WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

1. 🇺🇸 Trump to slap 35 percent tariffs on Canada over fentanyl fight. Starting August 1, all Canadian imports will face steep new tariffs, with President Trump warning Ottawa that any retaliation will lead to even higher levies. Trump said Canada has “many tariff and non-tariff barriers” and accused it of fueling America’s fentanyl crisis. Prime Minister Mark Carney claimed Canada is making “vital progress” on the issue — but Trump isn’t buying it.

2. 🇫🇷 French police raided the populist right National Rally HQ. The raid came a year after authorities opened an investigation into illegal campaign financing. Party members revealed that the police already had copies of the documents they seized, leading them to assume the police were using the raid as an excuse to grab more files. National Rally has already been under lawfare from the French government, with de facto party leader Marine Le Pen having been banned from running for president in 2027. The party is currently leading the polls.

3. 🇨🇳 China accused of shooting a laser at a German military aircraft. The German reconnaissance aircraft, which was flying on an anti-Houthi mission over the Red Sea, reported that it was struck by a Chinese-fired laser. The laser, identified as a directed-energy weapon, can damage and even destroy crucial piloting instruments on jets, causing them to crash. Germany summoned China’s ambassador to complain about the action.

4. 🇷🇺 Russia offered a “new and different approach” to peace talks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur, on the former’s first trip to Asia as America’s chief diplomat. While Rubio did not go into detail on Russia’s proposal, he said he would take it back to President Trump, who he described as “disappointed and frustrated” that the Russians have not been more eager to end the Russo-Ukrainian War.

INSIDER RADAR

Marco Rubio on where “the story of the 21st century” will be written

Insiders behind the paywall: Marco Rubio, Patrick Sanders, Nayib Bukele, and Ursula von der Leyen.

QUICK AND IMPORTANT

• The US and India are in talks for a trade deal that would drop tariffs below 20 percent.

• The UK and France struck a new deal on illegal immigration that would return English Channel crossers to France and take in vetted asylum seekers in exchange.

• Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández — current President Javier Milei’s leftist predecessor — has been accused of corruption by prosecutors.

• President Trump met with five central and western African leaders — the presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal — at the White House.

• The most clicked link in our last newsletter was Texas AG and Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s wife filing for divorce.

Syria’s charm offensive pays off

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Last December, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was forced out of power by former Al-Qaeda fighter Ahmed al-Sharaa. In doing so, al-Sharaa remade the map of the Middle East.

He quickly engaged in a charm offensive with Western media, promising tolerance, elections, and the possibility of investment. And so far, it’s succeeding…

_JOIN THE DISCUSSION_

Do you trust Syria to be a reliable Western ally in the Middle East?

_{Comments are for members only.}

MEDIA BIAS SPOTTER

How left and right outlets frame the French police raiding National Rally

Mentioned behind the paywall: NBC News, The Associated Press, Breitbart, and The European Conservative.

THE DAILY DEBATE

POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY

Do you support the FBI’s increased use of lie detector tests?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👍 Yes (908)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👎 No (174)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (146)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (18)

POP QUIZ

🔎 Tip line: See something the media won’t touch? Got a story from your campus, community, or company that needs exposure? Send tips, questions, or ideas to [email protected].

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