Trump News for Thursday, July 24, 2025

Paramount-Skydance merger approved after companies agree to government speech demands

Lauren Feiner, The Verge

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Skydance’s $8 billion purchase of CBS-owner Paramount after the companies agreed to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs but feature a “diversity of viewpoints from across the political a…

The 2028 Presidential Race Has Begun

Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic

The next election won’t take place for another 1,202 days, but we’re already getting a taste of what the Democratic primary may look like.

Transgender Air Force cadet's dream of joining the military on hold amid Trump's ban

Deena Zaru, Maggie Rulli, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Michael Mendelsohn, ABC News

Hunter Marquez expected to be commissioned into the Air Force after graduating in May, but Trump's ban on transgender service members is keeping them out of the military.

Trump and Powell can't agree on numbers, and it's more than just interest rates

Katherine Li, Business Insider

Aside from interest rates, the president and Powell are also not on the same page about the Federal Reserve renovation costs and inflation.

Why didn’t Biden release the Epstein files?

Nicole Narea, Vox

Reports of Donald Trump’s name repeatedly appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files, coupled with the unearthing of a suggestive birthday card that the president sent the convicted sex offender, have renewed scrutiny of their relationship.  But if the government…

Columbia pays Trump’s ransom

Cameron Peters, Vox

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: Columbia University has struck a deal with the Trump a…

Floods Are Becoming Deadlier. We Aren’t Worried Enough About It.

Henry Grabar, Slate Magazine

Flooding is getting more frequent, extreme, and hard to predict—and most of us are dangerously unaware of its risks.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Anti-Trump Stance Is Nothing New

JM McNab, Cracked.com

The ‘South Park’ creators have changed their minds about some things, but not Donald Trump

President Trump: "What the hell is NVIDIA? I've never heard of it before" — but is it right to dunk on him?

sean.endicott@futurenet.com (Sean Endicott) , Sean Endicott, Windows Central

President Trump said he hadn’t heard of NVIDIA before learning about its AI dominance, but later praised CEO Jensen Huang as “amazing.”

Amy Sherald Cancels Major Smithsonian Show Over Censorship Concerns

info@hypebeast.com (Hypebeast), HYPEBEAST

SummaryAcclaimed artist Amy Sherald withdraws her upcoming solo exhibition, American Sublime, from the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery after discussions surrounding her 2024 work of a transgender woman provoking President Trump.The artist cites the “c…

Trump’s media war just got a $10 billion twist

Noel King, Avishay Artsy, Vox

President Donald Trump is using the courts to punish media outlets for publishing stories he doesn’t like.  The latest example is a $10 billion lawsuit filed in federal court in Miami against the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, f…

'Say It, Scott': CNN Panel Turns Testy After Scott Jennings Resorts To Name-Calling

Kimberley Richards, HuffPost

A licensed therapist weighs in on the power grab that might be behind the moment.

Jon Stewart Fires Back at FCC Chairman

Matt Solomon, Cracked.com

What happens when the government trolls its citizens?

Trump visits Federal Reserve and tussles with Jerome Powell in extraordinary moment

Rafael Nam, NPR

President Trump visited the Federal Reserve to inspect an ongoing renovation and disagreed with Powell about the final cost of the project in an extraordinary moment.

No, Instagram didn’t suspend Zohran Mamdani’s account for being ‘too socialist’

Mia Sato, The Verge

In a story published earlier this week, a site called “NYC Journals” claimed to have a bombshell: that Instagram had suspended the account of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for being “too socialist.” The story claimed that Mamdani’s account was dow…

Trump plans rare visit to headquarters ignored by U.S. presidents for 20 years

Anand Sinha, TheStreet

President Donald Trump will be the first president in nearly two decades to visit the Fed headquarters.

WATCH: Florida engineering student builds e-bike out of wood

ABC News

An engineering student in Florida was spotted showing off an electric bike he built almost entirely out of recycled wood.

Court Rules Mike Lindell Doesn’t Have to Pay $5 Million in Hacked Voting Machine Bet

AJ Dellinger, Gizmodo.com

Use the code 'technically not proven to be a crank' at checkout to save 10% off your next MyPillow order.

Trump Just Hammered US Cars With Tariffs - Toyota Says Thanks

Yahoo Entertainment

The Political Motives Behind the Gaza Aid Catastrophe

Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker

Isaac Chotiner speaks with Michael Milshtein about the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, jointly run by the I.D.F. and the U.S., and the dangers it poses to Palestinian lives.

