Texas flooding, Trump-Musk, Netanyahu in Washington and Ukraine landmines
Rescue teams are searching flood-stricken central Texas for a fourth day, looking for dozens of people still missing after catastrophic flooding. President Donald Trump calls Elon Musk's plans to form a new political party "ridiculous". Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes his discussions with Trump will help advance talks on a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal. Plus, Kyiv is quitting a treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.
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Further Reading
Search teams scour Texas flood zone for dozens missing; 78 confirmed dead
Trump calls Musk's formation of new party "ridiculous" and criticizes his own NASA pick
Trump threatens extra 10% tariffs on BRICS as leaders meet in Brazil
Israel's Netanyahu says he believes Trump can help seal ceasefire deal
Facing battlefield setbacks, Ukraine withdraws from mine ban treaty
Recommended Read: Rare trial to begin in challenge to Trump-backed deportations of pro-Palestinian campus activists
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Reuters World News: Australia's mushroom murders
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Fox News' Peter Doocy corners Karoline Leavitt on Pam Bondi's broken Epstein ‘client list' promise
With much of the MAGAverse irate over the Trump administration's conclusion that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein killed himself and didn't possess an explosive 'client list,' Fox News' Peter Doocy grilled Karoline Leavitt about Attorney General Pam Bondi's previous 'Epstein file' claims. 'So what happened to the Epstein client list that the attorney general said she had on her desk?' Doocy wondered during Monday's White House press briefing. Bondi, who has faced the brunt of conservatives' wrath for failing to deliver on her past promises of releasing a 'truckload' of bombshell FBI documents on Epstein, told Fox News in late February that she literally had possession of the convicted sex offender's supposed black book of prominent figures who engaged in illegal sexual activities. 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review,' the attorney general told Fox News anchor John Roberts at the time. 'That's been a directive by President Trump.' Following a much-maligned photo-op where she handed MAGA influencers binders full of already-public documents about the Epstein case, Bondi attempted to save face in an early March appearance on Sean Hannity's primetime Fox News show. Suggesting a 'deep state' coverup was to blame for the earlier botched release, Bondi then insisted that the FBI had just given her and FBI Director Kash Patel a treasure trove of never-before-seen information. 'A truckload of evidence arrived. It's now in the possession of the FBI,' she breathlessly told Hannity. 'Kash is going to get me and himself, really, a detailed report as to why all these documents and evidence had been withheld.' This week, however, the Department of Justice and FBI released a two-page unsigned memo concluding that the agencies had found no evidence that Epstein was murdered in his jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. Additionally, they were unable to find any list of powerful clients that Epstein was attempting to blackmail for having sex with underage girls. In the end, despite Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino being frequent purveyors of Epstein conspiracy theories as right-wing media figures, the DOJ and FBI stated that no one else involved with the Epstein case would be charged. Naturally, the FBI leaders and Bondi have come under fire from the MAGA media ecosystem over their handling of the Epstein probe – which carried over to Monday's White House presser. Responding to a Newsmax reporter asking what she would tell Trump supporters who say they want anyone involved in Epstein's alleged crimes to be held accountable, Leavitt claimed that the administration was 'committed to truth' and had investigated the matter thoroughly. 'They committed to an exhaustive investigation, that's what they did, and they provided the results of that. That's transparency,' the White House press secretary noted. Doocy, however, followed up by bringing up Bondi's past declarations about being in possession of specific evidence in the federal Epstein case, and wondered why the attorney general now claims these documents do not exist. 'The FBI looked at the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein,' the Fox News correspondent stated. 'According to the report, this systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. So what happened to the Epstein client list that the attorney general said she had on her desk?' After Leavitt attempted to reframe what Bondi had said during her Fox News interview, Doocy cut her off and confronted her with the attorney general's exact quotes. 'John Roberts said, 'DOJ may be releasing a list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients, will that really happen?' And she said, 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review,'' Doocy flatly said. 'She was saying the entirety of all of the paperwork and relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, that's what the attorney general was referring to and I will let her speak for that,' Leavitt deflected, adding: 'But when it comes to the FBI and the Department of Justice, they are more than committed to ensuring that bad people are put behind bars.' Since the release of the memo, Bondi has been ripped by a number of MAGA loyalists who are incensed about her overhyping the release of the Epstein documents while failing to prosecute influential figures, calling for her to resign or be fired. On top of that, former 'first buddy' Elon Musk has said the DOJ memo is the 'final straw,' as he now vows to start a new political party after reigniting his public feud with Trump.
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Immigration agents swarm MacArthur Park in Los Angeles in show of force drawing ire of Mayor Karen Bass
Dozens of heavily armed federal agents in military-style gear conducted an apparent immigration enforcement operation on Monday morning in Los Angeles 's MacArthur Park, provoking outrage from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who quickly arrived on the scene of the raid. 'Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through,' she wrote on X, sharing a video of about 20 officers, including some on horseback, marching through the park. 'The SECOND I heard about this, I went to the park to speak to the person in charge to tell them it needed to end NOW. Absolutely outrageous.' Border Patrol agents were photographed at the park and local media reported the presence of military vehicles and a Department of Homeland Security helicopter. The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol, and the military task force overseeing the deployment of Marines and California National Guard members in Los Angeles for comment. The operation reportedly started around 10:30 a.m. and lasted about an hour. It's unclear who it was targeting or if anyone was arrested. Activists with megaphones alerted bystanders in the park about the operation, and people were reportedly seen running down the street yelling, 'la migra,' a Spanish term for immigration officials. Protesters reportedly gathered in the park and screamed for the officials to 'get the f*** out,' and Bass was seen amid the scrum using a Border Patrol agent's phone to speak with a senior official, urging officers to leave. 'I don't work for Karen Bass,' Border Patrol El Centro sector chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News after the operation. 'Better get used to us now, cause this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.' Local activists condemned the operation, which comes after the deployment of federal troops in Los Angeles amid fiery anti-immigration raid protests. 'This was just one big, perverse publicity stunt,' Ron Gochez of the group Unión del Barrio told The Los Angeles Times. 'It was just to show force, it was just to take pictures.' The Trump administration's spending package gives immigration and border officials an infusion of about $170 billion, an unprecedented increase in funding, expected to increase the size and pace of immigration raids across the country.
Glasgow Times
17 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
King tells of ‘profound sadness' in letter to Trump after Texas floods
Charles 'offered his deepest sympathy' to those who lost loved ones over the July Fourth weekend, the British Embassy in Washington said. 'Following the devastating flooding in Texas, His Majesty King Charles has written to President Trump to express his profound sadness at the tragic loss of life,' the embassy said. Following the devastating flooding in Texas, His Majesty King Charles has written to President Trump to express his profound sadness at the tragic loss of life. He offered his deepest sympathy to all families who have lost loved ones and paid tribute to courage and selflessness… — British Embassy Washington (@UKinUSA) July 7, 2025 'He offered his deepest sympathy to all families who have lost loved ones and paid tribute to courage and selflessness of the emergency service and volunteers.' Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said they lost 27 campers and counsellors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River. With additional rain on the way, more flooding remains a threat in saturated parts of the US state. Authorities said the death toll was sure to rise as crews looked for many people who were missing.
