## Escaped slave who became lawmaker will be first individual African American honored with statue at South Carolina State House

Authored by cbsnews.com

Black Civil War hero Robert Smalls to be honored with statue at South Carolina State House.

The Jamaican-born artist is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship.

Smalls would go on to become a top Union naval officer during the Civil War, and is celebrated as a champion of civil rights and equality.

"It's an honor to get to put this piece on the state Capitol in South Carolina," Watson said.

His statue of Smalls will be the first monument honoring an individual African American on the State House's grounds.

Currently, the statues surrounding the Capitol are all of White men, many with ties to the Civil War or the Jim Crow-era South.

Basil Watson is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship. »

### Amid Trump’s tariff shock, India informs US it won’t purchase F 35 fighter jets

Authored by businesstoday.in

Trump’s abrupt announcement of a 25% tariff on Indian goods—set to take effect August 7—has caught Indian officials off guard.

Trump’s claim that his diplomacy helped end the May ceasefire between India and Pakistan has been flatly denied by New Delhi.

However, diplomatic channels remain open, with India still preparing to host the upcoming Quad leaders’ summit alongside the U.S., Japan, and Australia. »

### Blame the governor! Oklahoma’s “board meeting porn” scandal goes gonzo.

Authored by arstechnica.com

One might have expected Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters to agree with his outraged board members.

You know, a sort of "Together we will unmask the degenerates who are making a mockery of our meetings with their streaming retro pornography!".

He then said the board members in question should "resign immediately in disgrace over the lies they have pushed about me.". »

### Arab states call on Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in unprecedented move

Authored by cnn.com

Arab and Muslim states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have for the first time issued a joint call for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip as part of efforts to end the war in the territory.

“We welcomed the readiness expressed by some Member States to contribute in troops,” it said.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vehemently opposes the two-state solution, arguing that it is incompatible with his country’s security. »

### DOGE Wasted Tens of Billions While Chainsawing the Government in the Name of 'Efficiency': Senate Report

Authored by commondreams.org

In fact, it was extraordinarily wasteful, according to a Thursday report by the U.S. Senate's investigations subcommittee.

It finds that in just six months of operation, DOGE wasted more than $21 billion.

The Senate report calculates that the government has spent $14.8 billion to pay these employees not to work for eight months. »

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