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Today β€” 24 July 2025Main stream

French President Macron says France will recognize Palestine as a state

24 July 2025 at 19:50

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza.

Macron said in a post on X that he will formalize the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved.

The French president offered support for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism, but he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel's war in Gaza, especially in recent months.

France is the biggest and most powerful European country to recognize Palestine. More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.

France has Europes largest Jewish population and the largest Muslim population in western Europe, and fighting in the Middle East often spills over into protests or other tensions in France.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.

RELATED STORY | 73 people killed waiting for humanitarian aid across Gaza, Palestinian Health Ministry says

Frances foreign minister is co-hosting a conference at the U.N. next week about a two-state solution. Last month, Macron expressed his determination to recognize the state of Palestine, and he has pushed for a broader movement toward a two-state solution, in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.

Thursdays announcement came soon after the U.S. cut short Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, saying Hamas wasnt showing good faith.

Momentum has been building against Israel in recent days. Earlier this week, France and more than two dozen mostly European countries condemned Israels restrictions on aid shipments into the territory and the killings of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food.

The Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza, territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. Israels government and most of its political class have long been opposed to Palestinian statehood and now say that it would reward militants after Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem shortly after the 1967 war and considers it part of its capital. In the West Bank, it has built scores of settlements, some resembling sprawling suburbs, that are now home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers with Israeli citizenship. The territorys 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy in population centers.

Jazz legend Chuck Mangione, known for 'Feels So Good,' dies at 84

24 July 2025 at 19:22

Two-time Grammy Award-winning musician Chuck Mangione, who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-flavored single Feels So Good and later became a voice actor on the animated TV comedy King of the Hill, has died. He was 84.

Mangione died at his home in Rochester, New York, on Tuesday in his sleep, said his attorney, Peter S. Matorin of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. The musician had been retired since 2015.

Perhaps his biggest hit Feels So Good is a staple on most smooth-jazz radio stations and has been called one of the most recognized melodies since Michelle by the Beatles. It hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Billboard adult contemporary chart.

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It identified for a lot of people a song with an artist, even though I had a pretty strong base audience that kept us out there touring as often as we wanted to, that song just topped out there and took it to a whole other level, Mangione told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2008.

He followed that hit with Give It All You Got, commissioned for the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, and he performed it at the closing ceremony.

Mangione, a flugelhorn and trumpet player and jazz composer, released more than 30 albums during a career in which he built a sizable following after recording several albums, doing all the writing.

He won his first Grammy Award in 1977 for his album Bellavia, which was named in honor of his mother. Another album, Friends and Love, was also Grammy-nominated, and he earned a best original score Golden Globe nomination and a second Grammy for the movie The Children of Sanchez.

Mangione introduced himself to a new audience when he appeared on the first several seasons of King of the Hill, appearing as a commercial spokesman for Mega Lo Mart, where shopping feels so good.

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Mangione, brother of jazz pianist Gap Mangione, with whom he partnered in The Jazz Brothers, started his career as a bebop jazz musician heavily inspired by Dizzy Gillespie.

He also was one of the first musicians I saw who had a rapport with the audience by just telling the audience what he was going to play and who was in his band, Mangione told the Post-Gazette.

Mangione earned a bachelor's degree from the Eastman School of Music where he would eventually return as director of the schools jazz ensemble and left home to play with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

He donated his signature brown felt hat and the score of his Grammy-winning single Feels So Good, as well as albums, songbooks and other ephemera from his long and illustrious career to the Smithsonians National Museum of American History in 2009.

Average US mortgage rate eases to 6.74%, but borrowing costs remain elevated

24 July 2025 at 17:47

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage eased this week, offering little relief for prospective homebuyers facing record-high home prices.

The long-term rate slipped to 6.74% from 6.75% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.78%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased. The average rate dropped to 5.87% from 5.92% last week. A year ago, it was 6.07%, Freddie Mac said.

Elevated mortgage rates have been weighing on the U.S. housing market, which has been in a sales slump going back to 2022, when rates started to climb from the rock-bottom lows they reached during the pandemic.

RELATED STORY | Millions want to own but can't: What's being done to address the housing crisis?

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes, which sank to their lowest level in nearly 30 years in 2024, have remained sluggish this year and slid last month to the slowest pace since last September. Sales of new single-family homes edged up 0.6% last month, but the sales pace for June and May have been the slowest since last October.

While there are more homes on the market than a year ago, rising home prices and stubbornly high mortgage rates have made homeownership financially untenable for many Americans. Elevated mortgage rates are also discouraging many homeowners from selling because they locked in mortgage rates when they were much lower.

The persistent risk of tariff-driven inflation, combined with a rising U.S. fiscal debt - expected to grow further following the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill Act - has helped establish a relatively high floor for interest rates, at least for now, said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserves interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors expectations for the economy and inflation.

The main barometer is the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. The yield was at 4.41% at midday Thursday, down from 4.40% late Wednesday, following the latest signals that the U.S. economy seems to be holding up OK despite all the pressures on it from tariffs and elsewhere.

Yields have moved higher for most of this month as traders bet that the Fed will hold its key short-term interest rate steady at its upcoming meeting next week, despite President Donald Trump demanding that the Fed to lower rates.

A less independent Fed could mean lower short-term rates, which influence the interest consumers pay on credit cards and auto loans, but it could have the opposite effect on the longer-term bond yields that influence the rates on home loans.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to its high so far this year of just above 7%, set in mid-January. The 30-year rates low point this year was in early April when it briefly dipped to 6.62%.

Economists generally expect the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain above 6% this year. Recent forecasts by Realtor.com and Fannie Mae project the average rate easing to around 6.4% by the end of this year.

