‘Trump’s terror campaign’: Protests erupt after man dies fleeing federal agent raid at LA Home Depot

Gustaf Kilander
Fri, August 15, 2025




Protests erupted after a man died after being struck by a car on a Los Angeles freeway on Thursday as he fled an immigration raid conducted by federal agents at a Home Depot in Monrovia.

Democrats were quick to call out President Donald Trump and his immigration crackdown following the incident, which is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol.

“President Trump’s terror campaign has taken another life,” California Democratic State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez said in a statement.

“The bottom line is these violent, sweeping raids should not be happening,” she added. “The Trump Administration is violating a federal court order by continuing to conduct deadly roving immigration raids.”

“How many more brown-skinned people have to die before the President will obey the law?” she asked.

Home Depots have become targeted by federal immigration agents as they go after day laborers (AFP via Getty Images)

About 50 people came to the Home Depot at 6 p.m. with signs stating “ICE out of LA,” and waving Mexican flags.

“When Trump says get back, we say fight back,” they chanted, according to The Los Angeles Times. Home Depots have become sites where several immigration raids have been conducted amid the Trump administration’s crackdown.

Monrovia police received reports at 9.43 a.m. that Immigration and Customs Enforcement were conducting an operation at a Home Depot, City Manager Dylan Feik said in a statement.

One person fled and entered the 210 Freeway. Monrovia Fire & Rescue responded to a call at 9.52 a.m. regarding a vehicle collision with a pedestrian. The individual was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

“There is no ongoing ICE activity reported in Monrovia at this time, and the City has not received any communication or information from ICE,” said Feik. “While we understand community members want to know more about the incident, the information provided in this update is all the City has to provide at this time.”

However, in a statement to The New York Times, the Department of Homeland Security said the man was “not being pursued by any D.H.S. law enforcement.”

“We do not know their legal status,” the department said. “We were not aware of this incident or notified by California Highway Patrol until hours after operations in the area had concluded.”

The Independent has contacted ICE for comment.

Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu took to X to slam the Trump administration following the deadly collision.

“His death is a result of the Trump administration’s strategy of sowing intimidation and fear throughout Los Angeles,” said Chu. “I will continue to demand accountability from ICE and stand up for the immigrant community.”

A day laborer told The LA Times that he goes to the Home Depot in Monrovia at 8 a.m. each day in the hope of finding work.

On Thursday, he heard people yelling, “immigration, run!” He managed to avoid being detained, but he was unable to help his friends.

“It feels horrible — I couldn’t do anything for them other than record what was happening,” he told the paper.

According to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, 13 people were detained during the raid.

Motorist Vincent Enriquez told The LA Times that he saw the man just after he had been hit, and at that point, he was still alive.

“By the time I was passing by ... he must’ve been struck no more than a few minutes prior,” he said. “He was still moving.”

Monrovia resident and UCLA professor Robert Chao Romero said, “It just breaks my heart, because it’s just so inhumane.”

“These horrible, unjust ICE policies led to someone dying,” he added.

People film federal agents during an operation outside a Home Depot on Friday in Los Angeles. Some Democrats have called on Trump to end the raids (AP)

Another resident, Karen Suarez, told the paper she went to the Home Depot when she heard that a raid had been conducted there and encountered the daughter of the man who had died.

“She was visibly very upset, and she was going to go to the hospital and try to find out about her dad,” said Suarez. “I feel so bad for her. I feel so bad for the families. These are people trying to escape whatever horrible atrocities they came from for a better life.”

The United Farm Workers labor union called the incident “enraging and heartbreaking,” adding that it was “Another senseless death caused by a chaotic ICE operation.”

Another California Democrat, Rep. Gil Cisneros, wrote on X, “I’m horrified by the senseless ICE raids that took the life of yet another person in our community. These reckless and deadly ICE raids must end.”

Checkpoints Like the Ones Federal Agents Are Running in D.C. Are Unconstitutional

C.J. Ciaramella
Fri, August 15, 2025 


Tom Hudson/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Residents of Washington, D.C., are turning out in force to protest the Trump administration's takeover of the city's law enforcement, which has included police checkpoints on popular streets staffed by federal agents.

NBC News and other outlets reported that more than 100 protesters turned out on Wednesday night to heckle federal law enforcement at a checkpoint on 14th Street Northwest and warn drivers of the police ahead.

And good for them.

Leaving aside the dubious overall legality of the White House's takeover—the D.C. attorney general filed a lawsuit over that issue Friday—the use of such generalized roadblocks is obnoxious, impinges on Americans' traditional freedom to travel, and is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Scott Michelman, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of the District of Columbia, tells Reason police checkpoints "are inherently problematic."

"They're evocative of a police state where law enforcement stops ordinary people going about their business for no reason at all," Michelman says.

And that's why, Michelman says, the Supreme Court sharply limited the use of police checkpoints. "They can't be used as a pretext for general crime control activities, and they can't be used just to harass the community, which is what I fear was happening this week on 14th Street," he says.

The Court ruled in the 2000 case City of Indianapolis v. Edmond that police roadblocks or checkpoints are only legal when they serve a specific road safety concern—such as stopping drunk drivers—not when they're used for general crime control.

"We cannot sanction stops justified only by the generalized and everpresent possibility that interrogation and inspection may reveal that any given motorist has committed some crime," the Court wrote.

A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) spokesperson told The Washington Post that the roadblock was a "traffic safety compliance checkpoint," which the department has been setting up around the city weekly since 2023. The spokesperson said officers "stopped 28 vehicles, issued 38 infraction notices and arrested one man for driving without a permit and counterfeit tags," reports the Post.

The focus on car safety would at least arguably pass muster under Indianapolis v. Edmond, but that then raises the question of why federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations, who are typically tasked with investigating complex international crimes, were spending their time enforcing local traffic laws and checking vehicle tags.

However, The New York Times reported that federal agents were running sobriety checkpoints, not vehicle safety checkpoints.

"It's hard to take any of these conflicting explanations very seriously," Michelman says. "Instead, it appears that in keeping with President Trump's general contempt for the people of D.C., he's just interested in a campaign of harassment."

It's this sort of ambiguity that could get D.C. in trouble, as it has in the past. MPD used to operate "Neighborhood Safety Zone" checkpoints in the Trinidad neighborhood until a federal appeals court ruled they were unconstitutional in 2009.

