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In a year when the U.S. consumer has been weighed down by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and inflation, Black entrepreneurs are eager to get to the Essence Festival of Culture to connect with their core customers.

“Essence Fest is like my Black Friday,” said Rochelle Ivory, owner of beauty brand On the Edge Baby Hair. “It is my biggest sales weekend of the year. It’s where I make all the capital I reinvest in my business.”

Essence Fest kicks off on Friday, with roughly 500,000 people attending the event in New Orleans. It generates around $1 billion in economic activity, according to organizers.

“It’s the cannot-miss event for us,” said Brittney Adams, owner of eyewear brand Focus and Frame. She said this year Essence Fest is even more important because she’s seen Black consumers pulling back on spending.

“I would say the uncertainty of just the economic and political climate — that’s giving people a little bit of hesitancy. Should they save the money? Should they buy the things they want?” Adams said.

Ivory said her sales are down roughly 30% year over year, but she’s hopeful people come to New Orleans looking to spend their time and money in the festival marketplace.

“This could make or break some of us,” she said. “It’s one of the few places where Black women, Black founders can really come together and be seen.”

The Global Black Economic Forum aims to bring visibility and create solutions for Black business owners at Essence Fest. This year speakers include Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Last year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris spoke.

“We intentionally curate a space that allows leaders to preserve, build and reimagine how we can collectively increase economic opportunity to thrive,” said Alphonso David, CEO of the GBEF.

While many Black Americans express economic anxiety, the data is less clear.

In the first quarter of this year, according to Federal Reserve data, the median weekly salary for Black workers was $1,192 a 5% increase year over year. Black unemployment stood at 6% in the most recent jobs report, a historically low number, but still higher than the national average of 4.2%.

However, the data doesn’t appear to fully reflect the sentiment for many Black Americans who are concerned about the political, cultural and economic shifts that have taken place since President Donald Trump’s election.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” said John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation Hope, one of the nation’s largest non-profits focused on financial education and empowerment.

Bryant said he sees the concerns of Black Americans as an opportunity in the second half of 2025.

“This president has done something that hasn’t been done since the 1960s, which is unify Black America. Wealth was created in the early 20th century because Blacks were forced to work together. But instead of Black Lives Matter, let’s make Black capitalist matter,” he said.

Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has galvanized Black consumers with an organized boycott of Target that began in February in response to the retailer’s decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Bryant said he is in discussions with Target but is ready to organize a longer-term boycott if the retailer does not fulfill the promises it made to the Black community after the killing of George Floyd. He is urging Black Americans to use the estimated $2.1 trillion dollars in spending power forecast by 2026 to drive economic and political change.

“I would dare say that ‘pocketbook protests’ are a revolutionary activity,” said Bryant.

“I think we have to be very selective in light of the ‘Big Ugly Bill’ that just passed and how it will adversely affect our community,” he said, referencing Trump’s megabill that passed through Congress this week.

Invest Fest, an event that blends commerce and culture created by financially focused media company Earn Your Leisure kicks off in Atlanta in August.

Co-CEOs Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings said the event will remain focused on financial literacy, but this year they are emphasizing the urgent need for education and entrepreneurship in technology.

“It’s definitely now or never, the time is now,” said Bilal.

“The important thing this year is the way technology is going to disrupt a lot of career paths and the businesses, and we have to prepare for that, which is why AI is at the forefront of the conversation, crypto is at the forefront of the conversations, real estate as always and entrepreneurship,” said Millings.

New this year is a partnership with venture capital firm Open Opportunity and a pitch competition where an entrepreneur can win $125,000 in funding to scale their business.

“We need more businesses that can reach $100 million valuation to a $1 billion valuation, get on the stock market. The pathway to that 9 times out of 10 is technology,” Bilal said.

The National Black MBA Association Conference in Houston in September will have a similar tone. The event is known for its career fair where the nation’s largest companies recruit as well as for networking and vibrant social activities.

This year, interim CEO Orlando Ashford is working to establish artificial intelligence education and financial literacy as pillars of the event.

“Doing business as usual is not an option,” Ashford told CNBC. “AI is something I literally refer to as a tsunami of change that’s on its way. All of us will be forced to pivot in some ways as it relates to AI. Those of us that are out in front, that embrace it and leverage it actually can turn it into a tremendous and powerful opportunity. Those that wait and ignore it will be overtaken by the wave.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman secretly met with President Donald Trump and other key officials in the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, multiple sources confirmed with Fox News.

Khalid, also known as KBS, is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Multiple sources told Fox News Channel’s chief political anchor Bret Baier about the meeting.

According to sources, the talks included discussions about de-escalation with Iran and getting to the negotiating table.

The talks were also reportedly about ending the war in Gaza and negotiating the release of the remaining hostages – whether dead or alive – and about working toward peace in the Middle East.

Although the talks were not exclusively about the possibility of normalization with Israel, sources said the conversation dealt with steps that needed to occur to get there.

Sources also said, ‘there was progress and optimism on all fronts.’

The Saudis are in the process of finalizing a defense and trade deal with the U.S., and the message shared between the two allies, sources added, is that they see eye-to-eye on all issues.

The meeting comes days after Trump said other nations have suggested they would like to join the Abraham Accords amid recent Middle East shakeups that saw Israel and the U.S. inhibit Iran’s nuclear ambitions during what has been dubbed the ’12-Day War.’

