July 31 - August 3, 2025
Four days of free live music
Riverfront Park, Front street, Niles, MI Downtown near main streets
uncoverniles.com/
Free Admission :
Carnival and booths are open Thursday 4 p.m. Eastern
until Sunday Aug. 3 at 3:30 p.m.
Arts & Crafts
Featured tonight on NHK World News
Doyo no Ushi no Hi
Japan's Midsummer Day of the Ox
in this period, the
Japanese people eat
eel to keep cool.
details at
nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01378/
NIPPON your doorway to Japan
Coverage at
REUTERS.com/
today July 30, 2025
amount to Trump is $50 million
over next 10 years to work force
development organizations
IN RHODE ISLAND
County Official
William Thomas IV of Kerrville
disaster official since 2015.
TX Lt. Governor assails this official
July 31, 2025 2:33 p.m. Eastern
story posted at NY TIMES online
__________________________
Area around Kerrville, TX
FLOTUS & POTUS will tour
the San Antonio area flash flood
sites along with TV & other
cameras to see the devastation of
July 3 - 7, 2025 on rural towns &
campgrounds -- JULY 11 (Friday)
2025. Dr. Phil McGraw of Texas
also showed up. Other MAGA
celebrities and Cabinet "yes-people"
_________________________
the "MELANIA" documentary
directed by Hollywood director
BRETT RATTNER
is still awaiting online or
in-theater release (Summer 2025)
__________________________
AMAZON budget for the
biographical documentary is
$40 million -- FLOTUS is
also an executive director
and will receive salary.
She visited several studios
before settling on Amazon
in Dec. 2024 following a
Mar-A-Lago dinner with
Jeff Bezos and partner Lauren
Sanchez.
Virginia Giuffre's family
now is asking:
What did Donald John Trump know
about the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein
and Ghislaine Maxwell?
nytimes.com/2025/07/31/us/politics/Virginia-Giuffre-family-trump-epstein.html
See JERUSALEM POST interview
Lihi Levian Joffe
July 30, 2025
re: Narrative on Gaza Food Trucks
FOOD BOX distribution
humane methods of reaching families
inside Gaza. . .
jpost.com/israel-news/article-862768
GHF can't tell who the families are;
GHF doesn't check whether family
is getting double giving out
_____________________________
Encouraging news that
FOOD KITCHENS are working again
during spring IDF raids / bombing
they were closed / non-operational
FIRST of three days of hearings in D.C.
July 30 2025
NTSB Hearing on cause/s of crash killing Army
Blackhawk training
helicopter crew and American Airlines Flight
from Wichita KS ready to land at D.C. airport;
one AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER at
8:48 p.m. the night of Jan. 29th was handling
both helicopter traffic and incoming flight landings;
see Washingtonpost.com/ July 31, 2025 online
coverage
___________________________________________
Feb. 19 update (NY TIMES): TSA Chief Duffy
laid out in a memo to NY Gov. Kathy Hochhul
that Trump personally objected to "Congestion
Pricing" in Manhattan below 60th street // Duffy
would contact her to discuss orderly cessation
of toll operations. POTUS then crowed on Truth Social:
"All of New York is saved: long live the King"
with illustration of #DJT wearing a crown
us/politics/trump-king-image.html
____________________________________________
Feb. 3 update (POLITICO): TSA Chief Duffy
told the DOT to prioritize communities that have
higher than average birth rates and marriage rates;
accessibility of transportation to families of young
children . . .undated memo, effective immediately. . .
UPDATE: FAA Chief and FAA Deputy administrator
positions are vacant; incoming Trump-Vance admin.
asked for all Biden-Harris to leave effective Jan. 20.
No one is able with Congressional approval to act
on behalf of the FAA today after yesterday's deadly
collision between an Army helicopter and an American
Airlines flight from Wichita, KS that crashed near D.C.
Mike Whitaker was forced from office (5-year-term) after
a vote of 98-0 from the Senate in Oct. 2023. Elon Musk
had called for Whitaker to resign once Trump-Vance
won the Nov. 5 election; also posting on "X" / Twitter
that the FAA should no longer exist
new republic.com/post/190942/faa-no-leader-dc-plane-
crash-elon-musk
________________________________________________
Duffy was nominated by POTUS Trump and confirmed by
the U.S. Senate, Transportation Secy. will now
be the face of the Fed. Govt. with the collision
mid-air of an Army helicopter and an American
Airlines flight from Wichita, KS that collided
near Reagan Intl. Airport (Wed. night 1/29/2025).
Duffy is most recently a lobbyist and
FOX NEWS on-air commentator having entered those
fields after 8 years as a Wisconsin GOP Congressman
from 2011 - 2019 and a district attorney general
for Ashland County, WI (NW part of state). He had vowed to improve
the nation's transportation infrastructure.
Father of 9, he is married to Rachel Compos-Duffy.
Duffy was a professional lumberjack athlete in the field
of lumberjack sports. The family lives in Wausau, WI.
50% Tariffs leveled in a trade war against Brazil, the largest
economy in the Southern American nations --
HOWEVER,
last year U.S. had a $7.4 billion surplus
on about $92 billion total
in trade with Brazil . . .
nytimes.com/2025/07/30/world/Americas_/trump-sanctions-brazil-judge-bolsanaro.html
faithfor2008.blogspot.com "Seeking Faith and Understanding"
Visitors to the WEBsite / GOOGLE Blog
July 1, 2025 4,682 visits / views
July 2 1684
July 3 2,906 visits/views
Independence Day 625
July 5 3,443
July 6 4,564
July 7 2,424
July 8 1,402
July 9 750
July 10 941
July 11 488
July 12 463
July 13 424
July 14 414
July 15 577
July 16 245
July 17 331
July 18 455
July 19 643
July 20 430
July 21 2,123
July 22 1,969
July 23 2,081
July 24 4,316
July 25 5,340 (most visits of entire July)
July 26 1,421
July 27 873
July 28 444
July 29 385
July 30 1,014
July 31 3,711
Total for the Month of JULY 2025 (1st - 31st) -- 51,575 visits
thus far in the mid-year Summer Month
more than June 1 - 30 which was 51, 205 (one less day than
this month's 31 days)
July 9, 2025
Pianist and composer Jason Moran has resigned as the
"artistic director for Jazz" (since 2011).
