Old Glory Vortex

🛡 US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday issued new regulations under which journalists will be required to have official escorts if they wish to access much of the Pentagon building. 🚫 Under the new rules, accredited reporters will not be allowed into most of the Department of Defense headquarters without official approval and a government escort. 🪪 Members of the Pentagon press corps are also soon to be issued new credentials that, according to the order, will identify them more prominently as press representatives.

📄 “While the Department remains committed to transparency, the Department is equally obligated to protect CSNI (classified intelligence) and sensitive information — the unauthorized disclosure of which could put the lives of US Service members in danger,”

Hegseth said in a memorandum. 💥 The new restrictions come after several leaks from the Department of Defense that caused embarrassment to the administration. 📂 Under previous administrations, the press had easy access to non-secured and unclassified areas of the building. 📰 The Pentagon Press Association criticized the move, calling it an attack on press freedom:

“There is no way to sugarcoat it. Today’s memo by Secretary Hegseth appears to be a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing.”

#Pentagon #Hegseth #Media Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

A majority of US adults, 56%, said their household finances would be better off if Trump’s tariffs had not been implemented. Some 52% of respondents said the promised benefits of the levies would not be worth their economic cost. That assessment comes after Trump’s “Liberation Day” slate of tariffs made for the biggest act of US protectionism since the 1930s, helping push US taxation on imports to its highest level in nearly a century. The rollout was greeted with turmoil in financial markets and new concerns over the possibility of the US slipping into a recession. The poll has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points and was conducted May 8-10 among about 2,100 US adults. That means it fell after Trump paused many of the tariffs he unveiled in early April, but before the US and China agreed to temporarily lower their duties on one another while they continue negotiations. Even after all the whiplash, businesses like Walmart Inc. say higher prices are coming and economists say the US is still likely to see a slowdown in growth. Americans appear to have absorbed those price warnings, with 69% of respondents saying they expect higher costs for everyday goods as a result of the tariffs. Trump himself has conceded that possibility, such as when he suggested children might have “two dolls instead of 30,” and that “maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.” Still, the president continues to aggressively tout his trade agenda as a strategy for bringing manufacturing jobs back the US. Some 49% of consumers said they expect the tariffs to be bad for the economy, a larger share than the 30% that said the levies will be an economic boon. While inflation is far lower than its recent peak and advanced at a slower pace than expected in April, three in five poll respondents said the cost of everyday items has risen compared to last month. That suggests a widespread perception that price increases remain a frequent fact of life. #Trump #Tariffs #Poll Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

👑 King Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in Canada later, for a two-day visit seen as bringing a message of support for the country in the face of threats and taunts from US President Donald Trump. 🇨🇦 Prime Minister Mark Carney, who recently won a general election on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment, invited the royal couple and will hold a meeting with them during their stay in Ottawa. 📜 The King will read the "Speech from the Throne" to Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, the first time a monarch has delivered this for almost 50 years. 🛡 It is expected to include a defence of Canada's sovereignty and to reject claims it should be taken over by the US. #Trump #UK #Canada Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

💡 Renewable energy advocates received some small wins from the Trump administration on offshore wind development. But the House-passed budget reconciliation bill could present a new set of problems. 📜 The bill that passed the House on Thursday makes sweeping changes to the structure of tax credits available to wind developers as part of the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. Those include moving up the deadlines for when developers must start construction on renewable energy projects and place them in service, or ensure they meet a series of Internal Revenue Service guidelines for readiness, to receive tax credits. 🛑 Trump issued an executive order in January halting all new offshore wind development and mandating reviews of existing leases. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Interior Department branch that oversees permitting for offshore wind development, issued the stop-work order in April, citing a need to review the project’s environmental analyses. 📌 That order is still in place, and the decision to move ahead with Empire Wind 1 surprised and disappointed some opponents in Congress. That includes Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who called the project an “alarming development” in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in March, ahead of the original stop-work order. 🗣 “I spoke to the interior secretary at length about it and he was all in on the importance of it,” Smith said of the stop-work order after NOTUS informed him the project was now moving forward. 🐋 “I love the whales, that’s all real issues, but the one that trumps it all is the security and risks to boats and planes colliding with each other because of the radar issue, and nobody has answered that,” he added. Smith has pushed for reports detailing how offshore wind could affect radar systems used for navigation and defense. 📉 Backers of wind energy development seem to be losing out in Congress. Along with the tax credit changes, the reconciliation bill rescinds funding dedicated to wind-generated electricity transmission planning and analysis. #GOP #developers Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

