The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that avian flu viruses “pose pandemic potential” as new analysis suggests one dairy worker’s case could represent the first known instance of transmission of bird flu from animals to humans — marking a significant evolution of the virus.
A CDC technical report says bird flu presents a “low risk to the general public” for now but that viruses have “caused severe respiratory disease in infected humans worldwide” and that it is “likely” dairy workers identified as having symptoms are refusing to be tested, leaving officials with gaps in their knowledge.
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One dairy worker known to have contracted bird flu that had previously passed into cattle in Texas “did not disclose the name of their workplace,” hamstringing investigators’ ability to test for further infections.
Why he roadblocked the investigation is unclear, although agri-businesses and meat-packing corporations are known to employ illegal or inadequately vetted immigrants in large numbers.
In a recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers, including some from the CDC, concluded that there is “strong evidence” that the Texas farm worker contracted the disease from sick cattle, which would mark the first known instance of animal-to-human transmission.
If bird flu transfers from birds to humans, possibly via an intermediate animal, at scale, the impact could be “100 times worse than Covid,” with the virus having a far higher death rate. The chances of such a development are exacerbated by U.S. taxpayer money funding research to make bird flu more virulent in China.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Federal law enforcement arrested two illegal immigrant MS-13 gang leaders during a raid in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday. Both men are wanted by El Salvador’s government for numerous violent crimes.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Melvin Alejandro Varela Pérez, a.k.a. Payaso, Rene Escobar-Ochoa, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), other federal law enforcement agencies, MS-13, the government of El Salvador, INTERPOL, and the former Biden government.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The two MS-13 gang leaders were arrested on Wednesday, July 9, 2025; both were detained and paroled into the United States by the former Biden government.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The Biden Administration allowed two ringleaders of MS-13, one of the most violent gangs in the world, straight into our country. One of these depraved aliens is on El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted Fugitives list and is wanted for five counts of murder. The other has an INTERPOL notice for drug trafficking.” — DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
🎯IMPACT: Both men are now in ICE custody while the agency coordinates for them to be returned to El Salvador.
IN FULL
Two illegal immigrant MS-13 gang kingpins were arrested during a federal raid in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Melvin Alejandro Varela Pérez—also known as Payaso—and Rene Escobar-Ochoa are both wanted by the Salvadoran government and are accused of numerous murders, conspiracy to commit murder, and drug trafficking. Pérez is listed on El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted, and Escobar-Ochoa is the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice. Concerningly, DHS states that despite the warrants and Red Notice, both men were paroled by the former Biden government into the United States after being detained while illegally crossing the U.S. southern border.
“The Biden Administration allowed two ringleaders of MS-13, one of the most violent gangs in the world, straight into our country,” said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs. “One of these depraved aliens is on El Salvador’s 100 Most Wanted Fugitives list and is wanted for five counts of murder. The other has an INTERPOL notice for drug trafficking.”
“These are the kinds of scum-bags sanctuary politicians are protecting and letting walk free on America’s streets,” she added.
Both men are now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after being captured in the raid, which was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and included other federal and international law enforcement partners. DHS says that ICE will continue to hold both MS-13 leaders as it coordinates with the Salvadoran government on returning them to the Central American nation to face justice.
The arrests are being highlighted as a shocking example of the lack of adequate vetting of illegal immigrants detained and subsequently released into the interior of the U.S. under former President Joe Biden.
Speaking on the matter on Thursday, President Donald J. Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, blasted the Biden-Harris era, noting that former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had directed U.S. immigration officials to only proceed with immediate deportations when the detainee had prior violent criminal convictions and not merely warrants for violent crimes.
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By Popular Demand.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED:WarRoom host and former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon has urged President Donald J. Trump to appoint a special prosecutor to release all government files related to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Stephen K. Bannon, Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: Comments were made on Bannon’s WarRoom podcast on Thursday after the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Epstein’s 2019 death in jail was a suicide and no “client list” of people he trafficked victims to exists.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If DOJ can’t move off the dime, and FBI can’t move off the dime, [there] should be a special counsel to go through everything and release it all.” – Stephen K. Bannon
🎯IMPACT: Bannon’s statements have reignited scrutiny of Epstein’s case and raised questions about transparency within the DOJ and FBI.
IN FULL
WarRoom host and former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon has called on President Donald J. Trump to appoint a special prosecutor to release all government files related to deceased pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. This comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo reiterating that Epstein’s 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was a suicide, and that there is no “client list” of people he trafficked victims to—despite Attorney General Pam Bondi implying such a list was “sitting on [her] desk right now” in February.
