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At her Thursday morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about her government’s efforts to stave off new U.S. tariffs that are due to take effect next week.

She also spoke about two significant reductions: one in the amount of fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities at the Mexico-U.S. border and another in the prevailing inflation rate in Mexico.

Here is a recap of the president’s July 24 mañanera.

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ANALYSIS: Diversity is a ‘core value’ but Minnesota State Mankato won’t share with the public what an ‘equity lens’ in coaching means

When Minnesota State University-Mankato defensive linemen hit tackling dummies and run sprints this summer, they will do so under the watchful eye of a coach with an “equity lens.”

But how exactly the coaching staff defines “equity” and “anti-racism” remains shrouded in mystery, since the school denied a College Fix request to view submitted diversity statements.

The Fix requested copies of the diversity statements submitted by its defensive assistant coaching applicants as required by a May job posting.

The public university listed “[d]emonstrated ability to serve a diverse population and apply an equity lens, including social justice and/or anti-racism, to the role,” as a “minimum” qualification for the job.

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Grammy-winning R&B singer Victoria Monét revealed she faced pressure from a music executive to have an abortion after an unexpected pregnancy, highlighting a broader issue of coercion that pro-life advocates say affects many women.

In a recent appearance on former First Lady Michelle Obama’s podcast, Monét shared the emotional toll of being presented with a PowerPoint outlining the challenges of motherhood, an experience she said felt like an encouragement to end her pregnancy.

“In retrospect, it was really, really disheartening,” Monét said of the incident. “I had a person on my team, though the intentions were good, really, really hurt my feelings because they made a PowerPoint presentation to me about how difficult it will be for me.”

She recalled the presentation’s finale, which asked, “what’s the rush?”—a statement she interpreted as pressure to abort her unborn child.

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President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state — a notably gentler response than the sharp condemnation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top Republicans, who blasted the move a day earlier.

“What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”

Macron took to X on Thursday to announce his intention for France to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next September.

Macron took to X on Thursday to announce France’s formal recognition of the Palestinian State at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

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Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney David Oscar Markus has said the deputy attorney general has finished his questioning for the day, NBC News reports.

“We started this morning right around 9 o’clock, and went to now lunchtime, and we’re finished after all day, yesterday and today, Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half, she answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability. She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question,” Markus told reporters as he left the federal courthouse in downtown Tallahassee, Florida.

“They asked about every single, every possible thing you could imagine. Everything.”

The justice department has not said whether Blanche intends to question Maxwell further. Markus said he did not know whether the discussions would have any impact on her case.

We don’t know how it’s going to play out. We just know that this was the first opportunity she’s ever been given to answer questions about what happened and so the truth will come out about what happened with Mr Epstein, and she’s the person who’s answering those questions,” he said.

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As Taiwan concluded its largest-ever Han Kuang military exercise, annual war games designed to test the island’s ability to repel a Chinese invasion, China simultaneously launched a series of back-to-back drills, overtly simulating an attack and applying strategic pressure. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command issued daily updates detailing synchronized maneuvers designed to mirror and counter Taiwan’s activities.

The 2025 Han Kuang exercise, held from July 9 to 18, was the longest and most comprehensive iteration since its inception in 1984. It marked a significant shift toward whole-of-society defense, emphasizing joint combat operations and responses to “grey zone” threats. The drills featured over 22,000 reservists and incorporated both domestically developed and U.S.-supplied weapons, including Sky Sword II missiles, Abrams M1A2T tanks, and HIMARS rocket systems. For the first time, Han Kuang was paired with the Urban Resilience Exercises, a multi-month campaign held from April through July to test Taiwan’s ability to withstand a prolonged conflict through full societal participation.

The computer-aided phase of the drill was extended from 8 to 14 days, while the live-fire segment doubled from 5 to 10. Key focus areas included electronic warfare, rapid mobilization, integrated air and missile defense, maritime security, and ground operations. The traditionally scripted exercises were replaced with 24/7 unscripted scenarios simulating combat in urban areas, civil-military coordination, and mass evacuation drills in real-world locations such as hypermarkets.

