July 26-August 1, 2026
We are beginning our BIG POSTCARDING CAMPAIGN. We provide beautiful, memorable postcards, scripts, and addresses of irregular Desi voters in key House and Senate districts, you provide the stamps and elbow grease. (We can provide stamps as well in hardship cases) If interested, please let us know at tsbmarcomm@gmail.com. Please also consider donating to fund our outreach efforts.
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Trump economy at 18 months is a tale of shocks, resilience, and signs of stalled progress: The first 18 months of President Donald Trump's second term in the White House have seen a series of policy-driven economic shocks, highlighted by the immigration crackdown and higher tariffs that he promised during his 2024 campaign, and an unanticipated war with Iran that has boosted the price of oil and threatened global supply chains. REUTERS
US strikes Iran as widening war engulfs more countries : The U.S. carried out fresh strikes in Iran on Wednesday, the U.S. military said, further intensifying a five-month-old war that was already expanding beyond its main fronts to embroil additional countries in the region. REUTERS
Iran to get Chinese shoulder-launched missile systems in weeks: Iran is expected to receive within weeks a first shipment out of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters, as it rebuilds its defences amid war with the United States. REUTERS
North Carolina advances more voter suppression measures: The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed in June amid a broad decline in imports, but the improvement was probably insufficient to prevent trade from again subtracting from economic growth in the second quarter. REUTERS
US goods trade deficit shrinks, is still expected to weigh on Q2 GDP growth: Daily vessel transits of the Strait of Hormuz were steady at three for each of the past three days, according to preliminary shiptracking data, amid continuing shipping risks in the Middle East and as oil prices surged back to $100 a barrel. Three vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz each day from July 22 to July 24, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. REUTERS
Iran war casualty count eclipses 600 as Pentagon quietly changes accounting: The Pentagon updated its war casualty database Saturday, recording more than 140 additionally wounded and restoring the four soldiers killed due to Iranian strikes last week amid questions about a lack of transparency over the war’s toll. CNN
Trump’s approval rating drops to lowest ever: 559 days into Donald Trump's term, the president's net approval rating is -25, down 0.4 points since last week. 35% approve, 60% disapprove, 4% not sure. THE ECONOMIST
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady — with disagreement inside the Fed: The Fed kept its benchmark interest-rate target at 3.50%–3.75% after its July 28–29 meeting. The decision was notable because three officials argued for a rate increase, highlighting continuing disagreement over inflation and the economy. REUTERS
WORST ADMINISTRATION EVER
Trump Is Making Government Worse on Purpose: Donald Trump has been trying for months now to shrink the number of Americans who can vote. So far his efforts have been in vain, but this might be the week he succeeds. The SAVE Act that Trump is pushing is not simply a voter ID bill. It’s part of his administration’s larger drive to make government interactions as frustrating, time-consuming, and clunky as possible—with the end goal of netting financial or political gain for Trump, his family, his friends, and his enablers. THE BULWARK
Frenzy of cruel and unusual ICE flights shows Trump’s ethnic cleansing campaign is escalating – again: A sudden burst of cruel and unusual Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter flights in the last two days suggests the Trump administration is again escalating its ethnic cleansing campaign. On Wednesday, ICE launched four aircraft nearly simultaneously that may have carried migrants to countries where they had no ties, known as "third-country removals." While these expulsions usually surge at the end of each month, this many in one day is unprecedented. GILLIAN BROCKWELL
Blame Elon Musk and Donald Trump for the Out-of-Control Ebola Crisis: The massive new Ebola outbreak now spreading across conflict-ridden eastern Congo is a grim object lesson on just how vital USAID was. The outbreak was declared in May after an unusually long delay in detecting and identifying the virus, by which point it had already spread at an enormous scale. ZETEO
Trump Will End Subsidies for Medicare Drug Premiums: Millions of older adults on Medicare prescription drug coverage could face steeper monthly costs in 2027, after the Trump administration concludes a temporary subsidy program that has helped offset premiums for the past two years. AP
SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY
Senior Living Facility in Distress as Immigrant Caregivers Are Forced Out: The elder care industry is experiencing labor shortages due to the current deportation agenda. Immigrant workers at nursing homes and other facilities are being detained. Elderly individuals who prefer to stay in their homes are also being impacted as many immigrants who are undocumented or have provisional status work in this informal economy as home health aides. NYT
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