The US fertility rate reached a new low in 2024, CDC data shows

24 July 2025 at 17:03

The fertility rate in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low in 2024 with less than 1.6 kids per woman, new federal data released Thursday shows.

The U.S. was once among only a few developed countries with a rate that ensured each generation had enough children to replace itself about 2.1 kids per woman. But it has been sliding in America for close to two decades as more women are waiting longer to have children or never taking that step at all.

The new statistic is on par with fertility rates in western European countries, according to World Bank data.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING | Birth rates remain stagnant as US encounters aging population issues

Alarmed by recent drops, the Trump administration has taken steps to increase falling birth rates, like issuing an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of in vitro fertilization and backing the idea of baby bonuses that might encourage more couples to have kids.

But there's no reason to be alarmed, according to Leslie Root, a University of Colorado Boulder researcher focused on fertility and population policy.

Were seeing this as part of an ongoing process of fertility delay. We know that the U.S. population is still growing, and we still have a natural increase more births than deaths, she said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the statistic for the total fertility rate with updated birth data for 2024.

In the early 1960s, the U.S. total fertility rate was around 3.5, but plummeted to 1.7 by 1976 after the Baby Boom ended. It gradually rose to 2.1 in 2007 before falling again, aside from a 2014 uptick. The rate in 2023 was 1.621, and inched down in 2024 to 1.599, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Birth rates are generally declining for women in most age groups and that doesnt seem likely to change in the near future, said Karen Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.

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People are marrying later and also worried about their ability to have the money, health insurance and other resources needed to raise children in a stable environment.

Worry is not a good moment to have kids, and thats why birth rates in most age groups are not improving, she said.

Asked about birth-promoting measures outlined by the Trump administration, Guzzo said they dont tackle larger needs like parental leave and affordable child care.

The things that they are doing are really symbolic and not likely to budge things for real Americans, she said.

Increase in births in new data

The CDC's new report, which is based on a more complete review of birth certificates than provisional data released earlier this year, also showed a 1% increase in births about 33,000 more last year compared to the prior year.

That brought the yearly national total to just over 3.6 million babies born.

But this is different: The provisional data indicated birth rate increases last year for women in their late 20s and 30s. However, the new report found birth rate declines for women in their 20s and early 30s, and no change for women in their late 30s.

What happened? CDC officials said it was due to recalculations stemming from a change in the U.S. Census population estimates used to compute the birth rate.

That's plausible, Root said. As the total population of women of childbearing age grew due to immigration, it offset small increases in births to women in those age groups, she said.

Police documents released after Bryan Kohberger's sentencing detail strange happenings weeks before

24 July 2025 at 14:05

In the weeks before Bryan Kohberger killed four University of Idaho students, there were strange happenings at their rental home near campus.

One of the victims, Kaylee Goncalves, told her roommates she saw a man she didn't recognize staring at her when she took her dog outside. Another time, the residents came home to find the door open, loose on its hinges. They grabbed golf clubs to arm themselves against a possible intruder.

Those details were included in hundreds of documents released by police within hours of Kohberger being sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for the brutal stabbing murders of Gonclaves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin early Nov. 13, 2022.

It remains unclear whether the strange happenings had anything to do with the killings. But the documents do illustrate the frenzied efforts by law enforcement to follow every possible lead to find and convict Kohberger.

RELATED STORY | Idaho survivors speak out at Kohberger sentencing

Here's a look at some information from the documents:

Curious happenings at 1122 King Rd.

Bethany Funke was one of two roommates to survive the night of the stabbings. In interviews after the murders, she told police that about a month earlier, Goncalves had taken her dog, Murphy, outside when she saw an unknown man "up above their house to the south," staring at her.

It was concerning enough that Goncalves "told everyone" about it and called her roommates to ask if they'd be home soon, Funke said.

Then, on Nov. 4, nine days before the attack, the roommates came home at 11 a.m. to find the door open, loose on its hinges, as the wind blew. Goncalves was away at the time. Kernodle's father fixed the door, Funke reported.

On Nov. 13, police found a gruesome scene. Blood pooled on bed comforters, covered floors and was splattered on walls. One the victims, Kernodle, had extensive defensive wounds; in her room "it was obvious an intense struggle had occurred," one office wrote.

Detailing the investigation's steps

Tips poured in. A staff member at Walmart told police that two to three weeks earlier, a white, college-age male had come in looking for a black ski mask that would cover his face. People who saw online feeds of some of the victims at a food truck offered their thoughts about a possible perpetrator, and investigators also looked into leads about bar-goers they had seen earlier in the night or an Uber driver they frequently used, the documents show.

A woman who lived nearby told police that in either August or September 2022, she and her daughter saw a man in their yard who "looked nervous." She said she was almost certain it was Kohberger.

Officers eventually identified Kohberger a doctoral student in criminology at nearby Washington State University using a DNA sample found on a knife sheath at the crime scene. They tracked his movements that night with cellphone data, obtained online shopping records showing he had purchased a military-style knife, and linked him to a car that repeatedly drove by the students' house.

The documents include memos memorializing the subpoenas or warrants they served seeking records and the responses to those requests. Investigators served a warrant on the dating app Tinder, looking for accounts Kohberger might have created with certain emails and which might link him to his victims.

No such evidence emerged, and the motive for the killings remains a mystery.

RELATED STORY | Bryan Kohberger sentenced to life in prison for killing 4 University of Idaho students

Kohberger spoke with police briefly

Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, about six weeks after the killings. He was taken to a state police barracks to be interviewed by officers from the Moscow police department, Idaho State Police and the FBI.

They chatted about the Washington State football team, Kohberger's doctorate studies in criminal justice, his required duties to be a teaching assistant while in college, and why he wanted to become a professor.

