“President Donald Trump announced a ‘FULL Blockade’ on Iranian shipping on Wednesday as he declared the Strait of Hormuz open to international traffic while warning Tehran it was on the path to ‘TOTAL DESTRUCTION’ after another night of escalating military strikes,” Mediaite reports.

“The fate of the Senate majority could lie in the hands of 601 yet-to-be-chosen Maine Democrats. And Chuck Schumer, known for working every possible angle to give his party’s campaigns an edge, is largely helpless to do anything about it,” Politico reports. ”The sidelines are an unusual place for the longtime Senate Democratic leader. Known […]

“Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona is set to report a political treasury of nearly $25 million across his federal accounts, emerging as one of the Democratic Party’s top fund-raisers and donors in recent months as he considers a potential presidential run,” the New York Times reports. “In addition to that war chest, Mr. Kelly’s political […]

“U.S. Senate Democratic hopeful Haley Stevens holds a nearly 7-percentage-point lead over rival Abdul El-Sayed in a new statewide poll of Democratic primary voters, with about 10% of respondents saying they remain undecided three weeks out from the Aug. 4 election,” Detroit News reports.

“President Donald Trump may be posting and talking about the fresh assassination threat he faces from Iran — but in private, according to those closest to him, he rarely brings it up,” Semafor reports. “Behind closed doors Trump shows a different, almost wry side as he considers his safety. More than a half-dozen aides and […]

“The road ahead for the U.S. economy looks like a two-lane highway: stubbornly elevated inflation in one lane, strengthened growth and employment in the other,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “That is the consensus from 72 forecasters surveyed this month by The Wall Street Journal. The panel sees the Iran War’s effects on the economy […]

“President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call Thursday that Israel should start redeploying its forces out of Syria and urged him to do the same in Lebanon,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: Three months ahead of an election that is existential for his political survival and personal freedom, Netanyahu is […]

“The owner of The Baltimore Sun is threatening to sue Maryland Gov. Wes Moore over comments the governor made linking him to Jeffrey Epstein,” Semafor reports. “During an appearance on MS NOW on June 16, Moore was asked about the newspaper’s recent critical reporting on Moore’s administration and past military record. The Maryland governor dismissed […]

“President Donald Trump curiously claimed that pipelines in Texas and Alaska could be ‘alternatives’ to the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East,” Mediaite reports.

“One day after proposing a fee for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump on Tuesday said the United States would instead guarantee safe passage to vessels from Persian Gulf states that agree to invest in the United States,” the New York Times reports. “It’s not clear how Mr. Trump’s plans would play out, […]

“China’s growth slowed in the second quarter of the year to the weakest pace in more than three years, as surging exports buoyed by the AI boom failed to compensate for a weak domestic economy and sluggish consumer spending,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“As the U.S. war with Iran resumes, there is little sign that diplomacy can stop it,” Politico reports. ”Efforts by Arab, Pakistani and other mediators to revive negotiations or restore a ceasefire have shown no public signs of progress, and the overall feeling in the Middle East and beyond is that the fighting will simply […]

“President Donald Trump is expanding his data center pledge to include some Republican governors and several large utilities, according to state officials and industry executives,” Politico reports. ”Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe have all signed the White House’s so-called Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a set of principles committing […]

New York Times: “Mr. Blanche’s personal role in the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case will be front and center on Wednesday during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement official.” “Mr. Epstein’s victims, lawmakers and others have criticized Mr. Blanche’s handling of the Epstein files. They say he […]

“An analysis of a torrent of public comments submitted on a White House proposal to change the way federal contracts and grants are doled out shows a widespread rebuke of the potential change by scientists and others,” Stat reports.

“President Trump held a Situation Room meeting Tuesday to discuss a massive offensive in Iran that will be wider in scope than the current strikes around the Strait of Hormuz,” Axios reports. “Trump appears willing to escalate the war to cause enough damage that the Iranian regime will open the Strait of Hormuz and accept […]

“Flights were halted at Ronald Reagan National Airport for several hours on Tuesday, leading to over a hundred canceled flights and cascading delays, due to security measures meant to protect the Iraqi prime minister during his visit to Washington, D.C. during the war with Iran,” CBS News reports.

“On the 136th day of his war against Iran, President Trump came up with a new plan. He would impose tolls on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for protecting them from Iranian forces,” the New York Times reports. “But that was then. On Day 137, he had another new plan. No tolls […]

“President Donald Trump is planning a primetime address Thursday that will use findings from reexamined government files to argue that the country’s election infrastructure has vulnerabilities,” the Washington Post reports. “Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that the speech would concern voting machines but declined to elaborate.”

“With the U.S. and Iran slugging it out over the Strait of Hormuz again, each nation is running out of time to achieve its goals. The question is whose clock expires first,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “President Trump would prefer a resolution before the November midterm elections and before oil prices surge back to […]

“The cost of the war with Iran could be more than triple the most recent estimate of roughly $30 billion, according to three U.S. officials and three people familiar with the internal cost estimates,” NBC News reports.

“The Eagle has landed.” — E. Jean Carroll, on social media confirming she received more than $5 million awarded in a judgement against Donald Trump.

“President Trump on Tuesday reassumed a belligerent posture toward Iran that echoed his stance at the war’s outset, threatening to destroy civilian infrastructure and refusing to rule out a ground invasion,” the New York Times reports. “In the latest sign that the United States and Tehran were resuming full-scale war.”

“Mike Johnson doesn’t even try to put his phone down anymore,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Almost three years after he took over as House speaker, the Louisiana Republican’s job is more overwhelming than ever. The self-described ‘wartime speaker’ is working to advance the GOP agenda with only a narrow majority while managing unruly colleagues—and […]

“The United Arab Emirates has gained expanded access from the U.S. to coveted artificial-intelligence chips after aiding America in recent months by carrying out dozens of airstrikes against Iran, intercepting hundreds of missiles and keeping oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The move by the U.S. to give greater […]

“Former special counsel Jack Smith obtained text messages that 44 members of Congress sent to senior White House officials during the final weeks of President Donald Trump’s first term,” Politico reports. “The latest exchanges were part of a trove of materials that the National Archives turned over to Smith’s team following a subpoena for White […]

“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said it is incumbent upon television news stations not to air a speech by President Donald Trump set for Thursday,” Mediaite reports. Said Ocasio-Cortez: “He’s basically doing a made-for-TV broadcast about election fraud and conspiracy theories.” She added: “I don’t think we should be contributing to the platforming of lies about […]

“The House voted Tuesday to end Americans’ practice of switching their clocks twice per year, delivering a win for President Donald Trump, who has called for permanent daylight saving time over the objections of medical groups and lawmakers who represent Midwestern states,” the Washington Post reports. “The bill still needs to clear the Senate, where […]

“The lead investor in a South Korean aluminum company that has challenged Commerce Department penalties on certain exports from South Korea to the United States made a $2 million payment last year to President Trump’s holding company,” the New York Times reports. “The payment by the parent company, Base Group, was revealed for the first […]

“President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the Strait of Hormuz by resuming strikes and reimposing the blockade is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Trump has tried air and missile […]