07/15/25
Good morning! It’s Tuesday, July 15th.
National Give Something Away Day
Okie doke.
And now, the news.
Update: Los Angeles ICE Raids
Starting with an update on yesterday’s story – as promised, the Trump administration did file an appeal on Monday, asking the court to hit pause on a lower court ruling requiring the Trump administration to follow the Constitution. Specifically the Fourth Amendment, which says “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
And based on that, a lower court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security needs to develop guidance for ICE officers to determine “reasonable suspicion” before approaching someone. Something that doesn’t include the apparent race or ethnicity of a person, the language they’re overheard using, their accent, “presence at a particular location”, or “the type of work one does.”
Remember that Captain 100 million Americans sent out a memo saying they hadn’t done enough deportations and directed ICE officials to start going to Home Depots and 7/11s. Literally, that was in the memo.
So a lower court ruled that they couldn’t do that because, as a reminder, the Constitution absolutely does not only apply to citizens. A lack of citizenship does not mean the Constitution suddenly doesn’t apply.
Homeland Security has asked an appeals court to hit pause while they appeal the ruling. ACLU, who filed the original case, asked them not to.
We’ll see!
As the raids continue all over the country, yet another round of immigration judges were fired on Friday.
But how will the government try these cases? Florida has a plan! They’d like to deputize members of the state's National Guard Judge Advocate General's Corps as immigration judges. Trump’s said he likes that.
Sure – they’re not even trained yet. Immigration law is highly specialized, and the JAG lawyers-turned-judges have not been trained in that field. Not to mention – using military personnel in civilian legal roles blurs the line between civil justice and militarized policy.
And even though Trump would like us to think that people immigrating into this country cause a security threat – that’s just not the case rite large.
Supreme Court v Education
Speaking of courts and the pause button…
Also on Monday, the Supreme Court hit unpause on a lower court order that prevented Trump from firing about 1,400 people within the Department of Education and allowing it to outsource the work of the department to other agencies in the department.
But which agencies?
Financially, the biggest question is: where will student loans go?
At first, it seemed like the Small Business Administration might take this $1.6 trillion task on. Now, based on a June court filing, it appears the Treasury department might take it on. Fear not – nine whole Education department employees were moved to the Treasury, to help with this work.
The management of several grant programs for things like workforce training and adult education will go to the Department of Labor.
Civil rights work could go to the Department of Justice (yikes) and perhaps most chillingly (or as chillingly? I actually can’t say) – Enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act could fall to RFK Jr through the Department of Health and Human Services.
Bleak!
Meanwhile, after a $6 billion freeze on after-school and summer school programs, as well as teacher training, English language learners and support for the children of migrant farmworkers, among other things, that was handed down via a June 30th that said the funding was on hold until it could be reviewed to ensure the money would be spent in accordance with Trump’s plans (I’ll tell ya this much – those English language learners and support for the children of migrant farmworkers programs are for sure out if that’s the case) democratic officials from 24 states, as well as DC, have sued the Trump administration to release the funds.
No comment from the White House yet, but I’m sure it’s not, you know – hooray.
Update: Israel-Hamas War
-via NY Times
Last week, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu paid a visit to Trump, which many were hoping would lead to a ceasefire deal. He left on Friday without that deal.
On his way home from that visit, Netanyahu put out a statement saying that any deal needed to include the following conditions: Hamas lays down its arms, Gaza is demilitarized, there are no longer any governing or military capabilities of Hamas. These are our fundamental conditions.”
In response, Hamas said disarmament would never be on the table.
See, this is why Tina Fey said limit your always and your nevers. Because it makes a ceasefire deal dang near impossible. (Sidenote: how much does she hate being included in this story?)
Anyway – obviously, this is a big hurdle, among many big hurdles.
Another big hurdle – the future of Gaza and the Palestinians who live there. The generations of families there, who have made homes and lives there. Who have been displaced over and over again. Over the last few weeks, the Israeli government has started talking about a plan to put 600,000 Palestinians, in the beginning, but eventually the entire population of Gaza, about 2 million people, into an area Rafah that they are absurdly calling a “humanitarian city” which is the only time you will hear me refer to it that way on this show again.
It's a concentration camp. There is no single ICC legal definition of a concentration camp, but historical and legal norms give us a few key markers: Mass extrajudicial detention, group-based targeting, isolation & confinement, rights deprivation, and finally control, exploitation, and intimidation.