Kohberger eventually said he understood they were engaging in small talk, but he would appreciate if the officers explained what they wanted. One detective told him it was because of what had happened in Moscow. Asked if he knew what had transpired, he replied, "Of course."

Did he want to talk about it? "Well, I think I would need a lawyer," Kohberger replied.

He continued speaking, though asking what specific questions they had and asking if his parents and dog were OK following his arrest.

Kohberger finally said he would like to speak to an attorney, and police ended the interview because he had invoked his Fifth Amendment right.

Behind bars with Kohberger

A man incarcerated at the Latah County Jail who was once housed next to Kohberger's cell told a detective Sept. 16, 2024, that Kohberger would often question him about his past criminal offenses and why he was in the maximum security wing of the facility.

The man said Kohberger's habits annoyed him, including how he washed his hands dozens of times each day and spent 45 minutes to an hour in the shower. He said Kohberger stayed awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day.

48 people die in passenger plane crash in Russia's far east, officials say

24 July 2025 at 12:45

Forty-eight people have died in a plane crash in Russias Far East, the head of the countrys Amur region said in a statement Thursday.

The An-24 passenger plane disappeared from radar as it travelled from the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border to the town of Tynda. Rescuers later found the aircrafts burning wreckage amid dense forests on a hillside south of its planned destination.

Regional Gov. Vasily Orlov said that all passengers and crew on board the aircraft were killed in the crash. He also announced three days of mourning.

Images of the reported crash site circulated by Russian state media show debris scattered among dense forest, surrounded by plumes of smoke.

Russia's Interfax news agency said there were adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services. Several Russian news outlets also reported that the aircraft was almost 50 years old, citing data taken from the plane's tail number.

The transport prosecutors office in the Far East reported that the site of the crash was 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Tynda. The office said in an online statement that the plane attempted a second approach while trying to land when contact with it was lost.

Aviation incidents have been frequent in Russia, especially in recent years as international sanctions have squeezed the countrys aviation sector.

Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220M in deal with Trump to restore federal funding

24 July 2025 at 00:35

Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was canceled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus, the university announced Wednesday.

Under the agreement, the Ivy League school will pay a $200 million settlement over three years, the university said. It will also pay $21 million to settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty," acting University President Claire Shipman said.

The Trump administration pulled the funding, because of what it described as the universitys failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023.

Columbia then agreed to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration, including overhauling the universitys student disciplinary process and adopting a new definition of antisemitism.

Wednesdays agreement which does not include an admission of wrongdoing codifies those reforms while preserving the universitys autonomy, Shipman said.

RELATED STORY | Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes

The school had been threatened with the potential loss of billions of dollars in government support, including more than $400 million in grants cancelled earlier this year.

The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track," Shipman said. "Importantly, it safeguards our independence, a critical condition for academic excellence and scholarly exploration, work that is vital to the public interest.

As part of the deal, Columbia agreed to a series of changes previously announced in March, including reviewing its Middle East curriculum to make sure it was comprehensive and balanced and appointing new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. It also promised to end programs that promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotes, diversity targets or similar efforts.

The university will also have to issue a report to a monitor assuring that its programs do not promote unlawful DEI goals.

The pact comes after months of uncertainty and fraught negotiations at the more than 270-year-old university. It was among the first targets of President Donald Trumps crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests and on colleges that he asserts have allowed Jewish students be threatened and harassed.

Columbias own antisemitism task force found last summer that Jewish students had faced verbal abuse, ostracism and classroom humiliation during the spring 2024 demonstrations.

Other Jewish students took part in the protests, however, and protest leaders maintain they arent targeting Jews but rather criticizing the Israeli government and its war in Gaza.

Columbias leadership a revolving door of three interim presidents in the last year has declared that the campus climate needs to change.

Also in the settlement is an agreement to ask prospective international students questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States, and establishes processes to make sure all students are committed to civil discourse.

Colorado's measles outbreak is over, and the weekly US case count continues to diminish

23 July 2025 at 21:54

Health officials in Colorado say the state's measles outbreak is over, and the U.S. added just 10 confirmed cases nationally in the last week.

Wednesday's national case count stood at 1,319, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Earlier this month, the U.S. passed the total count for 2019, when the country almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Measles cases skyrocket in US, reaching 33-year high amid vaccination concerns

A vast majority of this year's cases are from Texas, where a major outbreak raged through the late winter and spring. Other states with active outbreaks which the CDC defines as three or more related cases include Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah.

There have been three deaths in the U.S. this year, and all were unvaccinated: two elementary school-aged children in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico.

North America has three other large outbreaks. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,276 cases from mid-October through July 15. The province logged its first death June 5 in a baby who got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions.

IN RELATED NEWS | Truth Be Told: Why this year's measles outbreaks are causing alarm

Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 1,472 as of Tuesday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 3,296 measles cases and 10 deaths as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus thats airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000.

Yesterday β€” 23 July 2025Main stream

Judge bars ICE from immediately taking Abrego Garcia into custody if he’s released from jail

23 July 2025 at 20:02

A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if hes released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against the Maryland construction worker.

The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE.

Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trumps immigration policies following his wrongful explusion to El Salvador in March. Trumps administration violated a U.S. immigration judges order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there.

The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers. Police in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive on.

RELATED STORY | Abrego Garcia says he was subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail

U.S. officials have said theyll try to deport Abrego Garcia to a country that isnt El Salvador, such as Mexico or South Sudan, before his trial starts in January because they allege hes a danger to the community.

A federal judge in Tennessee has been considering whether to release Abrego Garcia to await trial, prompting fears from his attorneys that he would be quickly expelled by ICE.

