Live updates: Trade on the agenda as Trump hosts Philippine president at White House
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. He's the first Southeast Asian head of state to meet with the president in his second term. The White House targeted the region severely with its tariffs, threatening the Philippines with 17 percent taxes. Trump upped that rate to 20 percent if they don't reach a trade deal by Aug. 1.
Hunter Biden has again blamed top Democrats for turning on his father before the 2024 election, while also denying any connection to a bag of cocaine found in the White House during Joe Biden's presidency that is now the subject of an FBI investigation.
For the second time in a week, the former president's son blasted liberal lawmakers and donors — in particular actor George Clooney — in a lengthy and expletive-laden interview released Monday on YouTube.
The White House on Monday said it would bar Wall Street Journal reporters from the press pool covering President Donald Trump's upcoming trip to Scotland, in its latest attack on the media outlet for its recent report tying the president to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Trump administration on Monday released more than 230,000 pages of documents related to the April 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who announced the move, said the files include 'discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, information about James Earl Ray's former cellmate who stated he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot, and more.'
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USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
We're creating AI that could surveil US citizens. And the government is in on it.
Tech companies' lack of transparency and accountability in developing surveillance tools that governments can use is unacceptable. President Donald Trump recently gathered CEOs for a summit about renewing the United States 'spiritually and financially.' At the top of the agenda was a closer look at 'American values' such as faith and freedom. There is cause for alarm, however. Centuries after Americans declared independence from the British monarchy, our freedom and liberty are under threat − not only from foreign governments like China, but potentially our own. America's surveillance state is spreading as the federal government collects personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans. In the age of artificial intelligence, with data collection accelerating at an unprecedented rate, our privacy has never been more vulnerable. Who is the culprit? The data collectors range from the National Security Agency to Silicon Valley's cadre of data-hungry technology companies. Add to that list a new organization: Palantir. While it is not a household name like Google or Netflix, it is soon to be a common domestic concern. The technology company's surveillance operation has exploded in recent months, raising the possibility of creating a full-fledged surveillance state. Opinion: AI knows we shouldn't trust it for everything. I know because I asked it. Since January, Palantir has received more than $113 million in federal funds, according to The New York Times, not including a $795 million Defense Department contract awarded in May. While the federal government increased data sharing across agencies (with Palantir's help), the company continues to shop its technology to the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. AI technology could be repurposed for sinister uses We are talking about technology that can be weaponized. While Palantir's current focus is to identify people in the United States illegally, tracking movements in real time, the company is also building the infrastructure that could be used for a massive surveillance state. Former Palantir employees have warned about the potential for the company's AI tools to surveil American citizens with a disregard for personal privacy. It is not so far-fetched. Palantir's AI software is used by the Israeli Defense Forces to strike targets in Gaza. It is used to assist the U.S. Defense Department in analyzing drone footage. And it has been used by the Los Angeles Police Department to forecast crime patterns. This is called 'predictive policing.' If "Minority Report"was not a horror movie before, it is now. Given the government's penchant for abusing power (see: COVID-19 censorship or the NSA spying scandal), does this not seem like an obvious move against our civil liberties? For years, the NSA engaged in the mass surveillance of Americans' telephone records, as was exposed in 2013. Between 2001 and 2007, government wiretapping − executed without warrants − affected millions of U.S. citizens. Now, the same agencies are tapping into the power of AI to expand government surveillance in once unimaginable ways. Opinion: AI is changing our world. At what point will it change our reality? Of course, the federal government can already access a wide range of our personal data, but it is often separated by agency. Washington, DC, can create exponentially more detailed profiles on all of us by sharing data with the help of Palantir's AI tools. Even when surveilling noncitizens, the government's data collection inevitably tracks individual Americans based on their own interactions with these noncitizens. The government's data collection is based on information from police departments, financial institutions and other entities, like Palantir. Big government and big tech partnership raises concerns Even if the alliance between the government and Palantir works as intended, it is a potential threat to our civil liberties. Political dissidents could become targets. Not even those with limited public personas are safe from the state's detailed profiling machine. These systems are not perfect, and neither are our leaders. What happens when AI systems fail? What happens when data collection goes haywire? Palantir is hardly alone. OpenAI recently launched OpenAI for Government, which aims to equip federal, state and local leaders with advanced AI tools. OpenAI claims to serve the 'public good' and 'bolster national security readiness,' but why would private citizens take that at face value? What does 'readiness' actually mean, in practice? At the moment, many of our elected officials do not have answers to these questions, or they are just ignoring them. The same goes for OpenAI and Palantir, which are all too comfortable amassing ever-larger federal contracts and greater market share. This lack of transparency or accountability is unacceptable. The only thing worse than the overreach of Big Government is Big Tech in bed with Big Government. For those who care about freedom and liberty, now is the time to speak up, before it is too late. Peyton Hornberger serves as communications director at The Alliance for Secure AI, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the implications of advanced artificial intelligence.
