July 31, 2026

Marie: More later. 

As the War Expands. Vivian Nereim, et al., of the New York Times: “A resurgence of fighting in the war with Iran is expanding the scope of the conflict across the Middle East and further threatening shipments of oil and other products crucial to the global economy. With little sign of peace talks resuming, a series of attacks ... ended a short period of relative calm — and entangled a growing list of U.S. allies in the conflict. Among them are Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which said it was now forming a military coalition. As the scope of the fighting widened, U.S. Central Command said Thursday morning that it had completed another wave of strikes on sites in Iran overnight.... And the Jordanian military later said it had shot down five missiles launched from Iran. Egypt, too, has now been directly touched by the war for the first time.... On Thursday, the Egyptian authorities said that an unidentified drone had set off an explosion at the Mediterranean port of Damietta the previous day. Two ships there, including a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker, caught fire at the port....” The link is a gift link. ~~~

Michael Birnbaum, et al., of the Washington Post: “The United States has brokered a pathway to a deal between Hamas and the Israeli government for the Palestinian militant group to lay down its arms in Gaza in exchange for an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the territory, U.S. officials said Thursday, a potential breakthrough to end nearly three years of conflict there. The framework was a potential step toward an Israeli pullout from Gaza and the eventual rebuilding of the territory, much of which has been reduced to rubble. But on Friday morning, Hamas and Israel remained conspicuously silent on the deal, and after years of fighting, there was little trust between the sides.... Donald Trump portrayed it as 'a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,' in a post on social media. He said that the agreement envisioned Hamas disarming in stages, with the Israeli military pulling out of the territory gradually and being replaced by an international stabilization force that would work in partnership with a revamped Palestinian police force to provide security.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times report is here; the link is a gift link. And here's the MS NOW report. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This sounds as solid as Trump's "concept of a plan" to replace Obamacare. Do not look anytime soon to be booking your beachfront suite at the Trump-Kushner Gaza Plaza. (The headlines of both the WashPo & NYT stories begin, "Trump Claims...." Finally, the papers have expressed some skepticism of Trump's wild boasts. ~~~

~~~ Iran Attacks ... Minnesota? Ellen Nakashima & Pranshu Verman of the Washington Post: “U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran was likely behind a coordinated cyberattack on more than 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota this week, according to several U.S. officials. The FBI is investigating the attack, which comes as a five-month-old military conflict between the United States and Iran threatens to escalate. Though intelligence agencies have not definitively concluded that Tehran is responsible, the hack follows urgent warnings by federal cybersecurity officials that Iran for months has been targeting internet-exposed devices that control operations at water, wastewater and energy facilities in the U.S. and, in some cases, causing disruptions. Intrusions have been noted at several water and energy systems across the country since shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, said Joe Slowik, director of threat research for Dataminr, a real-time commercial intelligence platform.” The link is a gift link.

Holly Baxter of the Independent: “'What a nice song,' said ... Donald J. Trump, as he wandered to a podium set up outside the White House with God Bless the USA blaring over loudspeakers. He was here to promote a very normal, fairly standard Republican policy: jobs for veterans (in this case, driving trucks.)... What [the] event actually revealed about his own frailty and the behavior of the people around him, however, was ... a little unsettling. Trump was reading from a piece of paper in front of him..., but when he did attempt to go off-script, it went very quickly awry. This policy is for 'the amazing veterans who are with the — with, with us — they’ve just been with us from the day they were born, I suspect,' he said, in a trailing aside.... [It went on like that.] The message seemed clear: Donald Trump is tired.... 

“[Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy jumped in to rescue Trump. After elaborating dramatically on the dangers posed by immigrant drivers -- “When these illegals were driving these big rigs, they were killing American citizens” -- Duffy effusively praised Trump. Duffy's performance,] combined with the frail delivery from Trump, pointed to something alarming: a president who increasingly loses his train of thought, who struggles to make the quick quips and connections he once did, and a surrounding team that is sycophantic to the point of absurdity.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Independent is a British publication (actually, it's only online now). I look forward to major U.S. publications getting this real about Trump's mental state.  

Sam Levine of the Guardian: “Donald Trump said on Thursday he may 'temporarily' pull the nomination of Todd Blanche to serve as attorney general, but would keep him in the role in an acting capacity until two Republican senators objecting to his confirmation leave office next year – an extraordinary escalation of an intra-party fight over an agreement to create a $1.8bn slush fund and give the president tax immunity. Two Republican senators – John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina – have refused to back Blanche’s nomination until they receive written confirmation from the justice department that it is not moving forward with a widely criticized agreement creating a $1.8bn fund to compensate people claiming they were targets of political weaponization and granting the president, his family and business entities broad immunity from past tax investigations.... On Thursday, Trump blasted Cornyn and Tillis.... Cornyn ... responded by saying: 'POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Notice that Levine strongly implies that the plan all along was to allow Trump to keep his slush fund and, more importantly, his tax immunity. Blanche's sworn statements before Congress that the slush fund was kaput was perjurious. (Blanche has been standing behind Trump's get-out-of-paying-taxes deal, which only he signed. It's just the slush fund he's pretending is dead.) AND New York Times reporters get to the heart of Trump's motivation in their lede: ~~~

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: “Todd Blanche’s nomination to become attorney general suffered a serious blow on Thursday when ... [Donald] Trump threatened to withdraw Mr. Blanche’s name rather than place limits on a tax immunity deal that would benefit himself and his family, as demanded by two Republican senators. Mr. Trump’s threat, posted on social media, followed 24 hours of frenetic and fruitless negotiations among Mr. Blanche, the White House and the two senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who are not returning to Congress next year.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