In an effort to prevent his deportation, Abrego Garcias attorneys asked the judge in Maryland to order the U.S. government to send him to that state to await his trial. Short of that, they asked for at least 72 hours notice if ICE planned to deport Abrego Garcia.

Abrego Garcias American wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is suing the Trump administration in Xinis Maryland court over his wrongful deportation in March and is trying to prevent another expulsion.

U.S. officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he came to the U.S. illegally around 2011 and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for expulsion in 2019, although not to his native El Salvador.

Following the immigration judges decision in 2019, Abrego Garcia was released under federal supervision, received a federal work permit and checked in with ICE each year, his attorneys have said.

The Trump administration recently stated in court documents that they revoked Abrego Garcias supervised release when they deemed him to be in the MS-13 gang and deported him in March.

Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor's death

23 July 2025 at 18:35

A doctor pleaded guilty Wednesday to giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the month leading up to the Friends stars overdose death.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia became the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perrys death to plead guilty. He stood next to his lawyer and admitted guilt to four counts to Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in federal court in Los Angeles.

Plasencia, 43, was to have gone on trial in August until the doctor agreed last month to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, according to the signed document filed in federal court in Los Angeles.

He spoke only to answer the judge's questions. When asked if his lawyers had considered all the possibilities of pleas and sentencing in the case, Plasencia replied, They've considered everything.

Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry, the doctor's attorney, Debra White, said in an emailed statement after the hearing. He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution. Dr. Plasencia intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license, acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction.

Plasencia had previously pleaded not guilty, but in exchange for the guilty pleas prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying records.

Prosecutors outlined the charges in court before the plea, and said that he did not sell Perry the dose that killed the actor.

They described, and Plasencia admitted, that Perry froze up and his blood pressure spiked when the doctor gave him one injection, but Plasencia still left more ketamine for Perry's assistant to inject.

In court, Perry was referred to only as victim MP.

The charges can carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and there is no guarantee Plasencia will get less, but he's likely to. He has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest in August, and will be allowed to remain free until his Dec. 3 sentencing.

RELATED STORY | Autopsy shows Matthew Perry died from 'acute effects of ketamine'

Plasencia left the courthouse with his lawyers without speaking to reporters gathered outside.

"While Dr. Plasencia was not treating Mr. Perry at the time of his death," his lawyer's statement said, he hopes his case serves as a warning to other medical professionals and leads to stricter oversight and clear protocols for the rapidly growing at-home ketamine industry in order to prevent future tragedies like this.

The only remaining defendant who has not reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office is Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors allege is a drug dealer known as the Ketamine Queen and sold Perry the lethal dose. Her trial is scheduled to begin next month. She has pleaded not guilty.

According to prosecutors and co-defendants who reached their own deals, Plasencia illegally supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine starting about a month before his death on Oct. 28, 2023.

According to a co-defendant, Plasencia in a text message called the actor a moron who could be exploited for money.

Perry's personal assistant, his friend, and another doctor all agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation as the government sought to make their case against larger targets, Plasencia and Sangha. None have been sentenced yet.

Perry was found dead by the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death.

The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.

Plasencia admitted in his plea agreement that another patient connected him with Perry, and that starting about a month before Perry's death, he illegally supplied the actor with 20 vials of ketamine totaling 100 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes.

He admitted to enlisting another doctor, Mark Chavez, to supply the drug for him, according to the court filings.

I wonder how much this moron will pay, Plasencia texted Chavez, according to Chavez's plea agreement.

After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perrys go-to, prosecutors said.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBCs megahit.

Trump announces trade deal with Japan that lowers threatened tariff to 15%

23 July 2025 at 13:43

President Donald Trump announced a trade framework with Japan on Tuesday, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from that nation.

This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs There has never been anything like it, Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.

The president said Japan would invest at my direction $550 billion into the U.S. and would open its economy to American autos and rice. The 15% tax on imported Japanese goods is a meaningful drop from the 25% rate that Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting Aug. 1.

Early Wednesday, Ishiba acknowledged the new trade agreement, saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together.

With the announcement, Trump is seeking to tout his ability as a dealmaker even as his tariffs, when initially announced in early April led to a market panic and fears of slower growth that for the moment appear to have subsided. Key details remained unclear from his post, such as whether Japanese-built autos would face a higher 25% tariff that Trump imposed on the sector.

RELATED STORY | Trump announces new trade deals with Indonesia and the Philippines

But the framework fits a growing pattern for Trump, who is eager to portray the tariffs as win for the U.S. His administration says the revenues will help reduce the budget deficit and more factories will relocate to America to avoid the import taxes and cause trade imbalances to disappear.

The wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies simply pass along the costs. The problem was seen sharply Tuesday after General Motors reported a 35% drop in its net income during the second quarter as it warned that tariffs would hit its business in the months ahead, causing its stock to tumble.

As the Aug. 1 deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders is approaching, Trump also announced a trade framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of 19% on its goods, while American-made products would face no import taxes. The president also reaffirmed his 19% tariffs on Indonesia.

The U.S. ran a $69.4 billion trade imbalance on goods with Japan last year, according to the Census Bureau.

America had a trade imbalance of $17.9 billion with Indonesia and an imbalance of $4.9 billion with the Philippines. Both nations are less affluent than the U.S. and an imbalance means America imports more from those countries than it exports to them.

The president is set to impose the broad tariffs listed in his recent letters to other world leaders on Aug. 1, raising questions of whether there will be any breakthrough in talks with the European Union. At a Tuesday dinner, Trump said the EU would be in Washington on Wednesday for trade talks.

We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day, Trump told guests.

The president earlier this month sent a letter threatening the 27 member states in the EU with 30% taxes on their goods to be imposed starting on Aug. 1.

