Happy Monday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1053 words…4 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Camp Mystic, Elon’s ‘America Party’, Jack Dorsey’s new app, TikTok USA version, Epstein verdict, BRICS unite… & much more!
🚨 Watch For:
Trump-Netanyahu dinner at the White House tonight
Possible progress in Gaza ceasefire deal as Witkoff flies to Qatar
Potential TikTok deal announced next week.
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Source: New York Post
🚨Camp Mystic Tragedy Spurs Texas Flood Warning Backlash
The search continues at Camp Mystic, Kerr County, after catastrophic July 4th floods left 27 dead and 11 still missing. Survivors described harrowing escapes, with some girls rescued by holding onto ropes strung by rescuers as they crossed bridges with water whipping around their legs
📢Key Points:
The Guadalupe River surged 20 feet in 2 hours, overwhelming the historic camp.
About 750 children present when the floodwaters struck (10 girls & 1 counselor still missing).
Over 1,500 rescuers, including the National Guard, are combing the area with boats, helicopters, drones, and thermal tech.
Statewide death count rises to 89 as of Monday morning.
⚠️ Controversy and fury over Texas' flood preparedness:
Warning system cuts blamed for deadly delays.
Kerr County scrapped flood sirens and river monitors, citing costs—despite being in “Flash Flood Alley.”
Initially, the media blamed National Weather Service (NWS) layoffs, but it was later confirmed that the local weather office had extra staff on duty.
➡️Senator Chuck Schumer (D - NY) vows to launch a probe into the NWS cuts.
➡️Camp Mystic’s owner, Dick Eastland, died trying to save lives. The five little girls he rescued, all made it out safely.
“Reuniting the families remain our highest priority”
📅Trump Visit Coming Friday: The President called it a “hundred-year catastrophe,” signed a disaster declaration, and vowed federal support.
Officials have vowed a full investigation, but the immediate mission remains: find the missing.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
BRICS+ group photo, Brazil 2025
🌍 BRICS Bloc Flexes as U.S. Threats Escalate
The expanded BRICS summit (BRICS+) wrapped up in Rio with 126 new commitments spanning AI, climate, global governance, and IMF/World Bank reforms.
Indonesia joined as a full member (11 full members (BRICS) + 10 partner countries (BRICS+))
🔥 Trump threatened 10% tariffs on nations backing “anti-American” BRICS policies, calling the bloc a threat to U.S. interests.
➡️BRICS leaders fired back, slamming the tariffs as illegal and destabilizing.
💡 Why It Matters: BRICS is no longer a club of emerging markets—it’s a geopolitical counterweight, now spanning 11 nations representing >40% of the world population - flexing serious economic muscle as they push to curb U.S. dollar dominance.
🕌 Hebron Sheikhs Push to Exit PA, Join Abraham Accords
Five senior sheikhs, led by Wadee’ al-Jaabari, stunned observers with a proposal to create an “Emirate of Hebron” outside Palestinian Authority control. Their letter to Israel backs coexistence, zero terrorism, and formal ties via the Abraham Accords.
They blasted the PA as a “corrupt mafia” and called the two-state vision dead.
Their deal: Recognize Israel as a Jewish state in exchange for autonomy, work permits, and a Dubai-style economic zone.
💡 Why It Matters: The bold move exposes cracks in Palestinian unity—and fuels a new, hyper-local push for regional normalization.
💣 Trump Drops Tariff Bomb As Deadline Looms
President Trump posted letters slapping new tariffs on over a dozen countries that haven’t yet agreed on a trade deal.
➡️🇯🇵 Japan — 25% 🇰🇷 South Korea — 25% 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan — 25% 🇲🇾 Malaysia — 25% 🇱🇦 Laos — 40% 🇲🇲 Myanmar — 40% 🇿🇦 South Africa — 30% — 🇷🇸 SERBIA — 35% 🇧🇦 Bosnia — 30% 🇧🇩 Bangladesh — 35% 🇮🇩 Indonesia — 32% 🇹🇭 Thailand — 36% 🇰🇭 Cambodia — 36%
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the President would sign an Executive Order this evening to delay the implementation of the severest measures until Aug 1st.
🪙 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, said that there would be several trade announcements over the next 48 hours. He expects “it’s going to be a busy couple of days.”
📉 Markets dipped slightly and the DOW slid 400 points on Trump’s tariff news today.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
🎪 Musk’s ‘America Party’ Hits the Stage
💰 Elon Musk filed papers for his new America Party, claiming he’ll crush the “uniparty” since the ‘majority have spoken’.
His proof? A global X poll — including non-U.S. voters.
🥷 No policies yet, but Musk plans to target House and Senate seats for the midterms. Backers include billionaire Mark Cuban and ex-politician Anthony Scaramucci - both ‘Never Trumpers’.
I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely “off the rails,” essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.
🚗 Tesla shares plunged 7% ($68B loss) as investors panic over his political circus.
🔍 Bottom Line: As the weeks progress, it will be interesting to see whether this was play borne out of genuine concern for America or pure vengeance.
🕵️♂️ Epstein Files Closed
The DOJ and FBI say there’s zero evidence Epstein had a “client list” or blackmailed elites — contradicting ex-AG Pam Bondi’s claims.
Their review also backed the official story: Epstein died by suicide in 2019. Conspiracy theories? Debunked. Officials dropped security footage and ruled out more charges or juicy disclosures.
🔥 The Roast: Now we can only breathe a sigh of relief. It’s confirmed - world leaders and billionaires only went to the island for sandy beaches and Mai-Tais.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
📡 Dorsey’s Off-Grid Chat App Drops
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey launched Bitchat, a peer-to-peer messaging app running entirely on Bluetooth — no internet, phone numbers, or servers.
🔐 Messages are encrypted, vanish by default, and travel device to device, even offline. Inspired by Hong Kong’s protest tech, it’s built for censorship resistance. Beta is live now, with WiFi Direct coming soon.
🤔 Irony Alert: A ‘censorship resistant’ app made by someone who literally censored political dissent on Twitter during his tenure as CEO.
📱 Tiktok’s Building An American Version
🇺🇸 Tiktok is reportedly working on a U.S. version of the app as pressure mounts for a sale to American investors..
➡ Called "M2" by insiders, it is set to launch Sep. 5th.
⚡The ownership of the algorithm has been a sticky point in the deal right from the get-go. Previously, there were talks of spinning off TikTok's U.S. operations. But now it seems a whole new version is in play.
💸 A TikTok sale deal is likely to be announced around July 15th.
💀 THE ROAST
Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged
