Trump Administration Begins Mass Layoffs at U.S. State Department
Secretary of State Marco Rubio insists he is streamlining a bloated department, but critics warn the cost to America’s standing and influence could be high.
Son of El Chapo Pleads Guilty to Sweeping Drug Charges
The plea came at a vulnerable moment for the Sinaloa drug cartel, the organization Ovidio Guzmán López’s father helped found.
Immigration Arrests in Los Angeles Spike Amid Aggressive Enforcement
Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested since the beginning of June, more than three times the number in previous months this year.
David Gergen, Washington Veteran Who Advised Four Presidents, Dies at 83
After serving in the government, he became a prominent political commentator. “Centrism doesn’t mean splitting the difference,” he said in 2020.
Schumer Urges RFK Jr. to Declare Public Health Emergency Over Measles
Senator Chuck Schumer urged the health secretary to declare an emergency to keep other regions from experiencing the “nightmare” seen in Texas.
‘We’re worried about our future’: Srebrenica massacre’s tensions still felt 30 years on
While communities in Sarajevo mark three decades since the massacre, denial of the genocide in on the rise.
Trump threatens 35% tariffs on Canadian goods
Trump has threatened blanket levies of 15% or 20% on most trade partners, and says he will soon announce new tariffs on the EU.
Dozens taken to hospital after suspected mass overdose in Baltimore
At least 27 people have been admitted to hospital, some of whom are in a critical condition.
Who Ousted Hjalmar Schacht?
From (1) Reich and Prussian Minister of Economics and General Plenipotentiary (1937), and (2) President of the Reichsbank (1939) (discussion, Kopper (1998)). While it’s an inexact analogy, it’s of interest to recall it was Hermann Göring. I thought of this when I saw Russell Vought on TV today: Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought vowed Friday to press an investigation into renovations at the Federal Reserve building, which he called a “palace” where costs are running amok. A great line from the Wikipedia entry on Schacht: [Schacht] had grown increasingly dissatisfied with Göring’s near-total ignorance of economics, and was also concerned that Germany was coming close to bankruptcy. The main points of disagreement were the Goering’s demand for rearmament despite fiscal strains, aiming for autarky/self-reliance, and dismissal of concerns about deficit spending. Sounds familiar to me. <small>* Aside: Walther Funk succeeded Schlacht as President of the Reichsbank. I spent half a year living in Funk’s house, on the Wannsee, currently the home of the American Academy in Berlin (as a guest of my wife, a fellow there).</small>
Core Inflation Nowcasted to Rise in June, July
From Cleveland Fed today: Figure 1: Year on year core CPI inflation (blue), core PCE (tan), Bloomberg consensus of 7/11 (teal triangle). June, July 2025 observations are Cleveland Fed nowcasts as of 7/11. Source: BLS, Cleveland Fed, Bloomberg.