His film score record included Selma
&
13th.
npr.org/ jason-moran-kennedy-center
NPR Coverage of this renaming
npr.org/2025/07/29/nx-s1-5483848/kennedy-center-trump
In order to follow the law,
to change the 1971 center to
"Trump Center" would require
an act of Congress which seems
possible given his taking over
the Board of Directors, firing
all Biden appointees. . .
details in online article by
NEDA ULABY, National
Public Radio
abcnews.go.com/
Politics/trump-comments-epstein-raise-new-questions-fell
_____________________________________________
"Inside the Long Friendship between TRUMP &
EPSTEIN : for nearly 15 years the two men socialized
in Manhattan and Palm Beach, FL,
before a falling out that preceded
Epstein's first arrest for sex crimes
COVERAGE by Alan Feuer & Matthew
Goldstein
nytimes.com/2025/07/19/us/politics/inside-trump-epstein-friendship.html
_________________________________________________
July 24, 2025
Executors of Jeffrey Epstein estate = his longtime lawyer and
former personal accountant have the
BIRTHDAY greetings album with words & drawing from
his Palm Beach,FL friend
Donald John Trump.
Comments from Patty Murray and Rosa DeLauro
in POLITICO Coverage
politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/30/congress/nih-cash-unfrozen-00484385
NIH funds frozen means end to
Medical Research
Breaking NEWS:
see NBC News dot-com
Trump said (July 30, 2025)
that India's own tariffs are
"Far Too High" (Social Media
statement to the global
social followers of his platform).
July 29, 2025 (UPDATE)
a third whistleblower's testimony (sworn)
has now come forward as the U.S. Senate
proceeds with the lifetime appointment to
the Federal court system
_____________________________________
DoJ (Justice Dept. official) Emil Bove (Trump
lawyer) -- is facing more e-message evidence that
he spoke of "defying court orders" -- on Venezuelan
to-be-deported immigrants POLITICO.com/ emil-bove
whistleblower-documents July 11, 2025
his appellate Court Judge nomination may get sunk . . .
______________________________
as reported in the NY TIMES (14 Feb. 2025):
a "conflagration" between the lawyers for
NYC Mayor Eric Adams and DOJ 2nd
in charge official Emil Bove III --
led to politically-tinged dropping of
charges and an "Extraordinary Shattering
of Norms" for an agency charged with
enforcing the laws of the United States. . .
nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/
adams-lawyers-justice-department-dismissal.html
The Senior Senator from Iowa, a farmer by occupation,
has violated his career- long commitment to truth and respect
for those who "speak truth to power"
HE NEEDS TO RETIRE -- before unchangeable damage
is done to the judiciary / Judicial branch of the
Constitutional branch (since 1787)
VERY Disappointing!
follow-up and anticipation of Hegseth
attack on the independent review of the INSPECTOR
GENERAL (Defense Dept.) that he will
"lash out" at the SIGNALGATE
inquiry -- July 30, 2025
further at Washingtonpost.com/
Breaking News
July 23, 2025
Yes, it is undisputed that
TRUMP-Vance Dept. Defense Hegseth
shared material which was classified "SECRET" on
Signal
washingtonpost.com/ July 23, 2025
UPDATE: April 15 m-o-r-e on Signal Chat
all of the ChatGPT group on Signal
a commercial APP messages from/to
CIA chief John Ratcliffe have been deleted;
this despite the order from Judge James Boasberg
of Federal District Court to preserve such records
of communications.
________________________________________
The Pentagon's chief Counsel / Inspector
will investigate the use by Pete Hegseth
of the messaging APP "Signal" and consider
whether he has used the group chat to discuss
details of an air strikes against Houthi rebels
in Yemen last month. The watchdog opened
the probe after request from leaders of the
Senate Armed Services committee.
Senators Roger Wicker, Jack Reed
According to the HILL platform
DHS (Kristi Noem, Homeland Security secretary, cabinet-level)
has violated copyright laws by posting without permission the
work of artist
Thomas Kinkade
"Morning Pledge" / / / she and/or her
designated web designers added a scary
caption
PROTECT THE HOMELAND
thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5426804/
thomas-kinkade-family-denounces-dhs-post/
Niles Community Schools (city limits
and others in School district) - Niles
Michigan proper and others registering
August 25, 2025 (half-day
for 1st - 8th grades, full
day for 9th - 12 grades)
August 26 is first day for
Kindergarten students
that same week.
[Brandywine / Niles Twp. students also
begin Monday 25th August with
half-day for K - 6 students but entire
day for 7th - 12th graders]
First CDC Director
without a medical degree in
70 years --
approved by the U.S. Senate from
Donald John Trump nomination
npr.org/ see News
McCall's magazine in 1970
honored as a woman not an actress. . .
Their tribute mentioned her appeal. . .
we should have more like her.
In TORONTO FILM SOCIETY
review of 1942 George Stevens'
directed Academy Award winning
Woman of the Year
the reviewer concludes:
"once again, the confusion
between actors and their
roles is complete."
torontofilmsociety.com/film-notes/woman-of-the-year-1942/
She was not only cast in roles but she developed concepts /
stories into full-blown Screenplays as well as major
Productions !
Reuters reports that
More than half of
federal funding requests
for gun violence prevention
has been cut by Trump's slashing.
Previously grants were working
via groups in New York, Los Angeles,
Baltimore, D.C. and Chicago.
Photos of the jubilant faithful --
priests, nuns, and ordinary faithful
who are "DIGITAL MISSIONARIES"
-- see Associate Press website
AP News.com/article/vatican-pope-digital-influencer-leo . . .
It is up to us -- to each one
of you -- to ensure that this
culture remains human. . .
8:49 a.m. EDT Vatican City
Scotland's First Minister
- - - to meet with Golf Course owner at
end of POTUS 47's golf vacation - - -
while the world watches over the shoulder for
any rudeness or passive "taking it on the chin".
Asked 4 times by press interviewers:
DO YOU LIKE PRESIDENT TRUMP?
Pleasant Company . . .
Swinney is trying to make
the case for Scotland's
exemption from any tariffs
for whisky and salmon.
