Today’s edition of quick hits.
Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Look for more on this on tonight’s show: “A Russian national with alleged ties to a top Russian official was charged in federal court in Washington Monday with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation, and was ordered held without bond.”
* Unexpected news out of Afghanistan: “The Trump administration has told its top diplomats to seek direct talks with the Taliban, a significant shift in American policy in Afghanistan, done in the hope of jump-starting negotiations to end the 17-year war.”
* Germany’s foreign minister said this morning that Europe ”could not rely on Donald Trump and needed to close ranks after the U. S. president called the European Union a ‘foe’ with regard to trade.”
* Brutal: “Cleaning Toilets, Following Rules: A Migrant Child’s Days in Detention: A portrait of life in the shelters for the children detained after crossing the U. S.-Mexico border.”
* Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, and when Canada responded, Trump filed a WTO complaint: “U. S. President Donald Trump’s administration has filed a World Trade Organization challenge against the retaliatory tariffs Canada has imposed in response to Trump’s own tariffs on steel and aluminum.”
* Bad advice: “British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday that President Donald Trump advised her to take legal action against the European Union rather than negotiate Britain’s exit from the bloc.”
* Maybe tax cuts don’t pay for themselves? “The federal government recorded a $74.9 billion deficit in June, a month when the government often runs a surplus, as corporate taxes dropped sharply compared to a year ago.”
* Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) is under fire again, this time for suggesting young black kids playing chess in West Louisville is unexpected.
* Don’t be alarmed, but when Trump lashed out the other day at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the American president said things that weren’t entirely true .
* And two security experts from the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory were in San Antonio last year, and they left sensitive materials in their car while staying in a motel in a high-crime neighborhood. That didn’t work out well.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
