July 15, 2026

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has presided over more than a year of disruption unlike any in the Justice Department’s history, a period of mass firings, politically motivated prosecutions and erosion of the department’s tradition of independence from the White House. On Wednesday, Mr. Blanche, 51, will have to defend that record before the Senate Judiciary Committee as he seeks confirmation to permanently serve in his position. The exercise is somewhat symbolic. Mr. Blanche, who succeeded Pam Bondi after her ouster in April, could serve in an acting capacity for the remainder of ... [Donald] Trump’s term. But the referendum on Mr. Blanche is in a broader sense a referendum on Mr. Trump’s vision of the department as a projection of his power and extension of his will.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I am planning to be away for a good part of the day, so I'll miss the hearing. That's too bad for me because this was one of the few Congressional hearings I would have had on the teevee, at least as background noise. Some of the media -- the NYT, the AP, etc. -- will certainly liveblog developments. I'd recommend the NYT liveblog, usually linked on the Times' online front page, as a few Times reporters are given to snappy commentary. 

Maggie Haberman & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Tuesday that he would discuss election security and voting machines during an address to the country Thursday night, a potential escalation in his efforts to suggest that U.S. election results cannot be trusted. Mr. Trump has repeatedly described U.S. voting systems as corrupt and vulnerable, despite the fact that he won two presidential elections. On Tuesday, he claimed without specifics that he would share 'really, really big news.' 'Our country has to shape up,' Mr. Trump said, calling it a 'big announcement.... It doesn’t get bigger,' he added, 'because without free and fair elections, you don’t have a country.' The planned prime-time address, for which the White House has requested airtime from broadcast networks, is set to include other topics, Mr. Trump said, though he did not clarify the additional subjects. It is unclear if the “big news” that the president teased is related to the 2020 election, which he has claimed without evidence was conducted fraudulently.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The request for prime-time airtime is an abuse of office, IMO, because Trump's plan is almost certainly to make false, political statements, not to offer a true, accurate account of some information that it is critical for citizens to hear. The networks should demand copies of the script of Trump's speech well in advance, and -- if the script is nonpolitical (ha ha), they should receive assurances Trump will stick to it. They should tell him they will cut him if he veers from the script. If the script is political in nature and full of falsehoods, as it most likely will be, they should tell him to pound sand. I don't suppose they will do any of this lest he sic the FCC on them. 

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Iran War. From the pinned item at 5:10 am ET: “Fears grew of a return to a full-scale war on Wednesday as the U.S. military struck Iranian targets for the fourth consecutive night and Iran launched new strikes on American military facilities in the Middle East. The latest bout of fighting followed ... [Donald] Trump’s renewed threat to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure. He told Fox News on Tuesday that American forces would continue to strike 'very hard' until Iran agreed to negotiate, and refused to rule out a ground invasion. U.S. forces completed their latest round of strikes on Wednesday morning in Iran, saying they had targeted missile and drone sites and other defense systems in an effort to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping. U.S. Central Command said that the strikes occurred over seven hours, an indication of a return to the intensive bombing of the early weeks of the war. Iranian state media reported that seven members of the Iranian Army were killed following a missile strike on barracks in Bampur, near the southeastern city of Iranshahr, early Wednesday. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in statements published by state media that it had launched strikes on Wednesday against U.S. military targets at bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.” ~~~

~~~ Rachel Chason of the Washington Post: “Trump also threatened during an interview with Fox News to 'knock out all their power plants' and 'all their bridges' next week — echoing ultimatums that Trump made against Iran months ago, which legal experts said could violate international law.”

He Really Doesn't Know What He's Doing, Ctd.: ~~~  

MACHO MONDAY. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,' but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. -- Donald Trump, social media post, Monday;

TACO TUESDAY. Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making.... Those investments will be massive but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future. -- Donald Trump, social media posts, Tuesday 

I don't think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait.... -- Donald Trump, to reporters Tuesday ~~~

