Why 'Good Trouble' protesters chose Thursday, July 17 to rally against Trump

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  • Why 'Good Trouble' protesters chose Thursday, July 17 to rally against Trump</p>

<p>Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAYJuly 16, 2025 at 1:04 PM</p>

<p>Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to gather at more than 1,600 locations nationwide July 17 to rally against many of the Trump administration's policies.</p>

<p>The name for the Good Trouble Lives On protests comes from a phrase commonly used by the late-Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, who insisted it was important to engage in "good trouble, necessary trouble" in order to achieve positive social change.</p>

<p>Lewis, who was often called the "moral compass'' of the House, was one of the most vocal critics of President Donald Trump's first administration. The protests are scheduled for the fifth anniversary of Lewis' death.</p>

<p>Organizers called on the public to protest the Trump administration's stance on women's rights, cuts to safety net programs, treatment of immigrants and use of the National Guard to quell largely peaceful protests in California.</p>

<p>More: 'Good Trouble' protest locations: See where demonstrations are planned</p>

<p>Celina Stewart, chief executive officer of League of Women Voters, one of the organizing groups, said Trump rules by fear, silencing opposition and dissent. Americans should instead band together and embody Lewis' ideals of social justice and activism, she said.</p>

<p>"What would he encourage us to do in this moment?" Stewart asked. "That is going to look different for all of us, but I know that all of us can do something, and many of us can do many things."</p>

<p>The White House said Trump is delivering on what he said he would do.</p>

<p>"Nearly 80 million Americans gave President Trump a historic mandate to Make America Great Again and he is delivering on that promise in record time," said White House spokesperson Liz Huston.</p>

<p>'Be of service to your community'</p>

<p>Many of the advocacy groups planning the upcoming protest were also involved in the nationwide "No Kings" demonstrations on June 14, which drew millions of participants across 2,100 locations, according to the group's estimates. Overall, there have been monthly nationwide protests against the administration's policies since April.</p>

<p>The flagship event this time will be in Chicago, with additional large peaceful protests planned for Atlanta, St. Louis, MO, Annapolis, MD and Washington D.C. Hundreds of smaller events are expected in cities and towns across the country. Some international protests are scheduled.</p>

<p>Protesters gather for a "No Kings since 1776" protest near the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse in Eugene on July 4, 2025.</p>

<p>Along with protests and marches, some groups will hold "moral assemblies" at statehouses and federal buildings, food drives, teach-ins, voter registration drives and other community-building events, said Allison Pulliam, co-director of one of the organizing groups, Declaration for American Democracy Coalition.</p>

<p>"People are showing up in their communities in the ways that they feel led to show up, and that's just exactly what Congressman Lewis meant when he talked about good trouble: finding ways to be of service to your community," she said.</p>

<p>Why on a Thursday?</p>

<p>Rather than holding the nationwide protests on a Saturday, as advocacy groups have largely done this year, organizers decided to hold the events on the fifth anniversary of Lewis' death, even though it falls on a Thursday.</p>

<p>Daryl Jones, the co-leader of the Transformative Justice Coalition, said organizers got Lewis' family's permission to use his name with the protests. They asked that it not be a somber occasion, but one that would take up his cause.</p>

<p>Many of the protests are scheduled to take place after the workday ends to increase participation. Some are also scheduled for early in the morning.</p>

<p>Organizers said they aren't worried that a Thursday protest will mean lower turnout.</p>

<p>"This is the largest one day voting rights (and) civil rights movement action in all 50 states and internationally in U.S. history, and the largest weekday action this year," promised Barbara Arnwine, another co-leader of the Transformative Justice Coalition. "People are happy to gather in a celebratory protest."</p>

<p>Big and small events</p>

<p>This day of action follows the model advocacy groups have used since the spring, holding events in as many locations as possible, rather than in one or two major cities.</p>

<p>The approach can be harder for the public to ignore and allows people to connect with local resources and perform local advocacy, organizers have said, rather than attend a single large event and not know what to do next.</p>

<p>Melissa Estrada and her niece Alexis Silveira came to the 'No Kings' rally in West Palm Beach on June 14, 2025, to protest President Trump's immigration crackdown. Estrada's banner paid tribute to her father who fought in World War II.</p>