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President Donald Trump publicly scorned Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday for the cost of an extensive building renovation as the two officials began a tour of the unfinished project.

Trump said the project cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed’s $2.5 billion figure, while Powell, standing next to him, silently shook his head.

“This came from us?” Powell said, then figuring out that Trump was including the renovation of the Martin Building that was finished five years ago.

“Do you expect any more additional cost overruns?” Trump asked.

“Don’t expect them,” Powell said.

Trump said in his career as a real estate developer he would fire someone for cost overruns. The president joked that he would back off Powell if he lowered interest rates.

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Last month, the Department of Justice charged two Chinese nationals for smuggling a scientifically classified potential agroterrorism fungus into the United States. They were allegedly receiving funding from China to research the pathogen for potential future attacks, highlighting the dangers China could pose to the U.S. food supply in the future at a time it has already effectively infiltrated American agriculture through land acquisition.

China’s acquisition of U.S. land is a well-documented national security threat, especially as it continues to purchase land in suspicious proximity to U.S. military bases. This strategic investment by China has rapidly developed, with China only owning approximately 13,720 acres in 2010 growing to the 277,336 acres it owned as of Dec. 2023.

Despite the number of acres reported in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Dec. 2023 report, this data “should be interpreted as a minimum.” The data disclosed to the USDA is collected through voluntary reporting. This creates gaps in the database, with 3.1 million acres unaccounted for. Additionally, there is a caveat in the reporting, as entities can list “no predominant country” in their filing. Roughly 2.3 million acres account for no foreign investor and no predominant country listed. The number of Chinese-controlled acreage is highly likely to be far larger than reported.

<b>Netanyahu says Israel considering alternatives to ceasefire talks with Hamas</b>- <i> www.euronews.com</i>

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that his government is considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas after Israel and the US recalled their negotiating teams from Qatar, throwing the future of the negotiations into further uncertainty.

Netanyahu’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and American delegations as a pressure tactic.

The teams left Doha on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Hamas’ latest response to proposals for a deal showed a “lack of desire” to reach a truce.

Witkoff said the US would look at “alternative options,” without elaborating.

In a statement released by his office, Netanyahu echoed Witkoff, saying, “Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal.”

“Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region,” he said.

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France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Emmanuel Macron has said, which will make it the first G7 nation to do so.

In a post on X, Macron said the formal announcement would be made at a session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“The urgent need today is for the war in Gaza to end and for the civilian population to be rescued. Peace is possible. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” he wrote.

Palestinian officials welcomed Macron’s decision, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move “rewards terror” following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in Israel.

The US “strongly rejects” Macron’s announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, calling the decision “reckless”.

The G7 is a group of major industrialised nations, which alongside France includes the US, the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.

In his Thursday post on X, Macron wrote: “True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine.

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The treason trial of the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, has begun in a military court in the capital, Kinshasa.

He also faces other charges, such as murder, linked to his alleged support for M23 rebels – who control a large part of the mineral-rich east of the country. He denies the charges and has snubbed the hearing.

Kabila’s successor, President Félix Tshisekedi, has accused him of being the brains behind the rebels.

The former president has rejected the case as “arbitrary” and said the courts were being used as an “instrument of oppression”.

A ceasefire deal between the rebels and the government was agreed last week, but fighting has continued.

Kabila had been living outside the country for two years, but arrived in the rebel-held city of Goma, in eastern DR Congo, from self-imposed exile in South Africa in May.

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Armed clashes have broken out between Thailand and Cambodia in long-disputed border areas, rapidly escalating months-long tensions.

The fighting included gunfire exchanges, shelling and rocket fire, which have killed at least 14 people in Thailand and one in Cambodia and wounded dozens, while driving tens of thousands of people to flee homes near the border. Thailand also hit Cambodia with air strikes.

It was the second armed confrontation since a Cambodian soldier was shot dead in May and a major escalation that came hours after the two countries downgraded diplomatic relations following a land mine explosion that injured Thai soldiers.