The Abraham Accords, which sought to normalize relations between Israel, Sunni Gulf States and North African countries, was signed at the White House during the first Trump administration in September 2020.

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on June 25 that expanding the accords is one of the president’s ‘key objectives’ and predicted that the administration will have some ‘big announcements’ on countries coming into the accords soon.

Last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt named Syria as one of the nations the president was keen to join, noting their historic meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier in the year.

One of the largest Hebrew-language outlets, Israel Hayom, reported Tuesday that Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi believes those countries are Syria and Lebanon as the top Middle East states who could join the Abraham Accords.

In May, Trump asked Syrian President al-Sharaa to fully normalize relations with Israel in exchange for sanctions relief. 

‘The barriers of entry for expanding the Abraham Accords are incredibly low. It will not surprise me if President Trump expands the Accords within his second term,’ Robert Greenway, former senior director for the National Security Counciland key architect of the Abraham Accords, told Maria Bartiromo, on ‘Mornings With Maria’ on FOX Business.

After the completion of the Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in 2020, there was a growing expectation among U.S. officials and Middle East experts that Saudi Arabia would follow suit.

In February, Fox News Digital reported that Trump administration officials said the White House was seeking an expansion of the Abraham Accords.

The Biden administration faced criticism for failing to expand the Abraham Accords and for picking fights with states who made peace with Israel as part of the landmark agreement.

Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal, Morgan Phillips and Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

The Supreme Court ended its term last week, but the justices aren’t done yet, partly due to a legal blitz President Donald Trump has strategically deployed in his second term, one that’s proven surprisingly effective in advancing his sweeping agenda.

Lawyers for the Trump administration filed their 20th emergency application to the Supreme Court Thursday in just a 23-week period. 

The dizzying pace of applications comes as the administration looks to advance some of Trump’s sweeping policy actions. And, in many cases, the court’s 6-3 majority has given the administration the green light to proceed. 

The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions.

Like most emergency orders, the rulings are often unsigned, giving little indication what the justices might be thinking.

Emergency applications — and the Supreme Court’s responses — aren’t meant to offer lasting relief. But Trump has found success using a ‘move fast and break things’ strategy to push key requests through the court’s so-called ‘shadow’ docket.

For context, Trump has filed more emergency applications in five months than his predecessors did in years. Former President Joe Biden submitted just 19 over his entire term, while presidents Obama and George W. Bush filed only eight combined during their time in office.

In the interim, the strategy has allowed him to enforce many of the sweeping executive orders he signed upon taking office. These orders were met with hundreds of lawsuits across the country and blocked by many lower courts, prompting the administration to appeal them, again and again, through the federal judiciary. 

For now, those near-term wins have energized Trump allies, allowing them to press forward with a blitz of executive actions and claim ‘victory,’ however temporary. The approach allows Trump to advance major policy priorities without relying on a slow-moving Congress.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

For much of the past century, the Dalai Lama has been the living embodiment of Tibet’s struggle for greater freedoms under Chinese Communist Party rule, sustaining the cause from exile even as an increasingly powerful Beijing has become ever more assertive in suppressing it.

As his 90th birthday approaches this Sunday, the spiritual leader for millions of followers of Tibetan Buddhism worldwide is bracing for a final showdown with Beijing: the battle over who will control his reincarnation.

On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama announced that he will have a successor after his death, and that his office will have the sole authority to identify his reincarnation.

“I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” the Nobel Peace laureate said in a video message to religious elders gathering in Dharamshala, India, where he has found refuge since Chinese communist troops put down an armed uprising in his mountainous homeland in 1959.

The cycle of rebirth lies at the core of Tibetan Buddhist belief. Unlike ordinary beings who are reborn involuntarily under the influence of karma, a revered spiritual master like the Dalai Lama is believed to choose the place and time of his rebirth – guided by compassion and prayer – for the benefit of all sentient beings.

But the reincarnation of the current Dalai Lama is not only pivotal to Tibetan Buddhism. It has become a historic battleground for the future of Tibet, with potentially far-reaching geopolitical implications for the broader Himalayan region.

“He has been such a magnet, uniting all of us, drawing all of us,” said Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s longtime translator, who assisted the leader on his latest memoir, “Voice for the Voiceless.”

“I often say to the younger-generation Tibetans: We sometimes get spoiled because we are leaning on this very solid rock. One day, when the rock goes away, what are we going to do?”

In that memoir, published this year, the Dalai Lama states that his successor will be born in the “free world” outside China, urging Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists globally to reject any candidate selected by Beijing.

But China’s ruling Communist Party insists it alone holds the authority to approve the next Dalai Lama – as well as all reincarnations of “Living Buddhas,” or high-ranking lamas in Tibetan Buddhism.

At the heart of this clash is the ambition of an officially atheist, authoritarian state to dominate a centuries-old spiritual tradition – and to control the hearts and minds of a people determined to preserve their unique identity.

Beijing brands the current Dalai Lama a dangerous “separatist” and blames him for instigating Tibetan protests, unrest, and self-immolations against Communist Party rule.

The Dalai Lama has rejected those accusations, insisting that he seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet, not full independence – a nonviolent “middle way” approach that has earned him international support and a Nobel Peace Prize.

