July 24, 2026

Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: “Three months after an apparent assassination attempt on ... Donald Trump threw the White House correspondents’ dinner into chaos, the president is set to address reporters at a slimmed-down redo of the event Friday, even as he embraced an aggressive stance that favors targeting journalists to root out leakers in his administration.”

What a Moron! Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Friday ordered the installation of signs outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History that warn of 'inaccurate' exhibits and direct people to 'accurate information regarding America’s history.' In an executive order, Trump cited a 162-page White House report released on July 4 titled 'Saving America’s Story,' which, according to the president, 'demonstrates that the Smithsonian leadership does not present American history as a shared national inheritance to be taught and celebrated, but instead views American history as a “prime tool” to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society.' The White House said in a companion statement that the Smithsonian generally and its American history museum in particular have veered 'toward extreme political activism, rooted in Marxism, to divide, dispirit, and discourage Americans.'”

The people briefed on the matter spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity to discuss the information. ~~~ New York Times report

They do keep on talking, don't they? -- Marie ~~~

~~~ Times Reporters Keep Exposing Trump's Lies about the Great Winged Grift. Tyler Pager, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump abruptly switched aircraft when leaving Turkey this month after what officials judged to be a credible threat that Iranian proxy forces were targeting him and Air Force One, according to multiple people briefed on the matter. The threat emerged while Mr. Trump was attending the NATO summit. He had flown into Ankara on the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, which lacks the same advanced defensive capabilities of the old Air Force One, as The New York Times previously reported. After the U.S. government picked up on the threat, the Secret Service urged Mr. Trump to change planes....

“Mr. Trump initially said the switch in planes was to give American service members in Britain a chance to tour the new aircraft, and he denied the decision was security related.... After The Times reported this month that federal officials had significant concerns about the security capabilities of the jet, the government launched a leak investigation seeking grand jury testimony from several Times journalists as well as their phone records and those of their relatives.”

As the Mobster Goes. ~~~

Philip Kennicott of the Washington Post: “... more than two dozen experts in preservation, materials and heritage [are] arguing in district court against the Trump administration’s plan to paint the massive [Eisenhower Executive Office Building white, to match the nearby White House. It is unnecessary, costly and it could damage the stone, they say, leading to a 'taxpayers’ nightmare,' as the building would have to be regularly repainted, keeping it potentially under scaffolding in perpetuity. The case, brought by Cultural Heritage Partners and the D.C. Preservation League, was filed on Nov. 14, 2025, a few days after ... Donald Trump revealed images of what the all-white building would look like to Fox News host Laura Ingraham during an Oval Office interview. Since then, this seemingly small item on Trump’s renovation and construction list has taken on major importance. Two problems are at issue: potentially irreversible harm to the building, and Trump’s attempt to effectively remove from historic and environmental review any project he wants to expedite by transferring it to the White House Office of Administration, a part of the executive branch beyond the reach of those reviews.”

~~~ So Goes a Consigliere. ~~~

“Extreme Politicization.” Tony Romm & Brad Plumer of the New York Times: “When the Trump administration canceled more than $7.5 billion in Biden-era federal grants for clean energy projects in October, it framed the move as an urgent corrective to protect taxpayer funds from waste. But it wasn’t true. In little-noticed court documents, federal officials acknowledged this month that they had terminated the funding 'based solely' on political criteria, targeting projects in states that were represented by Democrats and had voted for Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee, in the 2024 election. The admission showed how ... [Donald] Trump has weaponized the provision of federal education, energy, health, housing and infrastructure aid in his second term. Far from rooting out the sort of misspending that Mr. Trump sees as rife in Washington, the White House has instead sought to leverage the budget as a tool to assist its allies — or as a cudgel to hurt the president’s foes....

“The administration’s latest concession about the grants came in a lawsuit filed by a group of California researchers challenging various federal agencies that have canceled Biden-era funding.... The Energy Department last fall created a list that recommended canceling more than 600 grants awarded by the Biden administration for a wide range of novel energy projects. That list included funding for projects in states represented by both Republicans and Democrats. But in October, the White House budget office, led by Russell T. Vought, terminated only 284 of those grants. In a social media post announcing the news, Mr. Vought pointed to the motivations: 'Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being canceled,' he said.” Emphasis added.

