Today in one sentence: Trump threatened tariffs of 25% to 40% on imports from 14 countries unless they reach trade deals with the U.S. by August 1, reviving his “reciprocal” tariff plan and extending a previous July 9 deadline; at least 104 people, including 27 children and camp staff, died in last week’s Texas floods after emergency warnings failed to reach communities in time; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will introduce a bill making weather modification a felony, citing conspiracy theories with no scientific basis; the Trump administration ended deportation protections for about 76,000 migrants from Honduras and Nicaragua who have lived and worked legally in the U.S. for over 25; six national medical groups sued Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women; measles cases in the U.S. hit a 33-year high as vaccination rates fell and public health funding declined; and the Justice Department contradicted Attorney General Pam Bondi and said it found no “incriminating client list” tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

1/ Trump threatened tariffs of 25% to 40% on imports from 14 countries unless they reach trade deals with the U.S. by August 1, reviving his “reciprocal” tariff plan and extending a previous July 9 deadline. The rates mostly match the “Liberation Day” tariffs he announced in April, which were paused for 90 days after markets plunged. Trump posted letters to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and others warning, “If you decide to raise your tariffs […] whatever the number […] will be added onto the 25% that we charge.” He said the tariffs “may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country.” The White House said more letters are coming and confirmed Trump will sign an executive order to push the tariff deadline to August 1. (New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / NPR / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

2/ At least 104 people, including 27 children and camp staff, died in last week’s Texas floods after emergency warnings failed to reach communities in time. Local officials blamed inaccurate forecasts from the National Weather Service, which lost 600 staff this year under Trump’s government-wide cuts. “The amount of rain that fell […] was never in any of those forecasts,” Texas Emergency Chief Nim Kidd said. But meteorologists said NWS issued alerts hours before the floods, and that key vacancies – caused by Trump’s buyouts – had crippled coordination with local officials. “The crux of this disaster is a failure of the last mile of communication,” NWS union rep Tom Fahy said. Flash flood warnings were issued after 1 a.m. Friday, but Kerr County had no local sirens or flood alert system. The rural summer camp had no phones, no confirmed NOAA radio, and no reliable way to receive alerts. The river rose more than 26 feet in under an hour. Most of those killed never knew the flood was coming. Despite weeks of warnings from former agency heads that Trump’s budget would cause “needless loss of life,” the administration went ahead with staffing cuts and paused key weather programs. FEMA, which Trump has vowed to shut down, was deployed to clean up the aftermath. Asked if he would reverse course on firing meteorologists, Trump replied: “Very talented people are there and they didn’t see it.” (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / NBC News / Politico / Wired / ABC News / Techdirt)

3/ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will introduce a bill making weather modification a felony, citing conspiracy theories with no scientific basis. The bill would ban the “injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere” to alter weather or climate, and resembles a Florida law that criminalizes cloud seeding, a decades-old method some states use to encourage rain. Greene, who has repeatedly claimed the government can “control the weather,” said she’s spent months working with legislative counsel. Earlier this year, Greene questioned why “they” haven’t used “cloud seeding” to stop the California wildfires, despite the practice being ineffective in dry conditions. (The Hill / HuffPost / Salon)

4/ The Trump administration ended deportation protections for about 76,000 migrants from Honduras and Nicaragua who have lived and worked legally in the U.S. for over 25 years. The decision terminates Temporary Protected Status, first granted after Hurricane Mitch in 1999, and will take effect 60 days after the notices are officially published. (Associated Press / CNN / New York Times)

5/ Six national medical groups sued Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. The lawsuit says Kennedy acted “arbitrarily and capriciously,” bypassed federal procedures, and made a “baseless and uninformed” decision, which caused pregnant women to lose access to the vaccine. “Every second the secretary’s dangerous and unsupported decisions stay in effect,” one plaintiff warned, “he’s increasing the risk of serious infection and illness.” HHS, meanwhile, defended the move, saying Kennedy was “taking urgent action” to protect public safety. (CNN / Associated Press / Bloomberg / ABC News / New York Times / Washington Post)

6/ Measles cases in the U.S. hit a 33-year high as vaccination rates fell and public health funding declined. At least 1,277 cases have been confirmed this year, with three deaths and 155 hospitalizations. The CDC said 92% of those infected were either unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. The West Texas outbreak, now at 753 cases, spread after officials said anti-vaccine groups promoted unproven treatments. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., meanwhile, dismissed the ongoing transmissions, saying: “We have measles outbreaks every year.” (Washington Post / Axios / USA Today)

7/ The Justice Department contradicted Attorney General Pam Bondi and said it found no “incriminating client list” tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi previously claimed that such a list was “sitting on my desk.” A DOJ memo said investigators found “no credible evidence” Epstein blackmailed powerful figures, and confirmed that he died by suicide. The announcement followed months of promises from Trump officials to expose more records, including a February White House stunt where right-wing influencers were handed binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” that contained mostly public documents. Elon Musk responded with a meme mocking the administration’s walk-back: “We will release the Epstein list. We just need more time. The list is on my desk. There is no list.” He called it “the final straw” after previously claiming, “Donald Trump is in the Epstein files,” before deleting the post and adding, “The truth will come out.” Trump called the accusation “old news,” denied any connection to Epstein since the early 2000s, and claimed to have banned him from Mar-a-Lago – despite being photographed with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the club. (Axios / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / Gizmodo / The Hill / Mother Jones / Associated Press / NPR / New York Times / CNN)

The midterm elections are in 484 days.

Three years ago today: Day 534: "Entrenched."
Four years ago today: Day 169: "A lot of good things."
Five years ago today: Day 1265: "Gave up and didn't try."
Eight years ago today: Day 169: An honor to be with you.