Today's Headlines: Trump announced a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, then posted a P.S. the next day conditioning the whole thing on Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel — a condition so significant it threw the entire deal into jeopardy before Congress even had a chance to reject it — while simultaneously telling Axios he's "close" to ordering a massive Iran strike "bigger than ever before" and that Israel would "join in two minutes" if asked, which is a casual thing to say about starting a regional war. The House passed a War Powers resolution to stop Trump's Iran strikes with four Republicans joining Democrats, oil hit $100 a barrel, the Houthis started attacking tankers in the Red Sea, and the Senate rejected the House resolution roughly 24 hours later, so that was a fun emotional rollercoaster. The Trump administration also quietly imposed new tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 countries at midnight, using an expiring tariff program as legal cover because their authority to do so is, in their own words, light. In other news, The DOJ withdrew its subpoenas for New York Times journalists' phone records — including their spouses and mothers — after a judge spent an hour in court making clear how unacceptable it was, though they say the underlying leak investigation continues, so the retreat is partial at best. And finally, the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells in Mississippi — who went missing on July 4th under suspicious circumstances and was found dead two days later — is getting significant attention, with questions about why one of his friends had his phone and car keys without mentioning it, a local judge parent writing a lengthy essay about her son's innocence, law enforcement immediately ruling out foul play, and the state medical examiner keeping parts of Nolan's body that would have been critical in determining cause of death, while the independent autopsy came back inconclusive. He was the only Black boy on a boat with four white kids in Mississippi, and Nancy Grace has entered the chat, so this story isn't going anywhere.
Resources/Articles mentioned:
WaPo: Trump adds condition to Saudi nuclear deal: Normalizing relations with Israel
Axios: Exclusive: Trump "close" to decision on "massive attack" on Iran
NYT: House Rebukes Trump on Iran in War Powers Vote as Senate Blocks Debate
AP News: Brent oil tops $100 per barrel, as tumbles for Tesla and Alphabet yank Wall Street lower
BBC: Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi tanker as US launches more Iran strikes
WaPo: House votes to restrain Trump on Iran as Senate fails to advance similar measure
Axios: Trump rebuilds trade regime with new tariffs on global trading partners
NYT: U.S. Withdraws Subpoenas Issued to New York Times Journalists
AP News: What to know about the autopsy and investigation into Nolan Wells' death
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