Axios

Tens of thousands of people are expected to protest the Trump administration again on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights leader and former congressman John Lewis.

Why it matters: Lewis was one of the most vocal critics of President Trump during his first administration. He skipped Trump's 2017 inauguration — only the second Lewis missed during his three-decade tenure in Congress including former President George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001.

President Trump on Saturday posted letters threatening the European Union and Mexico with 30% tariffs as of August 1.

Why it matters: Trump has reverted to the fully aggressive trade posture he took in early April, with a stable economy at his back and financial markets showing no signs of stopping him.

The White House says it plans to appeal a federal order requiring the Trump administration to stop immigration arrests without probable cause after a suit alleged it targeted California residents based on race, language and work.

The big picture: Residents of Latino descent have been stopped, detained or asked to prove citizenship in communities throughout the U.S. amid President Trump's push for mass deportations.

President Trump threatened to strip comedian and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell of her U.S. citizenship on Saturday.

Why it matters: The claims, which Trump made on Truth Social, represent a major escalation against his critics.

This column by Jim & Mike is a new twist on their "Behind the Curtain" (BTC), which digs deep into the topics of highest import. We call this a BTC Extra — a living update on a transcendent topic, referring back to deeper reporting.

The politics of immigration are shifting fast — again.

Why it matters: Americans voted overwhelmingly in support of locking down the Southwest border. But now, with the border secure and deportations surging along with self-deportations, a strong majority are opposed to President Trump's tough-guy, kick-them-all-out approach to illegal immigration.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired more than 20 Justice Department employees who worked on cases involving the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and Donald Trump's handling of classified documents, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: The firings are part of a massive purge aimed at clearing DOJ of attorneys and support staff who took part in Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump for Jan. 6 and possessing classified documents unlawfully.

Two Palestinians, one of them an American citizen, were killed on Friday when Israeli settlers attacked the village of Sinjil in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority's ministry of health said.

The big picture: It's the first time a Palestinian American was killed in the West Bank since President Trump assumed office in January. On his first day in office, Trump lifted sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on settlers involved in attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

The Justice Department and FBI's investigation finding no evidence that convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was murdered – or kept a "client list" – caused infighting among parts of President Trump's administration and his supporters.

Why it matters: MAGA's fundamental distrust of the "deep state" sparked years of conspiracy theories over Epstein's suicide in prison while facing federal sex trafficking charges, so the investigation's findings blindsided Trump's base.

Here's a timeline of the past week:

President Trump defended his administration's response to the Texas Hill Country flooding after surveying the damage and meeting with victims' families on Friday in Kerrville.

The big picture: The president's visit comes amid questions about the federal response to the flooding, as he has pushed to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

A research team supported by Purdue University is hoping to solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries — the location of Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane, Axios Indianapolis' Justin L. Mack reports.

• The expedition will confirm whether an anomaly seen in satellite imagery of Nikumaroro Island, which is about halfway between Australia and Hawaii, is Earhart's plane.

"What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case," Richard Pettigrew, executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, said in a statement.

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Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is taking his "benefits over billionaires" tour to South Carolina next week, holding town halls in GOP districts in the deep south.

Why it matters: It's a subtle and strategic sortie to a key Democratic primary state, all under the cover of winning the House in 2026.

Recently freed pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil told CNN that the Trump administration tried to "make an example" of him with his arrest and immigration detention.

Why it matters: Khalil's detention was an early flashpoint in President Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses following Israel's operations in Gaza.

Postage stamp prices increase by another 5 cents starting Sunday, one of the United States Postal Service's biggest price hikes.

Why it matters: This is the 20th stamp rate change since 2000 and the seventh increase since 2021.

The Los Angeles Police Department can't detain, remove or fire less lethal weapons or chemical agents at journalists covering protests in the city, a federal judge ordered.

Why it matters: The temporary restraining order is a victory for the Los Angeles Press Club, which had accused city police of using excessive force against journalists, including Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi who was shot with a rubber bullet during a live broadcast in what appeared to be a deliberate attack.

The world is coming to terms with the new Trump-era reality: Everything is trade.

Why it matters: President Trump is threatening tariff hikes in the weeks ahead, with some of the most aggressive aimed at Canada and Brazil, over issues that have nothing to do with trade.

• A week that was supposed to end tariff uncertainty instead marked a new front in Trump's trade war, with planned escalations all around the world and on key sectors, including copper.