The Trump administration has a separate negotiating period with China that is currently set to run through Aug. 12 as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional 30% baseline.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts. Bessent said his goal is to shift the American economy away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese economy.

President Trump is remaking the U.S. into a manufacturing economy, Bessent said on the Fox Business Network show Mornings with Maria. If we could do that together, we do more manufacturing, they do more consumption. That would be a home run for the global economy.

Venus Williams, 45, becomes oldest woman in decades to win a pro-level singles match

23 July 2025 at 12:12

Venus Williams wanted to send a message to herself and to others about coming back from a long layoff, about competing in a sport at age 45, about never giving up. Yes, there was something special about just being back on a tennis court Tuesday night.

There also was this: She really, really wanted to win.

And Williams did just that, becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes at age 45 while beating Peyton Stearns 22 years her junior by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open.

Each week that I was training, I was, like, Oh, my God, I dont know if Im good enough yet. And then there would be weeks where I would leap forward. And there would be two weeks where I was, like, Oh, God, its not happening. Even the week leading up, (I thought), Oh, my gosh, I need to improve so much more. So its all a head game, Williams said after her first singles match in more than a year and first singles victory in nearly two.

Navratilova is the only woman older than Williams to win a singles match

The only older woman to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose last triumph came at 47 in 2004.

The former No. 1-ranked Williams had not played singles in an official match since March 2024 in Miami, missing time while having surgery to remove uterine fibroids. She hadn't won in singles since August 2023 in Cincinnati. Until this week, she was listed by the WTA Tour as inactive.

Im just constantly praying for good health, so that way I could have an opportunity to play with good health, Williams said. A lot of this for me is being able to come back and try to play at a level (and) to play healthy.

Venus Williams won four Grand Slam titles before Peyton Stearns was born

Backed by a crowd that clearly was there to see, and support, her at the hard-court tournament in the nation's capital, Williams showed glimpses of the talent she possesses and the skills she displayed while earning all of her Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in womens doubles all alongside younger sister Serena and two in mixed doubles.

I wanted to play a good match, Williams told the fans, then added a phrase that drew appreciative roars: and win the match.

In Tuesday's second game, Williams smacked a return winner to get things started, then delivered a couple of other big responses to break Stearns, a 23-year-old who won singles and team NCAA titles at the University of Texas and is currently ranked 35th.

In the next game, Williams sprinted forward to reach a drop shot and replied with a forehand winner.

The first chorus of cheers arrived when Williams walked out into the main stadium at the DC Open, a 7,000-seat arena that's more than twice as large as where she was for her doubles victory a day earlier. Another came when she strode from the sideline to the center of the court for the coin toss. The noise reached a crescendo when Williams began hitting aces at 110 mph and faster the way she used to.

Keep in mind: Williams won four Grand Slam trophies before Stearns was born.

Venus Williams hit big serves and groundstrokes just like she always did

She played some ball tonight, Stearns said. She was moving really well, which I wasnt expecting too much, honestly. Her serves were just on fire.

There also were moments where Williams whose fiance was in the stands looked as if it had been just as long as it actually has since she competed, including in the opening game, when she got broken at love this way: forehand wide, forehand into the net, forehand long, backhand long.

At the end, it took Williams a bit of extra effort to close things out. She kept holding match points and kept failing to convert them. But eventually, on her sixth chance, Williams powered in a 112 mph serve that Stearns returned into the net. That was it: Williams smiled wide as can be, raised a fist and jogged to the net to shake hands, then performed her customary post-win pirouette-and-wave.

It's not easy. It wont be easy. Its not easy for anyone out here, said Williams, who next faces No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, who's 27. So I know Ill have to fight for every match. But Im up for that.

US Olympic and Paralympic officials bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports

23 July 2025 at 00:01

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in womens sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an obligation to comply with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

The new policy, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPCs website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year.

The USOPC change is noted obliquely as a detail under USOPC Athlete Safety Policy and references Trumps executive order, Keeping Men Out of Womens Sports, signed in February. That order, among other things, threatens to rescind all funds from organizations that allow transgender athlete participation in womens sports.

U.S. Olympic officials told the national governing bodies they will need to follow suit, adding that the USOPC has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials since Trump signed the order.

As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations," USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes wrote in a letter. Our revised policy emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.

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The National Women's Law Center put out a statement condemning the move.

By giving into the political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the needs and safety of its own athletes, said that organization's president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves.

The USOPC oversees around 50 national governing bodies, most of which play a role in everything from the grassroots to elite levels of their sports. That raises the possibility that rules might need to be changed at local sports clubs to retain their memberships in the NGBs.

Some of those organizations for instance, USA Track and Field have long followed guidelines set by their own world federation. World Athletics is considering changes to its policies that would mostly fall in line with Trump's order.

A USA Swimming spokesman said the federation had been made aware of the USOPC's change and was consulting with the committee to figure out what changes it needs to make. USA Fencing changed its policy effective Aug. 1 to allow only athletes who are of the female sex in women's competition and opening men's events to all athletes not eligible for the womens category, including transgender women, transgender men, non-binary and intersex athletes and cisgender male athletes.

The nationwide battle over transgender girls on girls and womens sports teams has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans portray the issue as a fight for athletic fairness. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court by those who say the policies are discriminatory, cruel and unnecessarily target a tiny niche of athletes.

The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes to limit competition in womens sports to athletes assigned female at birth. That change came a day after Trump signed the executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from girls and womens sports.

Female eligibility is a key issue for the International Olympic Committee under its new president, Kirsty Coventry, who has signaled an effort to protect the female category. The IOC has allowed individual sports federations to set their own rules at the Olympics and some have already taken steps on the topic.