Character
Billie Dawn in
screenwriter Garson Kanin's
Born Yesterday (1950 feature film)
This country and its institutions
belong to the people who inhibit it
Trump's July 28, 2025 comments at Press
briefing : "Nobody acknowledged ($30 million
channeled by U.S. AID fund - Head Marco Rubio)
Nobody talks about it. . .and it makes you feel
a little bit bad when you do that. And you know,
you have other countries not giving anything. . .
It would nice at least to have a thank you."
Trump falsely claimed that no other nation
gave money -- actually $605 million worth
of aid to Gaza had been given by the EU
Commission.
GHF is an opaque group -- headed by
Terry Moore, MAGA / Trump-Vance
associate organizing Food Boxes from
only 4 locations inside GAZA and Gaza Territory.
______________________________________
CBS reporter Tucker Reals
cbsnews.com/news/us-announces-funding-
gaza-humanitarian-foundation-despite-deaths/
It is the first U.S. govt. funding "confirmed"
by the Trump-Vance administration.
The state dept. aide who announced the $30 million
couldn't say whether U.S. funds had already been handed over.
The GHF has yet to agree to be interviewed by CBS News/
60_Minutes.
__________________________________
APnews.com/article/palestinians-israel-gaza-contractors-aid-distribution
July 3, 2025 online coverage
Monday July 28, 2025
Donald John Trump had vague
language to share at Scotland
press conference beside U.K.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer:
he offered to open new sites in
Gaza : "We're giving Money and
Things. I want to make sure they
get food, every ounce of food."
he reiterated as he had with
Ukraine's officials in Feb. 2025 :
"Nobody said 'Gee, thank you
very much,' and it would be nice
to have at least a thank you."
Further Trump mentioned,
"That's real starvation stuff,
I see it, and you can't fake that,
and we have to get the kids fed."
Other quotations: "We're going to
set up food centers and where people
can walk in and no boundaries. We're
not going to have fences. They see
the food. It's all there but nobody's
at it because they have fences set up
that nobody can even get it. It's crazy
what's going on over there."
Trump explained : suffering in Gaza
is "not a U.S. problem, it's an
international problem" then lamenting
that he had not been properly thanked
for the tens of millions that the U.S.
had dedicated toward helping Gazans.
Edwardsburg, MI Public Schools begin
September 2, 2025 (K students
begin on Wed., 9/3/2025)
New Buffalo Schools begin
Tuesday Sept. 2 for K - 12
with a half-day.
According to WNDU
"Back to School 2025" collected data =
Andrews Academy begins 8/18 (Monday)
as does Burr Oak Schools, Centreville,
Colon, Constantine,
Nottawa, St. Joseph County (MI)
Independent School District, Sturgis
Public Schools, White Pigeon Community
Schools.
The earliest on the WNDU community calendar
(NBC affiliate, S. Bend, IN) is
one school on Aug. 1 - Paramount School of Excellence (S. Bend, IN)
one on Aug. 4 - Purdue Polytechnic High School (S. Bend, IN)
Rochester (IN) School Corporation is the only one for August 5;
others follow on
Wed. August 6, 2025 for
Bremen Public Schools
Career Academy Network of Public Schools (S. Bend)
Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation
John Glenn School Corporation
Knox Community School Corporation
North Judson - San Pierre School Corporation
Plymouth School Corporation
Triton School Corporation
see further WNDU dot-com/ back-to-school 2025-first-days
July 30, 2025 details
Trump claims he can freeze $108
million in federal grants for the medical
school and health care system -- due to
systemic racial discrimination
NOTIFICATION to Duke University came
from
RFK, Jr. &
Linda McMahon
detailed coverage NYTimes.com/2025/07/29/us/politics/
trump-duke-university-frozen-funding-discrimination.html
________________________________
CNN continues breaking the news
$108 million is asked as payment for
systematic Racial Discrimination
July 29, 2025
that
the TRUMP-Vance administration
is launching (July 28) an
investigation into Duke University
and the Duke Law Journal.
see CNN.com/
Tuesday 7/29/2025 -- in exchange for clemency
Convict G. Maxwell will testify -- her reward must
be immunity or a Presidential Pardon / commutation
NYTimes.com/2025/07/29/us/politics/ghislaine-maxwell-epstein-testimony.html
Monday July 28, 2025 Lawyer Markus and convict
Ghislaine Maxwell appealed today to the SCOTUS,
reminding them that when she was being investigated,
Federal justice officials promised to her that she would not
be prosecuted -- see further THE HILL.com
regulation/court-battles/5423924-ghislaine-maxwell-appeals-supreme-court
Saturday July 26 edition of Washington POST dot-com
Karen Tumulty - Sr. investigator/correspondent
"Is the Fix in for Ghislaine Maxwell?"
is a presidential pardon soon to appear and she vanishes
while Trump 2.0 holds office during pre-2026 midterm
election period . . .? Who knows -- see Washingtonpost.com/
Continued into a second day --
washingtonpost.com
Ms. Maxwell "answered all questions"
Press reports added details that the
combined forces of the D of J were used to
comb through the "Epstein Files" which
have yet to be released to public scrutiny.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
July 24, 2025
Todd Blanche, right-hand D of J prosecutor
and assistant for Pamela Jo Bondi, Trump's
Attorney (General) has released to the
WASHINGTON POST that their meeting
with Ghislaine Maxwell was "Productive"
Details will be forthcoming about the
Tallahassee meetings behind federal prison
closed doors.
ABC News is reporting that the
Dept. of Justice
is meeting with the
convicted sex trafficker
in her prison setting
THURSDAY, July 24, 2025
abcnews.go.com
Representing Pamela Jo Bondi
is her deputy,
Todd Blanche.
BBC reports that in court, Trump's lawyers argued
that the 94-year-old may "not be able to testify in
person due to recent significant health scares" but
showed no signs of a combative approach to gain
financial "win" over the veracity of a report about
Trump wishing Epstein a "happy birthday" in a
scrapbook including an obscene drawing of female
genitalia and bawdy comments about "many secrets" !
