“President Trump’s primetime Thursday speech from the White House is slated to include election integrity, an update on Iran and whatever else he deems important,” Axios reports. Said an adviser: “It will be a potpourri.” “Though ever-available to reporters, Trump hasn’t given many primetime, direct-to-camera speeches from the White House. He wants to do more […]

“President Trump gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) his support for a highly unusual military action against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen,” Axios reports. “The Saudi strike on the Sanaa airport Monday and Houthi retaliatory missile attacks that followed were the most serious cross-border escalation since 2022. They could signal the collapse of […]

“The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry said early Tuesday that Iran attacked two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one mariner and wounding eight others,” the Associated Press reports.

“Four in five Americans expect ‌the U.S. war with Iran to drag on for an extended period, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted as fighting escalated and President Donald Trump declared a blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf.” “The three-day poll ​completed on Sunday found that 79% of respondents think U.S. military involvement in […]

“John Thune’s Senate super PAC has $238 million in the bank — more than double what it had at this point in the last election cycle under then-GOP Leader Mitch McConnell,” Axios reports.

“Senators from both parties are rallying around a revised Russia sanctions package to honor the legacy of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC),” Axios reports. “Bipartisanship is in short supply in the Senate. Graham’s sudden death may briefly revive it.” “Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said passing the updated sanctions bill — which has […]

“Maggie Haberman claimed in a Sunday podcast interview that President Donald Trump’s well-documented affinity for attractive men and classic masculinity at first alarmed people in his administration,” The Wrap reports. Said Haberman: “I don’t know that Donald Trump has ever celebrated pride, period. But he certainly has a fixation and fascination with male looks.”

“President Trump’s much-touted ceasefire with Iran effectively collapsed on Monday as he ordered the reinstatement of a naval blockade and announced that he will impose tolls on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, despite his own administration’s position that such fees violate international law,” the New York Times reports. “As the ceasefire that he once […]

“Morale at the Social Security Administration — which is at a 59-year staffing low due to the Trump administration’s sweeping workforce cuts — is poor,” NOTUS reports. “To fix it, SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano has twice sent staff packages of chocolate-covered pretzels. They’re from his daughter’s company, Pretzables, emblazoned with Pretzable’s branding, website and phone […]

“President Trump formally notified Congress last week that the U.S. has resumed military strikes against Iran, providing the Pentagon an extra 60 days to utilize U.S. forces in the U.S. Central Command  theater absent congressional approval,” The Hill reports. Financial Times: Trump says U.S. will hit Iran “hard” this week.

“A Brazilian Supreme Court justice barred presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro from visiting his father, former leader Jair Bolsonaro, for 90 days, effectively preventing any visits until after the first round of October’s election,” Bloomberg reports.

“Hungarian lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment ousting the Viktor Orban-allied president, delivering on Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s pledge for a clean break from his nationalist predecessor,” Bloomberg reports.

“Darline Graham Nordone was picked Monday to serve out the term of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died suddenly over the weekend,” the Washington Post reports. “A mother of two who has never held elected office, Graham Nordone was a political confidante of her older brother, who helped raise her after their […]

“The passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been slowed significantly by the persistent cycle of hostility between the United States and Iran. But whether prices at the pump rise or fall will depend not only on how much oil flows out of the Persian Gulf but also on decisions made by […]

“Protestors swarmed Sen. Susan Collins’ district office in Maine on Monday, chanting ‘vote her out!’ and ‘ICE out now!’ hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents killed a man they said was using his vehicle as a weapon against them,” NOTUS reports. Mother Jones: Colombian immigrant in Maine reportedly killed by ICE agents.

“The U.S. is tapping in to its national stocks of crude with abandon. The withdrawals are taking a toll on the strategic reserve system,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Just in the past four years, the Biden and Trump administrations have ordered the largest releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while seeking to tamp down […]

“His voice is going to be really, really missed in terms of the relationship that Senate Republicans have with the president and his team, because he was so good and so effective at talking to the president. And he was so respected by the president.” — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), remembering Sen. Lindsey […]

“Ukraine is targeting Russian energy infrastructure with its growing fleet of long-range drones and missiles, causing fuel shortages in one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers and embarrassing President Vladimir Putin,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “In dozens of strikes since this spring, Ukraine has pounded oil refineries across its larger neighbor, hitting […]

“A new White House task force reviewing thousands of pages of classified intelligence and law enforcement documents for evidence of irregularities in U.S. elections is expected to begin releasing documents within weeks,” MS NOW reports. “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, whose acting chief, Bill Pulte, has been accused by Democrats of politically […]

“Over the past year, the Trump administration has made deals to acquire equity stakes in more than two dozen firms, an unusual practice that has extended the government’s influence over industries including semiconductors, nuclear energy, minerals, quantum computers and steel,” the New York Times reports. “Artificial intelligence executives are increasingly wondering if they will be […]

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday that the Pentagon and the Justice Department have created a joint task force to identify and prosecute leakers as part of the department’s effort to clamp down on disclosure of sensitive information,” The Hill reports.

“U.S. states including California and New York have filed an antitrust lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, threatening a costly delay to a $110 billion deal that the Trump administration has backed,” the Financial Times reports. Deadline: California and 11 other states sue to block Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s warning in late June that ‘no country’ can charge tolls through the Strait of Hormuz went viral on Monday, hours after President Donald Trump announced the United States would begin collecting a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway,” Mediaite reports. “The apparent contradiction emerged after Trump abruptly […]

“A large group of House Republicans will meet this week with Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel as the GOP races to advance another party-line policy bill — and overcome disagreements over how to pay for it,” Politico reports.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday vowed to ‘dismantle’ the International Criminal Court and urged other countries to join the effort as the Trump administration significantly escalates its campaign against the global institution,” CNN reports.

Punchbowl News: “Seven Democrats have formally declared their intent to vie to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in Maine’s Senate race.” “The filing period doesn’t close until Wednesday, and more candidates are expected to enter before then. Maine Democrats will hold a nominating convention on July 25.” CNN: Democrats in Maine jockey to […]

Nate Silver: “With the Democratic lead on the generic ballot (currently about D+6), you’d expect them to overcome the Republican advantage from redistricting. That could grow, because most polls right now are among registered voters, and Democrats are likely to have an enthusiasm advantage that will show up once there’s a switch to likely-voter polls.” […]

Anne Applebaum: “When Donald Trump first appeared in U.S. politics, Graham recognized him immediately for what he was: the spokesman for an alien ideology, one radically different from the idealistic patriotism that Graham had practiced and preached since childhood. Trump privately mocked the military that Graham loved as nothing but ‘suckers and losers.’ He put […]

“A federal judge said Monday that President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an ‘improper purpose’ as she referred attorneys for disciplinary actions,” the Associated Press reports. “The ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams amounts to a stinging rebuke of the Republican president’s lawsuit, characterizing it […]

“The Pentagon has spent at least $2.64 billion on operations at the southwest border with Mexico, according to Congress’s audit agency in the most comprehensive cost accounting yet of the military’s expanded role in immigration enforcement,” Bloomberg reports.