Here's one of the low-level "soldiers" who carry out the orders of the capi. ~~

Departmentof Homeland Security? Hah! Maria Sacchetti & Silvia Foster-Frau of the Washington Post: “The U.S. immigration officer allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of an immigrant in Maine told a judge in October that he was struggling to earn money because he had health issues and his driver’s license had been revoked. Maine District Court Judge Amy Dieterich declared a month later that David Brouillette’s claims were not credible, denying his request to terminate his child support payments to a former wife. Instead, she concluded, Brouillette was 'voluntarily underemployed.' State records show that Brouillette’s license was not revoked at the time of his court testimony, an official who represents Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles told The Washington Post. Brouillette separately indicated in a divorce settlement that he was employed by a local police department in 2019, but that agency said it has no record of him working there.”

Alice Callahan & Caroline Legaspi of the New York Times: “A large outbreak of cyclosporiasis associated with iceberg lettuce has been linked to another four states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 1,947 people have become ill and 98 have been hospitalized in the outbreak, which has expanded to include Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia were already part of the outbreak. The Food and Drug Administration has linked the infections to iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and grown in central Mexico. On July 17, Taylor Farms recalled bagged iceberg lettuce sold in 27 states (including the nine states in the outbreak). The recalled lettuce was sent to restaurants, retail stores and food service distributors including Taco Bell and Walmart, but Taylor Farms has not provided clear information about exactly where the products were sold or served, and which specific products were affected.”

Benjamin Mullin, et al., of the New York Times: “Paramount said on Friday that it had agreed to halt its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until next June at the latest while a judge considers a lawsuit from state attorneys general who sued to block the deal. The delay is the latest curveball in a deal that would remake Hollywood. In a legal filing, Paramount and the state attorneys general said that they had reached an agreement to freeze the $111 billion merger while the case works its way through court, extending a shorter pause imposed this week by a federal judge in California. The merger agreement expires on June 4, 2027, if the deal has not closed by that date. The delay could be costly for Paramount. The company, run by the tech scion David Ellison, has agreed to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a fee of $650 million for every quarter that the deal does not close, beginning in October. Larry Ellison, David Ellison’s father, has personally guaranteed the acquisition.”

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Andrea Fuller, et al., of the New York Times on “how Trump is getting richer in office.” The link appears to be a gift link. With lots o' charts. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ramsey Khalifeh of the Gothamist: “U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked members of Congress in a letter on Wednesday to give Amtrak the green light to rename Penn Station, setting up the possibility the nation’s busiest train hub could be rechristened after ... Donald Trump. The federal government has led the effort to rebuild the dilapidated station since last year, when Trump stripped control of the project from the MTA and turned it over to Amtrak. White House officials have since floated the idea of renaming Penn Station, which is owned by federally run Amtrak, after Trump. Duffy’s request came in a letter to Senate committee chairs as Congress negotiates new spending bills. While Duffy didn’t explicitly ask lawmakers to put Trump’s name on Penn Station in his letter, he asked them to 'direct Amtrak to rename New York Penn Station....

“Renderings of the new design for the station selected by Amtrak included a wall etched with a presidential seal bearing Trump's name. 'After months of hiding from the public, Sean Duffy has confirmed that the Trump administration is waging a hostile takeover of Penn Station, including delivering Trump his dream of renaming Penn Station after himself,' U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, whose district includes Penn Station, wrote in a statement.” The New York Post published the renderings in late May. (The link is to a Yahoo! News republication of the Post article with illustrations.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I find this even more disturbing that renaming Palm Beach Airport for Trump. While it may be inconvenient for many, it is possible to fly into and out of another Southeast Florida airport. And most people don't fly every day, so passing thru Trump International is only an occasional affront. But hundreds of thousands of people have no choice but to pass through Penn Station every day, twice a day. (Art Intel says 600,000 people pass through Penn Station every weekday.) Forcing them to confront Trump on their way to and from work is an insult. I suppose here again, cruelty is the point.