Mysterious Whale Makes a 17,000,000% Profit on a 14-Year-Old Bitcoin Bet

Bruce Gil, Gizmodo.com

Early Bitcoin whales are starting to wake up and cash out.

3 Supreme Court justices just said they’re fine with race discrimination in elections

Ian Millhiser, Vox

Last month, two Republican federal appeals court judges effectively abolished the law banning  race discrimination in elections in seven states. On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a brief order blocking this decision. The upshot is that, at least for now, …

White House bans 'woke' AI, but LLMs don't know the truth

Thomas Claburn, Theregister.com

They can only enforce consistency based on their training The White House on Wednesday issued an executive order requiring AI models used by the government to be truthful and ideologically neutral.…

A New Kind of Family Separation

Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic

The Trump administration is again going after undocumented minors—but its approach is different than during his first presidency.

Quantumscape (QS) Drops 7% on Lack of Leads

Angelica Ballesteros, Yahoo Entertainment

We recently published Wall Street’s 10 Worst Performing Stocks. QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) is one of the worst performers on Wednesday. QuantumScape ...

Spain offers 400 million euros to revive Thirty Meter Telescope as Trump suggests cancelling project

Monisha Ravisetti, Space.com

"Spain wants and can be the home of the future of astronomy and astrophysics."

Paul Walter Hauser Blasts Donald Trump Over Stephen Colbert Tantrum

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Paul Walter Hauser's roasting Donald Trump after his late-night TV nemesis Stephen Colbert’s show cancellation -- telling the Prez he should be getting his own affairs in order instead of picking catfights with talk show hosts. We caught up with…

You Shouldn’t Have To Make Your Social Media Public To Get A Visa

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

The Trump administration is continuing its dangerous push to surveil and suppress foreign students’ social media activity. The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that applicants for student and exchange visas must set all soc…

A Woman Went On A Run And Explained 9 Facts About Her Intersex Body That Make Her Unique, And It's So Fascinating

Alana Valko, Buzzfeed

"I'm not as rare as people may think."View Entire Post ›

Columbia’s Dangerous Agreement With the Trump Administration

Franklin Foer, The Atlantic

The university protected its funding and sacrificed its freedom.

'South Park' mocks CBS and Trump shortly after striking a streaming deal with the network's owner, Paramount

Sarah E. Needleman, Business Insider

Hours after CBS-owner Paramount announced a "South Park" deal, the show's creators showed they're not afraid to bite the hand that feeds them.

WATCH: The 'Fantastic Four' cast on their group chat

ABC News

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach tell “GMA” about their chat, "ABBA."

WATCH: Red Lobster CEO on return of the seafood boil

ABC News

Damola Adamoleku tells Michael Strahan that he reads fan comments personally.

Can ‘MechaHitler’ Pass Trump’s Anti-Woke AI Test?

AJ Dellinger, Gizmodo.com

The President's latest executive order throws some shade at Google.

The White House orders tech companies to make AI bigoted again

Adi Robertson, The Verge

After delivering a rambling celebration of tariffs and a routine about women's sports, President Donald Trump entertained a crowd, which was there to hear about his new AI Action Plan, with one his favorite topics: "wokeness." Trump complained that AI compani…

South Park's Season 27 Premiere Brings Back A Classic Joke To Mock Donald Trump

staff@slashfilm.com (Quinn Bilodeau), /FILM

South Park's brazen season 27 premiere episode brings a classic joke back to the show in order to poke fun at Donald Trump.

Nvidia avoids White House crackdown; Trump softens on AI giant

Yahoo Entertainment

Trump's cuts to National Parks are real but many visitors aren't seeing them yet

Kirk Siegler, NPR

DOGE cuts to the National Park Service spawned fears of widespread problems for park visitors during peak summer season, as parks continue to see record visit numbers. The cuts are real, but mostly invisible.

Right-Wingers Cope With ‘South Park’s Scorching Trump Parody By Pretending No One Watches the Show

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

‘South Park’ is the first multi-billion-dollar franchise to achieve total cultural irrelevance, apparently

Crypto Bills In Congress Could Bring Chaos to Our Financial System

Andrew Perez, Rolling Stone

Trump signed a bill legalizing his own stablecoin hustle — and the Senate could soon exempt his meme coins from oversight. We could all be on the hook

Chronic Venous Insufficiency: A Vein Specialist on Causes and Symptoms for Trump's Diagnosis

Anna Gragert, CNET

Plus, how chronic venous insufficiency is diagnosed and treated, and if it's actually as benign as it's been made out to be.

