Weekly News Roundup - 7/18/25
Free speech erosion with public media defunding and Colbert cancellation // Epstein continues to dog president // Inflation creeping up
This is the 29th Weekly News Roundup of 2025. The archive for all weekly news roundups is here.
These weekly dispatches are designed for those who may not have time to do more than glance at the headlines, or those who want to stay informed without becoming obsessed by politics and news. These roundups are a targeted way to get a sense of the shape of the past week on the national level. Without such a map, we can be disoriented, not knowing where we have been over the past several days, or where we may be going.
But by spending concentrated, limited time thinking about the big picture, we can devote more of our time to where “agency and justice begin and end,” as Karen Swallow Prior put it: “on the ground, bodily, in community and real relationships, in flesh and blood.”
Quotes of the Week
"Social aggression has found unparalleled room for expansion through computers and mobile devices. This has now given free rein to ideologies." - Pope Francis
It is not necessary to conceal anything from a public insensible to contradiction and narcotized by technological diversions. - Neil Postman
When we’re talking about the Constitution and our Republic, it’s not about individual presidents or individual acts — it’s about the system as a whole. And the system as a whole, I think, is under enormous strain. But it seems to be working much better than a lot of my colleagues seem to think. - Michael W. McConnell
There are signs that a counterrevolution is brewing. Curiously, it is Gen Z — the first generation raised entirely under the internet’s Eye of Sauron — that now appears most divided over it. Among them, two distinct tribes are forming. - Ryan Zickgraf
I’m coming to believe the earth is not bent toward justice. I’m coming to believe it is bent toward catastrophe, that we are—each of us—in a catechesis of destruction, learning how to implode within ourselves like a dying star. - Drew Brown
A soldier is trained to annihilate a foreign enemy. A police officer’s job is to promote public safety while protecting our constitutional rights (or at least it’s supposed to be). These skills are not interchangeable. They are, in fact, often in direct contradiction to one another. And it’s dangerous to conflate the two. - Radley Balko
Big Stories This Week
The Epstein files story continued to dog President Trump for a second week in a row, prompting the president to angrily denounce his own supporters and allies who have called for more disclosure of material related to the case.
Inflation began to creep back up for the second straight month in June, new data showed, raising concerns about the impacts of Trump's tariffs and immigration policies on prices for every day goods.
Free speech in the media took more hits. Congress went along with Trump's desire to strip public broadcasting of federal funding, and CBS — which needs the Trump administration's approval of its sale to another company — was said to be canceling the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, a frequent critic of Trump.
Week in Review
Friday, July 11
A new Gallup poll shows that American anxiety about immigration has largely dissipated and that historic numbers of Americans believe immigration is a good thing for the nation.
Saturday, July 12
President Trump tries to tamp down anger among his supporters about his administration's handling of an investigation into the death of Jeffrey Epstein. Trump says that "nobody cares" about the Epstein conspiracy theories.
Trump says he will impose 30% tariffs on Mexico and the European Union starting Aug. 1.
Sunday, July 13
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 32 people.
Monday, July 14
Trump says he is going to impose 100% tariffs on Russia if Vladimir Putin does not agree to an end to the war in Ukraine. It's another indication of a significant shift in Trump's approach to Russia and Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces he will run for Mayor of New York City as an independent, after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani.
Tuesday, July 15
New inflation data shows prices creeping up by 2.7% in June, following a 2.4% inflation rate in May. The new spike in inflation is attributed to President Trump's tariff policies.
The U.S. government deports five convicted criminals to the small African nation of Eswatini.
The Pentagon removes 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, leaving another 2,000 still in the city.
"MP Materials, which runs the only American rare earths mine, announced a new $500 million agreement with tech giant Apple on Tuesday to produce more of the powerful magnets used in iPhones as well as other high-tech products like electric vehicles," the AP reports.
Wednesday, July 16
20 Palestinians are killed in a crush of people rushing to receive food aid in the Gaza Strip.
20 states sue the Trump administration for ending a FEMA program that helps communities prepare for natural disasters by fortifying homes, buildings and infrastructure against storm damage, which is a key component of mitigation against the worst outcomes.