Once upon a time, Dan Scavino was a simple golf caddy, lugging 9-irons from hole to hole, retrieving balls from the rough. Now he is making high-quality videos of the high-quality ormulu, gilded and Rust-Oleum spray-painted (okay, mostly Rust-Oleum spray-painted) gimcrack applied to every damned surface of the uniquely-shaped office of a famous home-decor influencer. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

7/21/26 | The Oval Office🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/tjkfiJLRi2

— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) July 22, 2026

     ~~~ Oddly, Sam Stein & Andrew Egger of the Bulwark almost seem to mock these beautiful embellishments. Some people simply cannot appreciate the finer things. Like Rust-Oleum. BTW, Sam & Andrew were wondering about the significance of a golden bell set on a table in a niche. Here's the story on that, in two parts. A-One and A-Two. (Also linked yesterday.)

⭐The Mad King Imposes New Tariffs on Americans. Ana Swanson of the New York Times: “The Trump administration will impose tariffs of around 10 percent on goods from more than 80 countries on Friday, its latest effort to put in place an expansive protectionist policy.... The tariffs will range from 10 percent to 12.5 percent and take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, replacing a global 10 percent duty set to lapse at the same time. Mr. Trump issued that earlier tariff in February, after the Supreme Court struck down duties he imposed last year. The move provides fresh evidence of Mr. Trump’s intention to transform global trade, despite numerous court challenges and the protests of U.S. consumers and businesses that have been stuck with higher tax bills. Over the past 17 months, the Trump administration has cycled through trade law after trade law as it tries to build a system to shield the U.S. economy from foreign competition. The duties will be issued under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose tariffs on foreign countries that engage in unreasonable or discriminatory trade practices.” (Also linked yesterday.) The story has been updated to reflect the fact that the tariffs are now in effect. Update 2: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ NPR's report is here. MB: Both NPR & CNBC report that the new tariffs are on 60, not 80, countries. But NPR adds that it's 59 countries plus the European Union, so that would explain the apparent discrepancy. In any event, the CNBC report notes that the tariffs will "cover 99.4% of U.S. trade, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a fact sheet Thursday afternoon." So every country that matters. The idea that every one of the U.S.'s trading partners has suddenly engaged in "unreasonable or discriminatory trade practices" is absurd on its face.~~~

~~~ Tony Romm, et al., of the New York Times have an “explainer.” “The new taxes are meant to replace a 10 percent duty that Mr. Trump imposed globally shortly after the Supreme Court invalidated a previous wave of sweeping levies. By law, that replacement tariff could be in place for only 150 days absent congressional approval, and the clock ran out on the president at midnight.... The president sees high duties as a way to encourage more domestic manufacturing and protect U.S. industries, but taxes on imports tend to fall hardest on American families and businesses. Mr. Trump’s policies may also face a familiar set of legal challenges that could send the administration back to court, where it has lost repeatedly.” MB: It seems to me these explainer articles do a disservice to the reader when they don't mentioned that Trump is nuts.

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in the Iran War. From the pinned item at 7:55 am ET: “The United States and Iran traded more attacks across the Middle East after Tehran was said to have rejected a U.S. cease-fire proposal delivered by the leader of Iraq. American forces targeted Iranian military assets and facilities, including drone storage sites, to reduce the threat to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said.... The Iranian military said it had launched drone attacks on Friday morning against U.S. military targets at bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Iranian and Iraqi officials said on Thursday that Iran had rejected a cease-fire proposal from ... [Donald] Trump that was presented by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq. Iran’s top negotiator, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told local news outlets that there was no need for another mediator and that 'the problem is America’s outlook.'...

“The Houthis claimed on Wednesday to have struck two Saudi tankers [in the Red Sea], the first attacks since the group announced a blockade of Saudi ships this week.... Mr. Trump said in a social media post on Thursday that from now on, he would make Iran pay for any damage to ships and cargo in the Strait of Hormuz using Iranian funds under U.S. control.”

 Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: “On Wednesday, the Pentagon reported on its casualties website that a total of 18 American service members had been killed during the war in Iran. By Thursday, the Defense Department had lowered that number, reporting that 14 American troops had been killed in the war. Three military officials said that one reason behind the change was that the Trump administration decided to remove four service members killed this past weekend from the list — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — because their deaths occurred after ... [Donald] Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April.... The acting press secretary for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, attributed the change instead to 'temporary data disruptions' on the website that he suggested would be quickly fixed.... In its casualty toll for the Iran war, the Pentagon has separated the number of troops killed under fire from those killed in accidents.” The link appears to be a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This week, Trump has been comparing the number of troops killed in the Iran War to the number killed in previous U.S. wars. Being the liar that he is, sometimes he just makes up the numbers, like when he said the other day that 200,000 were killed in Viet Nam (the official number is 58,220, though I've seen figures that were slightly more or less than that). Trump's point has been that the Iran War isn't so bad because comparatively few Americans have been killed. How to make Trump's more palatable? Reduce the official number of U.S. troops killed.

