The US's GDP increased 9.8% (20,544B/18,707B) and its trade _______ 18.5% (-872,040M/-735,326M) 2016 to 2018 (first 2 yrs of the Trump administration) (imbalance) --tradeeconomics.com, census.gov
Come to know --puzzles.usatoday.com, 06/17/20
Old Russian-led alliance (initials)
Slid while seated --puzzles.usatoday.com, 06/17/20
In ruling that existing federal law forbids job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or ___________ status, Gorsuch wrote for SCOTUS "Those who adopted the Civil Rights Act might not have anticipated their work would lead to this particular result, but the limits of the drafters' imagination supply no reason to ignore the law's demands. . . . Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit" (personal identity and gender does not correspond with birth sex) --nbcnews.com, 06/15/20
World's oldest continuously democratic country (initials) --weforum.org/
Brit far-right extremist Katie Hopkins, a Trump favorite, duped into flying to Prague to accept a fake "Campaign to Unify the Nation Trophy" (Note award's initials) in elaborate prank in January, now evicted from ______ for abuse and hateful conduct (social media platform) --"Mediaite," 06/19/20
Hogwash, baloney (abbrev.) --thesaurus.com
Liquid measure (metric, abbrev.)
Home of the "Big Easy" (abbrev.)
Vermont's Killington, Wilson or Mansfield (abbrev.)
Labels on Wm Barr's normally "In"and "Out" boxes: "Obstructions" and "____________" (undoings, thwartings) --cartoon comment to "DOJ Files Brief In Support Of Idaho Anti-Trans Law" story, joemygod.com, 06/19/20
The _______ urged its members to disinvest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to closely monitor companies in sectors such as mining to check if they are damaging the environment (city state) --"Reuters," 06/18/20
Name that's an anagram for 26 ACROSS --puzzles.usatoday.com, 06/17/20
Saved the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington as the British approached the White House in 1814 (first name, spelled with an "e") --"First Ladies: Influence & Image," S11, E3, CSPAN, 06/16/20
Alphabetical vowel sequence
Irresolute, undecided --thesaurus.com
“Always _____ upstream from the herd" --Will Rogers --goodreads.com/author/quotes
Derives from "go sip"-- politicians' directives to their staffs to go to bars to find out what constituents were thinking --"Interesting Trivia" email, 06/15/20
Preposition indicating forward motion
Boston summer time measure (initials)
Democratic Senate seat most at risk November 2020, perhaps (state abbrev.)
Bumpersticker on Facebook: "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to his _____ __ at the church" (2 words) --06/17/20
Holds first presidential caucus (state, abbrev.)
Trump falls short of or outright opposes majority public opinion on: _____-control measures, gay rights, climate change, police parameters, the whistleblower role, gun safety, voting rights, Dreamers . . . . (latest pandemic)
Comment to video of Trump exiting dias after his West Point commencement speech: "The underground ______ must have an elevator because there's no way Trump's getting down a ramp." (refuge) --megaphone.upworthy.com, 06/16/20
Temporary alternate route
Helpful clue --puzzles.usatoday.com, 06/19/20
American Indians of successive cultures lived in this state for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. The Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation (abbrev.) --wikipedia.org
Federal officials responsible for spending $660 billion in taxpayer-backed small-business assistance said they will not disclose amounts or __________ of subsidized loans, backtracking on an earlier commitment to release individual loan data (receivers) --washingtonpost.com, 06/11/20
Average salary of Goldman _____ employee, $367,564 --inverstopedia.com, 06/16/20
Cowboy to Mae West: "I've changed my ____". Mae: "Does it work any better?" (brains, wits) --"Mae West: Dirty Blonde," "American Masters," 06/16/20
Archaic or religious "you"
The Trump campaign which initially was talking about no debates is now talking about _____ or four, a sure sign they realize he is the underdog at this point (number) --cnn.com, 06/18/20/ nyt.com, 06/19/20
Appear, surface --lexico.com
OK Republican Sen. James Lankford advises if you have co-morbidities--if you are older, or you have other health issues--don’t come to Trump's Tulsa _____ (political event) June 20 --"Mediate," 06/17/20
Hold up, thwart --lexico.com
Sweden to Ireland direction (abbrev.)