__________________________________________
Today (Thursday 24th July) -- WashingtonPost
coverage indicates that No ONE is safe from
Trump throwing you "under the bus" and assaulting
your nest-egg or vital business resources/savings
___________________________________________
POTUS 47 lawsuit against
Rupert Murdoch, owner
of the Wall Street Journal
will be heard by southern Florida
federal judge
Darrin Gayles
who gave his lawyers until
August 4, 2025 to respond.
see :
politico.com/news/2025/07/21/wall-street-lawsuit-judge-donald-trump-00465363
Monday July 21, 2025
POLITICO reports the drop
including 7 parts would include
FLOUR, SUGAR, CANNED FOOD
israelis-military-says-airdrops-will-begin-
as hunger-grows-00478156
Monday 28 July 2025______________
July 27, 2025
al-Muwasi Central - Southern Gaza
coastal area,
Deir al Balah central Gaza,
Gaza City northern territory
will be cease-fire areas UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE [no signed
agreement with HAMAS negotiators
yet announced]
details at jpost.com
Jerusalem Post online platform (posted articles)
++++++++++++++++++++++
GHF stands for new, inexperienced "handlers"
of mass feeding -- Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
July 2, 2025 Wed. evening
AP NEWS dot-com
Two U.S. GHF Contracted agencies say that
Gaza food distribution point security guard staff
are shooting and using stun grenades as hungry
Palestinians scramble for food
______________________________________
Confirmed by The Hill web platform
AP News dot-com
Sunday June 1, 2025 -- in
the Palestinian territory,
the IDF (Israeli military
forces) attack which killed
34 near a food/humanitarian
aid distribution point, also
injured more than 170 people.
reuters.com/ world/
middle-east/
israeli-strike-aid-point-kills
2025-06-01 reporting from
Cairo, Egypt
TOI (Times of Israel ) Media Platform
releases the condemnation by two
Israeli humanitarian organizations of
Bibi Netanyahu and
the IDF
for genocide of Palestinians
in the Gaza Strip
timesofisrael.com/in-first-
two-major-israeli-human-rights-groups-
accuse-israel-of-genocide-in-gaza/
July 28, 2025
Jerusalem Post reports media news leak
that
Bibi Netanyahu has
telephoned Putin
1 p.m. Jerusalem time
zone.
Gov. Wes Moore
quoted in
MarylandMatters.org/
2025/07/28/moore-fema-denial-of-aid-to-western-
Maryland-is-petty-partisan-and-punishing
details:
they denied help to Maryland while giving
$11.7 million to 2 W. Virginia counties for a
different storm in June 2025.
Gov. Moore says the state is appealing the
bureaucrats' ruling since it gave little/no
reasons the state requests were rejected.
Activity at Niles-Buchanan (MI) YMCA
next month
givebloodnow.com
Please register online ahead of the next
BLOOD DRIVE
day Monday, August 25, 2025 from
3 - 6:00 p.m. in the Parking Lot,
905 N. Front St., Niles, MI 49120
Donors may sign up every 8 weeks (56
days) between their last blood draw and
the day of donating.
South Bend Medical Foundation and Lab,
douglas road HQ as well as downtown
South Bend, IN
Bob Seger TRIBUTE BAND
Concert free
at the Grandstand
Cassopolis, Michigan
7 p.m. start time
ends 10 p.m.
must pay admission to Fairgrounds
and that day -- Cass County annual
FAIR
While golfing in Scotland at his own
golf courses, POTUS Trump 2.0 admits
on television
There is real starvation
in Gaza . . .
July 28, 2025 during vacation
golf outing;
claims despite reality
we're giving lots
Israel and U.S. leave from Cease-fire
negotiations: HAMAS is alone with mediators
(Arab neighbors of both W. Bank and Gaza Strip)
No movement toward a
Cease-fire &
Release of remaining 50
hostages still held in
Gaza -- see further
Reuters.com/ July 7, 2025
The Israeli delegation didn't have a sufficient
mandate to reach an agreement with remaining
HAMAS leaders / conferees.
[ Netanyahu and Trump-Vance will meet for
Oval Office "under the stage lights" meeting
now that world's attention remains on POTUS
Trump 2.0 who is announcing his Commerce -
Treasury punishments for trade partner countries
who fail to meet next-stage compromises / "Deals"
favoring U.S. domination.
#4 Univ. of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
#28 Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
npr.org/2025/07/27 . . .nasa-employees-deferred-resignation-program
SCIENCE .org -- online article 30 May 2025
reports that NASA BUDGET amounts from
Trump - Vance have cut it in half down to
$3.9 billion
science.org/content/article/dozens-of-active-and
planned-spacecraft-killed-trump-budget-request
_______________________________________
No chief of Nasa nominated (31 May 2025)
___________________________Trump 2.0
has waffled again -- not going to push on
the U.S. Senate to vote up or down on a
billionaire donor to the Campaign / 2025 inauguration
festivities
JARED ISAACMAN must remove his name and
reputation from this ill-begotten nomination
[ since Jan. 2025 ]
May 31, 2025 4 p.m. Eastern Time Zone
President Dwight Eisenhower used a Scotland golf
course for relaxation in 1959 following a foreign
diplomacy summit with then-Prime Minister de Gaulle
of France --
played at Turnberry Golf Course.
WP Exclusive
Washington Post dot-com
afternoon of July 27, 2025
Hegseth (Secretary of Def.)
and team told to stop polygraphing
after complaint to White House.
Hegseth intended to stop unflattering
leaks to the public media and used
the threat of lie detector interrogation
to get employees to comply and
to turn in co-workers they themselves
suspected of releasing facts to the
media outlets.
hosted by N. American major cities
Vancouver, British Columbia
&
Seattle, Washington
How can the U.S. city and the Canadian
city encourage tourists to visit both sides
of the national border?
Amb. Pete Hoekstra (former Michigan Congressman
and Trump 1.0 ambassador to Netherlands (2017 - 20))
If Canadians are staying home,
that's their business. . .They
want to ban American alcohol,
that's fine. . .(Boycotts) are why
Pres. Trump and his team have
referred to Canadians are "mean
and nasty to deal with."
The rural Maryland town voted
predominantly for Trump 2.0 - JD Vance
but now feel he has turned his back on them
with a big
NO
on their FEMA request.
Mayor is Judy Hamilton (GOP)
see WashingtonPost.com/ today July 27, 2025
American humorist / best-selling author
It is better to keep your
mouth closed and let
people think you are a fool
than to open it
and remove all doubt!
after 21 day stages / winners
the overall winner is
Tadej Pogacar
MSN dot-com
"Tour de France confronts a new threat:
Are Cyclists Using Tiny Motors?