Stricter rules on transgender athletes barring from womens events anyone who went through male puberty have been passed by swimming, cycling and track and field. Soccer is reviewing its eligibility rules for women and could set limits on testosterone.

Trump has said he wants the IOC to change everything having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject. Los Angeles will host the Summer Games in 2028.

Mountain lion bites 4-year-old on popular Olympic National Park trail

22 July 2025 at 20:30

A mountain lion bit a 4-year-old who was walking with their family over the weekend on a popular trail in Olympic National Park in Washington state, park officials said Monday.

The child was injured during Sunday's attack and flown to a trauma center in Seattle for treatment, according to a statement from the National Park Service.

The attack by a mountain lion fitted with a tracking collar was near an overlook on Hurricane Ridge, a popular mountain area with expansive views.

The attack was reported to rangers around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday and paramedics and park staff traveled to the injured child, according to the National Park Service.

Rangers immediately started searching for the cougar and by Monday, park staff had "dispatched the animal," the statement said using a term that generally refers to killing an animal.

"There are no current threats to the public," the statement said.

Officials said they would not be releasing any identifying information about the child to protect their identity.

Before yesterdayMain stream

US leaving UN cultural agency UNESCO 2 years after rejoining

22 July 2025 at 14:39

The United States announced Tuesday it will again pull out of the U.N.s educational, scientific and cultural agency because it believes that its involvement is not in the countrys national interest, and that the agency promotes anti-Israel speech. This decision comes only two years after the United States rejoined UNESCO after leaving in 2018, during U.S. President Donald Trump's first administration.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the withdrawal was linked to UNESCO's perceived agenda to advance divisive social and cultural causes.

She added in a statement that UNESCOs decision to admit the State of Palestine as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.

The decision, first reported by the New York Post, will take effect at the end of December 2026.

This will be the third time that the United States has left UNESCO, which is based in Paris, and the second time during a Trump administration. It last rejoined the agency in 2023, under the Biden administration.

UNESCOs Director General Audrey Azoulay said she deeply regrets the U.S. decision but insisted that it was expected, and that the agency has prepared for it. She also denied accusations of anti-Israel bias.

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These claims ... contradict the reality of UNESCOs efforts, particularly in the field of Holocaust education and the fight against antisemitism, she said.

The Trump administration in 2017 announced that the U.S. would withdraw from UNESCO, citing anti-Israel bias. That decision took effect a year later. The U.S. and Israel stopped financing UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member state in 2011.

The reasons put forward by the United States of America are the same as seven years ago, even though the situation has changed profoundly, political tensions have receded, and UNESCO today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-oriented multilateralism, Azoulay added.

The decision came as no surprise to UNESCO officials, who had anticipated such a move following the specific review ordered by the Trump administration earlier this year. They also expected that Trump would pull out again since the return of the US in 2023 had been promoted by a political rival, former President Joe Biden.

The U.S withdrawal is likely to affect UNESCO because the U.S. provides a notable share of the agencys budget. But the organization should be able to cope. UNESCO has diversified its funding sources in recent years and the US contribution has decreased, representing only 8% of the agencys total budget.

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Azoulay pledged that UNESCO will carry out its missions despite inevitably reduced resources. The agency is not considering any staff layoffs at this stage.

UNESCOs purpose is to welcome all the nations of the world, and the United States of America is and always will be welcome, she said. We will continue to work hand in hand with all our American partners in the private sector, academia and non-profit organizations, and will pursue our political dialogue with the U.S. administration and Congress.

The United States previously pulled out of UNESCO under the Reagan administration in 1984 because it viewed the agency as mismanaged, corrupt and used to advance the interests of the Soviet Union. It rejoined in 2003 during George W. Bushs presidency.

Israeli strikes kill at least 20 in Gaza, health officials say

22 July 2025 at 12:12

Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, as Israel pushed on with a new incursion in an area that had largely been spared heavy fighting during the 21-month war.

The expansion of Israels ground invasion comes as Israel and Hamas have been considering terms for a ceasefire for Gaza that would pause the fighting and free at least some hostages.

The latest round of talks has dragged on for weeks with no signs of breakthrough, though negotiators have expressed optimism. With Israel expanding its control over large chunks of Gaza, an expected pullback of troops is a major point of contention in the talks.

RELATED STORY | 73 people killed waiting for humanitarian aid across Gaza, Palestinian Health Ministry says

The Trump administration has been pushing Israel to wrap up the war and has shown signs of impatience. On Monday, President Donald Trumps press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was caught off guard by a recent Israeli strike on a Catholic church in Gaza.

Top Christian clergy visited that church last week and in a press conference Tuesday in Jerusalem called for the war to end.

At least 20 killed in Israeli strikes, health officials say

One strike hit tents sheltering displaced people in the built-up, seaside Shati refugee camp on the western side of Gaza City, killing at least 12 people, according to the citys Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. The Israeli military said it was not aware of such a strike by its forces.

The dead included three women and three children, Dr. Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of the hospital told The Associated Press. Thirty-eight other Palestinians were wounded, he said.

The strike tore apart tents, and left some of the dead laying on the ground, according to footage shared by the Health Ministrys ambulance and emergency service.

An overnight strike that hit crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks in Gaza City killed eight, hospitals said. At least 118 were wounded, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Ahmed Mhana, who said he was waiting on a coastal road for aid trucks, said the crowd was struck twice by Israeli aircraft.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the Gaza City strike. Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. It accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israels terms for a ceasefire including calls to give up power and disarm.

Heavy explosions heard in area that avoided major fighting

In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, which previously has not seen major ground operations or widespread devastation, Palestinians reported heavy explosions from strikes and tank shelling overnight.

It was non-stop, Ayman Aby Hassan said. We felt that the area was shaking, as if there was an earthquake.