Despite the fairly clear rule from the Supreme Court, police departments across the country still try to get away with setting up general anti-crime checkpoints.

In 2022, the Mississippi Justice Center filed a lawsuit challenging Jackson, Mississippi's use of "ticket, arrest, and tow" checkpoints, causing the city to overhaul its policies.

In 2019, Madison County, Mississippi, also settled a lawsuit over police roadblocks that happened to predominantly appear in black neighborhoods. As Reason reported in a 2017 investigation, black residents of Madison County had felt under siege from their sheriff's office for generations.

Several New England ACLU chapters also successfully sued to shut down a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) checkpoint in New Hampshire in 2023 that was nearly 100 miles from the Canadian border. The civil rights groups argued that the CBP was using the checkpoint to detain and search motorists, well beyond its authority and far from its jurisdiction.

Using vehicle safety regulations as a fig leaf to allow federal law enforcement to harass and investigate drivers shouldn't be tolerated by courts, and from the looks of it, it rightfully won't be tolerated by D.C. residents.

The post D.C. Residents Are Right To Protest Unconstitutional Police Roadblocks appeared first on Reason.com.

'D.C. Is Ours': Residents Vow To Fight Trump’s Takeover Of City's Police

Jennifer Bendery
Fri, August 15, 2025

HUFFPOST

WASHINGTON – Dozens of people gathered outside of D.C police headquarters on Friday to protest President Donald Trump’s takeover of the city’s police, vowing to fight his administration’s efforts to intimidate residents by flooding the city with federal law enforcement agents.

“Every day, at eight o’clock, until these terrorists get out of our streets, we want people to go outside your door… just stop and for five minutes, just make noise,” Nee Nee Taylor of Free DC, a campaign focused on protecting D.C.’s right to self-govern, told the crowd, to cheers.

“Making noise is resistance!” Taylor said. “Making noise is freedom!”

It’s day four of Trump’s deployment of federal agents throughout the city to supposedly root out D.C. crime, which is at a 30-year low. Beyond the various types of federal officers patrolling the streets, which so far have led to checkpoints on roads and homeless encampments being cleared out, Trump has seized control of the local police, too.

Related: Storming The Steps Of The Capitol: Why I Got Arrested With Other Veterans To Protest Trump

The president can do this for 30 days under the Home Rule Act. However, D.C.’s attorney general on Friday filed an emergency intervention in court, claiming Trump is unlawfully abusing his authority under this law.

Friday’s protest included a diverse mix of residents furious about what Trump is doing to the city. Families were there, along with retirees and young people. Some people were from other states, too, having driven in to protest what’s happening in D.C., in part because they fear Trump doing the same thing in cities in their states.

Free DC activists carry signs as they gather outside Washington Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Washington, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Washington. via Associated Press

Beth, a decades-long D.C. resident, wore finger puppets that were tiny hands with tiny handcuffs on them, along with a homemade sign with a message to Trump: “Keep Your Tiny Hands Off Our City.” A retiree, she said she decided to come out to Friday’s protest because she’s mad about “Trump’s takeover of our city.”

Asked if this is the scariest time she’s been in D.C., she quickly replied, “I don’t want to say scared, because I’m not afraid. I would say, troubling.”

More in U.S.


While there were about 150 people at this protest, which relocated from police headquarters to the nearby courthouse where the D.C. attorney general’s case was being heard, Beth said she didn’t understand why more people weren’t protesting. She mentioned having friends in Virginia with whom she discusses the need to take action against what Trump is doing, but they’re mostly complacent.

“I’m hopeful to see so many young people here,” she added.

Several people carried signs with messages like “Keep D.C. Free” and “Blondage Out. ICE Out,” the former term referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi. One attendee held up a large, upside-down U.S. flag, a recognized distress signal, with a message underneath for D.C. police officers: “The Bondi order is unlawful. You are not obligated to follow it.”

Taylor, the organizing director for Free DC, urged people to stay safe while also taking action every single day that Trump is occupying the city.

“Honestly, y’all, we need to resist in a way that’s safe right now,” she told the crowd. “This is a message to our youth: They want you. They want you. So I advise you not to walk in pairs because, you walking in pairs is a crime right now, unfortunately.”

“It’s called walking while being young and Black with a couple of your friends,” Taylor added. “That’s the name of that illegal law.”

A D.C. resident protesting Trump's takeover of D.C. police said Trump needs to keep "his tiny hands" off the city. Jen Bendery

Keya Chatterjee, Free DC’s executive director, said the excuses the Trump administration is giving for its “hostile takeover of D.C.” are clearly nonsense.

“So the reason they want to take over D.C. is because authoritarians always want to silence dissent,” Chatterjee said. “Are we going to let them do that?”

“No!” shouted the crowd in response.

Carol, a retiree from upstate New York, drove into D.C. on Thursday to participate in protests happening around the city. She said her late father, who served overseas in the military, would be “turning over in his grave” at the way Trump was militarizing D.C.

“When I was growing up, we were dealing with the Holocaust and all that stuff,” she said, talking about the rise of Nazis in Germany. “I remember that generation and this generation, people said we’d never go back to that again. It’s happening again... We’ve got to stop it now.”

Several D.C. police officers were on the scene, monitoring the event. One officer, who requested anonymity, said he and other officers don’t know who’s in charge of their department at the moment and there’s been no guidance.

Kremlin Leaks Footage Showing Trump Fawning Over Putin

Sarah Ewall-Wice
Fri, August 15, 2025

DAILY BEAST


The Daily Beast/Reuters


The state-run Russian international news network Russia Today (RT) has released behind-the-scenes video from Alaska that appears to show President Donald Trump fawning over Vladimir Putin.

The video shared by the Kremlin shows Trump and Putin standing together backstage near where they delivered public remarks following their three-hour meeting.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the press on Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska, but did not take a single question as the president said no deal had been reached. / Andrew Harnik/Getty ImagesMore

Despite walking away without a deal and without sharing any details on progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, the president could be seen laughing as he spoke to Putin.

The only person standing with the two leaders as they spoke was Putin’s translator.

In the video, Trump can be seen offering his hand first to shake hands with Putin. The president then tapped their joined hands with his other hand, embracing Putin with a two-hand shake. He also shook the Russian translator’s hand at the end of the clip.