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump wins again: Columbia's $200 million fine will reshape higher education
Liberals have howled for months over President Trump's targeting of Ivy League universities. I doubt they'll view the Columbia agreement as a win for students and for our nation as whole. But it is. In an agreement ripped from the pages of President Donald Trump's "The Art of the Deal," Columbia University has agreed to pay $200 million fine to the federal government to settle accusations that the school failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus. The move is a capitulation to Trump's harsh rebuke of elite universities because of the rampant antisemitism unleashed on campuses after the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. This is a win for Trump, a scathing reprimand of higher education and a message of hope for American Jews. Jewish students were told to flee campus Columbia agreed to pay the $200 million fine to resolve multiple civil rights investigations centering on its failure to stop antisemitic protests on campus. The threats were so severe that a rabbi warned Jewish students to flee campus a day before the start of Passover in April 2024. Columbia also has agreed to appoint an independent monitor to update the federal government on its compliance with civil rights laws and to pay an additional $21 million fine to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These are mind-boggling agreements by one of the country's most elite universities. Opinion: Liberals claimed Trump would end democracy. They were wrong again. In March, Trump cut off $400 million in federal funding to Columbia and launched investigations into 59 other colleges and universities because of their admissions policies and the antisemitic protests on their campuses. If you had told me then that Columbia would bow the knee to Trump just four months later, I'd have laughed. Trump is reshaping higher education Columbia's agreement to pay a $200 million fine is a strong indication that Trump was right about widespread antisemitism on campus. Even so, liberals have howled for months over Trump's targeting of Ivy League universities, and I doubt they'll view the Columbia agreement as a win for students and for our nation as whole. It is, though, and they should. Trump also froze Harvard University's funding over hiring policies that elevated diversity, equity and inclusion ideology over merit-based appointments. Progressives called Trump a "despot in the making" and an enemy of free speech. But Trump was in reality standing against a culture on university campuses that promoted progressive values to the exclusion of dissenting opinions. Conservative students were shunned. And Jewish students were targeted because of Israel's defense of its citizens. Columbia is now paying the price for that intolerance. Opinion: In-N-Out owner places order to go − out of California I hope the Columbia settlement helps reshape higher education in the Ivy League and beyond. Institutions that accept taxpayer dollars must be held accountable for antisemitism and other forms of discrimination. Because Trump took a stand − and took the heat from progressives and the news media − things may finally change for the better at Columbia. Ball to you, Harvard. You next? Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@ and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm. Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here.
Newsweek
21 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Approval Rating Changes Direction With Working Class
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After months of steep decline, Donald Trump's approval rating among working-class voters appears to be stabilizing — and even slightly rebounding — according to new polling data. The latest YouGov/Economist survey, conducted July 16–18, shows the president's approval among working-class Americans rising to 38 percent, with 55 percent disapproving, for a net rating of minus 17. That marks a modest improvement from June, when Trump's net approval had plunged to minus 26 (33 percent approve, 59 percent disapprove), the lowest of his second term. That is compared to May when Trump stood at 40 percent approval and 52 percent disapproval (net -12), indicating that while support remains well below early-year levels, July's figures may signal a shift in direction after months of erosion. But the poll also shows that Trump's recent bump in popularity may be short-lived. Why It Matters Working-class voters were pivotal to Donald Trump's victories in both 2016 and 2024, forming the backbone of his political coalition. President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Public Mood Remains Sour on Economy and Direction of Country Despite the slight improvement in Trump's approval, polling shows that pessimism among working-class Americans remains widespread. Just 30 percent say the country is headed in the right direction, while 59 percent say it's on the wrong track. Although that's a slight improvement from June (28 percent right direction, 62 percent wrong), it continues a months-long trend of deep discontent. In May, 32 percent said the country was headed in the right direction, compared to 54 percent who disagreed. Perceptions of the economy remain overwhelmingly negative. In July, 43 percent of working-class Americans said they approve of how the economy is being handled, while 55 percent disapprove — a slightly better split than in June (37 percent approve, 54 percent disapprove) and identical to May's numbers. But when asked how they view the trajectory of the economy, only 19 percent said things are getting better, 19 percent said things are staying the same, and 53 percent said the economy is getting worse. That perception has held steady over recent months: In June, 17 percent said the economy was improving, and in May that figure stood at 24 percent. More than half of respondents each month said conditions were worsening. Personal Finances and Inflation Are Still Sore Spots The souring sentiment comes as inflation ticked up nationally: annual inflation rose to 2.7 percent in June, up from 2.4 percent in May, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Meanwhile, Americans now face an average tariff rate of 18.7 percent, the highest since 1933, according to the Yale Budget Lab — a direct result of Trump's expansive tariff policies. Amid increasing inflation, working-class voters report worsening personal finances. In July, just 10 percent said they were better off financially than a year ago, while 47 percent said they were worse off and 38 percent reported no change. These numbers have remained largely consistent since May. Inflation continues to weigh heavily: In July, 61 percent of working-class respondents said inflation was getting worse, with only 26 percent saying it had improved. Those numbers have only slightly shifted since May, when 35 percent said inflation was improving and 55 percent said it was worsening. Immigration and Epstein Controversy Pose New Challenges One of the few areas where Trump has seen relative strength is immigration. In July, 47 percent of working-class voters said they approve of his handling of immigration, while 45 percent disapprove — a sharp improvement from June, when he had a 39 percent approval to 55 percent disapproval split. May's numbers were evenly divided at 45 percent. Throughout his second term, Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement, launching mass deportation operations, intensifying raids in sanctuary cities, and reopening thousands of previously closed deportation cases. At the same time, illegal border crossings dropped to a historic low last month, as his administration secured billions in new funding for border security and expanded enforcement measures. The administration has also significantly increased detention capacity, allocating $45 billion to expand ICE facilities and build large-scale temporary camps — including a controversial tent compound in Florida known as "Alligator Alcatraz." This aggressive stance on immigration was key to Trump's victory in 2024 among working class voters. Exit polling showed that immigration was frequently among their top three issues—with strong trust in Trump's approach over his opponent's. However, a brewing controversy over the Epstein files could derail some of the recent progress Trump has made with working-class Americans. An overwhelming 77 percent of working-class voters say the government should release all documents relating to the Epstein case, and 68 percent believe there is a government cover-up underway. Just 6 percent believe there is no cover-up. Only 24 percent approve of Trump's handling of the Epstein investigation, while 48 percent disapprove — a potential liability as the issue gains more attention.