On his WarRoom podcast, Bannon stated, “They have to go to the court and demand and unseal the sealed evidence in Epstein. It starts there.”
“Bundle everything together… release it all. Or, which I called for yesterday, appoint a special prosecutor—he should appoint a special prosecutor, a special counsel now, for the 2020 election and everything after that, and include Russiagate and all this. You have to do that. That should be done immediately, and that should report to the President,” he added.
The Justice Department’s attempt to essentially close the book on the Epstein case comes as Jay Lefkowitz, the lawyer who helped secure his “sweetheart” deal connected to his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor, is negotiating with the Trump administration to help Columbia University escape financial consequences for fostering radical politics.
Sources tell The National Pulse that Lefkowitz is outplaying federal negotiators, with the timing of the DOJ’s Epstein memo appearing suspicious to many legal and political insiders.
BANNON: It must be demanded that all Epstein records be unsealed.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of public information on contrails and geoengineering.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the EPA.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made on Thursday via social media and the EPA website.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The Trump EPA is committed to total transparency,” said Lee Zeldin.
🎯IMPACT: The EPA has created online resources to provide Americans with accessible information on contrails and geoengineering.
IN FULL
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Thursday that the agency will make information about contrails and geoengineering publicly accessible.
“The Trump EPA is committed to total transparency,” Zeldin posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “I tasked my team… to compile everything we know about contrails and geoengineering to release to you now publicly.”
In a video shared with the post, Zeldin addressed the longstanding skepticism surrounding these topics, stating that people who previously questioned them were often “dismissed as conspiracy theorists.” He added that the EPA’s latest initiative is intended to challenge that perception.
Contrails—short for condensation trails—are visible lines of water vapor that form behind high-altitude aircraft or rockets. Geoengineering, meanwhile, encompasses deliberate strategies aimed at altering the climate, typically to counteract alleged climate change.
The EPA has launched new online materials that explain these subjects in detail. According to the agency’s website, “EPA also created a new online resource focused specifically on solar geoengineering activities, which involve cooling the Earth by reflecting sunlight back to space, usually through injecting gases, like sulfur dioxide, into the upper atmosphere where they form reflective particles.”
In April of last year, it was revealed that scientists kept the details of geoengineering experiments hidden from the public because they feared a public backlash. For instance, the Coastal Atmospheric Aerosol Research and Engagement (CAARE) project, led by researchers at the University of Washington, deployed trillions of salt particles to increase the density and reflectivity of clouds. They did this despite some believing it could adversely affect the weather in unclear ways.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated earlier this year that the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) may be mixing chemicals into jet fuel to create chemtrails.
The Trump EPA is committed to total transparency. I tasked my team @EPA to compile everything we know about contrails and geoengineering to release to you now publicly. I want you to know EVERYTHING I know about these topics, and without ANY exception! https://t.co/izKBz0lFvrpic.twitter.com/FkOCgBm3K9
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Republican Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) has called for an investigation into General Nutrition Centers (GNC) stores on U.S. military bases, amid claims that products which are supposed to be predominantly U.S.-made use ingredients mostly from China.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary, and GNC representatives.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The investigation request was made in July 2025, targeting GNC stores on U.S. military bases.
💬KEY QUOTE: “A Chinese state-owned company with this level of access to U.S. military bases is a direct threat to national security.” – Rep. Pat Harrigan
🎯IMPACT: Harrigan’s push could lead to investigations into GNC’s operations and potentially the removal of their stores from military bases.
IN FULL
Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan (R-NC) is calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate where General Nutrition Centers (GNC) sources its supplement ingredients, raising alarms about potential national security risks tied to Chinese supply chains and ownership.
In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Harrigan pointed to a significant gap between GNC’s public marketing and what he claims is the reality behind the scenes. “Our analysis reveals that nearly 90 percent of GNC’s private-label ingredients are sourced from China, despite GNC’s public claims that 96 percent of its products are U.S.-made,” Harrigan wrote.
At the heart of his concern is GNC’s 2020 acquisition by Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, a Chinese state-owned company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Harrigan argues that such ownership could pose a security threat, particularly since GNC operates stores on U.S. military bases. He’s now pushing for legislation—the Military Installation Retail Security Act—that would ban Chinese-owned retailers from operating on those bases.
“A Chinese state-owned company with this level of access to U.S. military bases is a direct threat to national security,” Harrigan said.
Supporting his case, Harrigan cited a risk assessment conducted by third-party firm Exiger. The report categorized GNC’s ownership risk as “medium-high,” and found that since the 2020 acquisition, GNC had received more than 4,300 ingredient shipments from China, worth roughly $500 million. Harrigan also referenced a $2.25 million penalty the company paid in 2016 for selling supplements containing unapproved ingredients.