⭐Barak Ravid of Axios: Donald "Trump told Axios on Thursday that he's seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran — including strikes that would be bigger than the ones carried out during Operation Epic Fury.... In a brief interview, Trump acknowledged that such a decision would have consequences and stressed he hasn't made a determination yet." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mychael Schnell, et al., of MS NOW: "For the second time in as many months, the House voted to curb Donald Trump’s authority in Iran.... On Thursday, the House adopted a war powers resolution directing the U.S. to cease hostilities with Iran, as Washington’s war with Tehran reaches the 145-day mark. The measure cleared 214-208, with four Republicans joining all Democrats in support. Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Barrett, R-Mich., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., supported the resolution. Even though it was another political rebuke of the president, the vote won’t actually change much. The legislation is a concurrent resolution, so even if the Senate approves the same version, the measure won’t go to Trump’s desk for signature. The resolution, therefore, won’t carry the force of law. The same scenario played out last month, and the measure proved powerless against Trump’s whims." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ SO THEN. Noah Robertson, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Senate blocked consideration of a similar resolution hours later on a 49-47 procedural vote.Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) was the lone Republican to join Democrats in supporting the measure. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) voted against it.” The Hill's story is here.

“Quagmire of the Vanities.” Paul Krugman: “Yesterday Donald Trump declared that the Iran war is going 'better than anybody expected could be done.' He’s delusional, of course. And his delusions are the reason the price of oil is back at around $100 a barrel, and ... the effective price is much higher than that ... [because] the difference in price between a barrel of crude oil and the price of the products into which that barrel is refined — has exploded.... The only thing keeping the war going is Trump’s vanity. He effectively lost the war in the first few days.... But Trump is psychologically incapable of admitting failure. So the war goes on, weakening America by the day.... If Trump doubles down on failure, drastically escalating his disastrous war, the economic, not to mention human, impacts will get much uglier.”

Tony Romm of the New York Times: “A widening military conflict with Iran entered a dangerous new phase this week, spooking energy markets and sending global oil prices to $100 a barrel. The anxiety spilled into gas prices, which topped $4 a gallon in much of the country.... And the tumult coincided with the return of Mr. Trump’s trade brinkmanship, as the White House formalized a slate of new tariffs.... The forces, taken together, complicated the nation’s economic outlook.... Yet at a rally in Marietta, Ga., on Wednesday, the president seemed unfazed by the blowback from the war with Iran, a conflict he has repeatedly downplayed. Mr. Trump declared that inflation was 'way down,' pointing to falling prices in June, before promising that energy costs in particular would 'come down, maybe lower than when we even started.'... Despite registering the largest single-month drop in six years, consumer prices overall were still 3.5 percent higher in June than they were a year earlier.... The latest inflation data ... arrived precisely as the United States and Iran resumed their hostilities — raising concerns that any improvement could prove short-lived.”

Heather Cox Richardson recalls a 1953 speech by President Eisenhower in the context of how it relates to Donald Trump's spending priorities. She's quite right to point this out, but what struck me was how decent a person Eisenhower was. (The full text of the "cross of iron" speech is here.) Democrats may not be what they used to be, but Republicans have fallen from relative grace into the abyss.

He Really Doesn't Know What He's Doing. Michael Birnbaum & Evan Halpern of the Washington Post: “Saudi Arabia would need to normalize relations with Israel to receive the U.S. nuclear technology it has long sought..., Donald Trump said Thursday, adding a new and potentially deal-ending stipulation to an agreement signed just a day earlier. The nuclear deal — which was fiercely opposed by Israel and others concerned about nuclear proliferation — is 'totally subject' to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, Trump said in a social media post, referring to the effort from his first term to normalize relations between Israel and Muslim-majority countries from which it had long been estranged. The Saudis have thus far refused to join the accord. It was the latest whiplash-inducing policy shift from the White House, which had faced-down considerable political opposition to push forward with the Saudi deal.” An NPR report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Normalizing relations with Israel is a condition that Saudi Arabia has rejected in all previous negotiations. So Trump forgot to mention it in the deal he cut with Saudi Arabia, then a day later he remembered it and added it as a condition to the deal the U.S. & the Saudis had already reached? WTF?

Sophia Cai & Jordain Carney of Politico: “White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Thursday that ... Donald Trump’s patience with Senate Majority Leader John Thune is wearing thin, as Republicans struggle to advance his voting overhaul legislation before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. 'His patience is running out,' Leavitt said — rhetoric that escalates warnings Trump had already begun delivering on social media. While House Republicans have largely aligned themselves with Trump’s legislative priorities, Thune has been unable to rally his caucus to move the legislation forward, saying repeatedly that he simply does not have the votes.... 'The Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die,' Trump said in Georgia on Wednesday. 'We’re not going to take this any longer, we’re not going to take it. I’m trying to be nice.' On Thursday, Thune — clear-eyed about the realities of the conference’s Senate margins — suggested in response that the White House should 'get on the phone' instead of 'pointing fingers.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Michael Gold ;of the New York Times: “The long-simmering tension between ... [Donald] Trump and Senate Republicans over a stalled voting restriction bill intensified on Thursday, after the president’s spokeswoman said that Mr. Trump’s 'patience is running out' with Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, for failing to push it through.... The escalating battle will likely complicate the Senate’s final two weeks before their August recess. Mr. Thune already faced a difficult to-do list, laid at his feet by House Republicans who departed Washington for their five-week break on Thursday after having pushed through several bills that face dim prospects in the Senate.” ~~~