Video from the Kremlin shows Donald Trump shaking hands with Vladimir Putin as his Russian translator looks on behind the scenes at the end of their summit in Anchorage, Alaska. / https://x.com/RT_comMore

The Kremlin was quick to release the video. While the White House has been posting a series of clips from the historic visit in Alaska, it has not yet shared any candid video of Trump and Putin together. The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.

According to RT, the video was taken right after their public remarks, during which neither man took any questions from reporters. It described their behind-the-scenes banter as “light chatter.”

Trump spoke with Sean Hannity on Friday night, immediately following his meeting with Putin. The Fox News anchor asked the president if he was able to get any “alone time” with Putin. Trump indicated that he did after the two leaders spoke publicly.

“He made a very good speech, and I also finished it up and afterwards we spoke right after that,” the president said. “We spoke very sincerely. I think he wants to see it done.”

Before their in-person talks began, Trump also invited Putin to join him in the Beast, the presidential limousine, to ride from the tarmac in Anchorage, where the two first greeted each other on a specially laid red carpet.

The Kremlin has been quicker than the White House to provide several details on the meeting between Putin and Trump.



It was Russia that first indicated the two world leaders would hold a joint press conference after their historic sit-down. The Kremlin was also quick to share that talks were going well as the discussions stretched on behind closed doors.

Then it was Russia putting out backstage video seemingly featuring Trump and Putin buddying up after their public remarks.

You’re welcome, world: U.S. tariffs may cool inflation for the rest of the global economy

Jason Ma
Fri, August 15, 2025 

FORTLUNE

President Donald Trump’s tariffs haven’t hiked prices as much as expected, so far, but inflation in the U.S. is still ticking higher, representing an obstacle for highly anticipated rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, the effect of the tariffs on the rest of the world could be slightly disinflationary, according to Capital Economics.

As American consumers and the Federal Reserve grapple with President Donald Trump’s tariffs and their effect on inflation, the rest of the global economy may actually see some price relief.

In the U.S., tariffs haven’t raised prices as much as anticipated, so far, but inflation is still ticking higher, representing an obstacle for highly anticipated rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

The latest consumer price index (CPI) increased at an annual rate of 2.7% in July, below forecasts for a 2.8% gain and flat versus June’s pace. But the core CPI still accelerated to 3.1% from 2.9%, and Capital Economics expects the impact of tariffs to gradually ramp up during the remainder of the year.

Outside the U.S., however, the picture looks different.

“We doubt that U.S. tariffs will significantly affect inflation in the rest of the world, but if anything, the effect could be mildly disinflationary,” Capital Economics’ Simon MacAdam and Ariane Curtis wrote in a note on Wednesday.

That’s because most countries have not retaliated against Trump’s tariffs with duties of their own on U.S. goods, they explained. And in some cases, levies on U.S. imports have actually come down.

For example, in the trade deal Trump negotiated with Indonesia, the Southeast Asian country agreed to eliminate tariffs on nearly all U.S. goods. But the U.S. has imposed a 19% duty on Indonesian imports.

“What’s more, the hit to global demand should dampen price pressures, at the margin, while a redirection of Chinese exports away from the U.S. to other markets could reduce import prices,” Capital Economics added.

By contrast, more inflationary pressure looks headed for American consumers. While companies haven’t been passing on much of the tariff-related costs, that can’t last much longer, MacAdam and Curtis warned.

Retailers have been willing to absorb the initial cost of tariffs by sacrificing their margins, and surveys indicate U.S. companies have seen significant cost hikes—unlike in the rest of the world.

“With many trade deals agreed, there is now greater certainty about where tariffs will end up, which should allow retailers to finally raise their prices,” they added.
Deflation in China

Not all economies will experience tariffs the same way. In fact, China will suffer a more severe impact as U.S. tariffs on Beijing are steeper than on most other countries.

That represents a deflationary shock for the world’s second largest economy, according to Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former chief economist at the Institute of International Finance.

China’s economy is already flirting with deflation, as consumer prices have been anemic while producer prices have been falling. The trade war should worsen the situation.

China’s exports to the U.S. have plunged in recent months while they have jumped elsewhere, Brooks wrote in a Substack post last month. He thinks China is using nearby countries that face lower duties to transship goods to the U.S. while also ramping up exports to other non-U.S. markets as a final destination.

Both put deflationary pressure on China. Transshipping exports via third countries adds to transportation costs and lowers profits for Chinese companies. Meanwhile, exporting more goods to other markets requires prices to come down to generate demand.

“In either case, the profitability of Chinese exporters is adversely hit,” Brooks explained. “For a country like China, which is massively export-dependent and already teetering on deflation, that’s a worrying prospect.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Trump told polluters to email him for an exemption. In California, three places have

 already been approved

Hayley Smith
Sat, August 16, 2025 


Sterigenics, a sterilization company, received an exemption from ethylene oxide regulations under the EPA. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)


Three industrial facilities in California have received exemptions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to emit a carcinogenic chemical after the Trump administration invited large emitters to bypass key provisions of the Clean Air Act by simply sending an email.

The EPA in March announced that it would allow large stationary sources of air pollution — that is, sources that aren't vehicles — to apply for an exemption that would enable them to avoid regulations that limit hazardous emissions. The provision in question applies to the regulation of nearly 200 pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, benzene and formaldehyde.

The nation's top environmental agency said the exemptions could be granted under the president's authority "if the technology to implement the standard is not available and it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so." Environmental groups were outraged by the announcement — dubbing the email offer as an "inbox from hell."

As of publication, at least 340 facilities nationwide have received or applied for exemptions from the EPA, including 87 in Texas, 51 in Louisiana and 18 in Pennsylvania, according to a tracker created by the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.

So far, three facilities in California have applied for and received approval. All three belong to Sterigenics, a company that provides industrial sterilization technology for medical devices and other commercial products at two locations in Los Angeles and one in San Bernardino County.

Read more: 'Inbox from hell': Environmental groups outraged after EPA says polluters can email for exemptions

The rule from which they are seeking relief applies to a chemical known as ethylene oxide, or EtO, which is commonly used to sterilize medical devices that can't be cleaned using steam or radiation. An estimated 50% of sterile medical devices in the U.S. are treated with EtO. The colorless gas is also used to make chemicals found in products such as antifreeze, detergents, plastics and adhesives.