To his Tibetan followers, the self-described “simple Buddhist monk” is more than a spiritual leader or former temporal ruler of their homeland. He stands as a larger-than-life symbol of their very existence as a people, defined by a distinct language, culture, religion and way of life that critics say Beijing is trying to erase.

But the Dalai Lama’s death could also pose a new dilemma for the Communist Party. Some younger Tibetans in exile view his “middle way” approach as overtly conciliatory toward Beijing. In the absence of a unifying figure to guide the exile movement and temper its more radical factions, demands for full Tibetan independence could gather momentum.

Battle over loyalty

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was only 15 when communist troops – having won the Chinese civil war – marched into Tibet in 1950 to bring the remote Himalayan plateau under the control of the newly founded People’s Republic.

The Communist Party claims it “liberated” Tibet from “feudal serfdom” and reclaimed a region it says has been part of China for centuries. But many Tibetans resented what they saw as the brutal invasion and occupation by a foreign army.

The resistance culminated in an armed uprising with calls for Tibetan independence in March 1959, sparked by fears that Chinese authorities were planning to abduct the Dalai Lama. As tensions mounted and the People’s Liberation Army fired munitions near the Dalai Lama’s palace, the young leader escaped the capital Lhasa under cover of night. The Chinese army ultimately crushed the rebellion, killing tens of thousands of Tibetans, according to exile groups, though the exact number remains disputed.

After fleeing to India, the Dalai Lama established a government-in-exile in Dharamshala. Since then, he has come to represent Tibet, said Ruth Gamble, an expert in Tibetan history at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

“Before the 1950s, the idea of Tibet was much more diffuse – there was a place, there was a state, and there were all of these different communities. But over the years, he’s almost become an abstract ideal of a whole nation,” she said.

The Chinese Communist Party has waged a decades-long campaign to discredit the current Dalai Lama and erase his presence from Tibetan life, while tightening restrictions on religious and cultural practices. The crackdown often intensifies around sensitive dates – especially his birthday – but devotion to the spiritual leader has quietly endured.

“Despite all these years of banning his photos, in every Tibetan heart there is an image of the Dalai Lama there. He is the unifying figure, and he is the anchor,” Jinpa, the translator, said.

It’s a profound emotional and spiritual loyalty that defies the risk of persecution and imprisonment — and one that the Communist Party deems a threat to its authority, yet is eager to co-opt.

Over the years, Beijing has cultivated a group of senior Tibetan lamas loyal to its rule, including the Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama himself.

The Chinese government-selected 11th Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 4, 2024.

Historically, dalai lamas and panchen lamas have acted as mentors to each other and played a part in identifying or endorsing each other’s reincarnations – a close relationship likened by Tibetans to the sun and the moon. But in 1995, years after the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, Beijing upended tradition by installing its own Panchen Lama in defiance of the Dalai Lama, whose pick for the role – a six-year-old boy – has since vanished from public view.

Beijing’s Panchen Lama is seen as an imposter by many Tibetans at home and in exile. He is often shown in China’s state-run media toeing the Communist Party line and praising its policies in Tibet. Last month, in a rare meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Tibetan monk reaffirmed his allegiance to the rule of the Communist Party and pledged to make his religion more Chinese – a tenet of Xi’s policy on religion.

Experts and Tibetan exiles believe Beijing will seek to interfere in the Dalai Lama’s eventual succession using a similar playbook – appointing and grooming a candidate loyal to its rule, with the backing of the state-appointed Panchen Lama and other senior lamas cultivated by the government.

That could lead to the emergence of two rival dalai lamas: one chosen by his predecessor, the other by the Communist Party.

Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s translator, is unfazed by that prospect.

“Personally, I don’t worry about that, because it’s kind of a joke. It’s not funny because the stakes are so high, but it’s tragic,” he said, referring to Beijing’s likely attempt to appoint its own dalai lama. “I just feel sorry for the family whose child is going to be seized and told that this is the dalai lama. I’m already feeling sad for whoever’s going to suffer that tragedy.”

For his part, the current Dalai Lama has made clear that any candidate appointed by Beijing will hold no legitimacy in the eyes of Tibetans or followers of Tibetan Buddhism.

“It is totally inappropriate for Chinese Communists, who explicitly reject religion, including the idea of past and future lives, to meddle in the system of reincarnation of lamas, let alone that of the dalai lama,” he writes in “Voice for the Voiceless.”

With his characteristic wit and playful sense of humor, he adds: “Before Communist China gets involved in the business of recognizing the reincarnation of lamas, including the dalai lama, it should first recognize the reincarnations of its past leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping!”

The search for a dalai lama

Tibetan Buddhism reveres its spiritual leader as the human manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion – an enlightened being who, rather than entering nirvana, chooses to be reborn to help humanity. The current Dalai Lama is the latest in a long lineage of reincarnations that have spanned six centuries.

The search for a dalai lama’s rebirth is an elaborate and sacred process. Important clues are the instructions or indications left by a predecessor (it could be as subtle as the direction in which the deceased dalai lama’s head was turned). Additional methods include asking reliable spiritual masters for their divination, consulting oracles, and interpreting visions received by senior lamas during meditation at sacred lakes.