~~~ AND. Avani Kalra & Al Weaver of NOTUS: “Sen. Mitch McConnell’s extended absence has thrown a number of the Senate’s top priorities into limbo.... 'We’re at 52' Republican votes, Majority Leader John Thune told NOTUS, versus the 53 seats the party holds in the Senate. 'This is the reality.'... Without McConnell, who chairs the subcommittee on defense, the Appropriations Committee is split 14-14 between Democrats and Republicans, making it impossible to advance legislation that doesn’t have bipartisan support.” ~~~

     ~~~ MEANWHILE, over on the YouTubes, various left-wing pundits, not to mention Marjorie Taylor Greene, have been speculating that Mitch is dead, "nearly dead," or "brain-dead.)

Marina Dunbar of the Guardian: “A Secret Service agent assigned to JD Vance’s protective detail is 'the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security', according to the Secret Service chief of communications. The agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing information that appeared in an MS Now report about the vice-president’s planned Marine Corps helicopter trip with his son to a golf lesson, a source told CNN.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Warren Strobel of the Washington Post: “The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has shrunk more than is publicly known in recent weeks, losing about 200 personnel to firings and reassignments since June 1, according to data the Trump administration shared with Congress this week. The cuts are the latest to hit ODNI, which was created to oversee and coordinate all U.S. spy agencies but has been targeted by ... Donald Trump and many Republicans in Congress. They, and some former U.S. intelligence officials, say it has expanded far beyond what lawmakers intended when it was created two decades ago. The ODNI had about 2,000 employees at the start of Trump’s second term. It is now little more than half that size, according to congressional aides....

“Trump has often maintained a hostile posture toward professional intelligence personnel and their agencies, claiming they tried to undermine him in his first term, particularly with the compiling of reports on Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election to aid his campaign. The president has dismissed intelligence analysis on a range of issues, from North Korea’s nuclear policy to Iran’s likely reaction to the attacks the U.S. and Israel launched in February.”

Michael Grynbaum & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “The Justice Department said on Thursday that it would withdraw the subpoenas that sought phone records and grand jury testimony from New York Times journalists who had reported on the security capabilities of ... [Donald] Trump’s new Qatari-built Air Force One jet.... The government’s move came after Judge Arun Subramanian grilled Justice Department lawyers for nearly an hour over their handling of the subpoenas, which The Times had sought to quash.... Judge Subramanian said the Justice Department was not prevented from subpoenaing the Times reporters again if the government followed appropriate procedures.” Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. MB: According to MS NOW, the judge told the DOJ lawyers they could withdraw the subpoenas or he would quash them. One of the subpoenas sought phone records of the mother or a NYT reporter. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ SDNY's Bad Day. Chris Geidner, the Law Dork: "The degradation of the Justice Department in the second Trump administration is clear, is having immediate effects, and will have long-term effects. Just how degraded DOJ has become was on full display in the Southern District of New York on Thursday.... [The SDNY] is widely seen as one the preeminent U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the nation.... Over the past two weeks, the office tried to subpoena reporters from

