The Morning Sixpack—June 30, 2025

Trump torches MS-13 cases in secret Bukele deal, slashes clean energy, rewards oil, bullies GOP critics, and hires teen “Big Balls” to fix SSA

Gunman Sets Idaho Wildfire, Then Ambushes Firefighters in Deadly Sniper Attack

A rifle-wielding attacker deliberately ignited a wildfire on Canfield Mountain before gunning down firefighters in a calculated ambush that left two dead and one critically wounded.

Authorities in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, say the violence erupted Sunday afternoon when crews rushed to contain a blaze that quickly became a death trap. The gunman lay in wait with a high-powered rifle, firing repeatedly on first responders who were simply trying to do their jobs. As Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris bluntly put it, “These firefighters did not have a chance.”

First responders scrambled for cover while the fire advanced, and dispatchers broadcast frantic pleas for help: “Everybody’s shot up here... send law enforcement now.” A tactical team ultimately used cellphone signals to track the shooter, whose body was found near the flames.

The attack paralyzed the popular mountain community, shutting down hiking trails and forcing residents to shelter in place. Even the air response was delayed out of fear aircraft would be targeted. Local leaders called it “a heinous direct assault” on those who put themselves in harm’s way.

Isn’t it bad enough our firefighters face MORE wildfires every season, but now they’re dodging sniper bullets? It’s a gut punch to any community that relies on brave volunteers to keep them safe. Let’s call this what it is—an act of domestic terror against first responders. And let’s prosecute to the fullest extent. Homegrown terrorists are on the rise. We’d better do something about it.

Source: AP News

Trump’s Mega-Bill: Tax Cuts for the Rich, Cuts for the Poor, and Billions for a Wall

Republicans are jamming through a sweeping bill that slashes safety nets, showers corporations with tax breaks, and bankrolls Trump’s border wall dreams.

This so-called One Big Beautiful Bill is basically a MAGA wishlist on steroids. If it passes, the wealthiest Americans and big businesses will celebrate permanent tax cuts, while millions of low-income families brace for Medicaid cuts, higher costs for food aid, and the erasure of Biden’s student loan relief. Republicans are using budget reconciliation to dodge a Democratic filibuster and shove the package through on party lines. It’s the most cynical bill we’ve EVER seen.

The plan funnels nearly $170 billion into border walls, detention centers, and immigration crackdowns. As if that weren’t enough, it throws in oil and gas drilling in protected areas and guts clean energy incentives—because nothing says “future-proof economy” like doubling down on fossil fuels. In a flourish that can only be described as peak Trump branding, it also creates $1,000 “Trump accounts” for newborns—seriously. It probably comes with that stupid fucking trump memecoin.

Critics say the bill is a brazen attack on the vulnerable and a bonanza for donors. One commenter nailed it: “This isn’t fiscal responsibility—it’s a smash-and-grab by the rich at everyone else’s expense.” The legislation even auctions off wireless spectrum, sells federal land for development, and slaps hefty new taxes on university endowments.

How is ANY of this budget reconciliation?

If you think this reads like a fever dream of corporate lobbyists and culture warriors, you’re not wrong. But it’s very real—and it’s barreling toward final passage unless something big stops it.

It will pass and become law.

Source: Washington Post

GOP Senator Quits After Trump Threatens to Crush His Career Over Tax Bill Rebellion

Sen. Thom Tillis has thrown in the towel on reelection just a day after Trump vowed to boot him for defying the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

The North Carolina Republican stunned his party by announcing he won’t run for a third term, a move that detonates the 2026 Senate map and hands Democrats a golden opening. Tillis was one of only two GOP senators who refused to start debate on Trump’s sweeping tax and immigration overhaul, blasting it as a betrayal of promises not to gut Medicaid.

In his words: “What do I tell 663,000 people...when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of Medicaid?”

How about the truth, Thommy?

Naturally, Trump pounced within hours, torching Tillis on Truth Social as a “talker and complainer” and crowing Sunday that the senator’s exit was “Great News!” Let’s be real—this was a political hit job in broad daylight, a reminder that no Republican critic of Trump is safe from instant retribution.

Tillis insisted frustration over the Medicaid cuts wasn’t the only factor in his decision—but it sure lit the fuse. He had been raising millions for a tough reelection fight and just days ago was planning campaign meetings. Then Trump threatened to personally recruit a primary challenger, and Tillis suddenly remembered he’d rather not spend the next year getting mauled by MAGA loyalists.

Democrats, predictably, are licking their chops. An open seat in a battleground state Trump barely carried? You can bet every Democrat with a pulse—and a donor list—is about to jump in. As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “This is bad news for their majority.”

With all due respect, CHUCK, shut the fuck up. You all are weak cowards.

