95.1 The Bee

President Donald Trump met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Monday, where the two announced a deal that European countries will buy U.S. weapons to send to Ukraine. Trump also threatened to impose 100% tariffs on countries that do business with Russia if there is no peace deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days,

Regarding the United States’ deal to sell weapons to NATO nations, Rutte said those countries will in turn send weapons to Ukraine to replenish their depleted stockpiles. The Pentagon paused shipments of some weapons shipments to Ukraine earlier this month, but Mr. Trump reversed course last week, saying Ukraine must be able to defend itself.

Trump said at the Oval Office on Monday: “We’ve made a deal today where we’re going to be sending them weapons and they’re going to be paying for them. We, the United States, will not be having any payment made. We’re not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they’re going to be paying for it.”

Rutte added “This is really big … And the decision is that you want Ukraine [to have] what it needs to have to maintain to be able to defend itself against Russia, but you want Europeans to pay for it, which is totally logical.”

As his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin grows following multiple calls with the Russian leader since taking office in January, Trump shared: “We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal within 50 days. It’s very simple.  And they’ll be at 100%. We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia .. I always hang up, say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call.’ And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city and I say, ‘That’s strange.’ And after that happens three or four times, you say, the talk doesn’t mean anything .. He’s — I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy. Ultimately, talk doesn’t talk, it’s got to be action, it’s got to be results.”

Zelenskyy posted on X Monday afternoon that he spoke with Mr. Trump, writing: “I spoke with @POTUS. It was a very good conversation. Thank you for the willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace. President Trump shared details about his meeting with the
@SecGenNATO. It’s important that we have such a good relationship, and that the Alliance countries are working to increase defense spending. We discussed the necessary means and solutions with the President to provide better protection for people from Russian attacks and to strengthen our positions. We are ready to work as productively as possible to achieve peace. We agreed to catch up more often by phone and coordinate our steps in the future as well. Thank you, Mr. President! Thank you, America!”

Editorial credit: bella1105 / Shutterstock.com

On Monday, the U.S Supreme Court said that the Trump administration may proceed with mass firings at the Department of Education by lifting an injunction while litigation proceeds in the courts. Within two hours, the Department of Education sent notices to employees indicating it is immediately resuming its plans to shrink the department.

In an unsigned order, the justices lifted for now a lower court ruling that had indefinitely paused Trump’s plan. The Supreme Court’s decision puts that ruling on hold while the legal challenge plays out. In March, the agency’s workforce was slashed in half, 1,378 employees, in an effort by Trump to ultimately dismantle the agency.

The vote was 6-3 with all the liberal judges dissenting. The conservatives didn’t issue an opinion as is customary in an emergency ruling but Justice Sonia Storomayor wrote a dissent that was joined by Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor, the court’s senior liberal member, said her colleagues had made an “indefensible” decision to let Trump proceed with taking apart an agency that ordinarily can be dismantled only by Congress: “The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave .. The Department is responsible for providing critical funding and services to millions of students and scores of schools across the country. Lifting the District Court’s injunction will unleash untold harm, delaying or denying educational opportunities and leaving students to suffer from discrimination, sexual assault, another civil rights violations without the federal resources Congress intended.”

In March, Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the agency, which was created in 1979 when Jimmy Carter was president. However U.S. District Judge Myonmg Juon, serving in Massachusetts, blocked the firings in May, determining that congressional authorization was needed. Juon was appointed by President Joe Biden.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the layoffs would resume, writing in a statement: While today’s ruling is a significant win for students and families, it is a shame that the highest court in the land had to step in to allow President Trump to advance the reforms Americans elected him to deliver using the authorities grant to him by the U.S. Constitution.”

In addition, Trump praised the high court’s decision in a Truth Social post Monday: “The United States Supreme Court has handed a Major Victory to Parents and Students across the Country, by declaring the Trump Administration may proceed on returning the functions of the Department of Education BACK TO THE STATES. Now, with this GREAT Supreme Court Decision, our Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, may begin this very important process.”

Editorial credit: NLM Photo / Shutterstock.com

Emergency crews have suspended the search for flooding victims in Central Texas, amid new flood warnings in the area that might again cause waterways to surge.  Forecasters issued warnings of additional flash flooding, after torrential rains last week led to catastrophic conditions and claimed over 100 lives.

Ingram Fire Department officials ordered search crews to immediately evacuate the Guadalupe River corridor in Kerr County until further notice, where search-and-rescue teams have been searching for missing victims of the July 4 weekend flooding — when the Guadalupe River rapidly rose more than 20 feet in the Texas Hill Country. The surge proved especially deadly in Kerr County, where 103 people lost their lives. Authorities say more than 160 people are still missing, according to the Kerrville Police Department.

Videos posted to Instagram show flooding and fallen trees along the Guadalupe River. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that water levels reached 8 to 9 feet in Hunt, Texas, on Sunday morning—well above the 7-foot threshold that marks flood stage.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center anticipate that 3 to 6 inches of rain could fall on Sunday in areas already inundated last week, with potential for flooding in places not yet affected. Strong thunderstorms drifted into northern Llano and Burnet counties, dumping rain at rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour. The National Weather Service issued warnings that flooding was either already occurring or imminent in these areas.

Forecasters also stated that the storm system is expected to continue moving southeast, pushing into the Hill Country and southern parts of the Edwards Plateau; with authorities urging the public to avoid flooded roadways and obey any barricades. In Williamson County, rising water levels in the San Gabriel River prompted officials to issue an alert, warning residents of flash flooding and advising them to stay off the roads. A flash flood warning is active for the northwestern part of the county until 10 a.m.

Kerr County, already devastated by last week’s flooding, remains under a flash flood warning until 11:30 a.m., the city of Kerrville announced via social media. Officials stressed the seriousness of the situation. “This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening emergency. Do not travel unless you are escaping a flood zone or have been ordered to evacuate.”

Editorial credit: Karim Shuaib II / Shutterstock.com

Four people were hospitalized over the weekend after a shooting erupted at a class reunion in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

According to authorities, Chattanooga police are looking for the suspect(s) who are responsible for the shooting on Saturday afternoon, which took place at the Tyner Recreation Complex, where former students of Tyner High School had gathered for a reunion.

The school, now known as Tyner Middle High Academy, reopened earlier this year after the original building was demolished to make way for a modernized campus. Earlier this month, the Tyner Alumni Association shared on Facebook that alumni from 38 different graduating classes would be attending this year’s reunion weekend.

Four victims who were standing nearby a fight when the shots rang out were hospitalized with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. A spokesperson for the Chattanooga Police Department stated that all four individuals were transported to a hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening. Authorities have not yet released details about a potential suspect, and it’s unclear whether anyone has been taken into custody. The circumstances leading up to the shooting were also unclear.

Investigators are working to collect evidence and determine what exactly led up to the shooting. Those with information about the incident were encouraged to call the Chattanooga Police Department at 423-698-2525. The investigation is ongoing.

Editorial credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com