In the last several days, President Trump has issued tariffs on over 14 countries, but his latest tariff is not on a country but rather copper. In a late-night Truth Social Post, President Trump announced he will put a 50% tariff on copper. Trump noted in his post that he enacted the tariff after receiving a National Security Assessment. Read Trump’s full post below: I am announcing a 50% TARIFF on Copper, effective August 1, 2025, after receiving a robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT. Copper is necessary for Semiconductors, Aircraft, Ships, Ammunition, Data Centers, Lithium-ion Batteries, Radar Systems, Missile Defense Systems, and even, Hypersonic Weapons, of which we are building many. Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense! Why did our foolish (and SLEEPY!) “Leaders” decimate this important Industry? This 50% TARIFF will reverse the Biden Administration’s thoughtless behavior, and stupidity. America will, once again, build a DOMINANT Copper Industry. THIS IS, AFTER ALL, OUR GOLDEN AGE! President Trump announces a 50% tariff on copper, effective August 1st pic.twitter.com/VEED42jeXz — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 10, 2025 CNBC filled in the details on Trump’s copper tariffs: U.S. President Donald Trump said that the 50% tariff on copper imports, which he announced earlier on Tuesday, will begin on Aug. 1. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he made the decision after receiving a national security assessment. Copper is the third-most-consumed metal, behind iron and aluminum. The U.S. imports nearly half of the copper it uses, most of which comes from Chile, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Trump in late February ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on copper imports on national security grounds. In recent years, the price of copper has risen so high that the U.S. government loses millions of dollars each year on its production. The problem has gotten so bad that the Trump administration announced earlier in the year that the U.S. will no longer make pennies. President Trump has ordered a stop to penny production. Good! I covered the stupidity of government losing money to make pennies years ago: pic.twitter.com/GreLFnVU7e — John Stossel (@JohnStossel) February 10, 2025 Read more about it here: Trump Admin Will Stop Making Pennies, Here’s What Will Happen To Them Next

King Crimson singer and guitarist Jakko Jakszyk confirms that the band are in the studio

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is unaware of what her role is as a Supreme Court Justice. It’s unbelievable really. ABC News’s Linsey Davis interviewed Ketanji. During the wide-ranging interview, Davis asked if she was concerned about “the current state of American democracy.” Jackson said she was “heartened” that people are focusing on the work of […] The post Justice Ketanji Loves SCOTUS Opinions to Show How She “Feels” appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Joe Biden’s White House physician, Kevin O’Connor, repeatedly declined to answer questions during a deposition before Congress on Wednesday as part of an investigation into the alleged “cover-up” of the former president’s mental state and whether he authorized the use of autopen signatures for major executive actions. Republicans who lead the House Oversight Committee released video of the closed-door interview showing O’Connor declaring his refusal to cooperate when pressed on whether he was ever told to lie about Biden’s health and if he ever believed Biden was unfit to executive his duties as president. ? EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE: Joe Biden’s White House doctor, Kevin O’Connor, PLEADS THE FIFTH and REFUSES to answer if he was ever told to lie about Biden’s health or whether he believed Biden was unfit to execute his duties as president. What are they hiding? WATCH THE DEPOSITION ?? pic.twitter.com/4OvvCfpLoQ — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 9, 2025 “On the advice of counsel,” O’Connor said each time, “I must respectfully decline to answer based upon the physician-patient privilege and in reliance on my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. I am not a lawyer and I must follow my lawyer’s advice in this matter.” The video showed O’Connor, who had been subpoenaed to appear for the deposition, did state his name and said “yes” as he swore to be truthful in his testimony. Otherwise he stuck to saying he would not be answering questions, including those related to whether he understood instructions. O’Connor’s attorney stressed that his client’s responses would not change. While the GOP majority tried — and failed — to get O’Connor to say whether his non-answers were meant to avoid self-incrimination, the Democrat minority pointed out for the record that O’Connor’s attorneys had explained to Republicans that responses violating doctor-patient confidentiality might place the witness in breach of his legal and ethical obligations. O’Connor’s attorney read a statement telling House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and the other members of the panel the witness would not violate his oath of confidentiality to his patients, including Biden, and insisted that a “pending” Department