The city of Rafah is about 10 square miles. That’s about the size of Santa Monica, California. Now, put all of New York City there. But take away running water, hospitals, schools… and then the only place to sleep is in tents.
This, obviously, will also be a hurdle for a ceasefire deal.
It will also be a legal hurdle, as many legal experts have noted this would be a violation of international law.
So that’s where things stand there.
Russia and Ukraine
-via BBC
Moving to Ukraine – for the first time in his second term, Trump has pledged to make new weapons available to Ukraine. Don’t get it twisted, he still doesn’t care about Ukraine, he just feels like he’s being “punked” by Putin.
Ashton pops out. There’s a camera there, there, and see that Russian nesting doll right there? Each of them has a camera in there!
Dumb. Anyway, in classic Trump fashion we don’t know what he’s giving to Ukraine. Just "billions of dollars' worth of military equipment."
Also in classic Trump fashion, when asked about the news that the Pentagon had paused sending weapons to Ukraine two weeks ago (which he seemed to genuinely not have any clue about when asked), he said that was all a part of the plan.
The man’s a mastermind, you couldn’t possibly understand. Don’t ask questions, ya big dum. He’s three steps ahead of you. He’s gotta be – cause he’s always in a rush to get where he’s going and stand real weird.
Nato will be paying for this equipment, which I’m sure they don’t love but the Nato Secretary General knows how to play Trump and I think right now all they’re trying to do is keep America in Nato so he paid Trump a lot of compliments about the deal and bought the equipment from them.
Additionally, Trump put a new 50-day deadline on Russia to accept the ceasefire deal or be hit with 100% secondary tariffs. Listen up man, you better take this deal and stop punkin me or you’re gonna get these tariffs and I don’t know what they mean but it feels like something you pay for!
Threatening him with tariffs? Alright. At this point, why would anyone be afraid of Trump’s tariffs? He always chickens out anyway. TACO Tuesday – Trump Always Chickens Out.
World Cup
-via The Guardian
Finally, here’s a super weird story (but again… here’s why I’m ranked so high in the MLS soccer searches)…
Next year the world cup comes to America.
The world cuppa! (If you’re new here, here’s is a reminder that this show gets super annoying about the world cup, I’m very sorry. It’s not that bad, I promise. It’s mostly just be calling it the world cuppa. You’ll be fine.)
Anyway, on Sunday Trump went to the final for the Club World Cup, which is not related to the World Cup, it’s just a tournament that decides the best club team in the world. (Sidenote – there is no women’s Club World Cup, but it’s on the docket.)
So Trump goes to the match, it’s in Jersey, we’re about the host the World Cuppa, he’s buddies (to the extent he is able to have a friend so… not really) with the president of FIFA – it makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is that, after presenting the Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea (that’s who won) – he stayed on the pitch. As if he also played? And won? It’s so bizarre. Everyone looks confused. But no one can push him off the stage!
He's front and center!
And then the players had to go to the White House, no one looks thrilled in the picture but again – we’re about the host the World Cuppa and these players need to come back and play, they know they have to go.
The trophy’s in the Oval Office for the photo… and now it’s prompted this weird story. Apparently, back in March, when the president of FIFA unveiled the Club World Cup trophy to Trump, he left it in the Oval Office. And it’s been there ever since. So Trump claims: “I said, When are you going to pick up the trophy? [They said] ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one,’ And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting, but it is in the Oval right now.”
Now in theory, you could argue that what Trump has is the copy and Chelsea got the official one. But this is so bizarre.
In the same interview he also said he could put out an executive order that soccer be called football in America, which carries as much weight as his dumb Gulf of America thing but there’s actually a reason soccer is called soccer and I’m telling you, you do not want this to happen, because then I’m going to go into a whole deep dive on why it’s called soccer and you’re going to get bored.
Anyway, it’s weird. There’s no way Trump actually cares about any of this. I hate that he’s the president, and I especially hate that he’s the president for the World Cuppa.
But I refuse to let him ruin something I love! He does not get that.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of footie! The world cuppa! Ted Lasso. Hannah Waddingham. Maybe I don’t even need to wait until the world cup starts to be annoying about it. Maybe the annoying can start right now.
But more than all the soccers on all the pitches in all the land… because you put up with me… I’m proud of you.