Yet the EPA's own website notes that short-term exposure to EtO by inhalation can cause adverse health effects including headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, respiratory irritation, gastrointestinal distress and vomiting.

Long-term exposure is even worse, with the EPA website noting that "EtO is a human carcinogen. It causes cancer in humans."

Specifically, chronic exposure to ethylene oxide over many years increases the risk of cancers of the white blood cells, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as breast cancer, according to the EPA. Children are particularly susceptible to its health risks.

Granting exemptions for such emissions is "something we should all be concerned about," said Will Barrett, assistant vice president for nationwide clean air policy at the American Lung Assn.

"The public counts on these types of protections to ensure that their families are limiting their exposures to cancer-causing and other health risk-inducing pollutants," Barrett said. "And to the extent that these exemption requests are allowed to undermine that, or to delay and continue the pollution that people are being exposed to — that can have deadly consequences."

The Biden administration took steps to strengthen regulations for ethylene oxide under its amended air toxics standards in 2024, designed to reduce the amount of EtO released from commercial sterilizers by 90% and lessen the hazards for nearby communities.

The Trump administration instead argued those regulations place "severe burdens on commercial sterilization facilities," and risk making sterile medical devices unavailable to patients who need them.

"The continued utilization of ethylene oxide by commercial sterilization facilities is essential to ensuring that our Nation provides its sick and injured with the best outcomes possible — an objective that is at the forefront of the Federal Government's responsibility to the American people," Trump wrote in a July executive order.

Trump in that same order listed nearly 40 facilities receiving exemptions from EtO compliance deadlines for two years, including the Southern California plants belonging to Sterigenics, one in Ontario, and two across the street from each other in Vernon.

In a statement, a Sterigenics spokesperson said the company "remains committed to operating safe facilities that protect patients, employees and communities."

"The company has proactively implemented additional enhancements to further reduce already negligible levels of EtO emissions," the statement said. "This extension to the timeline will allow Sterigenics to continue to make thoughtful, proactive investments and focus resources on ensuring stable, reliable compliance."

According to public data, the two Sterigenics plants in Vernon released a combined 78 lbs of ethylene oxide emissions in 2024, while the one in Ontario released 612 lbs. By comparison, one of the largest ethylene oxide emitters in the country, the Union Carbide plant in Louisiana, emitted 6,894 lbs. in 2024. The federal government also granted that facility an exemption.

This is not the first time Sterigenics has faced scrutiny. In 2022, the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued violation notices for improperly handling ethylene oxide to Sterigenics and another company called Parter Medical Products in Carson for improper handling of ethylene oxide.

Read more: Medical sterilizing facilities face growing scrutiny due to toxic gas concerns

Biden's standards are set to go into effect in mid-2026. The Trump administration has said one reason it is issuing these exemptions is that the technology to implement these stricter standards "does not exist."

But the Biden administration would not have finalized the rules if such technology were not available, according to Ellen Robo, senior manager of clean air policy and analytics at the Environmental Defense Fund, who helped create the tracker.

"The standards that are now being ignored by these exemptions were carefully considered," Robo said. "And with this arbitrary designation, they are being allowed to pollute in these communities with very little notice."

Robo said at least 10 more sterilization plants in California are governed by the ethylene oxide standards, and it's likely that they have also applied for an exemption. They are located in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Sacramento and Marin counties.

Thinking nationally, this is just one of eight rules for which the EPA has recently offered exemptions via email. The others include rules governing mercury and air toxics; polymers and resins; rubber tires; copper smelting; and coal power, among others.

"These are things that cause cancer, cause developmental delays in children and babies," Robo said. "These are many of the most toxic pollutants."

The EPA's exemption template asked applicants to explain why they can't currently meet the emissions reduction goals and why an extension is in the national security interests of the country. The EPA said an email alone doesn't guarantee an exemption but that the president "will make a decision on the merits." The two-year exemptions can potentially be renewed, the agency said.

While California so far has been granted fewer exemptions than some other states, it also has consistently ranked as one of the worst states for air quality in the nation, said Barrett of the American Lung Assn.

The group's most recent annual "State of the Air" report ranked San Bernardino as the nation's most polluted county for ozone and particle pollution, while Los Angeles has been ranked the nation's smoggiest city 25 of the last 26 years.

"For the millions and millions of people — and hundreds of thousands of children — living with asthma and other respiratory illnesses that people are dealing with on a daily basis, any erosion of the clean air protections under the Clean Air Act is a real step backward and a rejection of decades of peer-reviewed scientific literature about the harms of air pollution," Barrett said.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.


Michigan Attorney General challenges EPA’s proposal to repeal some air pollution standards

Daylyn Huff
Fri, August 15, 2025 


Michigan Attorney General challenges EPA’s proposal to repeal some air pollution standards

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)– Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced she is joining 17 other state attorneys general to oppose the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to repeal the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule and revert to outdated standards that would harm the environment and public health.

A news release sent to 6 News explains that mercury and other hazardous air pollutants disproportionately harm people who live near coal- and oil-fired power plants.

“Weakening clean air protections will force communities living downwind from power plants to breathe mercury and other dangerous pollutants that threaten our health and our environment,” Nessel said. “I am proud to stand with my colleagues against unlawfully rolling back standards that protect Michiganders.”

Nessel says mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can pose a danger to public health, especially for pregnant women and children.

According to Nessel, a pregnant person’s consumption of mercury exposes the developing fetus to mercury and can cause lifelong developmental harms and neurological disorders such as seizures, vision and hearing loss, or delayed development.

The EPA states on its website that mercury exposure can cause health issues, including:

Metallic mercury mainly causes health effects when inhaled as a vapor, where it can be absorbed through the lungs. Symptoms of prolonged and/or acute exposures include:


Tremors;


Emotional changes (such as mood swings, irritability, nervousness, excessive shyness);


Insomnia;


Neuromuscular changes (such as weakness, muscle atrophy, twitching);


Headaches;


Disturbances in sensations;


Changes in nerve responses; and/or


Poor performance on tests of mental function.


Higher exposures may also cause kidney effects, respiratory failure and death.

MATScommentDownload

Nessel says, “Mercury emissions from power plants are also a major contributor to mercury contamination in U.S. waterways. Mercury pollution in lakes and rivers harms the local commercial and recreation fishing economies, as well as tribal nations and indigenous peoples that rely on fishing for subsistence.”