The clash between Harrigan and GNC comes amid a related effort to scrutinize farmland acquisitions by Chinese nationals and corporations, particularly those near military installations.
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By Popular Demand.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: T-Mobile announced it will eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, citing legal and internal restructuring reasons.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: T-Mobile, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Trump administration.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made public on Wednesday, July 10, through a letter sent to the FCC.
💬KEY QUOTE: “T-Mobile will no longer have any individual roles or teams focused on DEI,” the company stated in a memo.
🎯IMPACT: The move aligns with the Trump administration’s broad pressure against corporate DEI policies and coincides with T-Mobile’s pursuit of federal approval for two major business transactions.
IN FULL
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scored another major win for the Trump administration with T-Mobile, the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States, announcing it has ended its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. T-Mobile states the decision to scrap its DEI initiatives stems from legal and restructuring reasons, but the move is widely seen as an effort to comply with President Donald J. Trump’s directives ending federal government contracts with companies that promote discriminatory DEI policies.
T-Mobile’s decision was made public on Wednesday in a letter sent to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. The FCC has aggressively enforced President Trump’s rollback of DEI, using its regulatory power to encourage major U.S. telecommunications and technology companies to ditch the discriminatory policy.
The company claims it is ending DEI-related policies “not just in name, but in substance.” Employees previously assigned to DEI-specific roles will be reassigned within the Human Resources department to focus more broadly on employee culture and engagement. T-Mobile clarified that it will no longer maintain any positions or teams focused solely on DEI initiatives.
“First, the handful of T-Mobile employees who focused on diversity and inclusion will be redirected within Human Resources to focus on employee culture and engagement. As a result, T-Mobile will no longer have any individual roles or teams focused on ‘DEI.’ T-Mobile is also removing any language, logos, or other references to DEI on its websites, and will ensure that company websites and future communications do not have any references to DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion, and are consistent with T-Mobile’s commitment to promote nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunity,” the company said in its memo.
T-Mobile is currently seeking approval from federal regulators to conduct two major business transactions. The company is pursuing a $4 billion deal to acquire nearly all of US Cellular’s regional carrier wireless operations, including customers, stores, and other assets. Additionally, T-Mobile is working on a joint venture with KKR to acquire Internet provider Metronet.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump’s Department of Education has revoked a Bill Clinton-era policy giving taxpayer funds to help pay for the education of illegal aliens.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, and illegal aliens.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made on July 10, and the policy will come into force on August 9.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Postsecondary education programs funded by the federal government should benefit American citizens, not illegal aliens.” – Linda McMahon.
🎯IMPACT: The change will save taxpayers from funding the education of illegal aliens.
IN FULL
The U.S. Department of Education has announced the rollback of a Bill Clinton-era policy that made certain federal education funds accessible to illegal immigrants enrolled in technical, career, and adult education programs.
The decision reverses a directive from the former Clinton administration, allowing non-citizens without legal status to benefit from federal funding for postsecondary education. According to the Trump administration, that interpretation was at odds with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), a federal law that limits most public benefits to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
“Postsecondary education programs funded by the federal government should benefit American citizens, not illegal aliens,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Under President Trump’s leadership, hardworking American taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for illegal aliens to participate in our career, technical, or adult education programs or activities. The Department will ensure that taxpayer funds are reserved for citizens and individuals who have entered our country through legal means who meet federal eligibility criteria.”
Officials pointed to an executive order signed by President Trump on February 19, which reinforced the administration’s commitment to ending the use of federal funds for illegal immigrants. That order aligns with the PRWORA by emphasizing that federal benefits should be reserved for legal residents.
Beginning August 9, 2025, the Department will enforce the updated interpretation of the PRWORA. Federally funded postsecondary programs will be required to verify participants’ eligibility in accordance with the revised policy.
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By Popular Demand.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: A federal judge has issued a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order ending birthright citizenship, despite a Supreme Court ruling last month barring lower courts from granting such relief beyond their jurisdiction.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Normand Laplante, the United States Supreme Court, President Donald J. Trump, and the children of immigrants born on or after January 20, 2025.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The injunction was issued on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The court hereby finds that Class Petitioners have demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits of their claims; that Class Petitioners are likely to suffer irreparable harm if the order is not granted,” wrote Judge Laplante.
🎯IMPACT: Despite the Supreme Court ruling limiting nationwide injunctions, Judge Laplante utilized the “wiggle room” in the ruling, which allows for nationwide injunctive relief to be granted in class action lawsuits where a viable class is established and certified by the court.
