President Donald Trump claims his calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin remain friendly, but the missiles keep flying. Now, Trump threatened secondary tariffs on the Eastern nation if it does not reach a ceasefire with Ukraine within 50 days.
Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court clears the way, allowing the Trump administration to dismantle the Department of Education.
Also, a wall of water slams the Northeast, flooding subways and streets. Record rainfall shuts down one of the busiest corridors in America.
These stories and more make up your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
Trump threatens 100% sanctions on Russia if no Ukraine ceasefire in 50 days
President Donald Trump escalated pressure on the Kremlin, giving Russia a 50-day deadline to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine or face sweeping new sanctions.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to be getting there. So based on that, we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump said.
These aren’t just any sanctions. Trump’s threatening secondary tariffs, meaning not just Russia, but its trading partners could take a hit as well.
The warning came Monday, July 14, during Trump’s meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. Along with the ultimatum, the two world leaders discussed a new NATO agreement to send more U.S. weapons to Ukraine, as Russian strikes continue to escalate. Trump said European allies are ready to spend billions on American military hardware.
“We make the best equipment, the best missiles, the best of everything. The European nations know that,” Trump said. “They have a lot of money. And they’ve — these are wealthy nations. They have a lotta money, and they wanna do it. They feel very strongly about it. And we feel strongly about it, too.”
Rutte called it a sign that “Europeans are stepping up.”
Supreme Court allows Trump to shrink Education Department
The Supreme Court has authorized the Trump administration to proceed with a broad plan to dismantle the Department of Education.
In an unsigned order, the conservative majority permitted mass layoffs to resume — more than 1,300 jobs cut — effectively gutting an agency created by Congress nearly 50 years ago.
Supporters claim it’s about shrinking bureaucracy and returning power to the states. But critics, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a scathing dissent, called it an illegal overreach, writing, “When the executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, it is the judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it.”
Although the decision is technically temporary, in practice, employees who were ordered reinstated by a lower court are now being terminated again.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote to the court, “Handed a major victory to parents and students across the country.”
Flash flooding swamps cities, highways, airports across Northeast
Millions across the Northeast woke up Tuesday morning, July 15, to dangerous flood conditions after relentless, slow-moving storms dumped torrential rain overnight.
In New Jersey, the governor declared a state of emergency and urged residents to stay off the roads. Meanwhile, New York City experienced over two inches of rain in just one hour, flooding subway stations and grounding flights at all major airports.
Dramatic rescues happened in Pennsylvania and Virginia — and the danger isn’t gone.
More rain is expected later Tuesday, and with the ground already soaked, even light showers could trigger dangerous flash flooding. The National Weather Service has issued flood watches and warnings for over 50 million Americans, including those in D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia.
DOJ asks Supreme Court to deny Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal
The Justice Department has requested that the Supreme Court keep Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and co-conspirator, in prison. Maxwell seeks to overturn her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy, which resulted in a 20-year prison sentence.
She’s currently serving time in Florida. Her lawyers claim a 2007 plea deal between Epstein and federal prosecutors should also protect her. Although that deal was made in Florida and only applied to Epstein, her team argues that the language protects all co-conspirators nationwide. However, two courts have already rejected that argument.
Now, the DOJ has urged the high court to do the same, saying Florida’s then-U.S. Attorney General lacked the authority to make a deal that binds other federal districts without explicit approval from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
This happens as the Trump administration faces criticism over how it has handled the Epstein files. After Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week that no more documents would be released, she also insisted that the so-called “client list” doesn’t exist.
Pentagon to use Elon Musk’s ‘Grok’ chatbot in new $200M deal
Is Elon Musk back in Trump’s good graces? It might seem that way as the Defense Department now engages Musk’s AI company, X-AI.
The Pentagon has agreed to use Musk’s chatbot, Grok, for government purposes. Grok is a competitor to OpenAI, which also holds a federal contract. The defense version is customized for national security, science and healthcare applications. The deal could be worth up to $200 million.
Grok’s public rollout, however, hasn’t gone smoothly. The chatbot faced criticism for generating anti-Semitic responses. X-AI released a new version just a day later, calling it a “big step forward.”
Thief targets Beyoncé crew: Steals laptops, hard drives, music files
Atlanta police have issued an arrest warrant after someone broke into a rented SUV belonging to members of Beyoncé’s team while the superstar was in town on her Cowboy Carter Tour.
Inside? Not just clothes, but laptops, hard drives and potentially unreleased music, video footage and set plans.
Beyonce played four sold-out nights in Atlanta. And now fans and law enforcement are hoping this tour won’t hit a sour note as she heads to Vegas next.
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Author: Craig Nigrelli
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