~~~ Sam Levine of the Guardian: “Donald Trump’s refusal to officially end a hugely controversial agreement giving him broad tax immunity and creating a $1.8bn slush fund underscored how the US president’s own self-interest takes precedence above all else in his government.” ~~~ 

~~~ Marcy Wheeler: "Trump Decides He’d Rather Have Tax Crimes and Rewards for Terrorists Than a Todd Blanche Confirmation.... Still, pulling Blanche’s nomination leaves things unsettled.” Wheeler delves into the legal implications of Cornyn's modest demand. ~~~ 

Oh, And There's This (which has received very little attention). Brian Faler of Politico: “Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee defeated an effort Thursday by Democrats to block a plan by the Trump administration to shield the president from IRS audits. Lawmakers voted along party lines, 14-13, to kill an amendment to a tax-administration bill before the panel that would have barred the administration from implementing the plan.... Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a vocal critic of the immunity plan, sided against [the] Democratic amendment to block it outright.” MB: Still think he's sincere about reining in Trump?

~~~ Ankush Khardori in a New York Times op-ed: “Many others have pointed out that Mr. Blanche has targeted Mr. Trump’s political adversaries with bogus criminal cases and overseen an exodus of some of the Justice Department’s most experienced lawyers. Less noted but as important: He is also embarrassingly bad at lawyering. The quality of the department’s work has sharply deteriorated under his leadership, in high-profile cases and in routine, low-level matters. The result has been a crisis of confidence that is draining the Justice Department’s legitimacy with the courts and the public.... Federal judges across the country have in effect accused department attorneys of squandering the trust and credibility their predecessors had built up over decades. Justice Department lawyers have had to correct factual misrepresentations they made to judges, apologize for failing to meet deadlines and retract their own legal positions.” The link is a gift link. Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In his social media tweet announcing that he may pull Blanche's nomination, Trump wrote that Blanche "has the potential to go down as one of the Greatest Attorney Generals of All Time." Actually, no, as Khardori lays out in his op-ed. Maybe he does a good job of keeping his pencils sharp or something, but other than that, he's a total screw-up.

Ken Dilanian of MS NOW: "The Trump administration has weakened America’s counterterrorism defenses by downsizing staff, politicizing intelligence, cutting grants and forcing federal agents to focus on immigration enforcement, according to a new report by Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security Committee that was obtained by MS NOW. The 37-page report also accuses the administration of skewing its focus on domestic terrorism almost exclusively to left-wing groups, ignoring significant threats from far-right and white supremacist extremists." 

Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: “For decades..., federal law has sought to protect America’s historic sites from destruction or disturbance as the push for industrial development complicated efforts to preserve the country’s past.... Now, a Trump-aligned panel is proposing to overhaul the regulations in ways that would speed up the review of industrial projects by limiting the input of preservationists and the public. The proposed rules received initial approval from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, a federal agency, this month. If adopted, they would, according to proponents, boost the economy by, say, helping to ease the way for commercial projects such as oil and gas drilling. The changes would also, as preservationists note, aid ... [Donald] Trump’s efforts to redesign Washington ... by limiting public review. A draft of the rule changes that circulated in recent weeks prompted an outcry from preservationists, architects, archaeologists and organizations representing Native American tribes.” The link is a gift link. 

Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times: “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is stopping free public tours of the center, which had been a mainstay of the cultural institution for more than five decades.... In a memo..., Brooks Boeke, the director of the volunteer program, said the center was putting a 'temporary pause' on the tour program, effective Friday. Volunteers serve in a variety of roles at the Kennedy Center, but only tour guides were mentioned, instructed to stop reporting for duty 'until further notice.' The memo did not provide a reason for halting the tour program.... The ending of the tours comes after a volunteer tour guide was featured in a New York Times article detailing President Trump’s gutting of the iconic cultural institution. Before the memo was circulated on Thursday, three volunteers had expressed worries to a reporter that the Kennedy Center would target the tour program in retribution.... Reached by phone, Ms. Boeke asked, 'How did you find out?' before declining to give further comment.” The link is a gift link. 

So Ankush Khardori, in a NYT op-ed linked above, went on about how incompetent Todd Blanche is. But let's be fair. It's not just Todd & his remaining DOJ lawyers who can't cut the mustard and constantly screw up. Some State Department employees are remarkably incompetent, too. ~~~

~~~ Jessica Donati of the Independent: “A U.S. State Department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week caused widespread embarrassment after a map of Africa displayed during the event mislabeled every country on the continent. The gaffe, which occurred during the AIDS 2026 conference in Rio de Janeiro, quickly drew attention from attendees who captured screenshots and shared them online.... The map image included an artificial intelligence watermark, indicating it was generated using OpenAI tools. The company has since stated it is investigating the report.” Emphasis added. Thanks to RAS for the lead. Then there's the following State Department project: ~~~

~~~ Here's What You Get When the Wife of Trump's Golf Caddy Organizes Some In-Your-Face Counter-programming. Zachary Small of the New York Times: “After intensifying its critique of how the Smithsonian presents American history, the Trump administration has decided to stage a museum exhibition of its own. In the last month, the White House has accused the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History of presenting an ideologically biased and negative view of U.S. history.... [Donald] Trump even signed an executive order requiring that signs be placed outside the museum, to encourage visitors to go elsewhere for 'accurate information regarding America’s history.' Offering an alternative view of national identity, the State Department has organized 'Passport to Patriotism: 250 Years of Diplomacy,' which opened on Thursday at the Art Museum of the Americas, steps from the White House....