~~~ Ah, When You've Lost Peter Baker.... Peter Baker of the New York Times: “On the 136th day of his war against Iran..., [Donald] 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. But that was then. On Day 137, he had another new plan. No tolls after all. Mr. Trump’s 180-degree reversal on Tuesday in the face of protests from his Arab allies who were not so excited about paying tolls reflected how adrift he seems to be in prosecuting his war against Iran. What was supposed to be a clean four-to-six-week operation is now in its messy 20th week. Improvisation and impulse are not working. A president who has made flexing his power on the world stage a hallmark of his second term has found in Iran an opponent that so far will not bend to his will and a geopolitical conflict that cannot be won through nasty social media posts or tariff threats. The memorandum of understanding that he brokered with Tehran last month to halt the fighting turns out to have been a memorandum of misunderstanding, and Mr. Trump now seems to have neither a clear military nor diplomatic strategy.” ~~~

~~~ Jenny Gross of the New York Times: “...  the flip-flop shows how far the debate over the strait ... has strayed from longstanding practices in the shipping industry and underscores the level of unpredictability that businesses working in the region are facing as the conflict between the United States and Iran lurches back to war.... Mr. Trump’s post [on his reversal of fees] did not say which countries he was referring to or whether countries outside the Persian Gulf that use the strait, including allies like Japan and South Korea, would also be asked to make U.S. investments.... Iran immediately seized on Mr. Trump’s comments as confirmation that governments that offer security for vessels have the right to charge. 'POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service,' Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on social media on Monday. '20% is of course too much. We will be fair.'... Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was an international shipping route that vessels sailed through without charge.” ~~~

