China hits back with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods

Beijing accuses the Trump administration of launching the ‘biggest trade war in history’ No Images? Click here   By Paul Vale     Friday, July 6  ‘GANG OF HOODLUMS’ U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports have taken effect, setting the two biggest global economies on the path to a full-blown trade war. Beijing said it has already started implementing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, while Chinese state media accused the White House of behaving like a “gang of hoodlums.” [Reuters] [Tweet | Share on Facebook] EPA CHIEF SCOTT PRUITT RESIGNS Scott Pruitt, whom a Washington Post columnist called the “most corrupt senior official in the federal government,” has resigned as the Environmental Protection Agency administrator following a string of controversies. Here is a review of all the scandals that finally forced him to quit. On hearing the news, a government ethics watchdog posted a one-word tweet that simply read: “good.” Unfortunately for those who care about protecting the environment, Pruitt’s replacement is Andrew Wheeler, a former coal and mining lobbyist as well as a climate change denier. [HuffPost] POMPEO LANDS IN PYONGYANG Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in North Korea as part of an effort to secure the remains of some 200 U.S. troops missing from the Korean War and receive an initial agreement on a list of the North’s nuclear facilities that could be part of a program of denuclearization. President Donald Trump has reportedly given Pompeo a gift to give to Kim: An Elton John CD with the song “Rocket Man” on it. [Reuters] ‘THIS DECISION MUST BE REVERSED NOW’ The U.S. Army has begun discharging immigrants who enlisted in the military with promises that their service would lead to U.S. citizenship, according to a report by The Associated Press. [HuffPost] DIVER DIES IN THAI RESCUE OPERATION A Thai rescuer has died after falling unconscious during part of an operation to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a cave complex in northern Thailand. [Reuters] EX-FOX EXEC SHINE LANDS TRUMP COMMUNICATIONS GIG Bill Shine, the former Fox News co-president who was forced out of the job over his handling of sexual harassment claims at the network, has been named the White House deputy chief of staff for communications. [HuffPost]         SCOTUS RUNDOWN We’ve looked at Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Raymond Kethledge, Trump’s reported top three picks for the Supreme Court. Here’s what you need to know. [HuffPost] WORLD CUP HOOKUP This fascinating piece looks at how Russian women — eager for a sexual revolution — are using the World Cup to hook up with fans from all over the world, leaving local men threatened and angry. [The Daily Beast] MOCKING ME TOO Trump mocked the Me Too movement while ranting about Elizabeth Warren's heritage during a Thursday night rally in Montana. [HuffPost] JAPANESE CULTISTS HANGED Japan has executed seven members of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo underground in 1995. [BBC] TRUMP’S ‘SCHTICK IS COMPLETE BS’ Fox Business Network senior correspondent Charles Gasparino has lashed out at Trump after the president claimed journalists “never use names anymore” and “make the source up.” Writing on Twitter, Gasparino said Trump was “one of mine [anonymous sources] over the years” and this “schtick is complete BS he knows it.” [HuffPost] BREXIT D-DAY Downing Street is braced for a raft of Cabinet resignations ahead of a crunch Brexit meeting in which U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is to outline Britain's post-Brexit relationship with Europe. Here’s how the Brexit nightmare is coming true for British business. [BBC]       Starbucks has fired an employee who mocked a customer with a stutter. Vox looks to explain the “mind-bendy weirdness of the number zero.” Rapper Chris Brown has been arrested after a concert at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. Here are 33 of the most show-stopping looks from Couture Week in Paris. Oh just a three-legged baby orphan elephant playing with his carer during bath time. Ed Schultz, the former MSNBC broadcaster and radio personality, who most recently worked for RT America, has died at the age of 64. Idris Elba is being lined up to play the main villain in “Hobbs and Shaw,” the “Fast and Furious” spinoff starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Actor James Woods, a rare outspoken conservative in Hollywood, claims he was dropped by his agent on Independence Day because of his political views. Evan Nagao won the 1A division of the recent National Yo-Yo Contest in Chicago with a beast of a routine to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird.” This 9-year-old girl with cerebral palsy is being hailed as a hero after she saved her baby brother from drowning. At least two rhino poachers were eaten by lions on a South African game reserve, the owner of the lodge said Thursday after discovering human remains close to a pride of lions. Here’s how to make small talk with almost anyone. An ultra-orthodox lawmaker in Israel used a debate in the Knesset to blame reform Jews for earthquakes in Galilee. What does to post-credit scene in “Ant Man and the Wasp” mean for the Marvel Cinematic Universe? And officials at the Louvre in Paris were so blown away by Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s “Apes**t” video that they’ve launched a special tour of the masterpieces that feature in the film. 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