Following these clues, search parties are dispatched to look for young children born after the dalai lama’s death. Candidates are subject to a series of tests, including identifying objects that belonged to the previous incarnation.

But the dalai lama’s reincarnation hasn’t always been found in Tibet. The fourth dalai lama was identified in the late 16th century in Mongolia, while the sixth was discovered about a century later in what is currently Arunachal Pradesh, India.

The current Dalai Lama, born into a farming family in a small village in the northeastern part of the Tibetan plateau, was identified when he was two years old, according to his official biography. He assumed full political power at 15, ahead of schedule, to guide his distressed people as they faced advancing Chinese Communist forces.

If the next dalai lama is to be identified as a young child, as per tradition, it could take some two decades of training before he assumes the mantle of leadership – a window that Beijing could seek to exploit as it grooms and promotes its own rival dalai lama.

“For us, the one recognized by the Dalai Lama, born in exile, is the real one. So as far as the matter of faith is concerned, I think there is no issue. It’s just the politics and geopolitics,” said Lobsang Sangay, the former prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala.

For instance, Beijing could pressure other countries to invite its own dalai lama for ceremonies, said Sangay, now a senior visiting fellow at Harvard Law School.

Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Vajrayana Buddhism – one of the major branches of the faith – which is widely practiced in Mongolia and the Himalayan regions of Bhutan, Nepal and India.

These countries – and to a lesser extent, other nations with large Buddhist populations such as Japan and Thailand – could be forced to choose which dalai lama to recognize, according to Gamble in Melbourne. “Or they may and say: ‘We’re not going to get into it.’ But even that might anger the Chinese government,” she added.

Aware of his own mortality, the Dalai Lama has been preparing the Tibetan people for an eventual future without him. He laid what he sees as the most important groundwork by strengthening the institutions of the Tibetan movement and fostering a self-reliant democracy within the exile community.

In 2011, the Dalai Lama devolved his political power to the democratically elected head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, retaining only his role as the spiritual head of the Tibetan people.

Sangay, who took up the baton as the political leader of the exiled government, said that by making the transition to democracy the Dalai Lama wanted to ensure Tibetans can run the movement and the government on their own, even after he is gone.

“He has specifically said: ‘You cannot just rely on me as an individual… I’m mortal. The time will come when I won’t be there. So it is for the Tibetan people, while I’m here, to transition to full-fledged democracy – with all its ups and downs – and to learn from it and grow, mature and be stronger, moving forward,’” he said.

That goal has taken on added urgency as the Tibetan movement for safeguarding their culture, identity and genuine autonomy increasingly finds itself in a precarious moment.

Under leader Xi Jinping, Beijing has ramped up security and surveillance in its frontier regions, intensified efforts to assimilate ethnic minorities, and rolled out a nationwide campaign to “sinicize” religion – ensuring it aligns with Communist Party leadership and values.

The Chinese government says it has safeguarded cultural rights and religious freedom in Tibet and touts the region’s economic development and significant infrastructure investment, which it says has improved living standards and lifted hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.

United Nations experts and the Dalai Lama have expressed concerns over what they call an intensifying assimilation campaign by the Chinese government, following reports that Chinese authorities have closed a large number of rural area Tibetan language schools and forced about a million Tibetan children to attend public boarding schools. Officials in Tibet have strongly pushed back on the accusations.

And as China’s political and economic clout has grown, the Dalai Lama’s global influence appears to be waning, especially as old age makes it difficult to sustain his extensive globe-trotting. The spiritual leader has not met a sitting US president since Barack Obama in 2016, after numerous visits to the White House since 1991.

But some Tibetans remain hopeful. Jinpa, the translator, said that while the Dalai Lama is still alive, Tibetans must find ways to establish a sure footing for themselves.

“My own feeling is that if we can get our act together and the dalai lama institution continues with a new dalai lama being discovered, the power of the symbol will be maintained,” he said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Russia has become the first nation to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan since it took power in 2021, announcing on Thursday it has accepted an ambassador from the Islamist group.

“We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We see significant prospects for cooperation in the trade and economic area with an emphasis on projects in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure,” the statement continues. “We will continue to assist Kabul in strengthening regional security and combating the threats of terrorism and drug-related crime.”

The statement by the Russian ministry was accompanied by a photo of the new Afghan ambassador to Russia, Gul Hassan Hassan, handing his credentials to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.

In a post on X, alongside pictures of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi meeting with Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov, the Taliban’s foreign ministry hailed the decision as positive and important.

Thawing ties with the outside world

Russia’s recognition is historically significant. The former Soviet Union fought a 9-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989 following their defeat by the Afghan mujahideen, some of whom later founded the modern Taliban.

In the aftermath of the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia was one of a few nations to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country. Russia removed its designation of the Taliban as a terrorist group in April 2025.

While the Taliban has exchanged ambassadors with China and the United Arab Emirates, and has a long-standing political office in Qatar, those countries do not recognize it as the government of Afghanistan.

The lack of recognition has not prevented Afghanistan’s new rulers from doing business with the outside world. In 2023, a Chinese oil company signed an oil extraction deal with the Taliban.

Moreover, the Taliban has angled for the recognition of another former adversary: the United States. Efforts have reportedly ramped up since US President Donald Trump began his second term earlier this year. March 2025 saw the release of two Americans from Afghanistan, along with the US removing millions of dollars of bounties from three Taliban officials.

