China Flexes Military Might in One of World’s Largest Military Parades

As the BBC touts the occasion: The stage is set in the heart of Beijing for a grand display of power and military might that has been choreographed by President Xi Jinping. Eight huge Chinese flags flutter and flank the portrait of Mao Zedong, the founder of Communist China, which sits on top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace overlooking Tiananmen Square, one of the largest public squares in the world. Below are rows of seats reserved for 26 foreign heads of state, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, whose attendance is a diplomatic win for Xi…. Ostensibly the parade marks 80 years of Japan’s surrender in the war, and China’s victory against an occupying force. But it’s so much more than that for President Xi (BBC). Newsbusters noted the celebratory tone from elite media: CBS foreign correspondent Anna Coren hyped up the parade as a showcase of China’s “moment of glory” and a chance to show off their “newest military hardware.” She also pointed out that it was a great time for China to build alliances and show they could be a better partner than the U.S. (Newsbusters).

Indian Prime Minister Modi Meets With Chinese President Xi Jinping

Their meeting was held over the weekend—and Modi is expected to stay for the CCP’s military parade. All this meeting comes amidst speculation over deterioration of US-India relations as Trump presses India in trade discussions. The U.S. Embassy in India responded: The partnership between the United States and India continues to reach new heights — a defining relationship of the 21st century. This month, we’re spotlighting the people, progress, and possibilities driving us forward. From innovation and entrepreneurship to defense and bilateral ties, it’s the enduring friendship between our two peoples that fuels this journey (Embassy to India). David Strom reminds elite media that China’s effort to build alternative alliances is nothing new: The leaders of Russia, China, and India held a summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin, and they pledged friendship and cooperation and a shared commitment to confronting the United States as a coordinated bloc. Liberals are claiming that this marks a turning point in world relations, and they blame Donald Trump for driving these countries together because of his America First policies. That’s a new one on me. For the past 25 years, these countries, along with other losers in the world economy, have been trying to create what is informally termed the “BRICS” bloc. They have tried to displace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency and, through combined influence, balance the United States’ in influence as a superpower. (BRICs stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) (Hot Air).

Court: Most of Trump’s Use of Tariffs Unlawful; Trump Responds

The 7-4 decision came from the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals late last week. Trump responded on Tuesday with a full-throated defense of his tariffs and their centrality to righting our fiscal woes. The president joined The Scott Jennings Podcast, talking about the administration’s efforts for an expedited ruling from the Supreme Court: It’s an economic emergency and if I don’t do it and if we don’t get it, if we don’t, don’t win that decision, you’ll see a reverberation like maybe you’ve never seen before. That’s how bad it will be. We are so strong now and we are so respected and this decision’s the only thing. The stock market’s down today because of the possibility that’s going to happen. If we win this, the stock market’s going to go right through the roof because we’ll find—this has been hanging over us for a year, literally this decision even before because we knew it was filed and you know who files it? Foreign companies are filing it…. Now it’s all coming in and this decision’s an overhang. Let me tell you something, until this decision, it’s an emergency. We’re going in as an emergency. We’ll be probably doing it tomorrow for an emergency meeting because this decision—you see, the stock market—this decision is an emergency without tariffs, we have an entirely different country. It will be an entirely different country and on top of it, they’ll have their tariffs and they’ll be able to use them and we won’t (Jennings).

House Oversight Committee Releases Over 30,000 Epstein Files

The files were released Tuesday evening. From the office of Chairman Comer: Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released 33,295 pages of Epstein-related records that were provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. On August 5, Chairman Comer issued a subpoena for records related to Mr. Jeffrey Epstein, and the Department of Justice has indicated it will continue producing those records while ensuring the redaction of victim identities and any child sexual abuse material (House). Sarah Arnold of Townhall: Among the documents are DOJ interviews, footage from inside Epstein’s infamous Palm Beach estate, and taped testimonies from survivors dating back to the 2005–2006 investigation. The release also includes police body-camera footage and search videos, which were previously withheld from the public. While the DOJ reportedly redacted identifying information of victims, Congress is now publishing the original videos in a centralized, publicly accessible archive. “This is the most thorough investigation into Epstein and Maxwell to date, and we are getting results,” Comer told the House Rules Committee on Tuesday night. He confirmed the committee has already deposed former Attorney General Bill Barr and secured a commitment from the DOJ to continue producing more documents (Townhall). The documents: (DOJ).

US Military Strikes Drug Boat From Venezuela, Killing 11

As the administration gets serious about the drug cartels, including cartel leader Nicolás Maduro. Salem News Channel: The U.S. military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, President Donald Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration’s recent deployment of warships to the southern Caribbean. Trump told reporters at the White House: “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.” “And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time … These came out of Venezuela,” Trump said (SNC). Trump: The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! (Truth). Spectator reports on the broader effort: A 2,500-strong Marine Expeditionary Unit on board three powerful amphibious warfare vessels carrying some 40 helicopters and other vertical take-off and landing aircraft is clearly intended for an eventual capture and extraction of Maduro, for whom the Trump administration is offering a $50 million bounty. The hope is that the military pressure, combined with the generous reward offers for Maduro, will entice his interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, and the defense minister, Padrino López, and other members of Venezuela’s high command to turn him over through a bloodless coup, opening the way for democratic government. In a direct appeal to Venezuela’s armed forces released on video, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “You are the only ones who can avoid a bloodbath” (Spectator).