Opinion

Trump’s “American Hell” is everywhere

We have not seen this type of autocratic behavior since a king ruled our country and colonists staged a revolt against high tea tariffs.

Brian Kare
Fri, August 15, 2025 

SALON


President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi, announces his takeover of Washington, D.C. on Aug. 11, 2025. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

There is shocking entertainment news out of Hollywood today.

The reality show powerhouse American Hell is now the highest-rated network across every platform. In a press conference from the White House Brady Briefing Room, producers attributed the network’s rising popularity to its virtues of fear, anger, greed, consumption, corruption and dysentery, which are favorably preached at “thousands of the right kind of churches across the country.”

While widely divisive, American Hell is popular because the ratings prove that its three reality shows have something for everybody. Laugh or cry, the programs are both highly addictive and self-destructive. The ratings winner, of course, is “King POTUS (White) Power Hour,” a moving feast of strange oddities featuring an aging actor as the president whose catchphrase is “You’re Fired” and whose cold open is “Rest in Peace,” the Undertaker’s theme song from World Wrestling Entertainment.

POTUS loves to dance to that theme. He shakes his fists and jerks his legs in a manner suggesting a rare uncontrollable muscle spasm induced by a live electric wire arbitrarily applied to the spinal column. As he dances, he sings in his best Kid Rock voice, “mandate,” “landslide,” and “this war never would have begun if I had been here,” almost as often as he tells us how much he knows about real estate, while explaining things that have never been heard or “seen before.” POTUS is the ultimate front man — a convicted felon who still looks like a star but is really out on parole. He dictates his demands and desires to the world via Truth Social, ending each edition of his personal newsletter with “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” as if he’s a bill collector or a repo man. Well, he was allegedly a slumlord. Any fact he doesn’t agree with is “wrong” and anybody who doesn’t agree with him is his enemy until they agree to work for him.

If this show gets boring, then just tune into the “Dysfunctional Congressional Circus” comedy variety show. True, it’s often in reruns while the cast routinely takes long breaks to ingest more public money — and it has lost most of its audience. Poor casting and writing has plagued this television show for years. Currently it is run, in part, by Michael “My Smirk Defines Me” Johnson and John “Mr. Green Jeans” Thune. Each week the erstwhile pair square off in a high-budget, but low-brow and low-production-value drama against Chuck “Nasty Letter” Schumer, whose pastimes include writing angry letters in cursive to his neighbor kids who keep playing on his massive, rolling lawn. His partner in good intentions is Hakeem “I’m Ready” Jeffries, who doesn’t want to drift away. He anticipates he’ll be the next ringmaster. He’s ready for primetime.

It’s been less than four years since the Democrats and Republicans reached a consensus on a major piece of legislation: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law on November 15, 2021. That was the last time we saw the bare minimum the government could do when people work together. Today, this act of good government stewardship is disparaged, forgotten or ignored so Congress can stage low-brow comedy. The entire GOP has relegated itself to a walk-on role in their own show, and they are too busy trying to pick their own voters to actually care. After all, they got to make their nut. They need a sizable guaranteed income, great health care and a comfortable living until they freeze in a blank stare and drool from a podium in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The final offering in American Hell’s reality show lineup is “Jeopardy,” that old family-friendly and favorite game show. Today it’s hosted by the nine members of the Supreme Court. In this version, it costs you money to play for better rights, and the questions constantly change as do the answers — all with little regard to established law while paying as much attention to the Constitution as POTUS does to his daily briefings. On occasion those offering a majority opinion screech like howler monkeys. Ooooh. What a scorcher. It’s natural selection on a whole new level.

The main cast members on all three reality shows are clowns, morons, failed jocks, lawyers, doctors, perverts, criminals, pimps and thieves. It’s no wonder “South Park” was able to skewer the government so easily. The people representing us are walking cartoons.

Now, let’s divorce ourselves from fiction. President Donald Trump is trying to avoid reality — and no matter how long he tries to put it off, he — and more importantly we — cannot avoid the inevitable. Outlandish claims and actions have real consequences. But neither this administration, nor the press pool covering Trump, are dealing with reality.

This week the president seized power in the District of Columbia by activating the D.C. National Guard and deploying 800 troops to help police the city’s streets. He also assumed control of the Metropolitan Police Department, which he is allowed to do for 30 days without congressional approval under the Home Rule Act of 1973. Trump claimed in front of reporters this week he doesn’t need congressional approval if he declares a national emergency, and while he hasn’t done so yet, that’s still on the table. The FBI and DEA have also dispatched agents to patrol the streets at night. (I wonder who’s paying that overtime?) On Thursday night, Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded the police department’s restrictions in aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and ordered D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to recognize Terrance C. Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as the city’s “emergency police commissioner.” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb responded today by suing the Trump administration for what he called its “unlawful actions.”

Reports say Trump is also threatening to assemble a squad of 600 National Guard troops to be ready at a moment’s notice to put down civil unrest elsewhere in the country.

We have not seen this type of autocratic behavior since a king ruled our country and colonists staged a revolt against high tea tariffs.

When he announced his takeover of D.C. on Monday in the Brady Briefing Room, Trump claimed that Democrats love high crime while he loves safety. Apparently Trump has never heard of, or doesn’t understand, Benjamin Franklin’s words about sacrificing liberty for safety. You end up with neither. Even if he understood, he wouldn’t care. He then told everyone that the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro had been a great district attorney. According to Trump she was so great “she went into show business.” He said it as if it were a compliment.

Everything Trump does is filtered through the lens of a self-congratulatory camera.

The United States in which I was born would never settle for this. Republicans, led by party elder GOP Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, ran Richard Nixon out of office after he lied to cover up the Watergate break-in. You know, when Republicans tried to bug Democratic National Committee Headquarters. How quaint such a notion seems today. Donald Trump is a convicted felon whose list of criminal accomplishments would make your average Mafia Don blush in envy. But Republicans in Congress worship him. There is no Goldwater among them. The best they can muster is a catatonic Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Before lunch on Wednesday, Trump appeared at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to announce his personal picks for the memorial’s annual performing arts honorees. “They all passed through me,” he told us. He sounded like a roofing contractor introducing his favorite Hollywood acts. For some reason he even felt the need to discuss the quality of the asphalt and paving near the center. That was before he said he’d be hosting the televised broadcast of the awards show. Because, you know, he’s got nothing better to do — and since he never got a Kennedy Center Honor, he plans on giving himself one.