The Thai military reported clashes at locations along the border near four Thai provinces on Friday.

Here’s what to know about the dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbors.

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The United States recalled its diplomatic team from Qatar on Thursday, ending two weeks of intense ceasefire negotiations with Hamas after the terror group rejected the Trump administration’s latest offer.

“We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” special envoy Steve Witkoff said in a statement. “While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith.”

The Trump administration is now considering “alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.” Witkoff accused Hamas of acting in a “selfish way” and stressed that he and his team remain “resolute in seeking an end to this conflict and a permanent peace in Gaza.”

The talks, which Egypt and Qatar have mediated, reportedly stretched into the early morning hours on Thursday but failed to adequately address “significant gaps,” according to Israeli officials. Hamas reportedly desires guarantees that Israel will not resume its war effort even without a final deal within a 60-day ceasefire period. The terror group also wants Israel to release 200 prisoners serving life sentences and around 2,000 others who were arrested since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, the Jerusalem Post reported.

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“The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a joint statement with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron.

The three leaders held discussions on the crisis in Gaza amid growing fears of mass starvation in the area.

In their statement they said: “The most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay,”

“Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.

“We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the UN and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work in order to take action against starvation. Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law.”

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The leaders of Britain, France and Germany will hold an emergency call Friday about the growing hunger crisis in Gaza, after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to recognize a Palestinian state.

The surprise announcement exposes differences among the European allies, known as the E3, over how to ease the worsening humanitarian crisis and end the Israel-Hamas war.

All three support a Palestinian state in principle, but Germany said it has no immediate plans to follow France’s step, which Macron plans to formalize at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Britain has not followed suit either, though Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday came closer than ever before, saying “statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.”

Starmer said he, Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz will speak Friday about “what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace.”

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“You are a bunch of lying f*cking scumbags. You terrorize, you try to terrorize Supreme Court justices over a decision that didn’t go your way.”

In a recent interview with PBS’ Frontline program, War Room host Steve Bannon criticized the outlet for expressing concerns about “rhetoric” from President Donald Trump, but not when Supreme Court justices were targeted in the wake of the Roe v Wade decision.

“You can’t let these radical judges do it. And this is going to be a showdown. It has to be a showdown,” Bannon said.

“And the rhetoric about the judge, because a lot of lawyers say, you know, all of the rhetoric, calling for impeachment, the radical left lunatic, that this rhetoric, it shouldn’t—that’s not the type of thing the President should say. He should appeal. He should abide by the court ruling and not—,” the PBS interviewer asked before being cut off.

“Listen, by the way, was there any complaint from PBS, or was there any complaint by the Democrats on the rhetoric used against the judges when the Roe v Wade decision came out and they had to have police protection at their houses?” Bannon asked. “I don’t remember, I don’t remember anything about the rhetoric being too high.”

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MOSCOW: Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the 40-year-old Admiral Kuznetsov, is likely to be sold or scrapped, the chairman of Russia’s state shipbuilding corporation told the Kommersant newspaper in comments published on Friday (Jul 25).

Andrei Kostin’s remarks follow a report in the daily Izvestia newspaper earlier this month, which cited unnamed sources as saying long-running refit and maintenance work on the warship had been suspended.

Launched in 1985 when the Soviet Union still existed, the Admiral Kuznetsov saw action in Russia’s military campaign in Syria in support of then-President Bashar al-Assad, with its planes carrying out airstrikes against rebel forces.

But it has played no role in the war in Ukraine and has been out of service since 2017, undergoing modernisation in the Murmansk area close to where Russia’s Northern Fleet is based.

Efforts to overhaul it have suffered repeated accidents and setbacks.

Asked about its fate on Thursday on the sidelines of a flag-raising ceremony for a new nuclear submarine in northwestern Russia, Kostin made it clear that a final decision had not yet been taken, but suggested that the Admiral Kuznetsov was no longer worth spending money on.

