell (THE INDEPENDENT) reports:

A week after Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariff plan went into effect on “Liberation Day” on April 2, the president abruptly announced a 90-day pause to refocus his trade war on China.

The U-turn offered reprieve to dozens of countries, including Thailand, the largest foreign supplier of pet food to the U.S., which faced a steep 36 percent tariff on its exports to the American market. In 2024, the U.S. imported 392 million kilograms of cat and dog food.

Now, the 90-day pause, which caps import taxes at 10 percent for most nations, is set to end.

If no deal is struck between Bangkok and Washington by the July 9 deadline and tariffs return to the 36 percent rate announced in April, pet food prices could rise on American shelves, leaving animal owners to shoulder the cost.

In that scenario, Thai pet food producers have warned they may be forced to suspend shipments to the U.S. market.

“We need to pause shipping to the U.S. unless something changes,” Chatchai Lertviwatkul of S.I.P. Siam Inter Pacific told The New York Times. “Our customers can’t increase the prices that much at retail.”

Meanwhile, Shane Croucher (NEWSWEEK) points out:

The U.S. dollar has had its worst start to a year since 1973, weighed down by President Donald Trump's frenetic trade policy, a worsening outlook for the country's ever-bloating public debt pile, and fears about the independence of the Federal Reserve.

The Financial Times reported that the U.S. Dollar Index was now down by 10 percent over the course of 2025, making it the weakest performance since the end of the Bretton Woods system, which was underpinned by the dollar's convertibility to gold.

Trump has staked much of his political reputation on his handling of the economy, pitching himself as the leader who can slash household bills, put more money in Americans' pockets through lower taxes, and lift commerce into a new golden age.

The dollar news concides with the U.S. Senate gearing up to pass Trump's much-tweaked One, Big, Beautiful Bill, the tax-cutting provisions of which are set to expand the deficit by trillions of dollars over the coming decade—putting pressure on the dollar.

In the midst of all of this bad economic news, the GOP is trying to ram through a bill that will seriously harm most Americans. Bob Cronin (NEWSER) notes, "Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to pass the bill Monday to get it back to the House for its final approval before the July 4 deadline Trump set. But polls show the measure is becoming more unpopular with voters over time, per the Washington Post. And its estimated cost rose on Sunday when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would balloon the national debt by $3.3 trillion over 10 years. That's on top of significant increases in borrowing costs; even with its spending cuts, the measure is largely deficit-financed."

Senator Elizabeth Warren's office issued the following:

JEC Analysis

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released new data from the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) estimating that Republicans’ bill would kick 326,262 people in Massachusetts off of their health insurance — up from 305,611 under the House version of the bill earlier this month.

A recent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also found that the proposed Senate bill would increase the number of Americans who will lose their health insurance to 17 million people.

“Senate Republicans had the opportunity to fight back against the House’s disgusting excuse of a bill. Instead, they’re ripping health care away from even more people and raising costs for families to fund giant tax handouts for billionaires and giant corporations,” said Senator Warren. “This ugly bill is a slap in the face for Massachusetts families, and I’m taking all my fight to the Senate floor to stop it.”

A Republican amendment proposes to lower the federal funding that states receive to cover certain Medicaid enrollees, likely immediately ending the program in 9 states with “trigger laws” activated if the federal matching percentage is reduced. If adopted, the amendment would raise the number of people kicked off of health insurance to 20 million.

JEC estimates that if all states end their Medicaid expansion programs due to the Republican amendment, combined with the devastating Medicaid cuts in the bill, 29 million people across the country could lose their health insurance.

Senator Warren has led the fight against these unprecedented cuts to Americans’ health care, pressing nominees to justify the cuts, and sharing stories of constituents set to be impacted by the cuts. The Senate is voting on its version of the budget bill today.

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