“He is off the rails,” a member of the press pool in attendance at the Kennedy Center told me. “Half of what he said didn’t even make sense.”

Trump talked about asphalt, painting and refurbishing the seats at the center, along with real estate, and often in the same sentence. He conceded Russia might have hacked into some of our government databases. But guess what? He said we also do it, and do it better than Russia. Which countries? When? No one asked, and Trump was on to something else. He said people should stop calling him a dictator and should “join him.” He finished off one question by talking about how more people watched his show “The Apprentice” than watched the Academy Awards telecast.

This is just the latest oversized, well-lit and highlighted warning that Trump’s bridge is out. His mental decline is precipitous, undeniable and dangerous. But if you’re expecting the press to hold him accountable, forget it. We’re lost.

A lot of the responsibility for the continued lack of coverage belongs to the White House PR department. They are prevalent in the Brady Briefing Room these days, masquerading as reporters, but their sole function is to produce and distribute low grade, repetitious Trump-friendly drivel to be consumed by the masses. You can easily identify them when Trump says “good question” to whatever it is they ask. They offer few facts, but they present Trump’s opinion and deliver it with little imagination. It is the journalistic equivalent of processed cheese without the appeal of Velveeta — somewhere between cardboard and cat vomit.

The danger of ignoring reality is becoming increasingly menacing and serious. There are armed conflicts across the planet where innocent people are dying. Genocide is a real concern, as is starvation, disease and torture. And Donald Trump is talking about asphalt while prepping to host the Kennedy Center Honors. Gosh. I hope his makeup looks good.

There are democracies, like Ukraine, struggling to survive. We face existential threats from the environment, our technology, asteroids in space, Russia, China, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and pollution, and we have to make choices every day that can and do have real consequences on all of those very serious issues. Trump is not a serious person. He has other concerns, like wanting to review exhibits at the Smithsonian to make sure they align with his oddly unique interpretation of American History.

Those who deny reality often pay for it — but others always pay first.

This week, a reporting crew from Al Jazeera died in a tent outside of a hospital in Gaza City after the Israeli military fired on them because it was claimed, with no facts to support the accusation, that one of the reporters was actually an embedded terrorist. The accusation is laughable. Terrorist leaders don’t hide in plain sight on television, where they do their side gig. They hide in tunnels and underneath schools, using innocent civilians as human shields.

The Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the accusations and accused the Israeli military of murder with the intention of silencing one of the few remaining independent voices documenting the ongoing horror in Gaza. The only difference between what Israel did and what Trump does to the press is one of degree. The goal is the same: Limiting access to facts in order to hide reality. Trump apparently just prefers entertainment to torture and murder. But he also probably wouldn’t say “no” to torture and murder if he had to — and his followers would nod in agreement if he did.

On Tuesday in the Brady Briefing Room, while his faithful lieutenants looked on, the president of the United States told us Washington D.C. resembled something out of what I’ve been told is one of his favorite movies: “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Just kidding. I always took him for a “Porky’s” kind of guy. “Our capital city has been overcome by violent gangs and blood thirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youths, drugged out maniacs and homeless people…that rampage through city streets,” he said of the situation in D.C.

Talk about laying it on thick. I’ve been to high school football games that are more dangerous than what you see in most of D.C. — even late at night when the political vampires roam the dark alleys of Georgetown.

But, according to Trump, D.C. rivals a war zone. “My father always used to tell me…’Son, when you walk into a restaurant & you see a dirty front door, don’t go in. Because if the front door is dirty, the kitchen is dirty also.’…If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty.”

Trump is the source of that dirt, and no matter how he tries to spin it, or to pretend he’s in a reality television show, he cannot run away from the fact that he’s responsible for this — and because of his encroaching mental erosion, it’s doubtful he’ll ever understand that fact.

But the minions who hold his leash do. Ultimately they will be the ones to pay the price for Trump’s American Hell.

Ten years from now after the dust settles, if it does, there will be Republicans who will deny Don ever existed — or they will claim to have been secretly fighting him the entire time they worked for him. The reality show reporters will be at different gigs, never once understanding how they made all of Trump’s mayhem possible.

And Jake Tapper will be promoting his new book “American Hell,” which will be available in the fiction department on Amazon.

The post Trump’s “American Hell” is everywhere appeared first on Salon.com.

White House Reportedly Launches A Scorecard Rating 500+ Companies On Trump Loyalty — Who's Listed And How Ratings Are Determined

Namrata Sen
Fri, August 15, 2025 
Benzinga 

The White House has reportedly created a rating system to evaluate the support of corporate America for President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and other policies.
White House Rates 553 firms on support for Trump policies

The White House has developed a scorecard evaluating 553 companies and trade associations on their support for the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and other Trump policies. Distributed among senior staff, the ratings will serve as a reference when reviewing corporate requests, according to Axios.

The rating system evaluates multiple factors, including social media activity, press releases, video testimonials, advertisements, participation in White House events, and other forms of engagement connected to the OB3. Based on these criteria, companies are classified as strong, moderate, or low supporters.

Trending: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — and you can too at just $2.90/share.

The system is also expected to evolve as it will include the companies’ engagement with other presidential initiatives. The official responsible for the rating system stated, “If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading.”

White House Lists Major Companies as Key Supporters of Bill, Other Trump Initiatives

Some of the companies that have been identified as “good partners” by the White House include Uber (NYSE:UBER), DoorDash (NYSE:DASH), United (NASDAQ:UAL), Delta (NYSE:DAL), AT&T (NYSE:T), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Airlines for America, and the Steel Manufacturers Association.

The support from these corporations has been evident in various ways. DoorDash deliverer Maliki Krieski, for instance, publicly supported the bill at a White House event. Uber celebrated the “No Tax on Tips” provision, a part of the bill, on a blog for drivers. Cisco’s CEO, Chuck Robbins, expressed his approval of the corporate tax provisions in the bill on social media. AT&T announced plans to expedite fiber infrastructure development, attributing it to the bill.

CEOs Show Growing  Support For Trump's Key Economic Policies

In the recent past, several CEOs have openly supported Trump’s policies and initiatives, whether it’s related to tariffs, manufacturing in the U.S., or the spending bill. For instance, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook presented Trump with a 24-karat gold-based plaque after securing an exemption from a 100% chip tariff.