“We believe there is no point in repairing it anymore. It is over 40 years old, and it is extremely expensive … I think the issue will be resolved in such a way that it will either be sold or disposed of,” Kostin was quoted as saying by Kommersant.

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French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will recognize Palestine as a state at the U.N. General Assembly in September.

“Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,” he wrote in a statement on X.

“The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population,” Macron continued. “Peace is possible. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. We must also ensure the demilitarization of Hamas, secure and rebuild Gaza. And finally, we must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region.”

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The defense is calling for an absolute discharge for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber as their trial continues.

During a July 24 court session, defense lawyers argued that Lich and Barber should not serve additional jail time for their role in organizing and leading the 2022 Freedom Convoy which protested COVID mandates.

“This is an individual who came to this city with the best of intentions, as recognized by the judge. She has been under strict bail conditions for three-and-a-half years. She spent 49 days in jail for the offence of mischief,” Lich’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said.

“And if one looks at the positive impact that she’s had on the lives of many Canadians and the community service that she has continued to do, there’s absolutely no reason for her to not receive an absolute discharge,” he continued.

Currently, the Crown is seeking seven years for Lich on a single mischief conviction, and eight years for Barber and the forfeiture of Barber’s truck.

This sentencing, to be determined on October 7, has been roundly condemned by Canadians, including many prominent politicians.

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Vice President JD Vance leads the top Democratic candidates eyeing a presidential bid in 2028 in the latest poll to confirm that MAGA’s No. 2 is competitive in a race that is still three years off.

In the latest Emerson College Polling survey, Vance edged out former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).

His leads aren’t big, but the survey comes on the heels of others that show he is ahead in a likely close race.

Emerson’s numbers:

— Vance 44%, Buttigieg 43%, and undecided at 13%

— Vance 44%, Ocasio-Cortez 41%, and undecided at 15%.

— Vance 45%, Newsom 42%, and undecided at 13%.

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump endorsed Mike Rogers, the Republican Party’s preferred candidate, as he seeks to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).

Trump previously talked Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) out of challenging Rogers ahead of the 2026 primary, with his active involvement in the wide-open Michigan Senate race coming as the GOP hopes to flip the seat in a bid to expand its narrow 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.

“The wide America First Patriot Mike Rogers is running for U.S. Senate in the Great State of Michigan, a State I love and WON BIG!” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. “Mike Rogers has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

As Democrats also line up to succeed Peters, Trump touted Rogers as the GOP candidate who would focus on enacting his “America First” agenda. Much is riding on Rogers, a former longtime congressman and FBI agent from Livingston County, as Republicans have not won a Senate election in Michigan since 1994.

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EXCLUSIVE — As leader of New England Law in Boston, Scott Brown touted diversity, equity, and inclusion as a “core value” and “top priority” of the institution. Now a Republican Senate candidate in New Hampshire, Brown assails DEI as “woke.”

In an “unlisted” 2021 YouTube video unearthed by the Washington Examiner, which is not publicly searchable or viewable on the law school’s page, Brown, then the dean and president, celebrated New England Law’s DEI programs for Black History Month.

The more than three-minute video, which has not been previously reported, featured Brown boasting of DEI efforts under his new tenure, including “implicit bias training” for faculty, foreshadowing plans for “combating systemic racism,” praising a DEI task force as a “top priority,” and promoting college-backed DEI initiatives.

Under Brown’s leadership over the next two months, the school launched a diversity career-readiness program and celebrated Trans Day of Visibility. The latter, the institution said, was evidence of its commitment to expanding access to the legal profession for “historically underrepresented groups and those who have suffered discrimination.”

Brown’s remarks and the school’s positions under his short tenure stand in stark contrast to his anti-DEI rhetoric as a Senate candidate and the GOP’s anti-DEI platform.

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On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court ruling centered on provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

In a 6-3 decision, the justices stayed a ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which had sided against two American Indian tribes in an ongoing dispute over North Dakota’s state legislative map. The plaintiffs claimed that the state’s map “denied them an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice,” according to The Hill.

