It appears a much-ballyhooed ceasefire deal with the U.S. will have to wait for Iran and Oman to conclude talks over how they plan to share control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is poised to go from de facto to formal gatekeeper of the strait. Is this the deal Trump et al boasted about for days?

Iran and Oman reach understanding on coordinates of route through Hormuz, Iran ministry says

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the negotiations ​between Tehran and ​Muscat as "professional" ⁠and "moving forward".

reuters.com

A lot of words to say “we screwed over the American people with our illegal tariffs scheme, again.” The costs of tariffs were born by consumers but the rebate will go to the shareholders. It is just theft. Worst economy for workers by choice.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterday

Bessent: "Here at the Treasury, I had $168 billion of tariff revenues that we're gonna have to refund. So when the Democrats scream, "Oh, the refunds should go back to the American people!', well, the American people had it, it was in the Treasury and it was paying down the debt."

Donald Trump thinks it’s “incredible” to make your life more expensive.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 20h ago

FOX: What's your big message on the economy? TRUMP: Tariffs have been incredible

It’s been 166 days since SCOTUS struck down Trump’s illegal tariff taxes & big corporations are getting their refunds. $2.2 BILLION for Apple, $600 MILLION for Amazon, $300 million for Nike.   When are American families going to see the $1,700 they're owed? Return the money, NOW.

Corporate America got billions of dollars in tariff refunds. Where’s your cut? | CNN Business

Apple got an estimated $2.2 billion tariff refund last quarter. Amazon got $600 million. Nike got $300 million. But American consumers who paid higher prices as President Donald Trump’s tariffs filter...

cnn.com

"For years, Trump and his family have maintained that, even though he continues to own his assets, the president is walled off from decision making inside the Trump Organization," writes Dan Alexander. "He is not." #PerpetualGrifting

President Trump Appears More Involved In His Businesses Than Previously Known

For a decade, Donald Trump and his family have insisted that he stopped all management of his businesses while serving as president. He did not.

forbes.com

It's grandstanding with the knowledge that her vote won't sink Blanche's nomination. So, Susan Collins does what Susan Colins always does when it comes to her role in Trump world -- get up on a soapbox, make a little noise, and then have her cake and eat it too. Nothing changes. #SusieTheEnabler

Susan Collins opposes Todd Blanche for attorney general

Collins' opposition makes every remaining undecided Republican that much more important.

axios.com

My mom would have had to update her voter registration and prove her citizenship 8 times under the SAVE Act, counting all her moves and name changes. That's just one tiny part of Trump's project to make govt exhausting, punitive and (for him) profitable. My latest www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-m...

Trump Is Making Government Worse on Purpose

Instead of seeking to simplify and improve citizens’ lives, this administration keeps creating new obstacles and burdens.

thebulwark.com

“That’s kind of what started unraveling for me very quickly: this facade that we were helping these democratically elected boards” represent their constituents, Jonathan Paz told 404 Media. Flock repeatedly insisted it wasn’t collaborating with agencies like ICE but turned out it was a lie, he said.

Why a Flock Worker Quit: ‘They Lied’

Jonathan Paz’s job was to convince cities to buy Flock cameras. After initially being enthusiastic about the company, he started to get disillusioned.

404media.co

A senior Gulf official familiar with the talks suggested there is about a 50:50 chance of a deal by Friday, CNN reported. One issue is the Iranian delegation does not include the voice of the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which would have to sign off on the details, the source said.

An agreement on the Strait of Hormuz is taking shape – but not one Trump wants | CNN

There are competing routes through the strait and what’s on the table appears to involve merging them – with Iran retaining a level of control that would be at odds with US wishes.

cnn.com

A paramilitary group plotted to overthrow the Constitution then conducted a violent attack on America. They were convicted in court of seditious conspiracy, and jailed. Then the leader they aimed to illegally install got power and let them out, their records wiped clean. The Jan. 6 attackers won.

Judge Pained as He Grants Dismissal of Jan. 6 Charges Against Oath Keepers

The judge, Amit P. Mehta, blasted the administration’s request for a dismissal in the case, saying it bestowed “unearned grace” on the Oath Keepers defendants “by wiping their records clean.”

nytimes.com

This Thursday, SpaceX insiders will be released from their first post-IPO stock lockup and can cash out early. As I've been saying, this has all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme.

Anthropic's Mythos created fake identities to fool humans in new cyber incident

Anthropic's Mythos created fake identities to fool humans in new cyber incident

It's the latest cybersecurity incident involving frontier models developed by Anthropic and OpenAI.

cnb.cx

The governor's office said more than 90 percent of those requests stem from data centers, adding that "unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid," Engadget reported. #DataCenters #AI

Texas governor orders audit of new data centers after realizing over 400 gigawatts of power is a lot - Engadget

The state already hosts more than 500 data centers.

engadget.com

The average price of a gallon of diesel in the U.S. today is $5.37, AAA reported. The average price of a gallon of diesel in the U.S. two days before Trump and Netanyahu attacked Iran was $3.76. #IranWar #Trucking #SupplyChain #InflationNation

Diesel’s Supply Crunch Is Widening | Presented by CME Group

YouTube video by Bloomberg Television

youtube.com

As communities weigh promised economic benefits against concerns about water use, electricity demand, and noise pollution, opposition appears to be hardening across party lines, The Cool Down noted. #DataCenters #AI #UhiversalOpposition

Across the US, 70% oppose AI data centers as backlash grows over water, power, and noise

The growing backlash against data centers is putting an unglamorous part of the recent AI tech boom under new scrutiny.

thecooldown.com

You could grow a spine and do your damn jobs.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterday

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"

If only it hadn’t been illegal. 😞

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterday

Bessent: "Here at the Treasury, I had $168 billion of tariff revenues that we're gonna have to refund. So when the Democrats scream, "Oh, the refunds should go back to the American people!', well, the American people had it, it was in the Treasury and it was paying down the debt."

A group backing the referendum effort said it would contest Hoskins’ decision in court. “Secretary of State Hoskins is making a last desperate attempt to silence the people’s voice in Missouri,” Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, said, The Guardian reported.

Missouri rejects citizens’ bid for vote on Trump-backed redistricting plan

Missouri’s top election official has rejected a petition for a referendum on new congressional districts

theguardian.com

Panic is not a good look. Unity would be a very good look.

"It's a serious clusterf*ck": Behind-the-scenes fury and panic roil key House primary

One state legislator described the race as a "nightmare" for Democrats.

axios.com

All 14 people on board the MSV ​Faize Noore Oliya were safely rescued, India's Shipping Ministry said, the BBC reported, It is the latest in a spate of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, an alternative waterway that some tankers had been using since Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz in February.

Projectile sinks Indian-flagged ship off Yemen coast

All 14 people on board the Indian-flagged vessel were safely rescued, India's ministry of external affairs says.

bbc.com

Missouri voters today rejected GOP attempts to game the system against citizen-driven constitutional amendments. In Trump fashion, Republicans sought to impose draconian rules for passing the voter-led ballot measures. Democracy prevailed. #Organize #Vote #StayStrong

Pascal Sabino@pascalsabino.bsky.social · yesterday

Missouri's GOP legislature keeps losing to voters at the ballot box — marijuana, minimum wage, Medicaid expansion, abortion rights all passed by referendum despite their Republican supermajority Their response is a measure on today's ballot that would gut the referendum process

"We assassinated its leadership, sunk its navy, buried its nuclear material, ravaged its industrial base, and destroyed its missile facilities — the ones we could hit, anyway. Yet the regime survived," writes John R. Puri in conservative National Review. #ArtofWar #ArtofTheDeal #HormuzTollBooth

Iran Owns the Strait of Hormuz | National Review

No new deal, no cease-fire, no umpteenth round of bombing will change this reality.

nationalreview.com

“We are concerned that President Trump’s memecoin scheme may constitute an illegal scam,” Warren and Blumenthal wrote Monday to SEC Chair Paul Atkins in a letter shared first with CNN. Almost 1 million people lost $3.8 billion on the Trump memecoin through June, NYT reported, citing Nansen data.

Exclusive: Elizabeth Warren demands SEC investigate if Trump’s memecoin is an ‘illegal scam’ | CNN Business

Days before his inauguration in 2025, president-elect Donald Trump did something unusual: He launched a memecoin.

cnn.com

"Some investigations that have not yet resulted in charges have seen less visible activity during his confirmation process, including the broad probe related to the Trump-Russia investigation. But people with knowledge of pending investigations say public activity is expected to return," CNN noted.

Todd Blanche advances toward confirmation, paving way for reenergized Justice Department investigations | CNN Politics

Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general cleared a key hurdle Tuesday, setting the stage for new momentum at the Justice Department once he’s officially confirmed.

cnn.com

"The dramatic rundown in precision, long-range missiles means U.S. President Donald Trump may ​have to rely more on riskier, piloted bombing missions if he relaunches large-scale attacks on Iran," Reuters reported. #Trump #Hegseth #Netanyahu #WhatDidYouExpect

EXCLUSIVE: US has used 'virtually all' of its long-range precision missiles during Iran war, sources say

The degree to which the military is running out of ATACMS and Precision Strike Missiles has not been previously reported.

reuters.com

Susan Collins got to have her say when she voted to confirm Brent Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But if anyone else has their say about the Supreme Court, Susan Collins says pipe down and tries shaming them with theatrics. Susan Collins has a Maine address but lost the Maine way. #SusieTheEnabler

Susan Collins Decries 'Overheated Language' By Both Sides Of The Aisle Against Supreme Court

YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News

youtube.com

During a White House “prayer call” last Thursday with faith leaders, Blanche said he wants abortion bans “permanent in every single state.” “We don’t have complete victory yet, but we will have victory, and victory will be soon, and and and it will be permanent,” Blanche said, TNR reported. #Vote

Blanche Privately Vows to Take Down Abortion Rights Next

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is promising to roll back abortion rights in every single state.

newrepublic.com

Michigan advised commercial kitchens July 4 to take extra precautions with lettuce, leafy greens and other produce. Two days later, state officials reiterated an earlier request to Taco Bell for documents, Bloomberg reported Taco Bell didn't publicly confirm removing produce until July 14.

Taco Bell owner, Michigan met on Cyclospora weeks before recall

Documents reveal Taco Bell was warned about a parasitic outbreak weeks before the company alerted customers.

detroitnews.com

The deaths come during the worst year on record for cyclosporiasis in the United States. Since May 1, the C.D.C. has confirmed or is investigating more than 18,000 cases in 45 states and has reported 423 hospitalizations. #GOPOversight #DeathByIncompetence

Two Deaths Linked to Cyclospora Outbreak in Michigan

The patients had “significant underlying health conditions,” health officials said.

nytimes.com

Trump administration has paid millions to private contractors to surface everything from potential threats to agents to activities that could disrupt ICE’s operations, according to federal documents, contractors and former Homeland Security Investigations agents, The Currency and WSJ reported.

How ICE is weaponizing social media against its critics - The Currency

Tired_Thumb is far from alone. In recent months, ICE has deployed a round-the-clock digital dragnet to scour the public internet—from Facebook to Instagram to X—for speech that could endanger the agen...

thecurrency.news