The Wall:The Supreme Court yesterday gave President Trump a big win allowing him to divert $2.5 billion budgeted for the Pentagon to build his wall on the southern border.

  In a 5-to-4 decision along partisan lines, the court said Trump can use the money while lawsuits over the matter wend their way through lower courts. In a brief order, the court said the groups challenging the President don’t have the legal standing to sue. It’s an indication that this case may ultimately go the President’s way.

  Trump modestly tweeted, “Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction,allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!”

Econ 101:The economy is slowing. 

  The national grossdomestic product rose at a 2.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department, far short of the  3.1 percent growth rate in the first quarter, and nowhere near the 3, 4, 5, and even 6 percent that President Trump claims he can accomplish.

   The numbers suggest that the sugar rush of Republican tax cuts and low interest rates is now calming and the economy might even be thinking of taking a nap on the sofa. Trump thought the tax cuts would bring an economic miracle.

  Since we don’t have an economist on staff, here is Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times to explain it. He says, “The latest figures indicate that the growth in business investment prompted by the tax cuts faded fast. Nonresidential business investment, which was supposed to be a chief beneficiary of the tax cuts, fell in the second quarter by 0.6%, annualized. That was the worst performance in the category since the fourth quarter of 2015, and a screeching slowdown from the surge of 8.8% and 7.9% seen in the first two quarters of 2018, right after the tax cuts were passed.” 

Chain of Command: An Army colonel has come forward to accuse an Air Force general about to be promoted to higher command of assaulting her in a California hotel room in 2017. Col. Kathryn A. Spletstoser says Gen. John E. Hyten, the commander of United States Strategic Command, asked to be admitted to her room to talk and then some stuff happened that resulting in spilling bodily fluids and let’s just leave it at that.

  Spletstoser said, “I have a moral obligation to come forward.”

  Hyten, who’s in charge of the nukes, has been nominated by President Trump to be the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If confirmed, he would be the second highest-ranking military officer. He’s already been investigated by the military, which declined to prosecute.

Overcooked:President Trump is locked, loaded and ready to retaliate against France for levying a tax on big American digital companies including Facebook and Google. Trump tweeted, “If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA. We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on Macron’s foolishness shortly.”

  He threatened to tax French wine. “I’ve always said American wine is better than French wine!” said the man who doesn’t drink alcohol and orders his steak well done.

The News Roundup:As many as 150 refugees bound for Europe are dead after their wooden boat capsized off the coast of Libya. It’s the worst loss this year in the Mediterranean. Aid organizations believe 250-300 people may have been on the boat. — The Department of Justice gave its final approval for the $26 billion merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, a deal that is expected to change the landscape of wireless communications. The new company that would be known as T-Mobile would be the third-largest US wireless carrier with about 90 million customers. Company executives say the merger will allow a quicker conversion to 5G, the faster next generation of wireless. — The Ole Miss chapter of fraternity Kappa Alpha has suspended three members for posing with guns in front of a sign memorializing the spot where the notorious murder of black teenager Emmett Till took place in 1955. The University took no action because the behavior was not contrary to their code of conduct.

Conservative Values:The Minnesota Republican candidate looking to unseat freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of for members of Congress known as “the squad,” has been charged with felony shoplifting of more than $2,300 in goods. 

  Danielle Stella, 31, says she has post-traumatic stress and has no memory of an incident at Target. In the current political climate, neither the felony charge nor the memory blackout is a disqualifier for being elected to Congress.

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