DHS Inspector Nicholas Raudenski
is leading the Tour's fight against
technological fraud
July 26, 2025.
The world-class athletic marathon
event for bikers across Europe (esp.
France and Ireland) began on
July 1, 1901
ending July 19
crowning Maurice
Garin, its first champion.
FURTHER UPDATE -- July 21, 2025 -- Judge Burroughs in
her courtroom will hear from Harvard's lawyers that
the Trump team of lawyers is attempting to curb
the +388-year-old American institution's
rights to free speech.
NY TIMES.com/ 2025/07/21/us/trump-administration-harvard-hearing.html
Pamela Bondi, Trump's A.G. at the D.ofJ. argues that
the Trump-Vance administration has the clear authority
to halt research across the entire university departments.
After today's arguments, it is not clear when she will issue
her ruling.
_________________________________________
UPDATE: June 20 -- Yes, Judge Burroughs
rules in favor of Harvard's continuance to
admit international students.
NYTimes.com online BREAKING NEWS 4 p.m.
Friday June 20
______________________________________
Update: June 16, 2025
NPR is reporting that the Judge will delay until
Monday the 23rd of June.
NPR.org/2025/05/16/nx-s1-5432750/harvard-lawsuit-international-students-hearing
____________________________________________
Judge Allison Burroughs (Fed. District) -- insisted that
the Status Quo remain in place. . .
details on Kristi Noem revocation -- see ABC News.go.com
"Breaking News"
Thursday May 29, 2025
Harvard University attorneys will make their first in-person
arguments before a Boston, Mass. federal courtroom
Its strategy is to use the POTUS Trump's statements
as evidence that the government is on a political
crusade against the school.
At stake is the 70-year-old Harvard
tradition of admitting top students
from around the globe; a visa ban
would affect 7,000 students currently
enrolled and other incoming students
who had expected to enroll in summer
and fall.
_________________________________
On the Trump-Vance side,
Lawyers on the Dept. of Justice have not
yet submitted any written arguments on
the case.
_________________________________
Revoking a university's right to host
international students is an extraordinary
measure. In court papers, Harvard has
maintained that the Trump-Vance lawyers/
legal complainants bypassed detailed
procedures that might lead to a revocation.
At the center of two HEGSETH-unusual controversies
will be pushed out of the Pentagon - Hegseth D o D (Dept.
of Defense) - Cabinet Dept. of the Trump-Vance administration
Fulcher is the 6th top
aide of the former FOX NEWS
Weekend anchor, Pete Hegseth,
to be summarily forced out of
a job in the Pentagon/Trump
White House in the first 6 months
(since Inauguration 20/Jan./2025).
see WASHINGTON POST dot-com.
UPDATE: July 26, 2025
Syria and Israel are de-escalating their
conflict between the IDF that defends the Druze
in the province of Sweida -- envoy from Trump
is the acting / interim ambassador to Syria
Tom Barrack.
jpost.com/middle-east/article-862267
______________________________________
Tom J. Barrack, Jr.
was installed by Trump 2.0
as interim Envoy to
Syria. The U.S. Senate
must hold hearing/s and
give a full vote for all
Ambassadorial appointments
from the U.S. Government.
Barrack has for decades been
a close friend and fundraiser
for citizen and then later POTUS
Donald J. Trump.
His background is in Private
Equity Real Estate Investments.
May 29, 2025
Syria-U.S. relations have
changed rapidly in the last 6
months. It was during the final
weeks (Dec. - Jan.) of the
POTUS 46 administration that
Bashar Assad autocracy fell and
a former terrorist group leader
attained power and governance.
Assad now resides in Moscow,
Russia after fleeing in the middle
of the night by private jet as
approved by Vladimir Putin.
Michael Wolff's All or Nothing: How Trump recaptured America
since March 2025 has sold
11,000 copies / / / /
contrasting it to Bob Woodward's
Trump 1.0 term book
Rage which sold
1.1 million copies in all formats
in 2020.
July 23 -- article on POTUS
themed books now on sale
at bookstores nationally
Saint's Feast day is
July 25 (annually);
the only apostle whose
martyrdom is recorded
in the New Testament.
Patron Saint of
blacksmiths,
druggists,
equestrians,
hatmakers,
pilgrims,
laborers,
knights,
soldiers,
tanners, &
veterinarians.
General Dan Caine
OVERRULES
Hegseth when he capriciously refused to
promote General Douglas Sims, due to
"his closeness to General Mark Milley"
who notably butted heads with
TRUMP 1.0 (first term 2017 - Jan. 2021)
nytimes.com/2025/07/26/us/politics/hegseth-pentagon-leadership.html
"Pete Hegseth" came to the job of Pentagon Chief after being
Weekend Anchor for "Fox and Friends" and was approved/confirmed
by the Senate in a historic vote of 50 - 50 with VP Vance breaking the
tie.
See interview he granted after
March 2025 retirement from the HHS lab
he still worked at after leaving the NIH
director job. He served as NIH Director appointed
by the President over 3 administrations -- August 2009
until Dec. 19, 2021 (Biden-Harris).
pbs.org/ AMANPOUR interview program / platform
picked up story
CNN.com/
The two-time Grammy award winner died at
home Tues. July 22, 2025 at Rochester, NY
OBITUARY. . . He had retired in
2015 and reached the age of 84, having
released 30 pop-jazz instrumental albums.
He was a true pop star with an instantly
recognizably silhouette, bewhiskered, his
long hair crowned by a turned-down fedora.
Nominated 14 times for Grammy Awards,
he won twice in 1976 and 1979.
NYTimes.com/2025/07/24/arts/music/chuck-mangione-dead.html
"Feels So Good" in 1978 became a double-platinum album.
He even started as an animated version of himself on
the FOX series "King of the Hill"; he also won an
Emmy Award for his performance at the closing ceremony
of the Winter Olympics 1980 at Lake Placid, NY.
OBITUARY details : he enrolled in a music school
at age 8. He called Dizzy Gillespie his "musical father."
he is survived by two daughters; his wife died in 2015.
He is quoted, "I've written probably 95% of the music
I've played. I feel like the cord between the plug in the
wall and the tape recorder."