“You need to be forthcoming and take a risk,” US officials told the Taliban during a March meeting to secure an American prisoner’s release, according to the person familiar with the proceedings. “Do this, it will likely open up the door for a better relationship.”

It wasn’t the first time the US had diplomatically engaged with the Taliban. In the last year of his first term, Trump reached an agreement with the group for a full US withdrawal by 2021. The deal achieved a chaotic fulfillment as the Taliban swept to power during former US President Joe Biden’s first summer in the White House.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

The Supreme Court ended its term last week, but the justices aren’t done yet, partly due to a legal blitz President Donald Trump has strategically deployed in his second term, one that’s proven surprisingly effective in advancing his sweeping agenda.

Lawyers for the Trump administration filed their 20th emergency application to the Supreme Court Thursday in just a 23-week period. 

The dizzying pace of applications comes as the administration looks to advance some of Trump’s sweeping policy actions. And, in many cases, the court’s 6-3 majority has given the administration the green light to proceed. 

The high court has ruled in Trump’s favor in the majority of emergency applications, allowing the administration to proceed with its ban on transgender service members in the military, its termination of millions of dollars in Education Department grants and its firing of probationary employees across the federal government, among many other actions.

Like most emergency orders, the rulings are often unsigned, giving little indication what the justices might be thinking.

Emergency applications — and the Supreme Court’s responses — aren’t meant to offer lasting relief. But Trump has found success using a ‘move fast and break things’ strategy to push key requests through the court’s so-called ‘shadow’ docket.

For context, Trump has filed more emergency applications in five months than his predecessors did in years. Former President Joe Biden submitted just 19 over his entire term, while presidents Obama and George W. Bush filed only eight combined during their time in office.

In the interim, the strategy has allowed him to enforce many of the sweeping executive orders he signed upon taking office. These orders were met with hundreds of lawsuits across the country and blocked by many lower courts, prompting the administration to appeal them, again and again, through the federal judiciary. 

For now, those near-term wins have energized Trump allies, allowing them to press forward with a blitz of executive actions and claim ‘victory,’ however temporary. The approach allows Trump to advance major policy priorities without relying on a slow-moving Congress.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., touted the close coordination between Congress and President Donald Trump to successfully pass the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ saying the collaboration is part of the ‘beauty of unified government.’

Congress officially passed Trump’s multitrillion-dollar bill Thursday afternoon after back-to-back sleepless sessions for both the House and Senate.

The massive agenda package now goes to Trump’s desk to be signed into law just in time for Republicans’ self-imposed Fourth of July deadline.

The ‘big, beautiful bill’s’ passage marks the first major piece of legislation passed under the Trump administration and the first to pass while Republicans have control of the executive branch and both chambers of Congress.

Speaking with reporters after the mega-spending bill’s passage Thursday, Johnson said, ‘The beauty of unified government is this is exactly how it can work.

‘How it’s supposed to work is that you have an interaction between the executive and the legislative branches, because that’s what’s best for the people, and that coordination is going to yield great results for the folks.’

The speaker said people inside the Trump administration, including Cabinet secretaries, the vice president and the president, were all willing to take questions from members of Congress.

‘President Trump was so generous with his time answering questions himself. Vice President JD Vance was directly engaged. We had Cabinet secretaries at a number of different federal agencies answering questions from members. Some of them even brought their agency attorneys in to get really deep in the weeds on the details,’ said Johnson.

‘We had a tough four years before this last election cycle,’ the speaker added. ‘We knew that if we got unified government, we’d have to quite literally fix every area of public policy. Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris radical woke Progressive Democrat regime.’

The bill, which advances Trump’s policies on taxes, the border, defense, energy and the national debt, narrowly passed the House of Representatives in a mostly party-line vote. All but two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voted for the bill, which passed 218-214.

It’s a commanding victory for Johnson and for the president, both of whom spent hours overnight trying to persuade GOP critics of the bill.

Speaking after the bill’s passage, Johnson explained his role in getting GOP holdouts to switch their vote to ‘yes,’ saying, ‘My leadership style is I try to be a servant leader.’

He said that because many members wanted to take time to ‘go really deep in the weeds’ on changes the Senate made to the bill, he felt it was his job as speaker to give each member the time to have their concerns addressed.

‘I knew as the leader that we would have to take the time to do that,’ he explained. ‘And, so, some of that went late into the night, and I was not going to make anybody — I was not going to demand anybody’s vote or their position on the bill until they felt that they had exhausted that opportunity. So, we did it. And that’s how we got everybody to ‘yes.’’

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Investor Insight

International Lithium offers investors exposure to the growing critical metals sector through its advanced-stage Raleigh Lake lithium-rubidium project in Ontario, early-stage copper-cobalt exploration at Firesteel in Ontario, and strategic focus on Southern Africa, all supported by strong infrastructure and a seasoned leadership team.

With strategic divestments, a robust financial position, and a focused growth strategy, International Lithium is well-positioned to meet the rising demand for lithium and other critical metals

Overview

International Lithium (TSXV:ILC,OTC:ILHMF,FRA:IAH,OTCQB:ILHMF) is a Canada-based mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and development of lithium and other critical metals essential for the transition to a cleaner, greener planet. With a portfolio of projects located in mining-friendly jurisdictions, the company’s primary objective is to build shareholder value by advancing its key assets towards production while expanding its presence in emerging critical metals regions.