<p>Palm Beach County, Florida, where Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is located, will be the site of five events, for example, including a march, a car parade and speakers talking about Lewis' legacy.</p>

<p>In Yonkers, New York, the local NAACP and Indivisible chapters teamed up to host an event in Van Der Donck Park, which is near the train station and library. They expect at least 200 people to attend.</p>

<p>"The idea is to make a little noise," said Eileen O'Connor who co-founded the NYCD 16/15 Indivisible group.</p>

<p>Holding the event during the week and after work is an effort to make the event easier for families to attend, said Kisha Skipper, president of NAACP-Yonkers Branch #2188, as well as an effort to engage younger people. Lewis became an advocate while in college, organizing lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville.</p>

<p>Along with bubbles, sidewalk chalk and sign-making stations, the event will also include voter education and registration information, Skipper said.</p>

<p>In Annapolis, Maryland, seven local organizations worked together to put together a march over two local bridges.</p>

<p>"We are marching over the bridges to symbolize John Lewis's march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge," said Lynda Davis, one of the organizers with Showing Up for Racial Justice Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. "We're still marching for civil and human rights like he did, and we will continue to march until we get civil and human rights."</p>

<p>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are the Good Trouble Protests on Thursday?</p>

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Why ‘Good Trouble’ protesters chose Thursday, July 17 to rally against Trump

<p>- Why 'Good Trouble' protesters chose Thursday, July 17 to rally against Trump</p> <p>Sar...

Joe Rogan rips DOJ's handling of Epstein files in scathing rant against Trump admin

<p>-

  • Joe Rogan rips DOJ's handling of Epstein files in scathing rant against Trump admin</p>

<p>Alex OliveiraJuly 16, 2025 at 11:27 AM</p>

<p>Joe Rogan used his latest podcast episode to weigh in on the Epstein files controversy amid public uproar over the Department of Justice's probe into the late pedophile and his associates.</p>

<p>The podcast giant lambasted the Trump administration's announcement that there was never a list or footage revealing clients of the high-flying sex pest.</p>

<p>"They've got videotape and all [of] a sudden they don't," Rogan, 57, said on the latest episode of his podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience," released Tuesday.</p>

<p>"You had the director of the FBI on this show saying, 'If there was [a videotape], nothing you're looking for is on those tapes,'" Rogan added, referring to Director Kash Patel's appearance on the show in June.</p>

<p>Joe Rogan said the Trump administration's turnaround on its disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein evidence was ridiculous. The Joe Rogan Experience</p>

<p>"Like, what? Why'd they say there was thousands of hours of tapes of people doing horrible s–t? Why'd they say that? Didn't Pam Bondi say that?"</p>

<p>Rogan was referring to comments Attorney General Pam Bondi made on July 1 — just days before the Department of Justice announced there was no "Epstein list" or incriminating footage of the disgraced financier's associates — in which she told reporters the FBI was reviewing "tens of thousands of videos" of Epstein "with children or child porn."</p>

<p>And months earlier, Bondi intimated that the supposed Epstein list was on her desk awaiting review — though she later clarified that there was an Epstein investigation file ready for her review, not the so-called list at the center of countless conspiracy theories.</p>

<p>The turnaround comes after President Trump spent months talking about plans to release everything the government had on Epstein and his associates — even publishing "The Epstein Files: Phase 1" to great fanfare in February. Next to nothing new was revealed in those files.</p>

<p>Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide after his 2019 arrest. AP</p>

<p>Rogan didn't seem to buy the Trump administration's new stance, suggesting the president was trying to distract supporters from his campaign promises about Epstein.</p>

<p>"Just bomb Iran and everybody forgets. Everybody forgets about it," Rogan said, referring to Trump's late June strikes on Iranian nuclear weapons facilities.</p>

<p>It was just the latest bone Rogan had to pick with Trump, whom he endorsed ahead of the election, on his podcast in recent weeks.</p>

<p>Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have changed their tune on Epstein, insisting there's no cover-up. REUTERS</p>

<p>Earlier in July, he called the president's ICE roundups of illegal immigrants "insane," and said authorities should focus on investigating dangerous criminals instead of raiding Home Depot parking lots to make arrests.</p>

<p>"There's two things that are insane. One is the targeting of migrant workers. Not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers. Just construction workers. Showing up in construction sites, raiding them. Gardeners. Like, really?" Rogan said.</p>