🛑 AP Investigation: Israeli Military Systematically Used Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza A new Associated Press investigation has uncovered chilling, widespread use of human shields by the Israeli military in its ongoing war in Gaza — a practice explicitly banned by international law and even by Israel’s own Supreme Court since 2005. 🧷 What the AP Found: • Palestinians forced at gunpoint to enter buildings, tunnels, and hospitals first. • Soldiers used the term “mosquito protocol” over radio to call for detainees. • Command-level orders allegedly directed the use of human shields. • Two former IDF soldiers and one officer confirmed this was standard practice. • Victims include men, women, and at least one 16-year-old boy, all used to clear sites for booby traps and enemy fighters.

💬 "Do this or we’ll kill you"

Ayman Abu Hamadan told AP he spent 17 days being marched from house to house in Gaza with a camera strapped to his helmet. He was beaten, bound, and blindfolded at night. “They told me I had no choice.” Another man, Masoud Abu Saeed, said he ran into his own brother, who was being used by another unit.

“I thought Israel’s army had executed him,”

he said. 🎙 Breaking the Silence Israeli whistleblower group Breaking the Silence said the practice has “caught on like fire” within IDF ranks. The group’s director called it a “horrifying moral collapse.” 📌 A high-ranking IDF officer confirmed to AP that by late 2024, “every infantry unit” in Gaza was using Palestinian civilians as shields. He submitted incident reports, one of which described the accidental killing of a detainee by Israeli forces. 🧵 Dehumanization & Tactics • Palestinians referred to as “wasps” • Human shields used to save ammo and spare military dogs • Suggestions that detainees be dressed in IDF fatigues to avoid friendly fire 🚨 Legal & Military Implications The Israeli military claims the practice is banned and under investigation, but provided no details. Meanwhile, troops told AP that they were ordered to ignore international humanitarian law. International legal experts warn the systematic use of human shields is a war crime and a violation of the Geneva Conventions. 🇮🇱 Israel's Double Standard? Israel has long condemned Hamas for using civilians as shields — yet former IDF soldiers now confirm their own units did the same. “When your enemy fights dirty,” one soldier told AP, “you’re told to do what it takes.” 🤯 The Bottom Line: • This isn’t anecdotal. • This isn’t isolated. • This is a systemic practice described by both victims and soldiers — and now exposed to the world. #HumanShields #GazaWar #WarCrimes #IDF #GenevaConventions #APInvestigation #IsraelPalestine #BreakingTheSilence #InternationalLaw #OccupationJustice 📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Nike will join the chorus of companies slated to raise prices due to the onset of President Trump’s tariffs.👕 Company executives are planning to increase costs for apparel and equipment sourced from overseas. Price bumps will vary on different items, with markups ranging from $2 to $10. Footwear priced between $100 and $150 will increase by $5. Shoes priced at more than $150 could face a $10 upcharge, a person familiar with the matter told The Hill. Increases are set to go into effect by June 1, roughly a month prior to the onset of Trump’s tariffs. A 90-day pause was implemented on tariffs for several nations, including Vietnam, where Nike manufactures large portions of their products. The president’s 46 percent tariff on imports from the country now stands at 10 percent. China, another major producer for Nike, faces a 30 percent tariff on items exported to the U.S. Levies are set to resume at full force on July 8, marking the end of Trump’s 90-day pause on foreign duties. A source familiar with Nike’s plans said, despite trade fluctuation, the Jordan brand, Air Force 1 shoes and kids’ items will not see price changes. Neither will products of less than $100.

“We regularly evaluate our business and make pricing adjustments as part of our seasonal planning,”

a company spokesperson told The Hill. Walmart and Apple are also expected to raise prices due to the onset of tariffs. #Tariffs #Nike #prices Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

The poorest kids in the country miss out on the full benefits of the expanded child tax credit in the "big beautiful bill." Why it matters: The bill now making its way to the Senate provides more tax breaks to higher earners than those at the bottom. By the numbers: The Republican bill raises the maximum child tax credit to $2,500 per child from $2,000 for three years. 20 million children would not fully benefit from the increase, according to an analysis from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), since their parents don't earn enough income to get the maximum amount.