Map of mineral deposits near Thunder Bay, Ontario, highlighting Raleigh Lake and Wolf Ridge.

International Lithium’s flagship asset is the 100 percent owned Raleigh Lake lithium and rubidium project in Ontario. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Raleigh Lake project, completed in December 2023, demonstrated strong project economics and significant resource growth potential, including an annual after-tax cash flow of C$634 million, NPV of C$342.9 million and IRR of 44.3 percent, with a nine-year mine life and project duration of 11 years. This assessment did not yet include rubidium, which represents significant additional potential pending further market analysis.

Complementing its lithium focus, the company is advancing the Firesteel copper-cobalt project in northwestern Ontario, targeting high-grade base metal mineralization to further diversify its critical metals exposure.

In addition to its Canadian projects, International Lithium is positioning for further international growth with a strategic focus on Southern Africa. It has applied for exclusive prospecting orders (EPOs) in Zimbabwe, one of the world’s most prospective regions for hard rock lithium exploration.

Recent strategic divestments, including the sale of the Avalonia project stake, have strengthened ILC’s financial position, enabling focused investment in its core projects.

The company is led by an experienced management team with a strong technical background in mineral exploration, project development and corporate finance. Supported by access to established infrastructure, a commitment to sustainable development practices, and a clear strategic focus, International Lithium is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing global demand for lithium and other essential materials critical to the clean energy transition.

Company Highlights

  • International Lithium is focused on developing lithium and critical metals projects in Canada and Southern Africa, aiming to deliver shareholder value through project development, strategic partnerships and project sales.
  • Raleigh Lake is ILC’s wholly owned flagship lithium-rubidium project in Ontario, Canada, with a positive PEA completed in December 2023.
  • ILC holds a 90 percent interest in the Firesteel copper and cobalt project in Northwestern Ontario, with exploration permits filed and drilling programs planned.
  • The company has applied for exclusive prospecting orders (EPOs) in Zimbabwe and is continuing to review further exploration opportunities in Southern Africa.
  • ILC is debt-free with a robust financial position. It has monetized its non-core assets, including the sale of its stake in the Avalonia project in Ireland, resulting in a C$2.5 million payment and a 2 percent net smelter royalty.
  • The company is led by an experienced management team with a proven track record in advancing mineral exploration projects.

Key Projects

Raleigh Lake

The Raleigh Lake project is ILC’s flagship asset, located approximately 25 kilometres west of Ignace, Ontario. The project covers a contiguous land package of 32,900 hectares and is 100 percent owned by the company. Raleigh Lake benefits from excellent infrastructure access, situated near the Trans-Canada Highway, a Canadian Pacific Railway line, and existing natural gas and hydroelectric infrastructure.

Map of International Lithium

Major public infrastructure relative to the Raleigh Lake project

Raleigh Lake is notable for its dual potential to host both lithium and rubidium mineralization. The lithium is found primarily in spodumene-bearing pegmatites, while rubidium is associated with microcline-rich zones of the same lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatite system. In 2023, International Lithium published a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) that delineated significant resources for both lithium and rubidium using separate cutoff criteria.

For lithium (Li₂O), the project hosts a measured and indicated resource of 5.88 Mt grading 0.79 percent Li₂O, and an inferred resource of 2.07 Mt grading 0.77 percent Li₂O, primarily within pegmatite #1. This lithium resource forms the basis of the company’s PEA, which demonstrated robust project economics with an after-tax NPV (8 percent) of C$342.9 million and an IRR of 44.3 percent.

The rubidium component, though not included in the PEA due to current market constraints, represents an additional potential value stream. The company has reported a measured and indicated resource of 133,000 tons at 6,163 ppm rubidium (0.67 percent Rb₂O) and an inferred resource of 123,000 tons at 4,224 ppm rubidium (0.46 percent Rb₂O), using a 4,000 ppm cutoff. The rubidium zones are found in association with potassic feldspar, offering a potentially recoverable byproduct pending further market and technical evaluation.

Given the project’s strong infrastructure position, mineral endowment, and defined development path, Raleigh Lake represents a compelling advanced-stage opportunity in North America’s lithium supply chain. International Lithium is continuing infill and expansion drilling, environmental baseline studies, and metallurgical testing to support project advancement toward pre-feasibility.

Firesteel Project

The Firesteel project is an early-stage copper-cobalt exploration property located in northwestern Ontario, approximately 10 km west of Upsala along Highway 17. Spanning a 16-km corridor to the Firesteel River, the property lies within a geologically favorable region characterized by Archean metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks, which are prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) and sedimentary copper systems.

Geological rock formations and close-up views of rock samples from International Lithium

International Lithium completed the acquisition of a 90 percent interest in the Firesteel project in May 2024, aiming to diversify its critical metals portfolio beyond lithium. Historical sampling on the property has returned encouraging results, including copper assays up to 2.6 percent and cobalt values reaching 309 ppm. Notably, the ‘Roadside 1’ occurrence features semi-massive sulphide mineralization comprising pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and bornite. These findings suggest the presence of a highly metamorphosed VMS or sedimentary copper system, potentially up to 20 meters wide and extending over a kilometer in length.