<p>He appeared to be referring to the incidents that sparked the Los Angeles protests in June, when ICE agents staked out parking lots where manual laborers gather to find work during mornings.</p>

<p>The Department of Homeland Security disputed Rogan's characterization of ICE's arrests, with a spokesperson saying "an overwhelming majority" of ICE arrestees in Trump's crackdown had prior criminal convictions.</p>

<p>Rogan, whose podcast commands an audience of about 10 million listeners, has had a mixed stance on Trump.</p>

<p>He used to be a virulent critic of the president, but ended up endorsing him ahead of the 2024 election, saying Elon Musk's arguments in favor of Trump convinced him.</p>

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Joe Rogan rips DOJ’s handling of Epstein files in scathing rant against Trump admin

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Israel strikes Syrian Defense Ministry as clashes between government and Druze minority rage on

<p>-

  • Israel strikes Syrian Defense Ministry as clashes between government and Druze minority rage on</p>

<p>ABDELRAHMAN SHAHEEN and KAREEM CHEHAYEB July 16, 2025 at 5:32 PM</p>

<p>1 / 5Syria IsraelIn this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Syrian Defence Ministry, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (SANA via AP)</p>

<p>DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Israeli military launched Wednesday a rare airstrike in the heart of Damascus, hitting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters as clashes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida continued to flare.</p>

<p>Israel's attack came hours after a drone strike on the same building. Syrian state media reported a "number of casualties" without giving further details.</p>

<p>As clashes have raged for days in the southern Syrian city of Sweida between government forces and Druze armed groups, Israel has launched a series of strikes targeting government troops and convoys, which it says are in support of the religious minority group, and has vowed to escalate its involvement. It has also beefed up its forces along its border with Syria.</p>

<p>Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said after the airstrike in a post on X that the "painful blows have begun."</p>

<p>Syria's Defense Ministry had earlier blamed militias in the Druze-majority area of Sweida for violating a ceasefire agreement that had been reached Tuesday, causing Syrian army soldiers to return fire. It said they were "adhering to rules of engagement to protect residents, prevent harm, and ensure the safe return of those who left the city back to their homes."</p>

<p>Meanwhile, reports of attacks on civilians continued to surface, and Druze with family members in the conflict zone searched desperately for information about their fate amid communication blackouts.</p>

<p>A rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted Syria's longtime despotic leader, Bashar Assad, in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. Since then, the country's new rulers have struggled to consolidate control.</p>

<p>The primarily Sunni Muslim leaders have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities, whose fears increased after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed.</p>

<p>Druze fear for the lives of their relatives in Sweida</p>

<p>In Jaramana near the Syrian capital, Evelyn Azzam, 20, said she fears that her husband, Robert Kiwan, 23, is dead. The newlyweds live in the Damascus suburb, but Kiwan would commute to Sweida for work each morning and got trapped there when the clashes erupted.</p>

<p>Azzam said she was on the phone with Kiwan when security forces questioned him and a colleague about whether they were affiliated with Druze militias. When her husband's colleague raised his voice, she heard a gunshot. Kiwan was then shot while trying to appeal.</p>

<p>"They shot my husband in the hip from what I could gather," she said, struggling to hold back tears. "The ambulance took him to the hospital. Since then, we have no idea what has happened."</p>

<p>A Syrian Druze from Sweida living in the United Arab Emirates said her mother, father, and sister were hiding in a basement in their home near the hospital, where they could hear the sound of shelling and bullets from outside. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear her family might be targeted.</p>

<p>She had struggled to get hold of them, but when she reached them, she said, "I heard them cry. I have never heard them this way before."</p>

<p>Another Druze woman living in the UAE with family members in Sweida, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a cousin told her that a house where their relatives lived had been burned down with everyone inside it.</p>

<p>It reminded her of when the Islamic State extremist group attacked Sweida in 2018, she said. Her uncle was among many civilians there who took arms to fight back while Assad's forces stood aside. He was killed in the fighting.</p>

<p>"It's the same right now," she told The . The Druze fighters, she said, are "just people who are protecting their province and their families."</p>

<p>The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.</p>

<p>Reports of killings and looting in Druze areas</p>

<p>The latest escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province.</p>