IN FULL
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Normand Laplante has issued a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order ending birthright citizenship. While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled late last month that lower courts cannot—under most circumstances—grant injunctive relief beyond their jurisdiction, the high court left a degree of what Justice Samuel Alito called “wiggle room” for issuing nationwide injunctions as part of a class action lawsuit. This latter exception is how Judge Laplante, a George W. Bush appointee, made his ruling blocking the birthright citizenship order.
“After careful consideration of the parties’ submissions, the supporting declarations, the applicable law, and the filings and record in this case, the court GRANTS Petitioners’ Motion for a Classwide Preliminary Injunction,” Judge Laplante wrote in his ruling. He continued: “The court hereby finds that Class Petitioners have demonstrated likelihood of success on the merits of their claims; that Class Petitioners are likely to suffer irreparable harm if the order is not granted; that the potential harm to the class petitioners if the order is not granted outweighs the potential harm to Respondents if the order is granted; and that the issuance of this order is in the public interest.”
Notably, the injunction only provides relief from President Trump’s directive ending birthright citizenship for the class established by the court, which Judge Laplante defines as the children of immigrants born after the January 20, 2025, Executive Order went into effect. The federal judge, based in New Hampshire, also issued a seven-day stay on his injunction to allow time for the Trump administration to appeal the decision.
While Judge Laplante appears to have circumvented the constraints placed on nationwide injunctions by the Supreme Court, the expediency with which he recognized a viable class for the purposes of class action could be seen as dubious. Typically, establishing and certifying a viable class can take a relatively long period of time, with most class action lawsuits in the United States taking, on average, two to three years to conclude.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the injunction.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Jay Lefkowitz, known for once securing a lenient deal for sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is now negotiating on behalf of Columbia University to restore its federal funding.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jay Lefkowitz, Columbia University, and the federal government under the Trump Administration.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Current negotiations following actions against Columbia by the Trump Administration, including a suspension of $400M in federal grants.
🎯IMPACT: Potential restoration of hundreds of millions in federal funding and protection of Columbia’s accreditation and tax-exempt status.
IN FULL
Jay Lefkowitz, the lawyer who once helped carve out a sweetheart deal for sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is now orchestrating another behind-the-scenes maneuver—this time on behalf of Columbia University, The National Pulse has learned.
Sources tell The National Pulse that Lefkowitz has outplayed federal negotiators in the Trump administration and is on the verge of finalizing an agreement with the U.S. government to rescue the far-left college from the brink of financial disaster. This involves restoring over $400 million in suspended federal grants and preserving its tax-exempt status and accreditation, even as the university faces accusations of civil rights violations and internal bigotry against both Trump supporters and Jewish students.
Lefkowitz’s name is infamous among legal and political observers. In 2007, while a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, he helped broker a non-prosecution deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta that let Epstein dodge a 53-count federal indictment in Florida. The pair met at a Marriott 70 miles from the prosecutor’s office to hammer out the secret arrangement. Epstein would plead guilty to state prostitution charges, serve just 13 months with work-release perks, and—most shockingly—his victims would never be notified, a blatant violation of federal law.
When the agreement eventually surfaced a decade later, Acosta was forced to resign as Trump’s Secretary of Labor. Lefkowitz, meanwhile, doubled down—personally appealing to Manhattan authorities to minimize Epstein’s sex offender registration requirements.
In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that Columbia “violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act” by ignoring anti-Semitic harassment on campus. The Trump Administration responded by cutting off federal funds and moving to review Columbia’s accreditation—a potential deathblow to an Ivy League institution long viewed as untouchable.
Lefkowitz is reportedly working to scrub the damage and convince federal officials to settle. A source familiar with the negotiations said he’s “close to another miracle,” despite Columbia’s long list of controversies.
Among them:
— The university published a formal protocol instructing students and staff how to resist ICE enforcement actions;
— Internal text messages from Claire Shipman, Chair of the Board of Trustees and Acting President, show her scheming to oust a Jewish board member and “replace her with somebody from the Middle East or who is Arab.”
— Columbia’s leadership has refused to take accountability for weeks of on-campus intimidation and harassment targeting Jewish students during the Gaza-related protests.
Meanwhile, this week, the Department of Justice and the FBI attempted to close the book on the Epstein case with a curt two-page memo. It claimed there was “no client list” and reaffirmed the government’s position that Epstein died by suicide in 2019, despite widespread skepticism and a mountain of unanswered questions. The timing of that announcement, coming as Lefkowitz works his magic once again, has raised eyebrows in both legal and political circles.