of Justice criminal investigation left O’Connor “no choice” but to assert his Fifth Amendment rights. It was also noted that O’Connor’s assertion of his Fifth Amendment privilege did not imply that he committed any crimes. The video was a little less than 21 minutes in total, but there were breaks in the footage for off-the-record portions of the deposition. After the interview, a GOP House Oversight aide rejected the claim of doctor-patient confidentiality. “Dr. O’Connor would not answer any questions other than his name. Doctor-patient objection would have meant he would have stayed and answered questions that didn’t implicate such privilege,” the aide said. “Instead, he took the Fifth to all and any potential questions.” Republicans interpreted O’Connor’s conduct as evidence of there being an effort to conceal evidence of Biden’s diminishing health while he was in office. “It’s now clear there was a conspiracy to cover up President Biden’s cognitive decline after Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician and family business associate, refused to answer any questions and chose to hide behind the Fifth Amendment,” Comer said in a post on X. “The American people demand transparency but Dr. O’Connor would rather conceal the truth,” Comer added. “Dr. O’Connor took the Fifth when asked if he was told to lie about President Biden’s health and whether he was fit to be President of the United States. Congress must assess legislative solutions to prevent such a cover-up from happening again. We will continue to interview more Biden White House aides to get the answers Americans deserve.” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, took the opportunity to swipe at GOP colleagues over the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that recently passed through Congress. “The only person’s health that Republicans care about is Joe Biden’s – even as 17 million Americans lose access to health care thanks to their budget betrayal,” Garcia said on X. O’Connor’s deposition took place after President Donald Trump waived his executive privilege, which also happened for former White House Staff Secretary and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden, who testified for several hours last month and denied there was an effort to cover up Biden’s condition. Other former Biden aides are expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks. Biden, now 82, abandoned his 2024 re-election bid following a faltering presidential debate against Trump amid pressure from allies. A book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on Biden’s “decline” and the “cover-up,” alongside the former president’s recent “aggressive” prostate cancer diagnosis and the release of audio from special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with him, intensified scrutiny. However, the former president has pushed back on the notion that he did not dictate his executive actions. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Biden said in a statement. “This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.” Trump has ordered a separate investigation into whether aides improperly used an autopen for executive actions in an effort to conceal Biden’s health issues, suggesting there could be “implications” for the legality and validity of the presidential acts in question. Senate Republicans are also looking into Biden’s mental fitness.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an Egyptian national and former chaplain at a children’s hospital who was flagged on the FBI’s terror watchlist. Egyptian national Imam Ayman Soliman was arrested by federal immigration enforcement agents Wednesday after the man, whose asylum was revoked under the Biden administration, met with ICE and FBI agents, one report noted. Soliman, who formerly worked as a chaplain at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and presided over services at a local mosque in the Ohio city, first came to the United States roughly a decade ago and was granted asylum status in 2018. That status, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says, was revoked under the Biden administration. The DHS official also noted that Soliman “was flagged on the FBI terror watchlist,” leading to his apprehension on Wednesday. Court documents indicate that members of Soliman’s family, who were still in Egypt, had filed a request to migrate to the United States to join him. Some supporters of Soliman say that he was fleeing violence and persecution in his home country and argue that he should not be sent back to Egypt. Even if his fears are found to be credible by the federal government, a recent Supreme Court ruling could enable his deportation to a willing third party country. The Trump administration deported several illegal aliens, who could not be returned to their home countries, to South Sudan after the African nation agreed to receive deportees from the United States. The deportation operation was swiftly challenged in court, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration. The ruling is expected to enable the deportation of thousands of illegal aliens whose home countries are unwilling to accept them, or who have credible fears of torture or persecution if they are returned to their nation of origin.