The man, who is in his 40s, fled an area in the southwestern side of Deir al-Balah that was invaded by the military earlier this week. He headed to the Muwasi area near the sea.

The Israeli military ordered evacuations from parts of the city earlier this week.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

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More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to Gazas Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Church leaders witnessed an almost totally destroyed Gaza

In Jerusalem, top church leaders called on the international community to help bring an end to the war in Gaza after making a rare visit to the conflict-ridden territory last week.

Their visit came a day after Gaza's only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell in an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis.

The strike drew condemnation from Pope Leo XIV and Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident.

It is time to end this nonsense, end the war, Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told reporters.

Israel has heavily restricted access to Gaza since the start of the war, though church leaders have entered on previous occasions, usually to mark major holidays.

Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III said they witnessed a Gaza that was almost totally destroyed. They said they saw older people, women and boys totally starved and hungry and called for urgent humanitarian aid.

"Every hour without food, water, medicine, and shelter causes deep harm," Pizzaballa said. It is morally unacceptable and unjustifiable.

Israel has greatly reduced the amount of aid being let into Gaza and aid that does enter is often met by chaos and violence at distribution points.

On Tuesday, the U.N. said more than 1,000 people have been killed seeking aid in Gaza since Israel redesigned the distribution of goods for Palestinians. Accusing Israel of the killings, the U.N. said more than 750 had died in the vicinity of aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli- and U.S.-backed group. GHF mostly denies that violence occurs at its sites.

Pentagon withdraws 700 Marines from Los Angeles

22 July 2025 at 00:48

The Pentagon ordered the U.S. Marines to leave Los Angeles on Monday, more than a month after President Donald Trump deployed them to the city against the objections of local leaders.

The 700 Marines were deployed June 9 on the fourth day of protests in downtown LA over the administrations crackdown on immigration. Four thousand National Guard soldiers were also deployed.

Their presence in the city had been limited to two locations with federal buildings in Los Angeles, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and detention facility downtown. During their deployment outside a federal complex in west LA, the Marines temporarily detained a man who said he was rushing to get to a Veterans Affairs appointment.

The decision to pull back the Marines comes after half of the National Guard troops were ordered to leave the city last week. The rest remain.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the military presence sent a clear message: lawlessness will not be tolerated.

Mayor Karen Bass held a press conference Monday morning ahead of the announcement with several leaders of veteran groups who raised concerns about the deployment of military troops on domestic soil. They called for the remainder of troops to be withdrawn from Los Angeles.

This is another win for Los Angeles but this is also a win for those serving this country in uniform, Bass said in a statement. Los Angeles stands with our troops, which is why we are glad they are leaving.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the federal government in June over the deployment of the National Guard, arguing that Trump violated the law when he activated the troops without notifying him. Newsom also asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids.

While a lower court ordered Trump to return control of the Guard to California, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month temporarily blocked the judge's order.

Newsom originally included the Marines in the lawsuit, but the case has primarily focused on the Guard since.

In response to the Pentagon's announcement pulling back the Marines, Newsom reiterated his call for the remaining Guard troops to be sent home as well.

The women and men of the California National Guard deserve more than to continue serving as puppets in Trump and Stephen Millers performative political theater," Newsom said in a statement. There was never a need for the military to deploy against civilians in Los Angeles."

Local authorities have disputed the Trump administrations characterization of the city as a war zone.

The protests in Los Angeles have been largely limited to a few blocks downtown containing City Hall, federal buildings and an immigration detention facility. Demonstrations in the city and the region in recent weeks have been largely small impromptu protests around arrests.

In one of the most raucous days of protest, thousands of people took to the streets June 8 in response to Trumps deployment of the Guard, blocking off a major freeway as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire.

A day later, police officers used flash bangs and shot projectiles as they pushed protesters through Little Tokyo, where bystanders and restaurant workers rushed to get out of their way.

Bass set a curfew in place for about a week that she said had successfully protected businesses and helped restore order.

Judge sentences ex-officer in Breonna Taylor raid to nearly 3 years in prison

21 July 2025 at 22:49

A federal judge on Monday sentenced ex-Louisville police officer Brett Hankison to 33 months in prison and three years of subsequent supervised release, after he was found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights following her shooting death in 2020.

Brett Hankison fired his weapon the night of a March 2020 botched drug raid on Taylor's address. His shots didnt hit or injure anyone, but flew through Taylors walls into a neighboring apartment.

The 26-year-old's death, along with the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked racial injustice protests nationwide that year.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department recommended no prison time for Hankison, in an abrupt about-face by federal prosecutors that has angered critics after the department spent years prosecuting the former detective.

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The Justice Department, which has changed leadership under President Donald Trump since Hankison's conviction, said in a sentencing memo last week that "there is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public from Hankison. Federal prosecutors suggested time already served, which amounts to one day, and three years of supervised probation.

Prosecutors at his previous federal trials aggressively pursued a conviction against Hankison, 49, arguing that he blindly fired 10 shots into Taylor's windows without identifying a target. Taylor was shot in her hallway by two other officers after her boyfriend fired from inside the apartment, striking an officer in the leg. Neither of the other officers was charged in state or federal court after prosecutors deemed they were justified in returning fire into the apartment. Louisville police used a drug warrant to enter the apartment, but found no drugs or cash inside.

A separate jury deadlocked on federal charges against Hankison in 2023, and he was acquitted on state charges of wanton endangerment in 2022.

In their recent sentencing memo, federal prosecutors wrote that though Hankison's response in these fraught circumstances was unreasonable given the benefit of hindsight, that unreasonable response did not kill or wound Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend, her neighbors, defendants fellow officers, or anyone else.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who helped Taylor's family secure a $12 million wrongful death settlement against the city of Louisville, has called the Justice Department recommendation an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jurys decision. He added in a social media post that it "sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.