<p>Government forces that intervened to restore order then clashed with the Druze.</p>

<p>Videos surfaced on social media of government-affiliated fighters forcibly shaving the mustaches of Druze sheikhs, and stepping on Druze flags and pictures of religious clerics. Other videos showed Druze fighters beating captured government forces and posing by their dead bodies. AP reporters in the area saw burned and looted houses.</p>

<p>No official casualty figures have been released since Monday, when the Syrian Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The U.K.-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 250 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, five women and 138 soldiers and security forces.</p>

<p>The observatory said at least 21 people were killed in "field executions."</p>

<p>Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued a statement Wednesday condemning the violations.</p>

<p>"These criminal and illegal actions cannot be accepted under any circumstances, and completely contradicts the principles that the Syrian state is built on," the statement read, vowing that perpetrators, "whether from individuals or organizations outside of the law, will be held accountable legally, and we will never allow this to happen without punishment."</p>

<p>Druze in the Golan gathered along the border fence to protest the violence against Druze in Syria.</p>

<p>Israel threatens to scale up its intervention</p>

<p>In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the country's new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system while others remained suspicious and pushed for an autonomous Druze region.</p>

<p>On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the Israeli army "will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area — and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood."</p>

<p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday night that Israel has "a commitment to preserve the southwestern region of Syria as a demilitarized area on Israel's border" and has "an obligation to safeguard the Druze locals."</p>

<p>Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders since Assad's fall, saying it doesn't want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.</p>

<p>—</p>

<p>Chehayeb reported from Beirut.</p>

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National Park Service defends the handling of lightning-sparked blaze that destroyed historic lodge

<p>-

  • National Park Service defends the handling of lightning-sparked blaze that destroyed historic lodge</p>

<p>July 16, 2025 at 7:57 AM</p>

<p>Smoke from nearby wildfires settles into the Grand Canyon on July 15, 2025 in Grand Canyon, Arizona. - Scott Olson/Getty Images</p>

<p>Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (AP) — The National Park Service is defending its handling of a lightning-sparked wildfire that destroyed the nearly century-old Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of historic cabins, saying containment lines had been built around the blaze and crews were prepared to conduct defensive firing operations.</p>

<p>But then came a sudden and extreme shift in the wind that far exceeded forecast conditions, the agency recounted Tuesday in an email sent to The .</p>

<p>"The Dragon Bravo Fire began July 4 as a lightning-caused wildfire and was under a full suppression strategy from the outset," the agency said, adding that the team first assigned to the fire "effectively managed the fire through its initial phase" and that Grand Canyon National Park requested additional resources as fire activity increased.</p>

<p>The Park Service had posted on social media last week that the fire was being managed under a "confine and contain strategy," which allowed for the natural role of fire on the landscape while minimizing the risk to infrastructure and other values.</p>

<p>Arizona's governor and members of the state's congressional delegation called for an investigation as the Park Service immediately came under scrutiny after the lodge and other historic buildings were destroyed.</p>

<p>The flames were fanned by uncharacteristic nighttime gusts that topped 40 mph (65 kph), said fire information officer Stefan La-Sky.</p>

<p>"Normally the fire 'lays down' at night because of higher humidity and lower temperatures, but this thing was really wind-driven," La-Sky said Tuesday, adding that it is extremely dry across the region.</p>

<p>The weather was more favorable Tuesday as hundreds of firefighters worked to stop the Dragon Bravo Fire from consuming any more of the buildings along the park's less-visited North Rim, including a water pumping station that supplies the South Rim, La-Sky said.</p>

<p>A separate blaze dubbed the White Sage Fire was burning further north. Together, the two fires have charred more than 90 square miles (233 kilometers). That is more than twice the size of the entire Walt Disney World complex in Florida.</p>

<p>Tourists watch smoke rise</p>

<p>Tourists standing along the park's popular South Rim on Tuesday watched plumes of smoke rise above the sweeping vista, filling the canyon with a thick haze and pooling in its depths.</p>

<p>"By the afternoon, it was completely socked in," Christi Anderson said of the smoke that had filled the canyon the day before. "You couldn't see anything, none of that. It was crazy."</p>

<p>Anderson was visiting from California and considered herself lucky because she had shifted her reservation to the South Rim in the preceding days. Otherwise she would have been among those forced to evacuate.</p>