Appeals Court Decision Allows Trump Administration to Press Ahead With Billions in Cuts at EPA

The Biden administration had doled out billions to organizations tasked with reducing planet warming. The Hill: A federal appeals court has overturned a lower court’s ruling that prevented the Trump administration from clawing back billions of dollars in climate spending. The 2-1 decision from a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., vacated a lower court ruling that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from recouping billions issued for climate-friendly projects under the Biden administration. The decision, from President Trump appointees Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas, is expected to enable the administration to rescind unspent funding from the $20 billion program. The funds in question are part of a $20 billion “Green Bank” program that passed as part of the Democrats’ 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (Hill). Fox News: The opinion also points to statements from an EPA employee who said that after Trump’s election victory, the EPA under President Joe Biden was “just trying to get the money out as fast as possible.” “The employee compared the situation to ‘throwing gold bars off the Titanic,'” Rao wrote. It was after that point that Trump’s EPA reviewed the grant program and sought to kill it (Fox News).

Federal Judge Finds Trump Use of National Guard in Violation of Federal Law

Los Angeles Daily News reported: In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco noted Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have stated their intention to deploy National Guard troops to other cities across the country, including Oakland and San Francisco, and that raises concerns they are “creating a national police force with the President as its chief” (Daily News). Bill Essayi, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California aimed to set the record straight: The military will remain in Los Angeles. This is a false narrative and a misleading injunction. The military has never engaged in direct law enforcement operations here in LA. They protect our federal employees our properties so our federal agents can safely enforce federal laws in the face of the thugs being unleashed and encouraged by state and local politicians (Essayli). Katie Jerkovich for Red State: … as with everything these days, when it comes to the left and all the legal wranglings they have the Trump administration wrapped up in, the devil is in the details. Oh, no! You mean Trump’s administration isn’t just going to fold up and go home? This is great news for the city of Los Angeles and anyone who believes in the rule of law. After all, it was the utter chaos created by the left during the anti-ICE riots in June that started all of this (Red State).

Former New York Mayor DeBlasio Endorses Zohran Mamdani

DeBlasio’s endorsement further fuels momentum of the socialist nominee for America’s largest city. Praising Mamdani’s promise of “bold sweeping action,” the endorsement came in a column for the Daily News: New Yorkers are demanding sweeping changes. Two-thirds of New Yorkers support city-owned grocery stores, particularly in food deserts — Mamdani has proposed one in each borough. Three-fourths support free buses and universal child care. We don’t just need Zohran Mamdani to be our mayor because he has the right ideas, or because they can be achieved. We need him because in his heart and in his bones he cannot accept a city that prices out the people who built it and keep it running (Daily News). Latest polling shows Cuomo could beat Mamdani—if it were to be a head to head contest: The poll also tested a head-to-head matchup between Mamdani and Cuomo and in that scenario, Cuomo wins 52% to 41%. For that to happen, however, Sliwa, Adams and Walden would need to drop out, something each has so far rejected (Fox 5).

HHS Secretary Kennedy Puts Forward Plan to Restore Confidence in Public Health

RFK Jr’s plan comes after the criticism of his decision to fire director Susan Monarez (Hill). After citing the statistics on our Covid failures, he writes: The American people no longer believe the CDC has their best interests at heart. President Trump has asked me to restore that trust and return the CDC to its core mission. The path forward is clear: Restore the CDC’s focus on infectious disease, invest in innovation, and rebuild trust through integrity and transparency. To achieve this, the CDC will focus on six priorities: • Protect from threats…. • Build infrastructure…. • Modernize systems…. • Invest in workforce. Rebuild the proud tradition of disease detectives, training epidemiologists at home and abroad. • Enhance scientific rigor. Apply gold-standard science to every recommendation, ensuring America leads the world in safe, effective vaccines and trusted guidance.• Empower states and communities. Return to the original mission of supporting state and local health departments on the front lines of outbreaks…. First, the CDC must restore public trust—and that restoration has begun. It won’t stop until America’s public-health institutions again serve the people with transparency, honesty and integrity (Wall Street Journal).

Elite Media Deliberately Missed the Russia Collision Hoax

John Solomon provides a succinct summary to Larry O’Connor of why the Russia collision narrative was so dangerous for our nation: What sets the 2016 Dirty Trick apart is that it enlisted the help of the FBI and the United States intelligence community. The FBI opens up a case on an allegation it knew before it opened up was being fostered by Hillary Clinton specifically to limit her liabilities in the election. In other words, they knew it was a dirty trick and the FBI still chose to legitimize it. With three years of investigation, the intelligence community knew that its career people had come to the conclusion that Vladimir Putin did not intervene in the election to try to help Donald Trump win, that he stayed neutral. In fact, the best evidence that the career people had was that in October ’16 when most Americans were making up their mind about the election, Vladimir Putin pulled out all of his active measures in the country, did not unload some of the dirt he had gathered on Hillary Clinton…. The mere contemplation of using a US intelligence agency to help a political candidate was unthinkable back in 1973 and 1974. In 2016, in ’17 Barack Obama and the FBI already fully engaged in the dirty trick, and on January 5th inside the White House, President Obama presides over a meeting to stop justice and FBI officials. Joe Biden’s there, the vice President. The day before that meeting, the FBI had decided it was going to clear Mike Flynn, the incoming National Security advisor for President Trump of all criminality. They could find no evidence he did anything wrong. The next day the White House decided, how can we keep this investigation going? They concoct an idea to lure Mike Flynn into an interview where he’ll be tripped up blind and it’ll charge him with a lie in the scandal of either Joe Biden and Barack Obama are presiding over that meeting and an FBI supervisor comes out of that meeting and writes these extraordinary notes (Townhall).