Tim O’Brien

Of course Trump is now claiming that the job numbers are rigged (after pushing a bonkers trade policy that has helped set this in motion).

Strong “massage the Covid-19 fatalities data” vibe here.

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” — Sherlock Holmes.

Trump Says He’ll Fire Labor Statistics Head After Weak Jobs Data President Donald Trump said he was directing officials to fire Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hours after a report showed US job growth cooled sharply over the l...

Trump wants to fire the federal government’s chief labor statistician — Erika McEntarfar — because he doesn’t like the reality of job weaknesses undermining economic growth.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Ghislaine Maxwell Moved to Minimum-Security Prison Camp in Texas Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and former associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, was moved to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas, according to the federal Bureau of Priso...

“Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and former associate of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, was moved to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The FBI Redacted Trump’s Name in the Epstein Files The bureau’s FOIA team tasked with conducting a final review of the records blacked out the names before higher-ups said last month that releasing the documents ‘would not be appropriate or warranted....

“An FBI FOIA team redacted Trump’s name—and the names of other prominent public figures—from the documents, according to three people familiar with the matter.” www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

So many interesting Epstein-Trump adjacent events:

Trump nuclear submarines

Remember when the 2024 Trump campaign elevated the importance of the mental fitness of the commander in chief?

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) said it will “begin an orderly wind-down of its operations” following the passage of the rescissions package and the release of a Senate appropriations bill which excludes funding for CPB for the first time in more than 50 years.
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency

The White House published its table of Trump’s latest global tariffs regime last night. And it just reaffirms that his trade policy has absolutely no rhyme or reason: 10% tariffs on the Falkland Islands, but 40% on Laos. Utterly random and bonkers. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Scoop: Top Biden aide was promised $8 million for 2024 win Donilon's testimony shows he had a financial incentive for Biden to run for re-election.

Re-election incentives: Biden's top political aide Mike Donilon was paid $4 million for his work on Biden's 2024 re-election campaign and would have made an additional $4 million if Biden had won.
www.axios.com/2025/07/31/d...

How Trump Let $1 Trillion Worth of Imports Escape His Tariff Hammer Exclusions reflect conflicting goals: to rip up the rules of global trade while cushioning US consumers. But the process isn’t transparent, and not everybody wins.

Even as Trump threatens to increase tariffs yet again on any country that won’t sign on to a deal with the US by Friday, another dynamic is emerging: He has been letting plenty of companies—and entire industries—off the hook, often with no explanation. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Analysis | The Fact Checker rose in an era of false claims. Falsehoods are now winning. Longtime Fact Checker Glenn Kessler takes stock as he departs The Washington Post.

"In an era where false claims are the norm, it’s much easier to ignore the fact-checkers." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

TACO.

What Are Trump’s Options If His Tariffs Are Ruled Unlawful? In rolling out the most aggressive tariff regime in the US in nearly a century, President Donald Trump has leaned heavily on emergency powers that had never been used before to impose import taxes.

In rolling out the most aggressive tariff regime in the US in nearly a century, Trump has leaned heavily on emergency powers that had never been used before to impose import taxes. Two courts sanctioned him. Oral arguments in one case are being heard today.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Christina Paxson, Brown's president, signed the AACU letter in April denouncing "the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education" www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...

She took a "deal" with Trump anyway.

What will rescission do to foreign aid? Details are murky. Here's what we found out Congress approved the clawing back of $7.9 billion in foreign aid pledges. Who ends up losing out

Congress approved the clawing back of $7.9 billion in foreign aid pledges. Who ends up losing out?

the weaponization of course evaluations in the Brown University deal takes the consumerist model of higher education to new heights. not only is your job contingent on it, but make any of your students uncomfortable and you’ll be investigated by the government

Gaza starvation widens MAGA's rupture with Israel The reliably pro-Israel Republican Party is scrambling to contain a generational revolt.

“Amid scenes of starvation in Gaza, the MAGA movement has become an unlikely epicenter of the national reckoning over America's relationship with Israel.”
www.axios.com/2025/07/31/g...

Made in America: A Guide to Authoritarianism in 10 Easy Steps 10 Steps. 6 Months. One Constitutional Crisis.

"Historians warn about this compounding effect. When the institutions that check executive power — courts, watchdogs, press, Congress — are attacked in tandem, the erosion accelerates. The democratic fabric does not tear in one place; it frays everywhere at once."

open.substack.com/pub/theratio...

Don't say I didn't warn you.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

"The slower we are to take action, and the more Zeldin and President Donald Trump undo climate progress, the higher the costs will grow and the harder the damage will be to reverse. That trillion dollars gets less significant by the hour."

The $87 Trillion Bill That Comes From Denying Reality Even putting aside science, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s decision to reverse the finding that greenhouse-gas emissions are a danger to the public makes no economic sense.

"You probably wouldn’t set $87 trillion on fire to save $1 trillion. But then again, you probably aren’t Administrator Lee Zeldin’s Environmental Protection Agency." @markgongloff.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Kamala Harris says she won't run for CA governor in 2026.

Trump created (and may leave behind) a situation where the president can sue anyone with endless resources but cannot himself be sued for anything.

The Attack on Transgender Kids Isn’t Just Cruel. It’s an Omen. The Trump administration is showing how easily it can target any health practice it opposes.

Trump's relentless campaign of fear and intimidation has led to a rapid retreat among hospitals previously offering gender affirming care to adolescents. For @opinion.bloomberg.com , I wrote about the cruelty of the current moment-and why it matters for access to other types of health care. (🎁 link)

The US Will Be the Biggest Loser From Trade ‘Wins’ In due course, new duties will slow down innovation and depress US living standards. And that’s if the tariff wars stop now.

"In narrow economic terms, the claim that the US has emerged the winner from both sets of negotiations is simply false. Tariffs are taxes. Before long, American consumers will pay most if not all of the increase in costs."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

This is basically a glimpse at the pitch Zuckerberg has been giving to his mulit-million dollar new hires. Meta (he says) is the company best place to build AI for normal people to improve their day-to-day lives.

(I think that's Google, personally)

Earth's continents are drying out at unprecedented rate, satellite data reveal The US West Coast is the world's worst mega-drying region.

Ehh, who needs water anyway

www.space.com/science/clim...

CNBC: The EPA is moving to rescind this endangerment finding on carbon dioxide and greenhouses gases. Is that a danger to public health?

MAKARY: To be honest, I don't know enough about that issue

CNBC: You're in charge of our public health! Can you look into it for us?