Reuters is reporting that
$608 million is being offered
to states that build immigrant detention centers in the
near and long-term future.
______________________________________________
FEMA (under Kristi Noem and Dept.Homeland Security)
will NOT be helping the state of Maryland following
recent floods.
Its governor is Wes Moore (a Democratic political
party new governor in 1st term).
See further
washingtonpost.com/
July 23 - 24, 2025
CNN.com/2025/07/23/us/texas-flood-state-inquiry-begins
What is relevant and germane are topics such as:
flood warning systems,
emergency communications,
relief funding for victims
what is NOT relevant is
redistricting the TEXAS
congressional districts
so as to eliminate "Blue"
areas of the MAGA - focused
state into an entirely
"RED" / Trump-Vance voting
gerrymandered part of the
50-states + voting regions
the hill.com/policy/defense-5416554/army-military-parade-250th-anniversary/?tbref=hp
_____________________________________
Interview with POLITICO.com
with Senator Roger Wicker (Mississippi)
Thursday June 4, 2025
after learning from Army Secy. Dan Driscoll
in a budget meeting that the June 14 upcoming
Birthday Parade - Army turns
250 while POTUS Trump turns 79
will cost taxpayers
$25 - $40 million and possibly cause
$15 million damages to bridges and streets
in the District of Columbia
I would have recommended against the
parade; . . .we'll see
GOP-senators-question-cost-of-armys-parade-spectacle
BREAKING NEWS (Thurs. July 24, 2025)
Protesters block entrance to Chords Bridge
entrance to city of Jerusalem : display sign
of defiance = Enlistment - Genocide /
DEATH before Conscription
jpost.com/israel-news/article-862021
__________________________________
Jerusalem Post (Israel media platform)
reports that
54,000 "ultra"-Orthodox
Jews eligible for military service
will be called up for actual service
by July 2026
jpost.com/israel-news/article-860157
This group contains 16.5 year-olds to
those in their 20s, ending up at 26-yr.-olds.
To catch draft dodgers, IDF and border
authorities will use airport check-ins,
checkpoints, and other spontaneous checks
in areas where draft dodgers will be traveling
without officials searching through civilian areas.
Non-American celebrities
that Trump muses about honoring
and including in "his" Statue
Garden of _AMERICAN_ Heroes:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Ingrid Bergman
Christopher Columbus
Alfred Hitchcock
his images are under strict licensing -- LLC -- see alfredhitchcock.com/licensing
Nikola Tesla
Alex Trebek (Ontario, Canada)
Hannah Arendt (France)
Albert Einstein (Germany)
Junipero Serra
Marquis de LaFayette
_______________________
UPDATE: July 9 Washington
POST online article:
likely not ready / open until
2029 -- Trump-Vance Omnibus
Bill pushed forward $40 million
funding after Biden-era Nat.
Endowment for Humanities grants
were essentially zeroed by POTUS
Trump 2.0
newsweek.com/donald-trump-national-garden-american-heroes-
independence-day-4th-july-big-beautiful-bill-2094645
coverage (Wed. July 23, 2025) by
NY TIMES Sharon Otterman
nyregion/columbia-trump-funding-deal.html
__________________________________________
UPDATE (Friday July 18)
NYTimes.com/2025/07/17/nyregion/
Columbia-trump-near-deal.html
_______________________________
Administrators at a major Ivy League
school, New York City, will settle/ negotiate a
fine payoff of $200 million
the Executive Branch that is holding their
grants and federal aid (FAFSA) and more
under threat and red-tape tie-up.
Columbia University.
January 2005
Les Moonves and wife Julie Chen;
Bill & Hillary Clinton (then-senator from NY)
Barbara Walters
Mark Burnett & wife Roma Downey (actress)
Rudy Giuliani & then-wife Judy Nathan
Katie Couric
George H. Ross
Don King
Carolyn Kepcher and husband George
Simon Cowell
Heidi Klum
Billy Joel and then-wife Katie Lee Joel
Russell Simmons & Kimora Lee Simmons
Star Jones and husband Al Reynolds
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
Paul Anka
Tony Bennett
Kathie Lee Gifford & husband Frank Gifford
Shaquille O'Neal
Bob Wright (NBC Prez) and wife Suzanne
Senator Al D'Amato & wife
Conrad Black (Newsp. owner) and wife
Marty Richards
4 Palm Beach town council members & wives
. . .Mohamed al-Fayed
Mort Zuckerman and Kathleen Friery
Deborah Norville and Karl Wellner
Gayle King
Tina Brown and husband Harold Evans
Chris Matthews (MSNBC)
Vic Damone and Rena Damone
Donna Summer
Mickey Arison
Jeannine Pirro
others expected were Anna Wintour, Oprah
Winfrey, Elton John, Joe Torre, Liza Minelli,
Robert Kraft,
Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger. . .
palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2025/07/23/epstein-trump-marla-maples-wedding-melania-florida
July 23, 2025 (during Congressional recesses)
Dr. George Tidmarsh (previously cancer & pediatric
patients) will follow through on commitments made
by MAKARY (FDA Head) and RFK, Jr. (HHS Secy.)
AP News.com/article/fda-drugs-trump-makary-george-
tidmarsh- . . . 2025 July 23
__________________________________________
Martin Makary -- his chief Counsel appointed by
Trump on Tuesday March 11 resigned abruptly
Thursday March 13, 2025 -- this was heralded as
necessary by anti-Mifespristone Senator from
Missouri - Josh Hawley . . .
the hill dot-com (Friday March 14) -- Counsel was
Hilary Perkins, formerly of
Biden-Harris administration at
Food & Drug (FDA)
she worked the opposite side of
a Supr. Court case against Erin
Hawley (Josh Hawley spouse).
She told NY Times his accusations
against her are false.
AP NEWS com
details how Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins
University surgeon and researcher rose to
national attention by skewering the medical
establishment in books and papers -- now he
will become ascendant in the RFK, Jr. HHS
system of federal investigations and regulations
and system updates.
apnews.com/article/fda-trump-makary-vaccines-
ultraprocessed-foods-safety . . .