"A majority of those children get nothing from the proposed expansion,"

says Kris Cox, director of federal tax policy at the CBPP. 17 million children as of now do not receive the full benefit from this tax credit, per the CBPP. None of them will get anything from the expansion. How it works: Under current law, families need upward of $30,000 a year to receive the full tax credit amount, explains Joe Hughes, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Parents who are poor and don't owe income taxes can only claim up to $1,700 per child, known as the "refundability cap." It's a number which adjusts annually for inflation. The new bill didn't raise the refundability cap. Instead, it only increases the maximum that parents, earning less $400,000 a year, can claim. A married couple filing jointly would need to earn $48,550 to receive the full tax credit under the new bill, per CBPP estimates. Under current law, a married couple has to earn $36,800. Zoom out: The new bill widens the gap between what's available to kids in higher income families and those who need help most. For example: A married couple with two children earning $400,000 a year, the max income allowed to claim the credit, would get an additional $1,000 tax credit. A single parent with two children, earning $24,000 a year, would get nothing, Cox explains in a recent Bluesky post. The parents who miss out on the full benefit are those working in low-paying jobs like cashiers, home health aids and housekeepers. #taxes #kids #Social Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to ratchet up his trade war once again, pushing for a 50% tariff on European Union goods starting June 1 and warning Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab he may slap a 25% levy on all iPhones bought by U.S. consumers. The twin threats, delivered via social media, roiled global markets after weeks of de-escalation had provided some reprieve. The S&P 500 fell 1% in early trading, the Nasdaq fell 1.2%, and European shares fell 1.5%. Trump's broadside against the EU was prompted by the White House's belief that negotiations with the bloc are not progressing fast enough. But his saber-rattling also marked a return to Washington's stop-and-start trade war that has shaken markets, businesses and consumers and raised fears of a global economic downturn. The president's attack on Apple, meanwhile, is his latest attempt to pressure a specific company to move production to the United States, following automakers, pharmaceutical companies and chipmakers. However, the United States does not produce any smartphones - even as U.S. consumers buy more than 60 million phones annually - and moving production would likely increase the cost of iPhones by hundreds of dollars. #Trump #markets #Tariffs Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

🏢 Walmart will cut 1,500 corporate jobs in order to trim expenses and speed up decision-making, just days after warning of price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs. 💻 The billion-dollar corporation is set to reshape its global technology operations, e-commerce fulfillment in U.S. stores, Walmart Connect, and its advertising business, according to a person familiar with the plans who was speaking to the Wall Street Journal. ⚠️ In the wake of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ in April, Walmart said it would do its best to keep prices low for as long as possible. Still, it could not guarantee that it would absorb the impact of tariffs on its products, even after the president demanded that the company do so. #Tariffs #Walmart #jobs Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is giving "very serious consideration" to taking mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public, more than 15 years after they were taken under government control to stabilize the U.S. economy in the wake of the 2008 housing market collapse.

"I am giving very serious consideration to bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public,"

the president wrote on his social-media platform Truth Social.

"I will be speaking with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte, among others, and will be making a decision in the near future."

Trump has long been trying to take the two mortgage finance firms, which guarantee most of the mortgages made in the country, public, but an attempt to privatize the companies during his first term in office did not succeed. He vowed to try again if elected during his 2024 presidential campaign and now appears determined to keep that promise. But some economists worry that privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a time of growing uncertainty around the U.S. economy and historically elevated mortgage rates could disrupt the mortgage market, rendering monthly payments even higher for everyday Americans. #Trump #Mortgage #privatization Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