“According to four people involved in the show, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from the administration, no historians or professional curators collaborated on the exhibition, which also features artworks by friends of the planners and by two artists who serve on the board of a nonprofit, the American Arts Conservancy, that helped organize the show.... [Erin Scavino, the wife of Dan Scavino] collaborated on the exhibition with Jenni Parido, a friend [of hers]..., despite Ms. Parido’s having more experience in pet food than art curation.” The link is a gift link. Do read on. MB: For me, this was kind of a life lesson in how valley girls, among their various qualities, are just philistines with quirks. P.S. Here's a gift link to an article Small wrote in April featuring luxury pet-food shop owner Parido. ~~~

~~~ More life lessons, these from yesterday's Comments:

When Justice is blind, bad guys take the fifth. When justice is corrupt, good guys take the fifth. -- A common saying, this time circulated in regard to Dr. Anthony Fauci's interrogation by Senate Republicans. Thanks to RAS for the link. 

I'll never forget an observation of a colleague after a policy meeting that included several flag officers. He said in effect that it never ceased to amaze that people who clearly would give their lives for their country, would not risk their careers for it. -- Patrick, regarding West Point leaders' original decision to limit professors' speech in accordance with a presidential* order 

Lauren Gurley, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Department of Homeland Security alerted employers this week that it had officially ended humanitarian protections for 350,000 Haitian immigrants, triggering mass layoffs that threaten to disrupt summer travel and destabilize an array of essential institutions and industries up and down the East Coast and across the Midwest. Nursing homes terminated hundreds of workers.... At airports including those in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Boston, contractors terminated scores of Haitian workers, including janitors, cabin cleaners and wheelchair attendants.... At Florida schools, landscapers, bus drivers and other staff were fired. And in New York City, dozens of security guards were terminated only to be rehired because of confusion around their eligibility to continue working.... The tumult comes about a month after the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration permission to cancel the humanitarian program, known as temporary protected status (TPS), potentially stripping permission to live and work in the United States from as many as 1.3 million immigrants from Haiti, Syria and a dozen other countries.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, but all these people from shithole countries were taking great jobs like janitor and hot-weather yardman away from real Americans. 

For the Trump administration, the law is such an ass, it is to be ignored. For instance, (1) the administration has cut off mandated funding for legal aid agencies for children; and (2) it has refused to release funds to fulfill public transportation contracts.

(1) Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: “Tens of thousands of immigrant children who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors in recent years may be forced to face a judge alone after a federal contract providing them legal representation expires on Friday. The leaders of several nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to immigrant children say they will need to scale back or shutter their operations altogether starting next week. Collectively they represent about 24,000 children who crossed the nation’s southern border without a parent. The groups have spent much of the last year providing legal counsel even though the federal government has not reimbursed them.... Most [of the children] do not have a legal status in the country but can potentially qualify for asylum or a special visa. Many do not speak English as their primary language, and attorneys say they are more likely to be ordered deported if they do not have a lawyer.” The link is a gift link. Read on for an account of how the Trump administration has jerked around these organizations, organizations Congress for decades has required to be funded & for which it has appropriated the funds to meet the requirements.

(2) Emily Badger & Alicia Parlapiano of the New York Times: “For decades, the federal government has funneled big-ticket grants to local communities to help them take on ambitious construction projects to expand public transit. The grants, sometimes in the billions of dollars, have funded new railroad tracks, train stations and roads rebuilt for modern bus service.... But since ... [Donald] Trump returned to office, the Federal Transit Administration has not signed a single new agreement under the program, known as Capital Investment Grants. Large projects ready to enter the final phase of the program’s yearslong pipeline have stalled there. The administration also tried halting payments to the New York and Chicago projects, forcing courts to intervene.... Money that Congress designated for [transit infrastructure] is accumulating too: More than $7 billion hasn’t been obligated to any project.” The reporters cite OMB Director Russell Vought both for his animus toward public transportation projects and for his specific refusal to fund projects even when ordered by courts to do so. The link is a gift link.

And you thought Democrats were a bunch of suspicious pinkos & stinkin' commies: ~~~ 

~~~ Mirando Nazzaro of the Hill: “The Department of Commerce quietly announced this week it will designate more than $870 million in federal incentives for semiconductor manufacturing in exchange for a minority equity stake in seven companies. In a blog post Wednesday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office signed letters of intent with seven companies to provide a combined $874 million in federal funding under the landmark CHIPS and Science Act.... 'The Department will receive a minority, non-controlling equity stake in each company as a condition for receiving the funds to enhance the return for the U.S. taxpayer,' NIST wrote. ”

Ben Johansen, et al., of Politico: “... Trump’s chief of staff [Susie Wiles] made a rare visit to Capitol Hill Wednesday to huddle privately with top Senate Republicans to unlock the president’s agenda, amid brewing tensions between Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and as the midterms loom. 'This was her attempt to say to Thune and [Senate GOP Whip John] Barrasso [that] “A lot is stalled in the Senate. SAVE/reconciliation.. nominations.. what can we do?”' a person familiar with the private discussion said.... No breakthrough appeared imminent. 'Thune basically said: I want to move the president’s agenda whenever it has the votes,' the ... person said. Thune has repeatedly said publicly that he doesn’t have the votes to kill the filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act — the partisan elections bill Trump is pushing for.”