In its decision, the three-judge panel ruled (2-1) that private plaintiffs cannot “maintain a private right of action for alleged violations of § 2” of the VRA using federal civil rights laws. The ruling overturned a prior decision by the district court, which sided with the plaintiffs.

Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh — who handles emergency applications from the 8th Circuit — granted plaintiffs’ request on July 16 to place a temporary pause on the 8th Circuit’s order to provide the justices time to consider their request for relief.

According to Thursday’s SCOTUS order, the 8th Circuit’s decision is “stayed pending the filing and disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari, if such writ is timely sought.” The stay will terminate if a potential petition from one of the parties to SCOTUS is denied by the high court or if SCOTUS agrees to take up the matter and hands down a final judgment in the case.

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Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) is not expected at the National Governors Association retreat this weekend as reports emerge suggesting cracks in the Democratic relationship with the organization.

Gov. Laura Kelly (D-KS) has not registered for the summit either, though the meeting of the bipartisan governors group will enjoy a “record number” of governors at the summer meeting in Colorado Springs.

The NGA reportedly will not get any more dues from Walz or Kelly over its reaction to President Donald Trump’s ventures into state matters. The Washington Examiner did not confirm the report but did confirm that the two governors had not registered for the summit.

Both have concluded that the “organization’s usefulness is now in doubt” because it allegedly did not respond sufficiently to incidents such as the pause on the disbursement of all federal funds in January, when Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) argued with Trump over transgender athletes, and when the National Guard was deployed into California during the Los Angeles protests.

“When you are also paying dues with taxpayer dollars, it has got to be worth it, and they are going to have to demonstrate that,” a source told the Atlantic. “Right now, they are not doing that. There have been ongoing concerns about the NGA among the Democratic governors and staff, off and on, for years.”

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Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin has admitted that the Democrats have now hit “rock bottom” following President Donald Trump’s re-election victory in November.

The DNC leader says the Democratic Party has “work to do” but believes that Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will provide the ammunition they need to make a comeback.

Martin’s comments came in the wake of the party’s struggles after the 2024 elections, when they lost control of the White House, Senate, and failed to win back the House majority.

In a candid interview with Fox News, Martin acknowledged that the Democrats had lost ground with key parts of their coalition, including voters who had historically been a part of the Democratic Party’s base.

However, he remained optimistic about the party’s future, claiming that “when you hit rock bottom, there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up.”

The DNC chair pointed to the growing anger among the party’s base, energizing them to push back against Trump’s sweeping second-term domestic agenda.

He noted that this anger isn’t just directed at the GOP but at Democratic lawmakers who many in the party feel haven’t been aggressive enough in countering the president.

 

 

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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching digital ads targeting a dozen Republican-held House districts, calling for the release of files related to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

One ad features Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) calling the controversy a “serious issue” and saying that the highest volume of calls to her office have concerned the Epstein files, while another calls out the House GOP with the caption “House Republicans shut down Congress to bury the truth.”

A clip of President Trump standing next to Epstein plays in the background of the latter.

Both ads tell viewers to call their representatives and demand that the Epstein files are released.

Momentum had been building among Democrats and some Republicans for Congress to vote to force the Trump administration to release the documents related to the case. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced the body would start its summer recess a day early as Democrats sought to force votes in the Rules Committee to release the files, dividing Republicans.

Democrats have sought to use the lingering controversy as a way to go on offense against Trump and the Republican Party, accusing them of protecting pedophiles. The topic of the Epstein files has received significant national attention for a few weeks since the Justice Department memo stating the Epstein didn’t have a “client list,” as has been alleged, and that the department wouldn’t release additional documents to protect alleged victims.

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LOL.

The Democrats deleted a post trying to “own” President Donald Trump over grocery prices but it showed the prices skyrocketed under former President Joe Biden.

In fact, the portion after Biden’s presidency showed steady prices so far during Trump’s second term.

The Democrats kept the post up for over three hours, giving people plenty of time to mock the party.