The project’s proximity to major infrastructure, including highways and railways, coupled with its strategic location near the company’s Raleigh Lake project, enhances its development potential. International Lithium plans to conduct systematic exploration, including geochemical sampling and geophysical surveys, to refine targets for future drilling campaigns.

Wolf Ridge Project

Wolf Ridge is a 5,700-hectare grassroots lithium project located 20 km southwest of Upsala and near ILC’s Firesteel copper claims. The area benefits from excellent infrastructure, including proximity to Highway 17, power, and road access.

The project was highlighted by the Ontario Geological Survey (2021–2022) for its standout lake sediment anomalies – among the highest lithium values in the region – indicating strong potential for LCT pegmatite mineralization.

Read more on page 54 of the report here.

Southern Africa Exploration Initiative

Lush green hill under a vibrant blue sky featuring South Africa landscape

Southern Africa is recognized as a prospective region for hard rock lithium, and International Lithium’s strategic focus reflects a proactive move to establish a presence in this emerging jurisdiction.

As part of its strategy to expand its critical metals footprint, International Lithium has applied for Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) over several prospective areas in Zimbabwe. The targeted regions are known for hosting spodumene, lepidolite and petalite-bearing pegmatites, indicating potential for significant lithium resources.

Although the EPO applications are still pending approval, the company has already conducted initial due diligence, including geological reviews and desktop studies, to prioritize exploration targets once access is granted. Zimbabwe’s growing importance as a global lithium supplier, combined with favorable mining policies, offers a compelling backdrop for the company’s expansion efforts. International Lithium intends to leverage its technical expertise and exploration experience to quickly evaluate and develop these opportunities upon receiving the necessary permits

Management Team

John Wisbey – Chairman and CEO

John Wisbey joined International Lithium in 2017, initially serving as deputy chairman before being appointed chairman and CEO in March 2018. Under his leadership, the company has undergone a significant transformation, including achieving 100 percent ownership of the Raleigh Lake project, divesting non-core assets, and expanding into new jurisdictions such as Zimbabwe. He founded two London AIM-listed companies: IDOX, which provides software for the UK local government; and Lombard Risk Management, which specializes in software for bank risk management and regulation. He also established CONVENDIA, a private company that specializes in software for cash flow forecasting, project valuation and M&A financial analysis. With a background in banking and financial technology entrepreneurship, Wisbey brings extensive experience in corporate leadership and strategic development. He is also the company’s largest shareholder.

Maurice Brooks – Director and CFO

Maurice Brooks joined the board of ILC in 2017. He is a licensed senior statutory auditor in the UK. Since 2000, he has been a senior partner at Johnson Smith & Co. in Staines, Surrey. Before that, Brooks was a senior partner in Johnsons Chartered Accountants in the London Borough of Ealing. His commercial and investment experience includes executive directorships in manufacturing and an investment accountant role in the superannuation fund of the Western Australian state government. His early professional employment includes Ball Baker Leake LLP and LLC and Price Waterhouse Coopers-UK.

Anthony Kovacs – Director and COO

Anthony Kovacs joined the board of ILC in 2018 and has worked with the company since 2012. He has over 25 years of experience in mineral exploration and development. Before joining ILC, he held senior management roles in which he sourced and advanced iron ore and industrial minerals projects. Kovacs was involved in early-stage work at the Lac Otelnuk Iron Ore project in Quebec, Canada and the Mustavaara Vanadium Mine in Finland. Before that, Kovacs worked for Anglo American where he focused on Ni-Cu-PGE and IOCG projects. At Anglo-American, Kovacs was directly involved in several discoveries internationally. Kovacs has significant experience with industrial minerals, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals and precious metals projects throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa.

Ross Thompson – Non-executive Director

Ross Thompson joined the board of ILC in 2017 and is the chair of the audit and remuneration committees. He is a speaker and expert in marketing behavioral science. In 1995, he founded Giftpoint Ltd. which is now one of the largest specialist promotional merchandise businesses in the UK. with offices in London and Shanghai. Giftpoint Ltd.’s clients include L’Oreal, Oracle, Ocado and Pernod Ricard among others. Thompson was president of IGC Global Promotions, one of the world’s oldest and largest global networks of premium resellers, for seven years. He is an active investor with a special interest and understanding of natural resources businesses.

Geoffrey Baker – Non-executive Director

Geoff Baker joined the board of ILC at the end of 2022 and is a member of the audit committee. He has a career in the natural resource and finance industries. He is a director of Tim Trading, a company offering consultancy services in the oil and gas industry. During his tenure as manager of Insch Black Gold Funds, Baker received the Investors’ Choice Swiss Fund Manager of the Year Award. He is a co-founder of a digital collectible non fungible token CryptoChronic and of Cannastore, a pilot e-commerce website. Baker holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Windsor in Ontario.

Muhammad Memon – Corporate Secretary and Financial Controller

Muhammad Memon became corporate secretary of ILC in 2021. He has over 10 years of experience in managing finance and compliance functions of public companies in various sectors including mining exploration, investment management, real estate and technology. He assists companies with debt and equity financings, cash flow management and forecasting, legal and regulatory compliance, investor communications, stakeholder engagement and risk management. He is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada and a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, United Kingdom.