Why tariffs haven’t caused runaway inflation — yet

Nicole Narea, Vox

Initial predictions about runaway inflation and empty shelves after President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariffs in April have yet to materialize. Some in the Trump administration have taken that as a sign that he should double down on tariffs. Earli…

Is Trump Trying to Get Back in Elon Musk’s Good Graces?

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

"I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE," President Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump Sends Medicaid Data To ICE, Turning This Service Into Another Weapon For His Racist ICE Goon Squads

Tim Cushing, Techdirt

Here we go. Again. Nonstop. The Racist Fucks Regime is at it again, leveraging every piece of data involuntarily collected by the government as a weapon to deploy against brown people. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the …

WATCH: Pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan has died at 71, WWE confirmed

ABC News

Hogan is widely credited for helping to turn professional wrestling from a regional attraction to a mainstream phenomenon in the 1980s.

Trump Hides Behind His Spokesperson After "Fourth-Rate" 'South Park' Ruthlessly Roasts Him

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

‘South Park’ couldn’t get the personal clap-back that Trump reserves for more ‘relevant’ critics like ‘The Hugh Hewitt Show’

South Park Declares War On Donald Trump With Its Shocking Season 27 Premiere

staff@slashfilm.com (Rafael Motamayor), /FILM

South Park went full scorched earth in its season 27 premiere with a storyline that took several direct shots at Donald Trump, Paramount, and more.

Trump envoy Witkoff says US cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks, bringing home negotiating team

MICHELLE L. PRICE, Yahoo Entertainment

President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday the U.S. is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks and bringing home its negotiating team from...

Columbia Will Pay $221 Million to End Trump Clashes

Bloomberg, Yahoo Entertainment

Columbia University will pay a total of $221 million to try and end its multiple clashes with the Trump administration. The Ivy League school in New York...

Lara Trump Drops Political Bombshell After President’s Snub

Paulina Rodriguez, Daily Beast

Lara Trump is no longer her father-in-law’s choice to run for Senate in North Carolina. The former co-chair of the Republican National Committee dropped the ...

Supreme Court To Lower Courts: Ignore Actual Binding Precedent, Follow Our Unexplained Shadow Docket Vibes Instead

Mike Masnick, Techdirt

The Supreme Court’s shadow docket has become a lawless mess. The justices are issuing extremely consequential rulings with either no explanation at all, or with barely a paragraph of reasoning. No full briefing. No oral arguments. Just vibes-based constitutio…

★ ICEBlock, an iOS Exclusive

John Gruber, Daringfireball.net

To maintain anonymity and store zero user data, there is and can be no web app version of ICEBlock. There is and can be no Android version. Only iOS supports the security and privacy features for ICEBlock to offer what it does, the way it does.

Is 'South Park' The Only Show That Can Punch Trump So Hard He Can't Hit Back?

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

Trump is being uncharacteristically quiet about last night's ruthless roast

Hulk Hogan, WWE Hall of Famer and legendary champion, dies at 71

Stephanie Guerilus, ABC News

WWE Hall of Famer and former champion Hulk Hogan has died, according to

What won’t Trump blame on California?

Kenny Torrella, Vox

President Donald Trump’s second term has been very good to large meat companies, which raise and slaughter some 10 billion animals each year. But his administration just gave the industry perhaps its biggest gift yet — in the form of a lawsuit against Califor…

Panelists Laugh in MAGA Pundit’s Face Over ‘Wild’ Defense of Hegseth’s Signal Disaster

Tom Sanders, Daily Beast

CNN panelists openly laughed in Scott Jennings’ face on Wednesday as the network’s token MAGA pundit scrambled to make excuses for Defense Secretary Pete...

The ‘Death of Woke’ Has Ruined Cartman’s Life

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

Cartman misses the time before everyone else regularly used his favorite slurs

Jeff Bezos Reportedly Eyes Purchase of CNBC as Tech Billionaires Gobble Up Media

Matt Novak, Gizmodo.com

What happens when pro-Trump oligarchs buy up every major media outlet?

Did ‘South Park’s Season Premiere End With a Secret Message in Case the Show Gets Taken Off the Air?

JM McNab, Cracked.com

By JM McNab Published: July 24th, 2025

Tesla's terrible quarter hasn't stopped analysts dreaming big about its robot future

Tom Carter, Business Insider

Elon Musk warned that Tesla could face "a few rough quarters," as it weathers shifting tariffs and the end of EV tax credits in the US.

Trump says he's not trying to 'destroy' Elon Musk's businesses by scaling back subsidies Tesla has thrived on

Brent D. Griffiths, Business Insider

Trump is looking to set the record straight on his stance on Elon Musk's companies. The president said he wanted Elon's businesses to "thrive."

