Wednesday morning news: July 23, 2025

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New U.S. trade deals » President Trump says the U.S. and Japan now have the framework in place for what he called a “massive” new trade deal.

The agreement will place a 15% tax on imports from Japan down from the planned 25% starting next month.

The United States has also reached a framework deal with the Philippines. That came after Trump hosted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Oval Office Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

LEAVITT:  And they have agreed to lower their tariff and non tariff barriers so we can sell our products to them and they will continue to pay tariffs to sell products to us.

Under the deal, the U.S. will lower its planned tariff on Philippine goods from 20% to 19%.

Trump also said the two nations will also deepen military ties.

That comes as China continues to act more aggressively in the South China Sea … where Beijing and Manila have clashed over hotly contested territory.

Marcos told reporters:

MARCOS:  We are essentially, uh, concerned with the defense of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights. Now, uh, whether, uh, we do this not alone … we need to do this, uh, with our partners.

He added that his country’s “strongest partner has always been the United States.”

Trump says time to “go after” Obama officials »  President Trump says he thinks former President Barack Obama should face criminal charges.

TRUMP: He's guilty. They, this was treason. This was every word you can think of. They tried to steal the election.

His remarks come after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. She asked the DOJ to look into allegations that some in the Obama administration—her words “altered intelligence to push the narrative of a Trump-Russia plot days before Trump took office in 20-17, despite prior intelligence reportedly indicating otherwise.”

GABBARD:  There was a shift, 180 degree shift from the Intelligence Communities assessment leading up to the election to the one that President Obama directed be produced after Donald Trump won the election.

Obama's team responded, calling the allegations bizarre, and saying they are a ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.

In 2019, a report from the Justice Department’s inspector general detailed wrongdoing within the FBI … in the handling of the Russia probe. But the IG said he did not find provable evidence that political bias drove the Russia investigation.

Epstein files » House Speaker Mike Johnson has abruptly sent Congress into recess to avoid a vote on whether to force the Department of Justice to release more files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

JOHNSON: There's no purpose for Congress to push an administration to do something that they're already doing. And so this is for political games.

President Trump says he has ordered the Justice Department to release all “credible” evidence in the Epstein case.

That comes as the president has taken heat on the matter from some even within his own party. GOP Congressman Thomas Massie:

MASSIE:  People have wanted these files for years. And then, you know, the president's staff administration, his own children, his vice president, have promised that these files would come out. And now we're being told it's a hoax. It just, it doesn't wash.

The Trump administration has effectively said there was nothing else to see in the case, that for example, there was no written Epstein client list.

The DOJ has now asked a judge to unseal grand jury transcripts in the Epstein case as well as those related to the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell who was convicted of aiding the now-deceased billionaire in sex crimes against minors.

And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell this week. If she has any additional information to provide, it’s unclear if she’ll be offered a deal for her cooperation.

Israel-Gaza latest » In the Middle East, living conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate.

SOUND: [Soup kitchen]

Palestinians crowded at a soup kitchen in Gaza City, standing in long lines, holding empty pots they’re hoping to fill.

PALESTINIAN: [Screaming in Arabic]

One Palestinian voicing frustration and anguish amid a humanitarian crisis. He says they continue to eat and negotiate … while people in Gaza starve to death. He says there’s no one left in Gaza…they are all dead.

Meanwhile, Israel is facing increasing pressure to end its military campaign against the terror group Hamas in Gaza.

SOUND: [Deir-al-Balah bombardment]

Israel Defense Forces launched an attack on Deir-al-Balah yesterday. The city in central Gaza has remained relatively untouched since the war began...but Israel now believes Hamas is hiding Israeli hostages taken during the October 7 attacks inside the city.

And in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press yesterday, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said there is only one acceptable way out of this conflict:

GUTERRES: An immediate permanent ceasefire, an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access without any restrictions.

He went on to call for a two-state solution that would see a Palestinian state in the Middle East.

Ozzy Osbourne obit » Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne has died at the age of 76.

The Grammy-winning performer was often at the center of controversy over the use of dark, occult imagery in concerts and music videos.

But in the 2000’s, he assumed an entirely different persona as the star of the hit MTV reality TV show “The Osbournes” that of a doddering, mild-mannered family man.

OSBOURNE:  My wife Sharon, is the leader. We all depend on her for everything, you know, even me,

His career spanned six decades. As a lead singer and as a solo artist, combined, Osbourne sold nearly 150 million records.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hunter Baker is back with analysis of some of the top political stories of the week on Washington Wednesday. Plus, what the Bible has to say about borders.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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