Government & Politics

G-7 CONFAB: The Group of Seven summit is happening this weekend, and “one of France’s main objectives as host … is to minimize the chances that President Trump will blow it up,” The Washington Post magniloquently writes. “Subjects on which to tread lightly include some of the biggest problems the world’s major economies are facing — including trade, the system of international rules that has ordered the democratic world for decades and climate change. … Senior administration officials told reporters … that Trump planned to ‘frankly’ discuss sticking points among G-7 nations including trade, a digital services tax and NATO spending obligations.” One thing we know won’t be on Trump’s agenda is the promotion of globalism.

NONCITIZEN ARRESTS: “Approximately 64 percent of the arrests that the federal government made in fiscal 2018 were of non-U.S. citizens,” CNSNews.com’s Terence Jeffrey reports, citing a report from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. “That represents a dramatic change from just two decades ago, when approximately 63 percent of federal arrests were of citizens and only approximately 37 percent were of non-citizens. … Although immigration and immigration-related offenses accounted for the vast majority of non-U.S. citizen arrests, non-citizens were also over-represented among those arrested for non-immigration offenses, according to the report.”

MENTAL-HEALTH PROPOSAL: “The White House has been briefed on a proposal to develop a way to identify early signs of changes in people with mental illness that could lead to violent behavior,” The Washington Post reports. “Supporters see the plan as a way President Trump could move the ball forward on gun control following recent mass shootings as efforts seem to be flagging to impose harsher restrictions such as background checks on gun purchases. The proposal is part of a larger initiative to establish a new agency called the Health Advanced Research Projects Agency or HARPA, which would sit inside the Health and Human Services Department.” It’s understandable that mental health is a focal point, but there’s a legitimate fear over what this kind of endeavor can (or will) lead to.

FOREIGN-AID TURNABOUT: The Trump administration has opted not to curb foreign aid, according to The Hill, which explains, “The Office of Management and Budget was expected to release a package this week calling for cuts in $4.3 billion in foreign aid through a process known as rescission. But the plan was taken off the table amid pushback from some top administration officials and lawmakers in Congress, the official said.” While the decision is being bipartisanly heralded, the goal was laudable. As one senior official put it, “The president has been clear that there is waste and abuse in our foreign assistance and we need to be wise about where U.S money is going. Which is why he asked his administration to look into options to doing just that. It’s clear that there are many on the Hill who aren’t willing to join in curbing wasteful spending.”

DAVID KOCH DEAD: Libertarian David Koch, a prolific political donor who until last year helped pilot Koch Industries, passed away today at just 79 years old. Reason magazine contains a good obituary.

Business & Economy

CHINA RETALIATES: “China said Friday it will impose new tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods and resume duties on American autos. The Chinese State Council said it decided to slap tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on $75 billion U.S. goods in two batches effective on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. That happens to be when President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs on Chinese goods are to take effect. It also said a 25% tariff will be imposed on U.S. cars and a 5% on auto parts and components, which will go into effect on Dec.15.” (CNBC)

TRADE-WAR FALLOUT: Meanwhile, The Washington Post also says, “The prolonged trade war between the United States and China is taking a toll on the manufacturing sector, which contracted for the first time since 2009, data show.” This development is said to be “a sign that manufacturers are starting to feel the effects of the ongoing trade war,” as “[s]ales of U.S. exports decreased at the fastest pace since August 2009.” In fact, Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi believes, “If manufacturing isn’t in a recession, it is pretty close.”

Other Notables

EPIC FAIL: Gillette is “shifting the spotlight” — meaning it’s abandoning its anti-“toxic masculinity” campaign — after losing $8 billion (The Daily Wire)

QUASI-WAR: “Academic espionage”: China suspected of flooding U.S. with students to access sensitive programs (The Washington Times)

NO CAN DO: According to The Hill, “The U.S. offer to sell Turkey a Patriot missile defense system has expired, a State Department official confirmed Thursday, amid ongoing tension over Ankara’s defense dealings with Russia. ‘We have consistently told Turkey that our latest offer of PATRIOT would be off the table if it took delivery of the S-400 system. Our PATRIOT offer has expired,’ the official told The Hill.”

Closing Arguments

POLICY: Trump is right: The 14th Amendment did not guarantee birthright citizenship (The New American)

POLICY: The media should stop encouraging mass-shooting phobias (National Review)

HUMOR: AOC: Jeff Bezos started Amazon fire to “make billions in insurance fraud” (Genesius Times)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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