The New York Times and ensnared some of the reporters’ family members.... When challenged, the office’s ability to carry out basic legal research and adhere to general ethical standards were called into question by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in a sharp, hour-long hearing that ended with the Trump administration withdrawing the subpoenas  rather than face the almost certain likelihood of Subramanian quashing them." Geidner goes on to describe all the faults Judge Subramanian found with the "preeminent U.S. attorney's" filings. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One of the prosecutors admitted that the lawyers on the case had no knowledge of the "leading case in this field," and the team didn't even do elementary research prior to issuing the subpoenas. I can't see that these lawyers are even qualified to do their jobs, much less being the "preeminent" DOJ lawyers. But the crux of the problem -- unstated by Geidner and the judge, as far as I know -- is that these neophyte lawyers felt or were told they had to do a rush job to please El Jefe, who got his nose out of joint when NYT reporters caught him in some lies about the inadequate security features on his Glorious Flying Bribe. Why so many neophyte lawyers? Well, some quit and some, like top prosecutor Maurene Comey, were fired (in her case, because Comey). IOW, everything is Trump's fault. Really. 

Alan Blinder & Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: “The Trump administration has abandoned its quest to force the University of Pennsylvania to turn over names of Jewish people on campus, according to a court filing on Thursday. The retreat by the administration does not resolve the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s long-running inquiry into concerns about antisemitism at Penn. But the government’s decision to drop the subpoena appears to spell the end, at least in Penn’s case, of a politically volatile and legally fraught tactic.... The government also demanded membership rosters of those groups, as well as a list of people who had worked in Penn’s Jewish Studies Program. Penn complied with some of the government’s requests and balked at others, and the commission sued in November. The university and its allies warned that the government’s demands were unconstitutional and endangered people.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This always seemed to me to be a Nazi request in sheep's clothing. I know the Trumpists are pretending they care about anti-semitism because it's their way of attacking elite, supposedly-liberal institutions, particularly universities. But these inquisitors are the same people who ally with white nationalists and neo-Nazis, so it's hard for me to believe that "a list of all the Jews" would not be put to nefarious use.