On Monday, the Louisville Metro Police Department arrested four people in front of the courthouse who it said were creating confrontation, kicking vehicles, or otherwise creating an unsafe environment. Authorities didn't list the charges those arrested would face.

We understand this case caused pain and damaged trust between our department and the community, a police statement said. We particularly respect and value the 1st Amendment. However, what we saw today in front of the courthouse in the street was not safe, acceptable or legal.

In the Taylor case, three other ex-Louisville police officers have been charged with crafting a falsified warrant, but have not gone to trial. None were at the scene when Taylor was shot.

Less selection, higher prices: How tariffs are shaping the holiday shopping season

20 July 2025 at 18:56

With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. Its less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices.

But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies, part of his effort to revive the nations diminished manufacturing base and to reduce the U.S. deficit in exported goods, have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff import tax rates the president sets, postpones and revises.

The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what were ordering, where were bringing it in, when its going to get here, Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. We dont know which items were going to have to put in the catalog or not."

Months of confusion over which foreign countries' products may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. U.S. retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations.

The consequences for consumers? Stores may not have the specific gift items customers want come November and December. Some retail suppliers and buyers scaled back their holiday lines rather than risking a hefty tax bill or expensive imports going unsold. Businesses still are setting prices but say shoppers can expect many things to cost more, though by how much depends partly on whether Trump's latest round of reciprocal tariffs kicks in next month.

The lack of clarity has been especially disruptive for the U.S. toy industry, which sources nearly 80% of its products from China. American toy makers usually ramp up production in April, a process delayed until late May this year after the president put a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, according to Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of the Toy Association, an industry trade group.

The U.S. tariff rate may have dropped significantly from its spring high a truce in the U.S.-China trade war is set to expire on Aug. 12 but continues to shape the forthcoming holiday period. Manufacturing activity is way down from a year ago for small- and medium-sized U.S. toy companies, Ahearn said.

The late start to factory work in China means holiday toys are only now arriving at U.S. warehouses, industry experts said. A big unknown is whether tariffs will keep stores from replenishing supplies of any breakout hit toys that emerge in September, said James Zahn, editor-in-chief of the trade publication Toy Book.

In the retail world, planning for Christmas in July usually involves mapping out seasonal marketing and promotion strategies. Dean Smith, who co-owns independent toy stores JaZams in Princeton, New Jersey, and Lahaska, Pennsylvania, said he recently spent an hour and a half running through pricing scenarios with a Canadian distributor because the wholesale cost of some products increased by 20%.

Increasing his own prices that much might turn off customers, Smith said, so he explored ways to "maintain a reasonable margin without raising prices beyond what consumers would accept. He ordered a lower-cost Crazy Forts building set so he would have the toy on hand and left out the kids' edition of the Anomia card game because he didn't think customers would pay what he would have to charge.

In the end, I had to eliminate half of the products that I normally buy, Smith said.

Hilary Key, owner of The Toy Chest in Nashville, Indiana, said she tries to get new games and toys in early most years to see which ones she should stock up on for the winter holidays. This year, she abandoned her product testing for fear any delayed orders would incur high import taxes.

Meanwhile, vendors of toys made in China and elsewhere bombarded Key with price increase notices. For example, Schylling, which makes Needoh, Care Bear collectibles and modern versions of nostalgic toys like My Little Pony, increased prices on orders by 20%, according to Key.

All the price hikes are subject to change if the tariff situation changes again. Key worries her store wont have as compelling a product assortment as she prides herself on carrying.

My concern is not that Ill have nothing, because I can bring in more books. I can bring in more gifts, or I can bring in just things that are manufactured in other places, she said. But that doesnt mean Im going to have the best stock for every developmental age, for every special need."

The retail industry may have to keep taking a whack-a-mole approach to navigating the White House's latest tariff ultimatums and temporary reprieves. Last week, the president again reset the rates on imports from Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and other major trading partners but said they would not take effect until Aug. 1.

RELATED STORY | Trump plans to implement more tariffs despite rising inflation

The brief pause should extend the window importers have to bring in seasonal merchandise at the current baseline tariff of 10%. The Port of Los Angeles had the busiest June in its 117-year history after companies raced to secure holiday shipments, and July imports look strong so far, according to Gene Seroka, the port's executive director.

In my view, we're seeing a peak season push right now to bring in goods ahead of potentially higher tariffs later this summer," Seroka said Monday.

The pace of port activity so far this year reflects a tariff whipsaw effect imports slowing when tariffs kick in and rebounding when they're paused, he said. For us consumers, lower inventory levels, fewer selections and higher prices are likely as we head into the holidays.

Smith, who co-owns the two JaZams stores with his partner, Joanne Farrugia, said they started placing holiday orders two months earlier than usual for certain items that we felt were essential for us to have at particular pricing. They doubled their warehouse space to store the stockpile. But some shoppers are trying to get ahead of higher prices just like businesses are, he said.

He's noticed customers snapping up items that will likely be popular during the holidays, like Jellycat plush toys and large stuffed unicorns and dogs. Any sales are welcome, but Smith and Farrugia are wary of having to restock at a higher cost.

Were just trying to be as friendly as we can to the consumer and still have a product portfolio or profile that is gonna meet the needs of all of our various customers, which is getting more and more challenging by the day, Smith said.

Balsam Brands' Harman said he's had to resign himself to not having as robust a selection of ornaments and frosted trees to sell as in years' past. Soon, it will be too late to import meaningful additions to his range of products.

Our purpose as a company is to create joy together, and were going to do our very best to do that this year," Harman said. Were just not going to have a bunch of the items that consumers want this year, and thats not a position we want to be in."

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