July 31, 2025 -- U.S. and NATO allies warn of
ongoing threats by Iran's intelligence services
to kill, kidnap, and threaten citizens in many
countries
AP News. online US - NATO - IRAN
July 31, 2025 posted article
______________________________________
"Dry Taps, Empty Lakes, Shuttered Cities :
a water crisis batters Iran" NY TIMES dot-com
world/middleeast/iran-water-crisis-drought.html
July 2025
Iran's leaders turn to a new birth of
a fusion of Shi'ite identity and Irani
nationalism
NYTimes.com/2025/07/22/world/middleeast/
iran-nationalism-israel-us-attacks.html
Tuesday July 22 (online article - NY TIMES)
__________________________
UPDATE: July 18
Iran's Fordo Nuclear site was badly
damaged and potentially destroyed by
the 12 bunker-buster bombs the U.S.
military dropped on it June 2025 --
details in article (David Sanger, Julian
Barnes, Eric Schmitt)
NYTimes.com/2025/07/17/us/politics/iran-nuclear-sites.html
_________July 12, 2025__
Iran's foreign minister
Abbas Araghchi
said that his country would accept a resumption
of the nuclear talks as long as the U.S. agreed
it would not again use B-2 Stealth bombers with
megabombs and Cruise Missiles on nuclear
and missile sites.
See FURTHER: apnews.com/article/iran-us-nuclear-talks-
araghchi- . . .
Tehran, Iran 10:45 a.m. US. EASTERN time zone.
Poem by William Butler Yeats
second stanza:
Then nowise worship dusty deeds,
Nor seek, for this is also sooth,
To hunger fiercely after truths,
Lest all thy toiling only breeds
New dreams, new dreams: there
is no truth
Saving in thine own heart. Seek, then,
No learning from the starry men,
Who follow with the optic glass
The whirring ways of stars that pass -
Seek, then, for this is also sooth,
No word of theirs - the cold star-bane
has cloven and rent their hearts in twain
And dead is all their human truth.
quoted in part in The Theory of Everything (2014) feature film
by the character Jane at the "Cambridge May Ball" at an outdoors
fireworks celebratory scene . . .
from Hollywood: The Oral History (2022)
Director John Schlesinger :
Some executive reading scripts
suggested Elvis Presley would
be good for Midnight Cowboy
if it was turned into a musical.
And someone at United Artists,
for whom I did the picture,
seriously said, "Make Ratzo
Sammy Davis, Jr. and you have
a hit." (page 532 top)
From Hollywood: The Oral History (2022)
If somebody hits with
a certain type of film,
then everyone wants to
make one on the not
unlikely assumption that
"oh, I guess a lot of people
out there are interested in
seeing this. . ."
So everybody will make them.
And the public will go to see it,
until the public stops going
to see it. But one thing that
doesn't change is that the
top ten films at any one time
do half of the available business
and all the rest are fighting for
the other half.
That is always true.
The public gravitates toward
the hits. The hits are like
magnets.
There was a period in which some
studio movies were made that were
supposed to be about Black people.
Hurry Sundown! I adore Otto
Preminger, the director, as a social
human being. He has a great sense
of humor, and he's a fantastic host. . .
if you go to his home to have dinner,
you're going to have a great time. . .
Those films -- Carmen Jones
Porgy and Bess
Hurry Sundown. . .
when I was in Carmen Jones, they
gathered together an array of Black
stars, Belafonte, Dandridge, Brock
Peters. . .We all wanted to be in moving
pictures, so we made it. We found out
things hadn't changed a great deal for us.
Then Porgy and Bess and we all came out
and made fools of ourselves again. . .I
don't even know what to say about Hurry
Sundown what I know is that there's
been a long, long time in Hollywood
where equity hasn't happened. Maybe
it will. Maybe.
[ from Hollywood: The Oral History (2022) ]
Hollywood: The Oral History (2022)
From 1952, I found myself living
in England as a result of the
Hollywood blacklist, and I got
by in one way or another and I
was always looking, since I was
surveying and so forth, and writing
under assumed names, or whatever, to
avoid the blacklist. Because the
Blacklist followed people everywhere,
I felt inhibited about writing something
original. That was one of the penalties
of being blacklisted. . .Every blacklisted
Hollywood writer went through a severe
period, a period when he or she could
not write. Now some recovered from it,
and some never did recover from it. Once
I was working on a screenplay and it was
just no good. I had a conference with this
producer, very nice guy, very sympathetic,
and he said in a very terribly well-meaning
way "Look, why don't you forget all this
stuff? Why don't you make peace with those
people over there? Do what they want you
to do. Name a few names. Get yourself off
the blacklist, and get that weight off your
shoulder."
WHAT HE DIDN'T KNOW WAS. . .about
6 months before, they had pulled my passport.
And I wasn't telling that to anybody because
there was no point in spreading this around.
It was bad enough to have them (the State Dept.
in D.C.) do that, and I was suffering the
consequences of that, which meant that I
couldn't travel. When we parted that night and
I went upstairs to bed, I literally didn't sleep
all night long. I was awake constantly,
and I was scared. I knew fear, real fear.
And I hadn't written a good scripts, either.
I had to make a (screen) test cold of
Katharine Hepburn when she replaced
Claudette Colbert in The State of the Union.
A very charming, delightful person. Just
wonderful. During the time I'm making
the test, she said, "Now make me fat.
Make me Fat!"
She didn't want to be gaunt and thin, she
wanted to be nice and round and fat, And
I said, "Miss Hepburn, I've been trying
to make myself fat for years."
She said, "Don't give a damn about you,
just make me fat!" Talked like a rubber
band at you. What a charming, delightful,
wonderful person she is. And, of course, she
was an excellent person to photograph as
long as you, as she says, "Don't show my
chicken neck!"
FROM Hollywood: The Oral History (2022)
from Hollywood: The Oral History (2022)
fellow actor : Maximillian Schell (interviewed)
Spencer Tracy, was, for me, the
most professional actor I ever
met and the most human and
the best. It's just that simple.
Although he had his tricks, too.
He had his cliche's, too, but they
were just so good and not yet used
by others that he could use them
over and over again. He was aware
of them and he always had a certain
vanity, like every actor, but he was
so simple. His whole life he conducted
so beautfully and so dignified; he was
just a great human being. I think
the film camera captures the
personality of a human being and a
film actor much more than the theater.
