It’s the Art of the Deal. Trump and his work in East Asia at G20 upstaged political niggling in the US. His visit to North Korea upstaged G20. Meeting with the estranged Xi Jinping at Osaka—after rumors of Xi not showing and/or not talking, being the first sitting president to cross the Koreas’ border into the north at the DMZ, then accompanying Kim inside for talks on the other side of the border in the south—this is bigger than anything going on in the Democratic presidential debates.
Meanwhile in Washington, the focus should remain on the courts. Justices are no longer divided evenly and clearly, neither along lines of politics nor judicial philosophy. Justice Gorsuch sided with the Constitution against the should-be Conservatives.
In politics, “Conservative vs Liberal” is about social tradition and whether to guarantee due process to ones opponents. On the Court, “Conservative vs Liberal” is about whether to strictly apply law as written vs trying to rule each case as an indirect way of “creating” new law. Both sides of the recent gun crime case voted on party lines—to let criminals walk vs to punish criminals—all except Gorsuch, who sided with the Liberals only because the law was too vague. It seems that Gorsuch is the only judicial Conservative on the court, while the rest seem to be Republican or Democratic activists.
We are looking at a third term for President Trump, along with a sixth Republican-appointed justice on the Supreme Court.
Happy Independence Week!
Election
Biden is top choice for climate-minded 2020 voters: Poll // The Hill
Democrats mimic 2018 House takeover strategy in bid to capture Senate // POLITICO
Trump
Trump Says U.S. ‘Winning’ Trade War After Reviving China Talks // Bloomberg
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson describes Jared Kushner’s secret diplomacy // LA Times
As Trump touts stocks, bonds send an ominous message // The Hill
r/The_Donald, a pro-Trump Reddit forum, has been quarantined // Vox
Washington as Usual
House Passes Senate Border Bill in Striking Defeat for Pelosi // NY Times
Pelosi says House will pass Senate emergency migrant border aid bill // CNBC
Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Hell no’ should House Democrats approve Senate-passed border bill // The Hill
Nancy Pelosi rejects bipartisan border bill // WA Times
Supreme Court strikes down stiff firearms penalties // Yahoo News
Mike Pence’s unbelievable answer on whether climate change is a threat // CNN
The House-passed bills that have ended up in the Senate ‘graveyard’ // The Hill
Russianewsgategate
Trump not planning to block Mueller testimony: lawyer // The Hill
Security
TSA PreCheck sign-up: Coming to a festival or Red Sox game near you // USA Today
Man arrested for smuggling immigrants after answering Craigslist ad // Quartz
Donald Trump delays ICE raids two weeks to see if Congress can ‘work out a solution’ // CNN
President Trump announces delay of mass immigration raids that were to start Sunday // NBC News
Border aid deal: Trump just got in the middle of Congress’s negotiations // Vox
Immigrants prepare for ICE raids despite cancellation of Trump order // pri.org
Econ & Tech
Boeing’s 737 Max Software Outsourced to $9-an-Hour Engineers // Yahoo News
As Stocks Hover Near Records, Growth Worries Linger // WSJ
Apple moves Mac Pro production from the US to China // CNBC
Rumors of More Foldable Samsung Phones Are Everywhere // Gizmodo
Dow posts worst day of June after Fed officials curb rate-cut enthusiasm // CNBC
Culture & Climate
Eminem’s Father Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. Dead at 67 // TMZ
The Isles
Boris Johnson Could Be Britain’s Prime Minister. Who Is He? // TIME
Boris Johnson ‘could face Tory coup’ over no-deal Brexit stance // Guardian
Mid East
Iran is in a dangerous economic position as US prepares new sanctions // CNBC
Iranian official warns more US spy drones can be blown out of the sky // Fox News
Trump signs executive order delivering ‘hard-hitting’ sanctions against Iran // Fox News
NATO Focus
‘Chernobyl on ice:’ Russia plans to tow a nuclear power station to the Arctic // CNN
Russia Thinks America’s Stealth Fighters Are ‘Paper Fiction’ // National Interest
The Reason Russia All of a Sudden Scrambled Half Of Its Stealth Fighters // National Interest
Trump could attack Iran legally using Obama’s justification for striking Libya. // Slate
I Knew the Cold War. This Is No Cold War. // Foreign Policy
Russian air force plane lands in Venezuela: report // Aljazeera