Similarly, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang hailed Trump’s efforts to re-industrialize technology manufacturing, stating that it was the right move for the nation.

At the same time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had a change of heart on Trump. He later admitted that his perspective on the President had evolved after observing him more closely. These examples illustrate the impact of corporate support on the Trump administration’s policies.

Trump team has created a secret list ranking companies on how loyal they are

Ariana Baio
Fri, August 15, 2025 

The White House is reportedly maintaining a list of more than 500 companies that are ranked in order of willingness to work with the Trump administration and support the president’s agenda.

The spreadsheet, which ranks companies based on low, moderate, or strong support, is supposed to serve as a reference for White House staffers when they’re speaking with representatives from the companies, a senior administration official told Axios.

Several factors determine a company’s ranking, including attendance at White House events, engagement in promoting or supporting Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, writing press releases, making social media posts, and more.

Companies considered “strong” have expressed support for Trump’s agenda by praising industry-specific perks in Trump’s bill, such as no taxes on tips or investments in infrastructure. Other “strong” companies have made prominent investments in the United States to support Trump’s tariff goal.

While most the companies on the list remain secret, examples of “good partners,” Axios says, includes Uber, DoorDash, United, Delta and AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America and the Steel Manufacturers Association.

President Donald Trump’s team has reportedly created a list of companies ranked in order of how supportive they are of the administration’s agenda (Getty Images)

A White House official familiar with the situation confirmed the existence of the dynamic scorecard toThe Independent. The administration plans to use it to incorporate the support of present and future administration initiatives.

Demonstrating a desire or willingness to work with the administration yields rewards in the form of federal investments or beneficial policies. However, those who push back on Trump have had federal funding revoked or been passed up for opportunities.

One recent example is Apple’s $600 billion investment in the U.S. to accelerate artificial intelligence development and establish supply chain production.

Over the last few months, the tech giant has faced the possibility of higher consumer prices on its products, most of which are made overseas, due to Trump’s tariffs. That possibility became almost a reality after the president said he would implement tariffs on semiconductors

But those fears were settled during Trump’s press conference with Apple CEO Tim Cook to announce the investment when the president revealed major exemptions for the semiconductor tariff.

Apple CEO Tim Cook gifted Donald Trump a statue while announcing a multi-billion-dollar investment in the US (Getty Images)

Trump poses with a set of vintage Olympic medals during an event announcing the White House task force for the 2028 Summer Olympics (AP)

Donald Trump with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the Club World Cup trophy, which now sits in the Oval Office. (Getty Images)

"If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading," the unnamed White House official told Axios.

During the Apple press conference, Cook also presented Trump with a 24k gold and glass statue created by the tech company.

Trump, a known lover of lavish gifts, has recently received several trophies from organizations he’s collaborating with. He was gifted a set of vintage Olympic medals while announcing the task force for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. He was also given a $400 million Boeing jet from the Qatari royal family to serve as a new Air Force One. He was also gifted the inaugural Club World Cup trophy by FIFA President Gianni Infantino

Other companies have taken similar steps to align themselves closer with Trump in the hopes of getting on the president’s good side. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would scrap its fact checkers on Facebook – which Trump allies often assert was biased toward liberals.

Amazon and Meta got rid of their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which Trump has long bashed.

Other tech leaders have praised Trump or shown up at White House events to get on the president’s good side. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who was at Trump’s inauguration, was one of the companies to score a lucrative AI deal with the administration.


Opinion

Trump Has a Bonkers New Rating System for Private Companies

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
Fri, August 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM MDT
THE NEW REPUBLIC



Donald Trump’s loyalty test is stretching far beyond the confines of the White House.

The Trump administration has released a scorecard to rank the endeavors of some 553 companies and trade associations to advance the president’s agenda and his “big, beautiful bill.”

Organizations are ranked on the sheet as strong, moderate, or low, Axios reported Friday, with ratings built off social media posts, press releases, video testimonials, ads, White House event attendance, and other budget law–oriented efforts.

The data is being circulated among White House senior staff as a temperature gauge on how to interact with companies and open calls with K Street (a nickname for Washington’s business district).

Some of these “good partners” include Uber, DoorDash, United, Delta, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America, and the Steel Manufacturers Association, according to Axios.

The scoresheet “helps us see who really goes out and helps vs. those who just come in and pay lip service,” a senior White House official told the publication. But that doesn’t mean the project is done—instead, the administration plans to continue updating the list, considering it an evolving document as more corporate behavior plays out in relation to Trump’s agenda.

“If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading,” the official said.

Loyalty has been a chief internal priority for Trump and his team since before the election. That common denominator carried more weight than practically any other quality as the forty-seventh president selected dozens of nominees to lead different agencies, nearly all of whom had previously lent a hand to Trump in his criminal trials, donated money to his political campaign, or helped build out one of his presidential transition playbooks, such as Project 2025.


Secret White House spreadsheet ranks US companies based on loyalty to Trump

Cameron Henderson
Fri, August 15, 2025 

TELEGRAPH, UK


Apple chief executive Tim Cook last week announced a commitment to US manufacturing and gave Donald Trump a glass plaque with a 24-carat gold base - Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump has drawn up a scorecard for corporate America, ranking companies based on their loyalty to his administration.

The highly unusual list ranks 533 businesses and trade organisations based on their efforts to champion the US president’s “one big beautiful bill”, according to reports.

Companies that have fared well deployed a variety of tactics – often trumpeting the benefits of an individual policy, such as Uber’s celebration of Mr Trump’s “no tax on tips” proposal.

The scorecard, which Axios said will aid decision-making on corporate requests, comes as part of Mr Trump’s “America First” agenda and protectionist policies.

The chart allegedly ranks enterprises’ levels of support as either strong, moderate or low based on a series of factors.

Actions that affect a company’s rating are said to include social media posts, adverts, press releases, video testimonials, attendance at White House events and other engagements related to “OB3” – the administration’s nickname for the president’s set-piece tax and spending legislation.

According to Axios, businesses seen as “good partners” on the White House list include DoorDash, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Uber, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America and the Steel Manufacturers Association.

AT&T recently announced “plans to more quickly build fiber infrastructure thanks to pro-investment policies in the one big beautiful bill act passed by Congress”.