The Senate goes along with Trump's request to cut funding for public broadcasting that funds community radio stations across the country as well as PBS, National Public Radio, and other outlets. The Senate also cuts funding for foreign aid.
President Trump lashes out against his own supporters who are calling for a release of all material related to Jeffrey Epstein. "I don't want their support anymore!" he writes on social media.
After news of Trump's plans to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is reported, financial markets tank. Trump then confirms he discussed the issue with House Republicans but says it's "highly unlikely" he'll do so.
The Trump administration fires Maurene Comey, a high-ranking Justice Department lawyer who worked on the Epstein and Diddy cases, but who is also the daughter of former FBI Director and Trump critic James Comey.
Thursday, July 17
The House passes the bill that will defund public and community radio and TV stations and reduce foreign aid, 216 to 213.
An Israeli missile strike on Gaza hits the only Catholic church in the territory, killing three Christians and wounding a priest who spoke regularly to Pope Francis.
A Wall Street Journal story about a Trump handwritten note and hand drawn picture given to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003 keeps that story alive. Trump threatens to sue the Journal, but also calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi to release any grand jury material that is "pertinent."
The State Department says it has destroyed 500 metric tons of emergency food aid that U.S. taxpayers had paid $800,000 for to help those in danger of starvation avoid death. Federal workers sought repeatedly to get permission from senior-level Trump administration officials to ship the food to where it could be used, but never got a response. It cost U.S. taxpayers an additional $130,000 to destroy the food, according to The Atlantic.
Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show on CBS and a frequent critic of President Trump, says the network is cancelling the program. It comes a few days after Colbert criticized the $16 million settlement reached by Paramount with President Trump over a lawsuit brought by the president's lawyers over a 60 Minutes episode last year. Colbert called the settlement a "bribe" paid by Paramount to the Trump administration, which can approve or reject Paramount's pending sale to Skydance Media. "They’re trying to silence people, but that won’t work," actor Jamie Lee Curtis says.
Friday, July 18
El Salvador frees more than 200 Venezuelans who had been deported to prison there by the United States, in exchange for the release of 10 Americans taken prisoner by Venezuela to gain leverage in negotiations for the release of its citizens.
Interesting Reads
The world is choking on screens. Just as this book foretold, by Ryan Zickgraf for The Washington Post (gift link)
The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge, by Christopher Rugaber and Josh Boak for The Associated Press
Searching for pennies: With the cut in federal funding public broadcasters are looking to cope, by Mark Thiessen and David Bauder for The Associated Press
With Epstein conspiracy theories, Trump faces a crisis of his own making, by Ali Swenson and Nicholas Riccardi for The Associated Press
Beware These Trump-Epstein Fake Images, by NewsGuard
MAGA starts to move on from Epstein drama as Trump digs in, by Shelby Talcott, Burgess Everett, and David Weigel for Semafor
We Warned About the First China Shock. The Next One Will Be Worse, by David Autor and Gordon Hanson for The New York Times
Trump says he wants to deport ‘the worst of the worst.’ Government data tells another story, by Melissa Goldin for The Associated Press
The Trump Administration Is About to Incinerate 500 Tons of Emergency Food, by Hana Kiros for The Atlantic
Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing, by Elliott Spagat for The Associated Press
France’s prime minister wants to cut 2 public holidays to save money for the indebted economy, by the Associated Press
Lin-Manuel Miranda will turn ‘Hamilton’ 10th anniversary into a fundraiser for immigration services, by Glenn Gamboa for The Associated Press
Louisiana cancels $3 billion coastal restoration project funded by oil spill settlement, by Jack Brook for The Associated Press
Bryan Cranston Tripping on Shrooms Is the Best Thing to Happen to TV, by Clare Donaldson for The Daily Beast
Funeral held for two Christians killed in Israeli attack on Catholic church in Gaza, by the Associated Press