Source: Washington Post

Elon Musk Blasts Trump’s Tax Bill as a “Corporate Scam” that Kills Clean Energy

Elon Musk ripped into Trump’s massive tax and immigration plan, calling it “a corporate scam” that guts clean energy and hands billions to entrenched industries.

In a blistering statement Saturday, Musk warned the legislation would set back U.S. innovation by a decade while padding the pockets of fossil fuel giants and legacy automakers. He accused the bill’s authors of deliberately trying to wipe out the incentives that fueled Tesla’s rise and America’s EV boom.

“This bill isn’t about helping working people—it’s about keeping the old guard in power,” Musk said flatly.

At the heart of Musk’s fury is the proposal to eliminate the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles and slash incentives for solar and wind energy. (Remember, ALWAYS follow the money!)

The bill, backed by Trump and Senate Republicans, also showers oil, gas, and coal producers with fresh subsidies and fast-tracks drilling on public land. Musk didn’t mince words: “It’s a brazen payoff to industries that should be competing on merit, not lobbying muscle.”

Republicans argue the legislation will lower taxes for middle-class families and make America more energy independent. But critics see a cynical gambit to reverse climate progress and lock in the fossil fuel status quo. Musk, for his part, is betting that consumers will eventually punish politicians who sabotage clean technology. “People want sustainable options,” he said. “They don’t want to be stuck in the past.”

I don’t believe for one second that Musk gives a shit about most of the bill. He’s pissed that he was pushed out of the government because he’s an inept manager and he’s doubly mad about losing that tax credit incentive. Tesla’s sales are down BIGLY and he’s going to get cratered one day, out of the board room.

Source: CNBC

Elon Musk Protégé ‘Big Balls’ Rehired at Social Security After Abrupt Resignation

A 19-year-old tech recruit with zero government experience—and the online moniker “Big Balls”—is back on the federal payroll, this time at the Social Security Administration.

Edward “Big Balls” Coristine briefly quit after a chaotic stint in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), only to reappear days later as a special government employee at the SSA.

His new mission? Fix the agency’s sprawling, decades-old website, because apparently nothing says “digital transformation” like handing the keys to a teenager who once ran Tesla.Sexy LLC.

Sources inside the SSA told WIRED that Coristine looked “nervous, almost embarrassed” when he showed up with another Musk-linked engineer at the agency cafeteria. Frankly, who wouldn’t be? His résumé includes working for a startup notorious for hiring blackhat hackers and getting fired over suspected leaks. He’s a complete and utterly incompetent HACK (and I am NOT referring to computer hacking).

It’s the latest episode in Musk’s bizarre quest to seed federal agencies with loyalists. Even the White House seemed caught off guard, with one official admitting they didn’t know Coristine had been rehired. As law professor Richard Pierce put it: “Abnormal, but it seems to be normal for this administration.” Translation: nobody’s really in charge. Or, put another way, it’s run by a mentally deranged grampa who shits his pants on the regular.

If you’re wondering how a high school grad with a controversial history and a meme nickname keeps landing high-level government gigs, you’re not alone. This feels less like public service and more like a reality show—and the rest of us are paying for it.

Source: WIRED

Trump’s MS-13 Crackdown Unravels as Secret Deal With El Salvador Frees Gang Leaders

Trump’s high-profile war on MS-13 is crumbling under a backroom agreement that quietly sent top gang bosses home—derailing years of prosecutions.

Federal investigators spent years building blockbuster cases against MS-13’s most violent leaders, only to watch the Trump administration abruptly drop charges and deport defendants back to El Salvador. Prosecutors say the move torpedoed efforts to dismantle the gang’s command structure and shielded Salvadoran officials who cut dirty deals with murderers.

“We went through a lot to do it,” said former task force agent Christopher Musto, who called the reversal “groundbreaking”—for all the wrong reasons.

The secret pact, blessed by Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, swapped the return of more than 200 migrants—including MS-13 kingpins—for Bukele’s help with mass deportations and a prison built to hold them. But investigators had already amassed evidence that Bukele’s government was funneling U.S. aid to gang leaders in exchange for political support and votes. One official who tried to expose the arrangement literally asked for asylum—complete with luxury accommodations.

The irony is brutal. Trump built his brand promising to eradicate MS-13 and calling its members “animals,” but he handed their leadership back to the same Salvadoran insiders accused of cutting secret deals. Meanwhile, cases that took years—and enormous personal risk—to assemble were pulled out from under prosecutors in the name of “national security concerns.”

I’m currently researching and writing a paper that compares this to Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal. It’s kind of stunning how alike they are, all the way up to both presidents being demented out of their gourds.

Source: The New York Times