<p>This undated photo provided by the National Park Service shows the historic Grand Canyon Lodge's front entrance with a sloped roof, huge ponderosa beams and massive limestone facade, on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, in northern Arizona on July 14, 2025. - Michael Quinn/AP</p>

<p>Park officials have closed access to the North Rim, a more isolated area that draws only about 10% of the Grand Canyon's millions of annual visitors. The park spans more than 1,900 square miles (4,920 square kilometers).</p>

<p>Neither blaze had any containment, and La-Sky said it was too early for his team to offer a timeline.</p>

<p>"We're always at the mercy of Mother Nature," he said.</p>

<p>Complex fire management program</p>

<p>Over the years, managers at the Grand Canyon have successfully used fire to benefit the landscape, with the park having what some experts say is an exemplary fire management program that has tapped both prescribed fire and wildfires to improve forest health.</p>

<p>Andi Thode, a professor of fire ecology and management at Northern Arizona University and the lead at the Southwest Fire Science Consortium, said park managers have even re-burned some areas in multiple places over the years to create what she called "one of the best jigsaw puzzles" on public land. She noted that fire behavior decreased significantly when the Dragon Bravo Fire burned into the footprint of a previously burned area.</p>

<p>"So creating that heterogeneity across the landscape, using fire is a really critical tool moving forward to be able to help in the future with these wildfire events that are happening at the worst time in the worst weather conditions with the driest fuels," Thode said.</p>

<p>The park's 2025 fire management plan notes the Grand Canyon's designation as a World Heritage Site, referencing cultural and natural resources, spiritual and inspirational qualities, recreational opportunities and other values.</p>

<p>"It is the Fire Management Program's mission to manage wildland fires to preserve, enhance and (where necessary) restore these values," the plan reads.</p>

<p>Those areas that have the most infrastructure and are among the most highly used by the public make up just over 1% of the park. According to the plan, managing wildfires for resource benefit objectives within these areas is not permitted and that the overall intent within these areas is to "protect life and property in its natural setting."</p>

<p>The fire exclusion areas listed in the plan include the developed area of the North Rim.</p>

<p>Aside from outlining policies for responding to wildfires and planning for prescribed fires, the document includes links to tools that fire managers can use for assessing risk. The lodge and surrounding cabins were among the more than 370 structures at the park that were considered high risk. Another 238 structures fall in the moderate risk category.</p>

<p>The Park Service reiterated Tuesday that the safety of the public and firefighters come first.</p>

<p>"Firefighters are continuing to respond to this fire in the safest way possible putting their lives and the lives of the community, park visitors, and park employees ahead of buildings." the agency said.</p>

<p>For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com</p>

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Exclusive-US considered charging Minnesota judges, lawyers in immigration crackdown, sources say

<p>-

  • Exclusive-US considered charging Minnesota judges, lawyers in immigration crackdown, sources say</p>

<p>Sarah N. LynchJuly 16, 2025 at 5:15 PM</p>

<p>By Sarah N. Lynch</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department explored bringing criminal charges against Minnesota judges and defense lawyers who discussed requesting virtual court hearings to protect defendants from being arrested by federal immigration officers, according to five people familiar with the matter.</p>

<p>In February, FBI agents in Minneapolis opened a preliminary inquiry into whether local judges and defense attorneys obstructed immigration enforcement by requesting virtual hearings, and the concept was also pitched to law enforcement officials in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal Justice Department deliberations.</p>

<p>Reuters could not determine whether the probe is ongoing. To date, no judge or lawyer in Minnesota has been charged over the episode.</p>

<p>Two of the people familiar with the discussions said FBI and Justice Department leadership in Washington supported the probe.</p>

<p>A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.</p>

<p>The probe was launched shortly after Emil Bove, the former Acting Deputy Attorney General who has since been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as an appellate judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, ordered prosecutors in a January 21 memo to pursue potential criminal cases against "state and local actors" for impeding immigration enforcement.</p>

<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to vote on Bove's nomination on Thursday, with Democrats expected to oppose it.</p>

<p>The Trump administration has taken aggressive steps against the legal system when its policies have been blocked, lashing out at judges over rulings it disagrees with and seeking to punish law firms and legal organizations that have challenged its policies.</p>