. . . Katharine Hepburn gave up
years of her life just to be with him, and
he was just a great human being.
from HOLLYWOOD: THE ORAL HISTORY (2022)
"Film is a funny thing. You can take
a series of five scenes, and there are
perhaps 25 ways you can put them
together. But there's probably only one
way that makes any sense, and you've
got to find that one way. It's almost
like music. If you put the notes of
a piece of music together, you get
something wonderful, but if you take
those same notes and alter them a little
bit, you get dreck. It's the same way
with scenes. You get a chance to
compose in the cutting room. A film
is made both on the set and in the
cutting room. But if I didn't want
a shot I made on the set in the film,
I wouldn't have let that shot get into
the cutting room. You can improve a film
in the cutting room, but you can't find
a great, great film on the table, because
you're only working with what you
brought in. Never bring in anything
someone else could use to ruin your
picture!
Sunday july 20th - he discussed his health
and troubles from balance on a famous podcast.
___________________________________________
Pray for the singer - songwriter who has canceled his
Tour (May 24, 2025) and will seek treatment for
normal pressure
hydrocephalus
which has led him to problems
with hearing, vision, & balance.
He is 76 and a mainstream music
mainstay since the 1970s.
Who is a Hollywood producer? What do they do?
from Hollywood: the oral history (2022) p. 209
I think producers can do
their job in three general
ways. There is the producer
who is a logistician, who deals
with the logistics of film, and
whose expertise has to do with
scheduled and the mechanics of
making a picture. This, never
doubt it, is vital! Then there
are producers who are promoters.
Arthur Jacobs was one of those.
So was Sam Bronston. There are
many such. Sam Spiegel is such
a producer, really!
Then there are producers whose
primary instincts are for some
of the creative aspects of film-
making. Perhaps script, perhaps
cutting. I would say Hal Wallis
was an example of that, a man
who knows a great deal about
editing and who feels that his
prime creative contribution is
in the editing stage. There are
producers who, like David O.
Selznick, said the producer is the
conductor of the orchestra and the
director is merely the first
violinist!
On a studio head she liked and who liked her:
anecdote in
Hollywood: The Oral History (2022)
Louis B. Mayer happened to
like me and I liked him. We
were friends. When you went
to Mr. Mayer you got an answer
. . . and you didn't have to go
to five thousand people to do
it either. They are all a bunch
of nincompoops today compared
to him! (PAGE 142).
transcribed by Jeanine Basinger & Sam Wasson
Hollywood: The Oral History (HarperCollins, 2022)
You can learn a lot from
watching Chaplin. He
once made a short film
titled The Pilgrim. The
opening shot was the
outside of a prison gate.
A guard comes out and
pastes up a "WANTED"
notice with a picture of
Chaplin in prison stripes.
NEXT, cut to a very tall,
thin man, coming out of
a river, having had a
swim, and he finds that
his clothes are missing;
all he can pick up is a
convict's uniform. Next,
cut to a railroad station,
and walking toward the
camera is Charlie Chaplin
dressed as a parson; his
pants are too long. Three
pieces of film, and look
at the amount of story they
told!
from Leonard Mlodinow's memoir of
friendship and co-authoring popular works
on Science with
PHYSICIST Stephen Hawking :
Both black holes and the
early universe fascinated
Stephen, and he made the
physics of those systems
his main area of research.
His later discoveries regarding
the interplay between Einstein's
theory of general relativity
and quantum theory helped
launch the field now called
quantum gravity (pages 8 - 9).
a septuagenarian born in Chicago, IL
a CalTech physicist (Pasadena, CA)
he has transitioned from teaching Physics
now writes for the general public
sometimes has co-authored books with
noted physicist Stephen Hawking [The Grand Design]
also a screenwriter for sci-fi TV series [Star Trek: Next Generation]
July 18, 2025 -- Earthsky dot-org reports that the
LVK Collaboration found the merger of massive
black holes each 100 - 140 times the sign of our
solar system's sun has created a
225-solar-mass black hole;
this phenomenon presents
a real challenge to our
understanding of black
hole formation.
earthsky.org/space/biggest-black-hole-merger-breaks-the-universes-rules
posted July 2025
the merger is 225 times the size of our sun.
POLITICO today
Sunday July 20, 2025
updates other Americans about the
other state Legislatures struggles with
the need to protect lawmakers from
those who might
Assassinate or Kidnap
political figures (like
Speaker of the Minn.
House Hortman or
Michigan Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer).
politico.com/2025/07/19/minnesota-assassination-
spurs-wave-of-state-bills-to-protected-officials-
00463300
July 24, 2025 Wall Street Journal adds the names from the
EPSTEIN Birthday scrapbook are:
William Jefferson Clinton
Leon Black (Wall Street billionaire)
pbs.org/News hour/politics/trump-mired-in-epstein-controversy-as-
wall-street-journal-reports-on-2003-letter
Thursday's disclosure - coupled with Trump-allies on Capitol
Hill - pushed POTUS 47 Trump 2.0 to reverse course and
direct his Cabinet official / A.G. at his Dept. of Justice
to make documents in the Epstein Grand jury court "file"
public.
Friday July 18, 2025
Director Elia Kazan's film (1957)
about a manipulator who gets his
comeuppance : actor Andy Griffith
plays a pompous entertainer whose
appeal to plain folks garners him
tremendous power, for a while. . .
see Maureen Dowd -- July 20 column
MAGA's New Target is . . . Donald John Trump
nytimes.com/2025/07/19/opinion/trump-maga-epstein-deep-state.html
By posing as a Minnesota Law Enforcement
Police officer,
the Assassin of the Hortman family
exploited the trust our uniforms are meant
to represent, said Commissioner Bob Jacobson.
That betrayal was deeply
disturbing to those of us
who wear the badge with
honor and respectability.
see further
nytimes.com/2025/06/16/us/police-impersonation.html
Rest in Strength
former House Speaker
Melissa Hortman
Mark Hortman (spouse)
Those leading the service were:
Brass Quintet : Minnesota Orchestra
Native American Drum Circle
Unison singing of "Amazing Grace"
Earlier Wed. 18 June 2025
U. of Minnesota President Rebecca
Cunningham spoke at a separate
outdoor memorial service;
the Hortmans were themselves alumna
and alumnus of the Big Ten
University.