Ghislaine Maxwell Prepping 'New Evidence' Ahead of Meeting With Feds, Brother Claims

TMZ Staff, TMZ

Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly preparing "new evidence" to present during her upcoming meeting with the federal government this week. As you know, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday it plans to meet with Maxwell to hear what she has…

WATCH: Columbia University to pay $200 million in settlement with Trump administration

ABC News

Columbia University has agreed to pay $200 million to resolve claims it discriminated against Jewish students, restoring hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, the university said.

Europeans to test Iran's appetite for nuclear compromise as sanctions loom

John Irish and Parisa Hafezi, Yahoo Entertainment

PARIS (Reuters) -France, Britain and Germany will hold face-to-face talks with Iran on Friday for the first time since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian...

We are not ready for better deepfakes

Alex Heath, The Verge

If you’re like me, then lately you’ve scrolled past something on social media and thought, “Wait, was that real?” Deepfakes are everywhere, and they’re getting a lot more convincing.  That brings me to my Decoder guest today: Gaurav Misra, the CEO of Captions…

Supersonic Flight May Finally Return to US Skies

Tom Nardi, Hackaday

After World War II, as early supersonic military aircraft were pushing the boundaries of flight, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that commercial aircraft would eventually fly faster than sound …read more

Gravitational Wave Science Faces Budget Cuts Just Years After Breakthrough Discoveries

Lieke van Son, Scientific American

Less than a decade since the first detection of gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime itself—proposed budget cuts threaten to silence this groundbreaking science

Polymetallic Nodules, a Source of Rare Metals, May Hold the Secrets of 'Dark Oxygen'

Clare Fieseler, Jason Jaacks, Scientific American

When researchers discovered evidence of “dark oxygen” last year, the news spread around the world, but the biggest challenge to the science comes from its funders

The People Behind the Most Accurate Game Boy Recreation Are Making an N64

Kyle Barr, Gizmodo.com

Although you’ll have to get over the fact military contractor Palmer Luckey is behind the wheel.

South Park returns from brink of death with jaw-dropping dunks on President Trump

Matt Patches, Polygon

For a second there, it looked like South Park may never return. But now the show is back and waging its most direct assault on a public figure since Saddam Hussein was hooking up with Satan. Just a few weeks ago, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said seaso…

Tesla bets on bot smoke screen as political and market realities bite

Lindsay Clark, Theregister.com

Subsidy cliff edge and tariffs threaten Musk biz, but being caught between luxury and mass market may be a worse fate Opinion Speaking to Tesla investors last night, CEO Elon Musk was optimistic about the future of his automotive manufacturer.…

Eric Idle Says Reading About John Cleese Is Bad for His Health

JM McNab, Cracked.com

A reunion seems more than a little unlikely at this point

Why China Won’t Stop the Fentanyl Trade

Michael Schuman, The Atlantic

The opioid that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year has become a source of political leverage that Beijing won’t easily give up.

Tesla Turns to a Classic Tactic to Spark a Buying Frenzy

Luc Olinga, Gizmodo.com

The automaker is manufacturing scarcity to drive a final sales boom before its cars get $7,500 more expensive overnight.

A Bipartisan Governors’ Group Is Splintering in the Trump Era

Michael Scherer, Ashley Parker, The Atlantic

Two Democratic governors are stepping back from the NGA over what they see as a tepid response to the president.

WATCH: William McNeil speaks out after video of violent arrest sparks probe

ABC News

William McNeil, Jr., whose violent arrest by deputies in Jacksonville, Florida, sheriff's has gone viral, tells ABC News' Linsey Davis what was going through his mind as the incident unfolded.

Russia and Ukraine trade drone attacks after latest ceasefire talks

BBC News

Deaths have been reported on either side of the border, just hours after a third round of ceasefire talks took place in Turkey.

WATCH: Costumed man pursued in Japanese bear drill

ABC News

Following the recent attacks across Japan, the police and a hunt club conducted a bear drill, featuring a man in a costume playing the bear.

T-Mobile the fastest mobile network; AT&T best for broadband

Ben Lovejoy, 9to5Mac

Ookla’s latest speed-test report has found that T-Mobile is this year’s fastest mobile network, offering the speediest downloads overall, and the fastest 5G. For home broadband, AT&T Fiber took the crown. Plans to boost broadband speeds have, however, been…

DOJ to question Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. And, Trump unveils new AI order

Brittney Melton, NPR

Columbia has agreed to pay over $200 million in a federal settlement. And, President Trump's new AI policies set requirements for companies wanting to do business with the federal government.