Lefkowitz has historically been a major donor to ‘RINO’ Republican candidates such as Nikki Haley, Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney. His most recent political contribution was to New York Democrat Ritchie Torres, who represents part of the Bronx neighborhood. Lefkowitz has also represented anti-Trump activist and failed magazine editor Bill Kristol.
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By Popular Demand.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: The European Union’s top dataprivacy regulator announced it is launching its second investigation this year into whether TikTok is storing European user data on servers located in China, in violation of EU laws.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The EU, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), TikTok, ByteDance, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The DPC investigation was announced on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: The EU regulator expressed “deep concern” about the integrity of its prior investigation after discovering that “TikTok had submitted inaccurate information.”
🎯IMPACT: TikTok could face new financial sanctions after being fined €530 million ($620 million) in May over violating EU data privacy laws.
IN FULL
The Chinese-owned social media company TikTok is facing a second European Union (EU) investigation over allegations that it illegally transferred European user data to company servers in China. In May of this year, the EU’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined TikTok a total of €530 million ($620 million) over the same allegations—though the social media giant insists that EU user data was only accessed in China remotely and not directly stored on servers in the country.
On Thursday, the DPC announced it had opened a second investigation into TikTok’s data practices. The DPC also confirmed that earlier this year, TikTok admitted to the EU regulator that “limited EEA user data had in fact been stored on servers in China,” referring to the European Economic Area (EEA)—which includes EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. The EU regulator stated it has “deep concern” about the integrity of the prior investigation after it was discovered that “TikTok had submitted inaccurate information.”
TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have been subject to increasing scrutiny in the EU and the United States over their data practices and allegations that they are under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). While the social media giant has made significant investments, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars, in building data services in Europe and the United States, either by its own admission or by evidence from whistleblowers, TikTok has been shown to have continued storing European and American data in China.
The latest EU investigation aims to determine if TikTok has, subsequent to the May DPC findings, brought itself into compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—the EU’s extensive data privacy law.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald J. Trump has continued to push for a non-Chinese company to purchase TikTok’s American operations from ByteDance. Trump has delayed a potential U.S. ban of the social media app several times as discussions over ByteDance’s divestment from it remain ongoing.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ryan Wesley Routh, who attempted to assassinate President Donald J. Trump late last year, informed a federal court that he has fired his attorney and is requesting to represent himself.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ryan Routh, federal prosecutors, a U.S. federal court, and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The court was informed of Routh’s decision on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
🎯IMPACT: It remains to be seen whether the court will deem Routh competent enough to represent himself. The 59-year-old faces serious consequences should he be found guilty, as attempting to assassinate a president can carry a sentence of life in prison or even the death penalty.
IN FULL
Would-be presidential assassin Ryan Wesley Routh announced in court on Thursday that he has fired his attorney and is requesting that he be allowed to represent himself. Routh is currently facing five federal charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty, stemming from a September 2024 attempt on President Donald J. Trump’s life. The federal trial is currently slated to begin on September 8, 2025, with Routh facing state charges as well.
Last year, Routh was discovered by the United States Secret Service (USSS) hiding with a SKS-style rifle amidst shrubbery on the edge of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. At the time, Trump was just several hundred yards away playing a round of golf. After spotting Routh positioned in cover with a rifle, a Secret Service agent performing an advance sweep, several holes ahead of Trump, fired four shots at the would-be assassin, causing him to flee the scene. Subsequently, Routh was pursued by law enforcement in a high-speed chase in which a six-year-old girl was nearly killed. He was apprehended some time later in Marin County, Florida, after causing a multi-car crash on a highway, which nearly resulted in the death of the young girl.
The 59-year-old Routh’s attempt to assassinate Trump appears to have been inspired by the former’s obsession with supporting Ukraine. The would-be assassin appears to have been deeply involved with efforts to send Afghanistan military veterans to Ukraine to assist in the country’s defense against Russia Additionally, federal prosecutors have produced a letter authored by Routh in which he pledges a six-figure cash bounty on President Trump, with the text also suggesting that he was likely inspired by the anti-Trump rhetoric pushed by the Democratic Party.
A separate November 2024 letter authored by Routh and sent to the media indicates that President Trump’s firm stance against Iran’s nuclear weapons program and sponsorship of terrorism was a secondary motivation for the assassination attempt. Notably, Iran has repeatedly threatened the life of Trump and other government officials in retaliation for a January 3, 2020, drone strike, which killed Iranian Quds Forces commander Qasem Soleimani.
It remains to be seen whether the court will deem Routh competent enough to represent himself. The 59-year-old faces serious consequences should he be found guilty of the federal charges. Attempting to assassinate a president can carry a sentence of life in prison or even the death penalty.
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