🔵 Germany Launches Deportations

Author

Citizen Frank
July 07, 2025

Good morning. It’s Monday, July 7.

The German government has begun the process of lifting the protection status for some Syrian refugees with the aim of returning them to their homeland now that the civil war has ended.

Germany has long been one of the top destinations for Syrian asylum seekers after civil war broke out in 2011. This was ramped up during the 2015 Europe Migrant Crisis when then-Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the gates of the EU, allowing in around a million migrants into Germany, including hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

Now, with the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus and the recent election of Christian Democrat Friedrich Merz in Berlin, Germany finally appears set to begin the process of returning at least some Syrians home.

 
 

The Department of Justice released video from the prison in which the late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, concluding that nobody entered his cell that day and that it was in fact a suicide.

The video was released in a memo that also details Justice Department findings from an investigation into the existence of an Epstein “client list” and questions around his death. The findings state that Epstein did not keep a “client list” and that his death in 2019 was a suicide.

The memo says that FBI agents reviewed “more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence” in its investigation into Epstein and his death.

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to visit the White House on Monday for the third time in President Trump’s second term, Associated Press has obtained a copy of the latest ceasefire proposal — which now incorporates a personal guarantee from Trump that Israel won’t violate this ceasefire as it did a previous one.

Contrary to the wishes of Hamas, the proposed arrangement is a truce rather than an assured permanent end to the war, which has killed at least 55,000 people, according to Gaza’s health authority, while rendering much of the territory uninhabitable. Here are the key provisions reported by AP:

The deal centers on a 60-day ceasefire, during which Hamas would transfer 10 living captives to Israel along with 18 dead ones. It’s believed Hamas is still holding upwards of 25 living hostages.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk trolled President Trump early Monday with a post knocking the administration for making no arrests related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Musk, Trump’s former ally-turned-foe, posted an image to his social platform X of “The Official Jeffrey Epstein Pedophile Arrest Counter,” set to “0000.”

“What’s the time? Oh look, it’s no-one-has-been-arrested-o’clock again …,” Musk captioned the photo.

A United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer from New Jersey is being called a hero after rescuing close to 200 people following flash floods in Central Texas.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Scott Ruskan, 26, was singled out by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for his efforts saving 165 victims as the only triage coordinator at the scene of the floods.

“United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin (Ruskan), directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central Texas. This was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene. Scott Ruskin is an American hero. His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the @USCG,” Noem’s posted to her social media account on X.

President Trump announced Sunday that later in the week, he plans to visit Texas’ Hill Country, where devastating floods have killed at least 80 people – including kids at a Christian all-girl camp swept away by the deluge.

“This is a hundred-year catastrophe and it’s just so horrible to watch,” Trump told reporters.Trump said.

Asked if he plans to head to the Lone Star State to survey the damage, Trump said he’ll “probably” go on Friday.

President Trump’s approval ratings remain underwater as he gets mixed reviews on his immigration crackdown, economic handling and foreign policy five months into his second administration.

Trump’s approval on the economy, one of his biggest strengths throughout 2024, has appeared to improve slightly after taking a hit from chaotic tariff moves and stock market losses earlier this year, though it largely remains negative. And support for his handling of immigration, while still his strongest issue, has shown signs of weakening as he pursues his campaign promise of mass deportations.

At the same time, his favorability and job approval numbers have ticked up slightly since the Israel-Iran ceasefire took hold, noted Scott Tranter, the director of data science for Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) — signaling some recovery even as the figures remain significantly lower than they were when Trump took office.

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