WATCH: 21-year-old man charged with felony murder of Bay Area woman walking dogs

ABC News

Prosecutors have filed murder charges against a man accused of shooting and killing a woman who was walking her dogs in San Leandro, California, last week.

Fact Check: Melania Trump's parents came to U.S. through process Donald Trump tried to curb

Yahoo Entertainment

10 Thursday AM Reads

Barry Ritholtz, Ritholtz.com

My morning train WFH reads: • Why Are Stocks Up? Nobody Knows: A torrent of bad news hasn’t been enough to sink the market. (Wall Street Journal) • How to Spot Bad Investing Advice and Build a Resilient Portfolio: Our investment success depends on how we resp…

President Trump: It’s Not Doable for AI Companies to Pay for All Copyrighted Input

Ernesto Van der Sar, Torrentfreak.com

During yesterday's "Winning the AI Race" summit, President Trump weighed in on the debate surrounding AI and copyright, noting that it is "not doable" for AI companies to pay for all copyrighted content used in model training. This stance, shared amidst ongoi…

How the Epstein Conspiracy Theory Took Over Politics

The New Yorker

The willingness of both political parties to use rhetoric of paranoia about the Jeffrey Epstein files illustrates how intertwined our politics have become with conspiracy theories.

Inside the whisper networks where laid-off coworkers job hunt and commiserate

Sarah E. Needleman, Business Insider

Former coworkers are staying in touch by joining invite-only groups to vent, grieve, and help each other job search.

Ghislaine Maxwell engaged in 'pattern of dishonest conduct,' DOJ said in 2022

James Hill, Alexander Mallin, ABC News

Ghislaine Maxwell engaged in a "significant pattern of dishonest conduct," federal prosecutors said in a 2022 sentencing memo.

What borrowers should know about student loan changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill

Cory Turner, NPR

Now that President Trump has signed Republicans' massive overhaul of the federal student loan program, we explain what's set to change.

These Gen Zers are working to realize their American dream, but hit roadblocks without legal status

Jireh Deng, Business Insider

Young people brought to the US as children may get degrees and pay taxes, but without legal status they struggling to reach their American dream.

Tesla’s Nightmare Continues As Musk Warns of “Rough Quarters”Ahead

Luc Olinga, Gizmodo.com

Tesla posted a 16% profit drop and a 12% revenue slide as EV demand weakens, tax credits vanish, tariffs bite, and Musk admits the pain may last for quarters to come.

Appeals court upholds block against Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship

The Associated Press, NPR

The ruling keeps a block on the Trump administration from denying citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily.

DOJ meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell set for Thursday: Sources

Aaron Katersky, James Hill, Brandon Baur, Katherine Faulders, ABC News

A senior Department of Justice official is expected to meet with longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell on Thursday in Florida, sources familiar said.

‘South Park’ Drops Its First Deep-Fake PSA About How Small Trump’s Dick Is

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

‘South Park’ opens Season 27 with copious jokes about Trump’s commander-in-briefs

In Tonight’s ‘South Park,’ Jesus Returns to Earth Because Paramount Bribed President Trump

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

Jesus doesn’t want to return to America’s schools, but Paramount paid off the President

AWS closes China AI research center, citing boilerplate 'business priorities'

Simon Sharwood, Theregister.com

Nvidia's Jensen Huang just had a win with his argument that the world needs China’s AI brains, now this Amazon Web Services has closed its AI lab in Shanghai, China.…

Saddam Hussein Has Returned to ‘South Park’ — As President Donald Trump

Keegan Kelly, Cracked.com

The Season 27 premiere pulled no punches when it came to America’s own dictator

Trump to visit Federal Reserve on Thursday, White House says

Reuters, Yahoo Entertainment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump, a strong critic of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, will visit the central bank on Thursday, the White...

Trump admin live updates: Court rules against Trump's birthright citizenship EO

Kevin Shalvey, Megan Forrester, Ivan Pereira, ABC News

Trump's redefinition of citizenship will likely not take effect on July 27 as litigation over the merits of the order continues.

Trump's birthright citizenship order is unconstitutional, appeals court says

Joe Walsh, CBS News

A federal appeals court said Wednesday that President Trump's executive order curtailing birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.

Columbia University to pay $200M in settlement with Trump administration

Aaron Katersky, ABC News

Columbia University has agreed to pay $200 million over the next three years to resolve claims it discriminated against Jewish students.