#BREAKING: Lawrence: “A federal judge in New York City presiding in the Court of International Trade said the time has come to ensure all of the duties are REFUNDED, those are his exact words. Judge Richard Eaton is presiding over the refunds of Donald Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional tariffs. In a hearing today on the progress of those refunds, a Customs…official estimated that they will have approved refunds of over $100 billion by the end of this month, and the only reason that is happening is that Judge Eaton has repeatedly ORDERED the Trump administration to FAST TRACK the refund process, something Judge Eaton continues to actively police, much to Donald Trump’s horror and confusion.”😳😂
The hardware store closes at 6PM.. It's 5:58 when a kid walks in. The kid can't be more than sixteen. Soaking wet and shaking from the rain...
"We're closing." Tom says.
"Please. I just need a lock. For a door."
Something in the kid's voice. Terror. Desperation.
"What kind of lock?"
"I don't know. Just one that keeps people out."
The kid's got a black eye. Fresh. The kind that's still swelling.
Tom doesn't ask. Just walks to aisle seven. Shows him the locks. The kid reaches for the cheapest one, $8.99.
"That one's garbage," Tom says, "Won't stop anyone determined."
He hands him a deadbolt. Heavy duty. $34.99.
The kid's face crumbles. "I only have twelve dollars."
They stand there. Store empty except for them.
Tom takes the deadbolt to the register. Rings it up. "Twelve dollars."
"But,"
"Sale price. Today only."
The kid knows there's no sale. Knows this old man is lying. Tries not to cry and fails.
Tom bags it. Adds a screwdriver. Free.
"You know how to install it?"
The kid shakes his head...
They drive in Tom's truck. Don't talk. The kid directs him to a rundown duplex on the east side.
Upstairs apartment. Door frame cracked. Old lock broken, hanging loose.
Tom installs the deadbolt. Takes him fifteen minutes. Tests it. Solid.
Hands the kid both keys.
"Someone tries to get in, you call 911. You hear me?"
The kid nods.
Tom's halfway to his truck when he hears it, "Why?"
He turns around. The kid's standing in the doorway, backlit, holding those keys like they're made of gold.
"Why did you help me?"
Tom thinks about his own son. Twenty years ago. Different city. Same desperate eyes. Didn't make it.
"Because you asked," Tom says simply.
He drives home. Doesn't tell his wife. Doesn't think much about it.
Three weeks pass.
A woman comes into the store. Tired eyes but smiling. "Are you Tom?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"My son told me about you. The lock you sold him." She's crying now. "His father, my ex-husband, he's not a good man. That lock kept us safe until I could get the restraining order. Until we could breathe."
She hands Tom an envelope. "It's not much. But it's the thirty dollars we owed you, plus a little more."
Tom tries to refuse. She won't let him.
"You didn't just sell him a lock," she says. "You saw him. You saw us. When we were invisible."
After she leaves, Tom opens the envelope. Sixty dollars. And a note from the kid:
"Installed three more locks for neighbors who needed them. Taught myself how...
"Going to trade school next year. Maybe I'll work in a hardware store someday. Be someone like you. -Marcus"
Tom's manager notices him crying by the register.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Tom says. "Just... yeah."
That night, Tom stayed two minutes past closing. Then five. Then ten.
In case someone walks in at 5:58PM. Soaking wet. Desperate. Needing more than just a lock.
Tom learned something.
The last customer of the day may be the most important one we ever serve.
First-time voters say they’re voting for @JamesTalarico:
“The fact that Talarico doesn't plan on taking any PAC money… He's free to actually be a servant of the people rather than the billionaire.”
“He's not about like the big corporations, and he really cares about people.”
“My school district got sued last year by Paxton. So to know that his first bill is going to be an anti-corruption bill is very important to me.”
In Trump’s 1st administration he bailed out farmers with $28 billion of TAXPAYER money harmed by his trade policies. 😡 That bailout was more than the federal government spends each year building ships for the Navy or maintaining America’s nuclear arsenal. https://t.co/gTHzu4XsUE
The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University features exhibits dedicated to one of New Jersey’s most famous sons while also exploring the broader story of American music. Geoff Bennett met with "The Boss" to discuss the center, his musical legacy, and how the outspoken artist is approaching this moment in civic life. It’s part of our arts and culture series, CANVAS.
Courtesy of @NBCNews
The Trump Mobile T1 phone, originally marketed as “Made in the USA,” is nearly identical to the two-year-old HTC U24 Pro, a phone made by the Taiwanese company HTC using Chinese parts, according to a technical analysis iFixit conducted in partnership with NBC News.
“We were looking at potentially it being a Taiwanese phone, but even the Taiwanese don’t have the ability to manufacture everything from the ground up. The only thing that makes sense is for it to be a Chinese phone,” the expert said.
Within days of launching the phone, Trump Mobile quietly scrubbed “made in the USA” language from its website, replacing it with phrases like “designed with American values in mind.” The device that finally arrived carried an “assembled in the USA” sticker on the box.
__________________________________
Everything with the Pedo-in-Chief @realDonaldTrump is a scam and a con. And you MAGA morons fall for it every single time.
👇👇👇👇
A federal judge restored 11 clean energy grants in states that President Trump lost after attorneys acknowledged the election influenced why the funding was nixed.
Lawyers representing Energy Secretary Chris Wright were named the top defendants. https://t.co/htHh8JuHev
RFK Jr has cut Alzheimers research.
Alzheimers.
One of the most devastating, urgent and increasing health problems we face today.
He's not interested.
He's a nasty piece of work.
NEW EVENT/ Come join Barnes & Noble - Fifth Ave on Tuesday, July 14th, 12:00 PM EST in welcoming Adam Lambert for a signing to celebrate the release of his highly anticipated sixth studio album ADAM!
More info
https://t.co/sMbirk3kzn
https://t.co/YtvL9OP1qZ
Can’t stop thinking about how Wall Street is celebrating Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire, while he single handedly eliminated humanitarian aid that will lead to the needless deaths of 4.5 million of the poorest children in the world in the next 4 years.
Ten years ago, 49 innocent people were taken far too soon at the Pulse nightclub shooting during Pride.
We remember their names and honor their lives.
We must keep fighting to stop the senseless gun violence and hate plaguing our nation.
They tried to make an example of Brad Lander. It backfired spectacularly.
Trump's DOJ charged Brad Lander with misdemeanor obstruction after he tried to inspect an ICE immigration detention facility in Manhattan.
A judge threw the case out.
Lander — former NYC Comptroller, congressional candidate, and close ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani — was arrested along with 75 others, including multiple elected officials, after a federal judge had ordered ICE to improve conditions at the site.
The charge? Misdemeanor obstruction. Specifically: blocking an elevator lobby.
Lander rejected a plea deal and took the case to trial.
On Thursday, after a one-day bench trial, a New York judge found him not guilty.
The verdict sent a message — and Lander made sure to say it out loud.
"It's a blessing we don't always appreciate — and one that is being utterly denied to our immigrant neighbors by Trump and ICE," he said at a news conference after the ruling.
His statement wasn't about himself. It was about the people still trapped inside those walls without access to fair hearings, legal counsel, or basic dignity.
"All we want at 26 Federal Plaza is for everybody facing removal proceedings to have the same access to the rule of law as I had in this trial," he said.
Trump's administration tried to make an example of the elected officials who showed up that day. Instead, they handed them a platform — and today, they handed Lander a win.
He's running for Congress and has been endorsed by Mamdani and Bernie Sanders.