Meanwhile Airlines for America – which represents major US airlines including United and Delta – lauded the bill’s $12.5bn (£9.2bn) investment in air traffic control.

The spreadsheet is said to be an evolving document, to which businesses’ support for other presidential initiatives can be added.

The ranking “helps us see who really goes out and helps vs those who just come in and pay lip service,” an official told the news outlet.

“If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading,” the official added.

ear which businesses rank low on the list but those likely to have taken a hit may include clean energy companies, who heavily criticised the bill’s rollback of green incentives.

Mr Trump has also clashed with Wall Street in recent weeks. The president this week hit out at David Solomon, the Goldman Sachs chief executive, saying the bank had been wrong to predict that imposing US tariffs would hurt the US economy.

Posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the investment banker should focus on being a DJ – one of his former hobbies – and “not bother running a major financial institution”.

The president has also butted heads with the leaders of JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, claiming the banks had refused to accept more than $1bn in deposits.

Mr Trump has signed an executive order requiring banks not to discriminate against clients on political grounds, in a move that could cause further headaches for the industry.

The White House has made public a parallel list tracking the so-called Trump effect, referring to announcements of investments in US manufacturing, production and innovation during the president’s second term.

It comes as the president is increasingly seeking to exert control over corporate America through protectionist measures, offering tax relief to businesses that bring jobs back to the US and threatening to impose tariffs on those that do not.

Business leaders have scrambled to pay homage to the president, offering the US government stakes in their companies and even bestowing personal gifts on the president in a bid to avoid sanctions

Last week, US chip manufacturer Nvidia agreed for the US government to take 15pc of the company’s revenues generated in China as part of an agreement to restart exports to Beijing.

The unprecedented pact came after Mr Trump barred sales of Nvidia’s H20 technology in China earlier this year to boost his tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing, wiping billions of dollars from the $4tn company’s value in the process.

Tim Cook, the Apple chief executive, last week agreed to invest $100bn in American manufacturing after the president pledged to impose 100pc tariffs on foreign microchip imports.

The tech giant’s commitment to US manufacturing – as well as Mr Cook’s gift of a glass plaque with a 24-carat gold base – earned the company a reprieve from Mr Trump.

White House Creates Secret List of Biggest Corporate Enemies

Leigh Kimmins
Fri, August 15, 2025 


Win McNamee / Getty Images


The Trump White House has quietly assembled a corporate loyalty scorecard that ranks 553 companies and trade associations by how fervently they backed the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill, Axios reports.

The internal list—reportedly known inside the West Wing as the “OB3” scorecard—categorizes organizations as strong, moderate, or low supporters based on a mix of public and private cheerleading.

Metrics include social media posts, press releases, paid ads, attendance at White House events, and video testimonials praising the legislation.

A senior official told Axios the ranking “helps us see who really goes out and helps vs. those who just come in and pay lip service,” describing it as a reality check when lobbyists from K Street call to reminisce about their “great” work passing the bill.

Trump takes the stage during a reception for Republican members of the House of Representatives after passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

The White House has already identified “good partners” whose enthusiasm earned them high marks: Uber, DoorDash, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, AT&T, Cisco, Airlines for America, and the Steel Manufacturers Association.

Uber, for example, name-checked Trump in a celebratory message about his bill, in a May blog post.

“No Tax on Tips is now law. No Tax on Tips, first proposed by President Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign, is a proposal to change how tips are taxed,” it read.

“Now that this has become law, you won’t pay federal income taxes on your tips that are reported to the IRS on a 1099 form.”

The list is circulating among senior staff, while a separate public-facing tracker on the White House website logs “Trump Effect” investments in U.S. manufacturing, production, and innovation.

Uber is on the Trump administration list, presumably on a good footing. / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

According to the official, the document will expand to include support for other administration priorities, meaning companies can still raise their grades—if they boost their public advocacy.

“If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account,” the official said.

$PECULATION 

$420 Million Wiped Out In 20 Minutes — What The Inflation Shock Reveals About Bitcoin, Ethereum

Murtuza J Merchant
Fri, August 15, 2025 
Benzinga 

A sharp upside surprise in U.S. producer price inflation triggered a $420 million wipeout in crypto markets on Wednesday, exposing lingering vulnerabilities in market leverage during macroeconomic data shocks.

What Happened: The U.S. July Producer Price Index rose 3.3% year-on-year, exceeding forecasts of 2.5% and marking its highest level since February. On a monthly basis, prices jumped 0.9%, the largest increase since June 2022.

Trending: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — and you can too at just $2.90/share.

The report came alongside a revision of June's annual rate from 2.3% to 2.4%, reinforcing the picture of sustained cost pressures in the production pipeline.

Within 20 minutes of the release, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) plunged from $121,193 to $117,550, according to TradingView data. Ethereum plunged below $4,500 from above $4,700.

The rapid decline coincided with widespread liquidations in leveraged positions, with derivatives markets bearing the brunt of the impact.

Market analysts point to this episode as a reminder that despite maturing infrastructure and growing institutional participation, crypto remains acutely sensitive to high-impact macro events when leverage is elevated.

While the sector has demonstrated improved post-shock recovery, the speed and scale of such liquidations underscore structural fragilities in liquidity depth and risk management practices.

See Also: 2,000 High Earners Manage $6B With This AI Platform — Book Your Private Demo

What Experts Are Saying: Stella Zlatareva, editor at Nexo Dispatch, told Benzinga that the hotter-than-expected PPI print "introduces a degree of short-term uncertainty into the Fed's policy outlook" and could delay immediate rate cuts.

However, she emphasized that this does not derail the longer-term easing trajectory, with medium-term drivers such as ETF inflows and treasury participation continuing to shape market structure.

On the impact to leveraged trading, Zlatareva said the rapid unwinding "points to the residual sensitivity of crypto derivatives markets, especially during macro event windows," while also highlighting that the market "was able to absorb the shock and stabilize within hours, a marked improvement from previous cycles."

Mike Cahill, an initial contributor to the Pyth Network, said the $420 million liquidation "underscores how thin liquidity and high leverage in crypto can amplify macro shocks, revealing structural fragilities that remain despite market maturation."

He added that such events also "highlight the need for better risk management frameworks to withstand sudden volatility spikes."

The episode reflects a broader dynamic where macroeconomic surprises can still produce outsized effects on digital asset markets, particularly when leverage builds up during periods of sustained price gains.