Marie: It's a good idea to remember that Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) had a good job with the high probably of being re-elected at least until he got into a Mitch McConnell-like situation. But he gave it all up for a Cabinet post. Here's how that's going: ~~~ 

~~~ Maria Armstrong-Matta of the Raw Story: "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is failing to meet White House expectations four months into his tenure, facing criticism for making major policy decisions without explicit presidential approval. The breaking point came when Mullin unilaterally ordered ... ICE agents nationwide to halt vehicle stops following fatal shootings in Texas and Maine, a decision announced without White House consultation, reported NBC NEWS.... Donald Trump reversed the policy within 24 hours....Mullin has also faced scrutiny for inaccurately invoking immigration law during a CNN interview, reported NBC News. Questions about his fitness for the role are mounting, particularly concerns over his choice of Lance Schroyer as ICE director, whom DHS insiders describe as having 'extremely limited' immigration law knowledge." (The NBC story is firewalled.)

Triumph of the Snake Oil Salesmen. Christina Jewett & Dana Smith of the New York Times: “A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration, several of them sellers of experimental peptides, dismissed the concerns of the agency’s scientists on Thursday, voting in favor of allowing broad production of poorly understood peptide treatments. By the end of the first day of a two-day meeting, votes on four different peptide products ended in favor of allowing specialized pharmacies to produce and sell the treatments. Votes on three more peptides are scheduled for Friday. The votes were nonbinding, but they were a rebuke to F.D.A. scientists, who said the risks and benefits of the peptide drugs under consideration had not been sufficiently studied. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the F.D.A., has long supported lifting restrictions on peptides. In the weeks before Thursday’s hearing, his office nominated eight new members to the committee of academics and doctors that would review the issue, six of whom have sold peptide products, some banned, with health claims backed by minimal science.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose we should have come up with some quantifiable parameters to determine what constitutes "The Scandal of the Day." The fact is that nearly every day we have a choice, and reasonable people can differ.

Michael Casey of the AP, published by ABC News: "More than two dozen states on Thursday sued the Trump administration for requiring them to comply with election and immigration conditions in order to receive billions of dollars in federal funding for disasters. The lawsuit, filed in Rhode Island and challenging Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security policies, argued that the administration is requiring states to change their elections systems and help DHS with immigration enforcement. The conditions would also allow DHS to terminate grants at anytime and for any reason.” (Also linked yesterday.)

The News From Billionaires' Row.

Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: In an interview with the Economist, “Elon Musk has admitted he became too consumed by politics during his volatile alliance with Donald Trump and his brief appointment as the president’s financial axman, running the so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge).... 'I got carried away, frankly,' Musk said of his relationship with the president, whom he helped get elected in 2024 with $200m in financial backing, then served during his controversial tenure as head of Doge, overseeing $150bn in 'harmful' budget cuts and forcing tens of thousands of people out of federal jobs.... However, he appeared to relish the attention his political involvement had garnered, and the influence he believed he exerted.”

David McCabe of the New York Times: “A federal judge said on Thursday that Paramount could not close its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery until at least Aug. 18, as she considers two lawsuits that seek to block the deal. The move extended a pause on the deal. On Monday, the judge, Araceli Martínez-Olguín of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, froze the deal for 14 days after a group of states sued to stop the acquisition, citing antitrust concerns. In that ruling, she said she would hold a hearing on Aug. 3 about whether to issue an injunction that would block the deal from closing for the duration of the lawsuit.”

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Scott Lemieux in LG&$, cites a big chunk of a Status article that recounts for "60 Minutes" correspondent Cecilia Vega's account of working for Bari Weiss (before Weiss fired her). As Lemieux writes, "Cecilia Vega, fired by grifting propagandist Bari Weiss for the crime of doing journalism, recounts multiple instances where she was asked to replace news in her news reports with whatever random horseshit Weiss encountered from deep inside MAGA’s dark rectum[.]... You can’t deny the Ellisons are getting what they’re paying for! " MB: You may be able to directly access the Status report (or a part of it) if you are willing to jump through their hoops, but I just was not up to the hoop-jumping this morning. Sorry.

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Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: “Democratic state officials are ramping up their preparations to protect against what they view as a new threat to election security: the federal government. At a meeting in Milwaukee in May, staff members from the offices of every Democratic attorney general and about a dozen Democratic secretaries of state held tabletop exercises to prepare for hypothetical scenarios in the November midterm elections. In those 'war rooms,' said Nick Brown, the Democratic attorney general of the state of Washington, state officials discussed how they would handle a variety of scenarios. What might happen if the F.B.I. showed up, demanding election materials or equipment? What if federal troops or agents were deployed in the country in ways that could intimidate voters or disrupt the election? What if President Trump tried to declare an election-related national emergency? 'The sad reality now is that the federal government is our biggest concern,' Mr. Brown said, adding, 'It used to be that the Department of Justice was our No. 1 partner, helping states prepare for election-related issues.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have many concerns^{TM Susan Collins}, my main worry is that somewhere this is going to turn into an armed conflict with federalized National Guard on one side and some kind of local forces on the other. I hope I'm being ridiculous.

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley & Sammy Westfall of the Washington Post: “A police officer’s shooting of a man [in Madison, Wisconsin,] Wednesday afternoon is being investigated as a homicide, the city’s police chief said Thursday during a raucous news conference that was at times taken over by protesters. 'This is an open and active homicide investigation,' Police Chief John Patterson said. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway identified the shooting victim as Corey Ruiz. Police said the shooting happened as officers were attempting to arrest a man who had tried to flee on a bicycle, then pulled out a knife as police struggled to subdue him. Parts of the encounter were recorded on video by a passerby, and appeared to show the shots were fired after the man was already being held on the ground.”

Marie: As I expect you do, too, I get a lot of online ads for items I was searching online. Oftentimes, the ads are for things I already bought -- like an electric teakettle -- so I gather Google tracks only my search history and not my purchases. Still, most of the ads make sense inasmuch as they're for the kinds of items or the actual items I've been searching online. So I cannot imagine why, for the past two days, I have been getting ads for a $677,000 2024 Porsche 911. I have not been searching for any type of vehicle and certainly not for a Porsche I could not reasonably afford (and couldn't even spell). AI is amazing, but not that amazing.