We Must Account for the Role of Mental Health 
In the wake of the tragic mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, it’s important that we condemn any attempt to create divisions in our country. We are one nation, with common purposes and aspirations. Race, color, and national origin are meaningless distinctions when it comes to our responsibility toward one another. But in our grief and our fear over acts of mass public violence, we cannot forget the important role lawfully owned firearms play every single day in protecting the rights and liberties of Americans. “It’s easy to blame the tools used in the killings and call for measures that would broadly restrict public access to them, instead of focusing on the more complex reality of why these individuals committed such horrible crimes in the first place,” writes Amy Swearer, a senior legal policy analyst in Heritage’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.  Continue reading Swearer’s commentary.

Liberal Policies Have Failed the People of Baltimore
President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about the conditions of Baltimore created a media firestorm, but Heritage President Kay Coles James says there is truth in the dustup. “If nothing else comes out of this latest debate, the bright light is now shining on a very inconvenient reality: Liberal policies have failed the people of Baltimore and inner cities everywhere. As the daughter of a former welfare recipient who spent my early years growing up in government housing, I know the truth of that statement more than most,” writes James. Read the rest of James’ commentary and watch her appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

The Time Is Now for a U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal
Before meeting with the Trump administration, U.K. Trade Secretary Liz Truss visited The Heritage Foundation to discuss opportunities for a renewed trade and economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. "It seems to me with the positive relationship with President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson, [and] the impetus around the world to have more freedom-based trade deals, as Ronald Reagan said ... ‘The time is no w,’" Truss said in her speech, which generated international media attention. For over a decade, Heritage has been a leader in this policy area, promoting a free trade agreement through reports on trade between the two nations, news appearances, and testifying to Congress on multiple occasions. Watch the event with Truss and learn more about Heritage’s impact on U.S.-U.K. policy.

HAPPENING AT HERITAGE

Each week, The Heritage Foundation welcomes influential leaders from around the world. In just the past few days, Heritage hosted Indian Ambassador to the United States Harsh V. Shringla and British Trade Secretary Liz Truss. Keep tabs on these important meetings by following Heritage President Kay Coles James on Facebook and Twitter.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson visited Heritage for the Communities of Color Breakfast, a monthly gathering of private-sector thought leaders addressing problems facing minority communities.

This week on the “Heritage Explains” podcast, Klon Kitchen, a senior research fellow in Heritage’s Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, explains what deepfake media is and why it’s dangerous. Listen to the podcast.

On the “Millennial Myths” podcast, Heritage Young Leaders Program intern Samantha Renck talks to Romina Boccia, director of Heritage’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, about the difference between the gender wage gap and the gender choice gap, victimhood mentality, and much more. Listen to the podcast.

HERITAGE IN THE NEWS

Here are the highlights from the dozens of cable news shows Heritage experts appeared on last week. They touched on hot topics like how the Chinese government is weaponizing U.S. debt, welfare reform, Venezuela, and more. Watch the video.

POLICY PICTURE

We need to reverse the current system, which discourages work and penalizes marriage. Work is the fastest and most effective way to get out of poverty and become prosperous.

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