FBI deputy director Dan Bongino took a day off from work Friday after clashing at the White House with Attorney General Pam Bondi over their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, four sources familiar with the conflict told Axios.

Why it matters: The dispute erupted Wednesday amid the fallout of the administration walking back its claims about Epstein by determining the convicted sex offender didn't have a celebrity "client list," and that he wasn't murdered in his New York City prison cell in 2019.

Americans' attitudes toward immigration have softened in the past year, according to a Friday Gallup report.

Why it matters: A record-high share of U.S. adults said immigration benefits the country, despite the Trump administration's continued focus on strict enforcement policies.

The Trump administration has taken aim at university accreditation in its battering of higher education.

Why it matters: Accreditation serves to hold institutions accountable and validate their programs, faculty and degrees.

Under pressure from worried farmers and hotel owners, the Trump administration is launching a program to streamline issuing visas for temporary, migrant workers to try to make sure fruits get picked, meat is packed and lodgings are cleaned.

Why it matters: President Trump's immigration crackdown has put his administration between a MAGA rock and a special-interest hard place.

Former President Obama is joining DNC chair Ken Martin for a high-dollar fundraiser in Red Bank, New Jersey, on Friday evening, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's Obama's first fundraiser since the party's devastating 2024 losses, and it comes after a string of public headaches for the DNC leadership team.

The Trump administration is working carefully to stamp out conspiracy theories about "weather modification," wading into a viral, recurring debate that reignited in the wake of Texas' deadly flooding.

Why it matters: Some Trump allies have amplified baseless claims that cloud seeding or geoengineering caused the disaster, complicating the government's efforts to reassert scientific facts without alienating the MAGA base.

President Trump's criminal trials are behind him, but he's now crying "witch hunt" on behalf of ideological allies overseas.

Why it matters: Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil — set to go into effect Aug. 1 — in part because of the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for his efforts to overturn his loss in 2022, charges that mirror those Trump himself faced. That's an extraordinary intervention in a friendly country's political and judicial processes, with tens of billions in trade at stake.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson shared insights Thursday into how the Supreme Court operates, including on offering dissenting opinions.

Why it matters: Jackson has emerged as a significant dissenting voice in the high court during President Trump's second term. She wrote 24 opinions and more dissents than any other justice in the term that ended last month, per SCOTUSblog data.

President Trump announced Thursday plans for a 35% tariff on goods imported from Canada that would take effect on Aug. 1.

Why it matters: The latest twist in the off-on trade war with Canada comes after the key trading partner rescinded its digital services tax to advance broader trade negotiations with the U.S. as it works toward an economic deal ahead of a July 21 deadline.

President Trump said mistakes were made in how the Secret Service handled the assassination attempt against him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year while reflecting on the incident in an interview clip shared Thursday.

The big picture: One year after the July 13, 2024, rally shooting, Trump said on FOX News' "My View with Lara Trump" that he's "satisfied" with the subsequent investigation.

President Trump is planning to sell weapons to NATO allies with the understanding that they will then provide them to Ukraine, three sources familiar with the discussions tell Axios.

• Trump seemed to confirm those plans in an interview with NBC News on Thursday.

Why it matters: This is a major policy shift from Trump as he grows increasingly disillusioned with Russia's Vladimir Putin. He had long rejected the idea of new arms packages for Ukraine in part to avoid becoming personally embroiled in the conflict.

Nearly a year on from the assassination attempt on President Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, the U.S. Secret Service announced major reforms designed to ensure "a tragedy like this can never happen again."

The big picture: The USSS noted in a report Thursday that "breakdowns in communication, technological issues, and human failure, among other contributing factors" led to the events of July 13, 2024, which left Trump with an injured ear, a Butler, Penn., rally-goer dead and two others injured.

The White House is pushing swing-seat lawmakers away from running for higher office, warning members in Iowa, New York and Michigan that they need to save the party's razor-thin majority.

Why it matters: President Trump is trying to solidify the field early, using endorsements to keep lawmakers boxed out from statewide runs.

Sen. John Cornyn will have to keep praying for a President Trump endorsement in the GOP Senate primary in Texas, but today he got some direct intervention from a different source: his opponent's wife of 38 years.

Why it matters: The very public announcement from Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton that she would file for divorce from Texas AG Ken Paxton on "biblical grounds" might not save Cornyn, but it finally gives him an opening in a race that was slipping away.