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US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday (July 2) that the United States and Vietnam struck a trade deal just a week before the July 9 deadline.

The agreement will see the US impose a 20 percent tariff on many Vietnamese exports, meaning Vietnam averted the threatened 46 percent levy. Additionally, transshipped goods, which are goods routed through Vietnam before being shipped to the US, will be subject to a 40 percent tariff. In his post, Trump said Vietnam agreed to allow the import of US goods at a 0 percent tariff in return.

The last-minute framework gives Washington a political win while preserving Vietnam’s vital access to its largest export market. Vietnam is America’s 10th biggest trading partner, and the US is by far its most important destination for manufactured goods.

However, details remain thin. It is still unclear exactly which products will fall under the 20 percent tariff, or how the 40 percent penalties on transshipped goods will be enforced.

While Vietnam’s state media did not confirm those tariff levels in its official statement, it said the two countries’Vietnam – US joint statement concerning a fair and balanced reciprocal trade agreement framework.’

The timing of the deal is also critical. Under Trump’s April-announced plan, tariffs on Vietnamese goods were due to rise to 46 percent, alarming businesses that have shifted manufacturing from China to Vietnam over the past five years.

Since 2018, Vietnam’s exports to the United States have nearly tripled, climbing from US$49.14 billion to US$136.5 billion last year, according to US Census Bureau data. American exports to Vietnam, meanwhile, rose about 30 percent to US$13.04 billion in the same period.

For Trump, the agreement with Vietnam is an important success as he races to conclude similar frameworks with other trading partners before the broader tariff hikes resume next week.

Talks with India are underway, while negotiations with Japan and the European Union have encountered complications.

Analysts say the Vietnam deal could set the tone for these upcoming talks, as Vietnam’s dependence on US trade meant it had a weak negotiation position. “Other countries will feel they should be able to lock in a lower tariff rate than the 20 percent that President Trump says Vietnam has agreed to,” Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, told CNBC.

Murray Hiebert of the Center for Strategic and International Studies meanwhile noted that had Trump insisted on the full 46 percent tariff, Vietnam risked losing out to other Southeast Asian rivals, damaging both its economic prospects and its willingness to partner with Washington.

“Had Trump stuck with 46 percent, much higher than the current tariff on China, Vietnam feared it would be disadvantaged by its competitors especially in Southeast Asia,” Hiebert told Reuters. “This likely would have dented Vietnam’s trust in the US and it might have toned down some of its security cooperation with Washington.”

A new front in Washington’s push to isolate China

The framework with Vietnam also highlights how the US is using its trade leverage to pressure Asian countries to help block Chinese manufacturers from evading existing tariffs.

The 40 percent penalty on transshipped goods is designed to discourage companies from routing Chinese products through Vietnam to bypass American duties.

Trump’s team is applying similar demands on other nations such as Thailand and Indonesia, respectively urging them to monitor foreign investment and reduce the amount of Chinese content in their manufactured exports if they hope to avoid higher tariffs.

But enforcement of these new transshipment rules will be challenging. Many Southeast Asian customs authorities lack the resources to fully verify the complex origins of manufactured goods.

In the case of the Vietnam deal, it’s still unclear if the 40 percent levy on transshipped goods will also be applied to Vietnam-made goods utilizing Chinese components, and if so what the acceptable percentage would be.

Experts warned that strict penalties of this sort could push US companies producing goods in Vietnam to leave the country altogether, or even shift production back to China if it becomes cheaper.

“If it’s too onerous or difficult to comply, companies won’t use the opportunity to grow sourcing in Vietnam,” Matt Priest, head of the trade group Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, told the New York Times. “They may even head back to China if it’s price competitive.”

Vietnam itself faces a delicate balancing act. The country has benefited from billions of dollars of Chinese investment in its export sectors — especially textiles, electronics and automotive — while at the same time strengthening its security ties with the United States to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Neighboring countries are watching carefully. Thailand, for example, has estimated that stricter rules on transshipment could reduce its US exports by US$15 billion, nearly a third of its trade surplus with America last year. Authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia have already begun tightening their own export verification procedures ahead of any agreements with the US.

He Yongqian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce, commented on the US-Vietnam agreement Thursday in a press briefing, Bloomberg reported.

‘We’re happy to see all parties resolve trade conflicts with the US through equal negotiations, but firmly oppose any party striking a deal at the expense of China’s interests,’ she stated. ‘If such a situation arises, China will firmly strike back to protect its own legitimate rights and interests.’

Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently placed nearly 140 employees on administrative leave amid an investigation into employees who signed on to a letter allegedly using their official titles and EPA positions.

Written as agency employees, the letter contained information that misled the public about agency business, according to officials.

The EPA confirmed it placed 139 employees on administrative leave pending an investigation.

‘The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,’ an EPA spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The letter came after President Donald Trump’s administration in April fired or reassigned nearly 500 EPA employees.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin confirmed 280 staffers in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, Office of Inclusive Excellence, and EPA regional offices, were fired. 

Zeldin added that 175 others were reassigned. 

The EPA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental Justice arms were also eliminated, as Zeldin cut back more than 30 Biden-era regulations.

Though more than a hundred employees were allegedly put on leave, there are thousands of employees at the agency.

The EPA did not provide Fox News Digital with any additional information about the situation.

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