~~~ David Ignatius of the Washington Post: “Trump’s daily barrage of bluster and braggadocio amounts to negotiating with himself. He declares victory one day, resumes war the next. He praises Iran’s leaders, then calls them 'scum.' He foolishly announces a 20 percent fee for protecting the Strait of Hormuz and then rescinds the rash proposal the next day. Trump must imagine this nonstop trash talk gives him leverage. He’s wrong. It makes him look weak in the eyes of Iran and the world.... [Now] Trump has pushed the reset button, and we’re beginning what sadly might be called 'Iran Fiasco 2.0.'... Every trading nation shares an interest with the U.S. in maintaining freedom of navigation — and it’s time for these global partners to join in an international coalition to keep the strait open. That ought to include military escorts for commercial ships for as long as necessary — with many nations sharing the burden.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Easy for Ignatius to say. Trump caused the problem with the Strait. Why should other nations have to directly pay for his blunder? ~~~

~~~ Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration has lurched back into a war against Iran that had never really ended.... The United States now appears to ... [have] a new focus — but not necessarily a clearer strategy.... The Trump administration is ... trying to loosen Iran’s grip on [the Strait of Hormuz].... U.S. forces carried out new rounds of attacks on Iran throughout Tuesday and resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.... Mr. Trump was quick to declare success. 'The Strait of Hormuz is open to ALL Ship traffic except for Iran — and that is because of their lying, violent, malicious leadership, which is taking them down the path of TOTAL DESTRUCTION,' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning. But exactly what the U.S. military will do to enforce the blockade, and how far it will go to exert control of the strait, is not clear. A key question is whether Mr. Trump will consider an operation to take the strait’s Kharg Island, a key export hub for Iran’s oil.”

Adjudicated Rapist Pays E. Jean Carroll. Finally. Gregory Svirnovskiy & Erica Orden of Politico: “E. Jean Carroll, the writer who won a pair of civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse and defamation by ... Donald Trump, on Monday received the more than $5.6 million in damages he owed her, according to a court filing. The payment marks a significant victory that Trump has fought hard to prevent since his first term in the White House.... Carroll also won a much larger award of $83.3 million after a second trial over her additional defamation claims. Trump is continuing to appeal that verdict.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s holding company took a $2 million payment last year from a top investor in a South Korean aluminum firm as the company was fighting a trade case before Trump’s Commerce Department, highlighting the president’s business ties to companies with business before his administration. The payment from Base Co. LTD was part of a 'letter of intent' and a 'nonrefundable development fee,' according to the president’s latest financial disclosure.... Base Group is a key shareholder in Korea Aluminium, one of several companies that the Commerce Department has accused of circumventing duties imposed on Chinese aluminum. The company has also had a years-long business relationship with the Trump family business, selling Trump-branded wine in South Korea.... The Commerce Department on Monday issued a preliminary finding that would subject Korea Aluminium’s exports to a 105 percent tax, nearly four times the current rate.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens to Base Co.'s new tax rate. 

They Really Don't Know What They're Doing, Ctd. Adam Taylor & Meg Kelly of the Washington Post: “Newly disclosed emails reveal confusion at the State Department during the Trump administration’s push last year to destroy almost $10 million worth of family planning commodities in a Belgian warehouse that were intended for distribution in some of the world’s poorest nations. U.S. diplomats in the region were left in the dark about the supplies sitting in the warehouse in Geel, while a senior official privately shared erroneous information that suggested some of the contraceptives could be used to induce abortions.... A tranche of dozens of internal emails and other internal documents from last summer ... were released by the State Department after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Center for Reproductive Rights.... The records paint a chaotic picture of the Trump administration’s move to shut down USAID and block the distribution of $9.7 million worth of contraceptives that were meant for developing nations.”

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has privately directed its officers to temporarily pause traffic stops in the wake of two deadly shootings, though the agency would not confirm the directive publicly. Sources confirmed to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister outlet, that such stops would be temporarily halted nationwide. Other outlets said ICE has directed agents to pause most traffic stops, leaving the door open to stops for certain types of offenders. However, ICE declined to confirm what would represent a significant shift in their tactics for conducting arrests.... ICE has been under increasing pressure to change how it conducts arrests, and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Tuesday she had pushed for a shift in the agency’s practices. The shift comes after two high-profile deadly shootings during traffic stops.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Allison McCann, et al., of the New York Times: “Shortly after 7 a.m. on Monday in the small city of Biddeford, Maine, federal immigration agents fatally shot Joan Sebastian Guerrero in his car. Agents fired five times. No video footage has emerged that shows the events leading up to the shooting, or the killing itself, and many questions remain unanswered, such as whether more than one agent fired a weapon. But several videos provide new detail of Mr. Guerrero’s encounter with the agents, including that he was shot before his vehicle rolled into an intersection. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday that Mr. Guerrero, a Colombian national, had been shot after he had attempted to flee in his car from federal immigration agents, and that an agent had fired at him 'fearing for public safety.' In a separate communication to Congressional members, the department claimed that Mr. Guerrero had 'weaponized his vehicle toward law enforcement.'” Read on. The reporters include a number of videos, and the report contains explanations of those videos. The link is a gift link.

The idea that Democrats are to blame for the Trump administration’s failure to deploy body cameras to the field and to protect people from out-of-control agents that they have failed to properly train is completely absurd.The problem has not been funding; ICE has more money than most modern militaries. It’s been this administration’s refusal to quickly put in place basic accountability measures like requiring body cameras. -- Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), in a statement ~~~

~~~ Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: “After federal immigration agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis early this year, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary at the time, pledged that the government would 'rapidly acquire and deploy' body cameras on agents across the country. But after immigration officers fatally shot two people during enforcement operations over the past week, the Department of Homeland Security disclosed that none of the officers involved wore body cameras.... Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine..., and the Department of Homeland Security said that Democratic lawmakers were at fault for forcing the agency’s shutdown earlier this year, delaying the deployment of body cameras. The 76-day shutdown began in mid-February.... Democrats said the department was flush with billions in federal funding from the domestic policy bill that Republicans passed last summer, giving it ample time and money to equip immigration officers with cameras. Congress also approved $20 million in funding specifically for the expansion of body camera use as part of a spending bill it passed in April.” See related article linked under Maine Senate Race.