<p>"They've been intimidating law firms and lawyers from the beginning," said Bennett Gershman, a former state prosecutor who teaches law at Pace University. "This is just ... part of the campaign to terrorize, intimidate, frighten people from speaking out."</p>

<p>The Minneapolis probe followed comments made in an email chat maintained by Minnesota defense lawyers on February 6 discussing requesting virtual court hearings for defendants who were living in the U.S. illegally to reduce the risk that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would apprehend them at court, the five people told Reuters.</p>

<p>Fox News reported about the existence of the email chat in March, about a month after the Justice Department started its inquiry.</p>

<p>The DOJ probe that the chat helped spark has not been previously reported.</p>

<p>In the email chain, one defense attorney said judges in the Third Judicial District in Minnesota "proactively" reached out to public defenders and prosecutors to encourage them to request Zoom court hearings on any cases with immigration issues, and that such requests would be granted "liberally," according to an excerpt of the chat verified to Reuters by an attorney who saw the email messages.</p>

<p>In late April, the Justice Department charged Hannah Dugan, a local elected judge in Milwaukee, for trying to help a migrant evade immigration authorities when he appeared in her courtroom for a hearing. The indictment also alleges she told the defendant's attorney he could "appear by Zoom" for his future court appearances.</p>

<p>Dugan has pleaded not guilty to the charges.</p>

<p>The Justice Department previously tried to charge a local Massachusetts judge in Trump's first term for helping a state court defendant evade arrest by ICE by allowing him to leave through a rear door.</p>

<p>The case was later dropped during the Biden administration.</p>

<p>Virtual hearings became commonplace in courtrooms across America during the COVID pandemic, and still remain a popular option in some states - including Minnesota.</p>

<p>Chris Wellborn, a recent former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said that scheduling virtual appearances for clients is a "routine and established procedure" that can help defendants who are balancing multiple jobs or facing child care duties.</p>

<p>"This situation underscores a recurring challenge: the misinterpretation of the vital role a criminal defense attorney plays in upholding constitutional obligations," he said.</p>

<p>"It is a fundamental duty of all defense lawyers to provide comprehensive advice to their clients regarding all available legal options and pathways."</p>

<p>(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additional reporting by Ned Parker in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Shri Navaratnam)</p>

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Trump says Vietnam trade deal is 'pretty well set'

<p>-

  • Trump says Vietnam trade deal is 'pretty well set'</p>

<p>Andrea ShalalJuly 15, 2025 at 7:50 PM</p>

<p>By Andrea Shalal</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that a trade agreement with Vietnam was nearly complete.</p>

<p>Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington that he could release details of the Vietnam trade agreement, but did not think it was necessary.</p>

<p>The U.S. president announced earlier this month that he had struck a preliminary trade deal with the Communist country, which would cut planned U.S. tariffs on imports from Vietnam to 20% from the 46% level he had threatened in April.</p>

<p>At the time, Trump also said goods that Washington deemed to be illegally transshipped through Vietnam to other countries would be subject to a 40% levy.</p>

<p>The agreement has not been finalized and details have not been released, leaving questions over how Washington will define an illegal transshipment and how much value Vietnam must add to imported products to avoid the 40% tariff. It also remains unclear which products would fall under Trump's 20% tariff.</p>

<p>Vietnam has not confirmed the specific tariff rates, celebrating what it described as an agreement on a joint statement about a trade framework.</p>

<p>Asked if he planned to release details of the trade pact with Vietnam, Trump told reporters, "Well, I might. I don't think it matters how much you release of the deal. We have a Vietnam deal, and I would say that that deal is being pretty well set."</p>

<p>Vietnam has nearly tripled its exports to the United States since the start of the U.S.-China trade war in 2018, when the first Trump administration imposed wide-ranging tariffs on Beijing, pushing some manufacturers to move production south.</p>

<p>At the same time, Vietnam vastly expanded imports from China, with their inflow almost exactly matching the value and swings of exports to the United States, each totalling around $140 billion in 2024, data from the U.S. and Vietnam show.</p>

<p>(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)</p>

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Trump says Vietnam trade deal is 'pretty well set'

<p>- Trump says Vietnam trade deal is 'pretty well set'</p> <p>Andrea ShalalJuly 15, 2025 at...

 

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