🇪🇺Donald Trump has said he plans to impose a 50 per cent tariff on imports from the EU on June 1, saying that talks with the bloc are “going nowhere”. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, the US president attacked the bloc for “Trade Barriers, VAT Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, [and] unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies”. He added: “Our discussions with them are going nowhere! Therefore I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025.” Stock markets sank following the post, with S&P 500 futures down 1.5 per cent ahead of the New York market open. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.7 per cent. The US imposed a 20 per cent “reciprocal” rate on most EU goods in April, but halved it until July 8 to allow time for talks. It has retained 25 per cent levels on steel, aluminium and car parts and is promising similar action on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and other goods. #Trump #Tariffs #EU Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

The state of the United States' economy is much shakier than previously thought under President Donald Trump's leadership, according to one major international bank. The New Republic reported Tuesday that Deutsche Bank managing director Jim Reid, who is the bank's global head of macro research and thematic strategy, is now expressing increasing worry that Trump's policies are gradually wrecking the economy. In a memo obtained by Fortune, Reid remarked that the recent decision by Moody's to downgrade the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA1 for the first time in history could be a harbinger of tougher economic times in the near future. #Trump #economy #banks Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

📉 President Donald Trump’s approval rating ticked slightly lower this week to 42%, matching the lowest level of his new term as Americans kept a dour view of his handling of the U.S. economy, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The results of the three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, showed a marginal dip from a week earlier, when a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed 44% of Americans approved of the job Trump was doing as president. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. 📊 While low by historical standards, Trump’s popularity remains higher than it was for much of his first term as president and is also stronger than what his Democrat predecessor Joe Biden had during the second half of his 2021–2025 term. Trump’s high point remains his 47% rating in the hours after his return to the White House in January. His approval has shown little movement in recent weeks. Just 39% of respondents in the poll said Trump was doing a good job managing the U.S. economy, unchanged from a week earlier. 💼 Trump won the 2024 presidential election on a promise to bring about a golden age for the U.S. economy, but his aggressive measures to reshape global commerce — including levying heavy tariffs on major trading partners — have increased the risks of recession, economists say. #Trump #Poll #ratings Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

📉 The White House’s chief economist dismissed the idea that tariff increases will have a lasting impact on US inflation, and cited the potential for interest rates to get back down to pre-Covid levels.

“Imports are only 14% of the economy — the ability of those types of things to move the needle on inflation are limited,”

Stephen Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Surveillance. “We have been introducing tariffs since day-one of this administration. And what we have seen is tariffs have started to come up” yet there’s “been no real meaningful effect on inflation.” 📊 Miran highlighted that the past three consumer price index releases all showed smaller increases than expected. The core gauge, which excludes food and inflation, was up 2.8% in April from the previous year, holding at the slowest pace since the breakout of inflation in the spring of 2021. 🪙 Despite the moderation in price gains indicated by recent reports, Federal Reserve policymakers have held off on resuming interest-rate cuts. Officials have cited the potential for President Donald Trump’s tariff increases to push up inflation. Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this month that while the effects “could be short lived,” it’s also possible the impact could be more persistent. #inflation #tariffs #economy Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Though inflation has been cooling in recent months, it’s not enough to assuage the fears of retirees, almost all of whom are worried about spending down their savings sooner than planned. And as they stare down the possibility of higher prices linked to President Donald Trump’s wide-reaching tariff policies and a possibly lower Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, those fears could intensify. #social #retirees #inflation Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

President Trump signed a bill criminalizing the publication of nonconsensual sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos online, marking the first major technology safety bill signed during his second term. The president touted the bill as the “first ever federal law to combat the distribution of explicit imagery posted without subjects’ consent.”

“With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will,”

Trump said.

“It’s just so horribly wrong, and it’s a very abusive situation, like in some cases, people have never seen before. And today, we’re making it totally illegal.”

The Take It Down Act makes it a crime for a person to knowingly publish computer-generated pornographic images and videos that depict real individuals. It further requires websites to take down the content within 48 hours of hearing from the victim and are expected to make “reasonable efforts” to remove image copies. The Federal Trade Commission is poised with enforcing this speech. First lady Melania Trump, a vocal supporter of the bill, spoke ahead of Trump’s signing in the Rose Garden.

“This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused,”

the first lady said.

