Trump administration sanctions Mexico over air carrier trade pact
The department said Mexico has not been in compliance with the airline competition agreement since 2022 when it took back some slots for flights for U.S. air carriers at Benito Juarez International airport in Mexico City and forced U.S. cargo planes to shift their operations to other parts of the city.
'Since 2022, Mexico has altered the playing field significantly for airlines that reduce competition and allow prominent competitors to gain an unfair advantage in the U.S.-Mexico market,' a release from the Transportation Department said. 'The United States and Mexico have an air services agreement... that commits both parties to a liberalized operating environment for all airlines...Mexico has walked away from its commitments.'
Mexico has said it rescinded the slots to make room for construction at the airport, but the work has yet to materialize three years later, the transportation department contended.
'By restricting slots and mandating that all-cargo operations move out of [Mexico City International Airport], Mexico has broken its promise, disrupted the market and left American businesses holding the bag for millions in increased costs,' the release continued.
The 'America First' actions enacted by the Trump administration require Mexican airlines to file schedules with the transportation department for all of their U.S. operations, mandate prior DOT approval before operating any large passenger or cargo aircraft charter flights from the United States and addressing anti-competitive issues in the market.
Mexico seized slots from U.S.-based carriers American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines, as well as from three Mexican airlines -- Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus and Volaris -- to make room for the construction.
'Despite repeated outreach from the Department, Mexico has not provided any information regarding when these slots would be returned or any major construction projects at MEX will ever materialize,' the release continued.
Duffy added that the United States is also reviewing trade agreements with other countries to determine if they are being violated, including pacts with some European nations.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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Trump administration will release more than $5 billion in frozen education funding
The Trump administration has decided to release the rest of the nearly $7 billion in funding for public schools that it had frozen, with little notice, earlier this month. A senior administration official told CNN they have finished a programmatic review, and the additional funds will be released to the states. The administration previously announced the release of $1.3 billion of the frozen funds. 'Guardrails are in place to ensure these funds will not be used in violation of Executive Orders or administration policy,' the official added. The nearly monthlong pause in critical funding set off a scramble in schools as they prepare for the fall and summer camps, which faced immediate impacts, with many worried about being able to keep their doors open for the duration of the summer. The funding for K-12 programs included money for teacher education and recruitment, English language programs, student enrichment and nonprofit learning centers that partner with schools, among other initiatives. Much of the money goes towards programs that serve some of the US' poorest children. A day before the funds were to be released, the Department of Education instead sent a letter to programs, saying that money was being held, pending a review. 'The Department will not be issuing Grant Award Notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review,' the email to recipients said. 'The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President's priorities and the Department's statutory responsibilities.' The administration alleged the money was being used to promote 'leftwing' ideologies and was conducting a review. It comes as the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the Department of Education, with mass layoffs underway and severe funding cuts under consideration. Last week, after much outrage at summer camps and non-profits like the Boys and Girls Club that were facing immediate impacts of the frozen funds, the Office of Management and Budget decided to release the hold on $1.3 billion of the nearly $6 billion in funding that goes to 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) – affecting summer camp and after-school programs. But the rest of the funds were still frozen, until now. Earlier this month, some two dozen Democratic-led states sued the Department of Education in federal court to release the funds, which had already been approved by Congress.
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'Am I dreaming?': Soccer coach who says he was deported over his tattoo celebrates his release from CECOT
On Wednesday, more than a dozen children in lime green soccer uniform surrounded Jerce Reyes Barrios, hugging and jumping on their former coach as onlookers cheered. Earlier in the week, hundreds of residents of the Venezuelan town of Machiques de Perija lined the street and cheered as a Venezuelan National Guard truck pulled into town to drop Reyes Barrios off at his home. The crowd threw confetti, jumped up and down, and joyfully roared as he exited the vehicle. The exuberant homecoming was in stark contrast to the welcome he received in March at El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison, where he says he and over 200 other Venezuelan nationals, accused by the Trump administration of being members of the gang Tren de Aragua, were violently ushered into the facility. "Welcome to hell on earth, where you will be condemned and spend the rest of your life, where I will make sure you never eat chicken or meat again," Reyes Barrios recalled one prison guard allegedly telling the men. "That was when I shed my first tear and thought, wow -- my first time being psychologically abused," he told ABC News in an interview Friday, speaking in Spanish from his home in Venezuela, after being released from CECOT in a prisoner swap last week. Reyes Barrios and his fellow detainees were deported from the U.S. when the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- by arguing that Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States. An official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged shortly afterward that "many" of the men deported on March 15 lacked criminal records in the United States -- but said that "the lack of specific information about each individual" actually "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile." In March, ABC News reported about Reyes Barrios' imprisonment after his attorney, Linette Tobin, submitted a sworn declaration and documents in court she said backed up her claim that her client had no criminal record in Venezuela or the United States, was employed as a professional soccer player and youth coach, and was falsely accused of being a gang member because of his tattoo which showed a crown on top of a soccer ball with a rosary and the word "Dios," meaning "God." Reyes Barrios' family echoed what his attorney said in court filings, and told ABC News that his tattoo was modeled after the Real Madrid soccer team logo. "I got the tattoo because my favorite team is Real Madrid, which has a crown on top of a circle symbolizing the ball, that's why I got it," Reyes Barrios told ABC News. "For me, soccer is the king of sports so it correlates with the soccer ball with the crown." Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to ABC News, said, "DHS intelligence assessments go beyond tattoos, and we are confident in our findings. We aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane." 'We were practically lied to' Reyes Barrios crossed the U.S.-Mexico border legally through the CBP One app in September 2025, but was accused of being a Tren de Aragua member and was detained at a facility under maximum security, court records show. "The investigator ... sees my tattoos and tells me this tattoo belongs to the Tren de Aragua gang. I was unaware of (the gang) because in Venezuela you don't really see that," Reyes Barrios said. DHS accused Reyes Barrios of having a gang-affiliated tattoo and also claimed there were photos showing him displaying gang signs. According to Tobin's declaration, those alleged gang signs were the hand symbols for "rock and roll" and "I love you" in sign language. After Tobin presented information about his lack of a criminal record and the source of the tattoo, which included a sworn declaration from the tattoo artist who designed it, Reyes Barrios was transferred out of maximum security. Despite having a court hearing set for April 17, he was transferred to a detention facility in Texas and was promptly deported to El Salvador on March 15, along with over 200 other men. He says ICE officials did not tell the men where they were being sent before they boarded the plane. "There were three planes, everyone clapping because we were going to Venezuela," he said. On the plane, ICE officials ordered the men to keep the windows closed. "The surprise for us -- when we landed in San Salvador," he said. "We were practically lied to." 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"I read a lot about Job's story because just as God gave Job the patience to endure everything that happened to him, I asked God to give me patience." Then, more than three months into their imprisonment, the men began to suspect something strange was happening when they were given haircuts. At two in the morning, a guard told the men they had 20 minutes to shower. They started to suspect they were about to be released, Reyes Barrios said. "We start clapping, because they never send us to shower at two in the morning," he said. They were each given plain clothes, sneakers, and a sweater. "Some started crying and that moment was beautiful," he said. On July 18, more than 250 Venezuelan migrants were freed by El Salvador and transported to Venezuela. In exchange, the Venezuela's Maduro regime agreed to release 10 American prisoners from their custody. 'Am I dreaming?' A video taken by Reyes Barrios' sister showed the tearful moment he hugged his father after arriving back in his hometown of Machiques de Perija. "Could it be true or am I dreaming?" he says he asks himself now that he has been freed. "I pinch myself, yes it's real." "That welcome the people gave me, I didn't expect it, but that shows the U.S. government that I'm not a criminal," he said. Reyes Barrios says he has no plans of returning to the United States at the moment, but he fears being detained again. A team of lawyers is advising him on filing a potential lawsuit, but he has not yet made a decision. He said he's focused on spending time with his daughters and with God. "At night I would ask God to show me my future in dreams -- what will become of my life," Reyes Barrios recalled of his time in CECOT. "I dreamed of being in my town with my daughters with my parents, and I'd head straight to the soccer field," he said.
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Tesla shareS end week in decline amid third straight quarterly loss
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"The company offered remarkably little detail on some of the most important factors" - like its mysterious new lower-priced model - "making our outlook lean more on imagination than realistic targets," Truist's William Stein, who has a hold rating on Tesla, said in a note after the call in a report by CNN. "I wouldn't say it was a conference call that should be put in the Hall of Fame," Dan Ives of Wdbush Securities, told CNN on Thursday, but said he is still bullish on Tesla's robotics future with Musk in charge. "Communication on the call was less than stellar in terms of details, and I think that definitely played into the selloff that we're seeing." Tesla later told staff Thursday it plans to launch its Robotaxi service in San Francisco this weekend, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider. Tesla has a permit for testing its self-driving software in California with a driver behind the wheel. Earning report Looking back, Tesla sold $22.5 billion worth of products during the second quarter, which is $3 billion less than the $25.5 billion in sales during the same period in 2024. Tesla reported $1.2 billion in earnings profit from April to June, which is down from $1.4 billion a year earlier. The earnings drop is the third straight quarter for the EV maker that last reported an earnings gain during the third quarter last year. Driving much of the loss is a decline in Tesla vehicle sales, which totaled $16.7 billion during the second quarter -- down by 16% from a year ago. Tesla delivered 384,000 vehicles during the second quarter, which is 14% fewer than a year ago, the company announced in July. Several factors have contributed to the decline in Tesla sales, including the end to federal tax credits for buying electric vehicles and increased competition for EV makers in China and elsewhere. Musk recently cautioned investors about the approach of a "few rough quarters" due to the loss of the federal EV tax credits. A recently signed budget bill that Trump dubbed "one big, beautiful bill" eliminates a $7,500 federal tax credit after September. Trump said he does not intend to eliminate federal subsidies for Tesla, though. "I want Elon and all businesses within our country to thrive ... like never before," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Thursday. "The better they do, the better the USA does, and that's good for all of us," Trump added. Tesla also posted a decline in new vehicle registrations in Europe in July and only sold 4,300 units of its Cybertruck during the second quarter. Tesla sold about half as many Cybertrucks during the second quarter than it did a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive. Musk has announced Tesla will soon offer a new EV that costs less after beginning production in June. Industry analysts anticipate it will be similar to Tesla's electric Model Y SUV. Tesla's declining EV sales come as demand for EVs has grown by 1.5% so far in 2025 in the United States and by 32% and 26%, respectively, in China and Europe, Cox Automotive and Rho Motion reported. China's BYD EV maker is growing its market share there, while JATO Dynamics reported Volkswagen has overtaken Tesla as the top EV seller in Europe. Recent political turmoil also has led to negative publicity for Musk and Tesla by extension. Musk's recently controversial activities as the former director of the Department of Government Efficiency, subsequent fallout with Trump and recent announcement of founding a third political party have preceded declines in sales and Tesla's share price.