Senator Collins is Concerned.™ There's No Indication Senate Leadership Cares. Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: “Senate leaders are deciding whether to block ... Donald Trump from finalizing a plan to put political appointees in charge of approving grants, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins said Thursday. 'I have made very clear that I oppose the new rule,' the Maine Republican told reporters. 'So I hope we’ll take advantage of this opportunity to delay it. But that’s up to the leadership.'... [Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said,] 'When you start issuing grants based on political connections, that’s not good for the system here.'... Blocking the Trump proposal is among the demands Democratic senators have included in their offers to Republicans in funding negotiations.” (This, BTW, is another Russ Voight special.)

John Koblin of the New York Times: “ABC accused the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday of retaliating against the company because the agency 'dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed' on the network’s programs, the latest salvo in the unusual clash between the company and the Trump administration. The network’s comments, made in a filing to the agency, are part of its formal opposition to the F.C.C.’s review of ABC’s local broadcast licenses. The review is an extraordinary escalation — ABC called it 'unprecedented' — by the Trump administration in its efforts to bring media organizations to heel. In the lengthy filing, ABC called the F.C.C. review an attempt by the administration to chill the free speech rights of media organizations.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Theodore Schleifer of the New York Times: “Elon Musk, a year after voicing deep frustration with the Republican Party and threatening to start a third party..., has authorized his super PAC to spend $100 million to $120 million on a new field program in at least eight states to help elect Republicans in November, according to two people.... The planned injection of cash from Mr. Musk, the biggest donor in the 2024 presidential election, would only add to Republicans’ yawning advantage over Democrats in funding from super PACs and party groups. While Democratic candidates in key Senate races are raising more than their Republican rivals, many in the Democratic Party have begun to worry about being badly outspent overall in the midterms.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

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Ohio. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: “Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), has filed for a new restraining order against her ex-husband, Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), whom she has accused of domestic violence. In the request, dated Thursday, Emily Moreno alleged that Miller physically grabbed one of her attorneys, Andrew Zashin, during a hearing Tuesday and used a profane slur to insult Zashin’s fiancee as they were leaving the courtroom.... Miller and Moreno, who have been engaged in a bitter custody fight that has involved allegations of domestic abuse, already have restraining orders against one another.... Moreno accused Miller in court filings of throwing hot water on her. She said that caused her to fall to the floor and Miller afterward sprayed her with the sink hose. Moreno has also accused Miller of physically abusing their 2-year-old daughter, who in February suffered a fractured collarbone with 'a bruise that accompanies the injury that appears to be in a handprint and appears to have been inflicted,' according to a police report.” The link is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Several pundits have remarked on-air that Bernie Moreno had no trouble getting so worked up about Dr. Anthony Fauci that he asked Fauci, during a Senate hearing, "who the fuck do you think you were....? Yet Moreno has been completely dispassionate and noncommittal about Miller's alleged severe physical abuse of his own daughter and granddaughter. Why? Because Republicans are worried Miller could lose his House race. 

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France & Spain. Raymond Zhong of the New York Times: “Conditions as hot, dry and windy as those leading up to the giant wildfires in France and Spain this week have become more likely in those countries since humans began warming the planet, according to a new analysis. A team of scientists examined weather records to see how often the regions around Bordeaux, in southwest France, and Madrid have been as parched and primed to burn as they have been in the past few weeks. The researchers’ findings are the latest evidence that parts of Southern Europe should expect huge fires to become a recurring threat.” The link is a gift link.