Olivia Diaz of the New York Times: “Darline Graham, the younger sister of Senator Lindsey Graham, was sworn in on Tuesday as his interim replacement, taking the South Carolina Republican’s seat just three days after his sudden and unexpected death. Standing in the Old Senate Chamber, Ms. Graham placed her hand on a Bible held by her husband, Larry Nordone, and vowed to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January. The chamber was filled with long sighs and teary eyes as Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the president pro tempore of the chamber, administered the oath.... Ms. Graham, 62, has no direct experience in Washington politics aside from supporting her brother, and has never been elected to serve public office. A mother of two and a lifelong South Carolinian, she has spent her career primarily in state government — first with the state’s employment and vocational departments and more recently as leader of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.” The ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the annual defense policy bill, registering their discontent about ... [Donald] Trump’s handling of the war in Iran just days after the administration formally notified Congress that U.S. military operations had resumed. The vote reflected how the National Defense Authorization Act, sprawling legislation that outlines pay for American troops and almost always advances with broad bipartisan support, has become the latest political battleground over the war in Iran, which Mr. Trump undertook without congressional authorization. On a nearly party-line vote of 50 to 46, Republicans fell short of the 60 votes they needed to bring up the bill for debate, leaving uncertain the fate of a vital measure setting Pentagon policy and program funding. Democrats argued that Congress could not move ahead with the bill, which would authorize more than $1 trillion in military spending, while the administration was pressing forward with a war that has been rebuked by bipartisan majorities in both chambers.”

Anna Liss-Roy & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “The House voted Tuesday to end Americans’ practice of switching their clocks twice per year, delivering a win for ... Donald Trump, who has called for permanent daylight saving time over the objections of medical groups and lawmakers who represent Midwestern states. The bill passed by a lopsided 308-117 vote but still needs to clear the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain, to take effect. In the House, the bill was supported by 193 Republicans, 114 Democrats and one independent. The Sunshine Protection Act would stop the annual practice of 'springing forward' and 'falling back' by placing most of the country permanently on daylight saving time, with an exemption for the few places that are on year-round standard time and already don’t change their clocks.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wow! Here's an instance where I agree with Donald Jellyroll Trump. I grew up in Florda at a time when the state did not have daylight savings time. When I went north to college in 1962, I thought the whole changing times thing was stupid. I still do. So do milk cows; they just don't get it.

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Maine Senate Race. Tim Balk of the New York Times: “The fatal shooting of a Colombian man in Maine by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has put pressure on Senator Susan Collins, with several of the Democrats seeking to challenge her criticizing her support for aspects of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda..., , drawing attention to her votes to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection and to confirm both of Mr. Trump’s second-term homeland security secretaries, [Marlwayne] Mullin and his predecessor, Kristi Noem. Ms. Collins sought to get ahead of the potentially damaging issue, saying Tuesday that after the shooting she had urged [Mr.] Mullin .. to 'cease all non-urgent vehicle stops,' which officials said the administration later did.... As chair of the Senate committee that oversees government spending, Ms. Collins has voted to fund ICE, but has also pushed for various safeguards to prevent abuses.... Troy Jackson, a Democratic Senate candidate, said on social media Tuesday morning that ICE 'must be abolished' and that 'Susan Collins must be held accountable for funding this terror.' Dr. Nirav Shah, another candidate, said there was a 'straight line from Senator Collins to the tragedy that we saw yesterday.'”

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Ukraine/Russia. Nataliya Vasilyeva, et al., of the New York Times: “Ukraine has opened another front in its intensifying blockade of Crimea, striking growing numbers of Russian vessels in the waters near the occupied peninsula as it tries to heap pressure on the Kremlin to end the war. Kyiv is using its expanding arsenal of long-range drones to mount its largest campaign in the Sea of Azov since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Advances in technology have only recently brought the sea, which is surrounded by Russia and Russian-occupied territory, in reach of drones piloted by Ukrainian soldiers. These drones have been the backbone of weeks of attacks against Crimea as Ukraine tries to expose Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, as unable to defend the peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine has struck power stations, military infrastructure and fuel facilities, as well as roads and railways leading into Crimea. The attacks have caused power cuts and fuel shortages, which Mr. Putin has vowed to alleviate with increased sea deliveries to the peninsula.”