“Thank you all for coming together to prioritize people over politics,”

she added, prompting applause from the audience. She attended a roundtable on the measure at the Capitol in March and her support comes as part of her broader youth initiative focused on combatting issues related to children’s well-being. #Trump #bill #porno Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

A dramatic demand for electricity, coupled with a rise in costs, could create massive energy challenges for the United States over the next two decades, a new report released Tuesday by ICF found. The global consulting and technology services company predicted that electricity demand could jump at least 25% in the next five years and as much as 78% by 2050 — findings that far outpace historical trends over the past two decades. Such growth could have a significant impact on both the reliability and affordability of electricity, the report said. Retail costs are also expected to rise; by 2050, costs passed onto the consumer could double, ICF found.

"This is a pivotal moment as rising demand creates urgent challenges for the grid,"

said Anne Choate, ICF executive vice president for energy, environment and infrastructure in a statement. The U.S. could struggle with increased electricity demand due to rising temperatures and the growing use of emerging technologies, bearing down on an overloaded system. The report found that in Texas, nearly one-third of the expected increase is attributable to large load sources, such as cryptocurrency mining operations. Data centers, building electrification and semiconductor manufacturing, along with electric vehicles, account for 35% of the projected load through 2040 in 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwest states as well as Washington, D.C. Electric grid operators across the U.S. have been sounding the alarm in advance of elevated summer temperatures after record-breaking heat last year. The World Meteorological Organization said in its annual State of the Global Climate report that 2024 set a new global temperature record, averaging over 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The National Weather Service released a report last week predicting hotter-than-normal temperatures across the United States from June through August. #electricity #crisis Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

President Donald Trump has stopped mentioning Elon Musk on Truth Social as the administration takes a significant step back from the tech billionaire brought on to trim the federal budget. Trump was posting about Musk an average of four times per week in February and March on Truth Social as Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency led the firing of employees and shuttering of federal departments, but the president hasn’t mentioned him once since the start of April, according to an analysis by Politico. Equally, until early April, Musk posted about the president on his X account almost every day but posts where Trump is mentioned have since tailed off. #Trump #Musk #GOP Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Just days before South Africa’s president is set to have a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Afrikaner farmers, central to an unusual new U.S. refugee policy, wandered through a memorial dedicated to farm attack victims in their country’s farming core, some gently touching the names of both Black and white individuals who lost their lives. At the agricultural fair in Bothaville, where thousands of farmers came together with an array of displays from grains to firearms, even some conservative white Afrikaner groups refuted the Trump administration’s claims of “genocide” and land requisitions that prompted it to halt all financial assistance to South Africa. The bustling scene was business as usual, with milkshakes and burgers and tow-headed children pulled in wagons. Over twenty-five years ago, the late President Nelson Mandela — South Africa’s first Black leader — stood in Bothaville, acknowledging the rise in violent farm attacks in the early years after the long-lasting racial system of apartheid ended.

“But the intricate issue of crime on our farms, just as elsewhere, requires long-term remedies,”

he remarked. #Trump #SouthAfrica #farmers Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

📈 Mortgage rates climb back above 7% after Moody's U.S. debt downgrade 🏠 The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage jumped back above the 7% threshold on Monday, with the increase coming after Moody's downgraded the U.S. credit rating on Friday over concerns about the government's growing debt levels. 📊 It's the first time since April 11 that the average 30-year mortgage rate has jumped above 7%, according to Mortgage News Daily. The rate eased slightly later in the day, settling at about 6.99%. 💵 Despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts last year, mortgage rates have remained near their 25-year peak, since they track the 10-year Treasury bond, which is sensitive to economic conditions. 📉 With Moody’s downgrade, the markets slipped in early trading and the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped above 5%, the highest since late 2023. Stock and bond prices later trimmed losses — S\&P 500 reversed from a 1.1% loss to a 0.2% gain. 🧠 Analysts from Wells Fargo say the debt issues are already priced in and expect “limited additional market impact” from the downgrade. 🚫 Elevated mortgage rates are likely to persist, while homebuyers face a shortage of affordable properties. Home prices remain near record highs and higher borrowing costs make financing more difficult. 📉 Only about 1 in 5 homes listed in March were affordable for households with $75,000 income, compared to about half of all listings before the pandemic, according to NAR. 📉 Home buying activity tends to pick up when mortgage rates drop below 6.7%, said Nadia Evangelou, senior economist at NAR. #Moody #ratings #debt Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