The new housing law

NY Times -   The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the first major housing package to become law in decades — and passed with impressive bipartisan support — has the potential to put a real dent in the nation’s affordable housing shortage.

The good news is that if carried out as intended, the law will break through a lot of the regulatory sludge holding back the construction industry. It will create a mix of financing and building incentives that will help the nation close the supply gap that has contributed to rising rents and put homeownership out of reach for many people.

The bad news is that President Trump let the act become law without his signature, calling it “a yawn” — not a great sign that his administration will dedicate the considerable resources needed to put it into effect.

Most of that work will fall to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has to establish an array of pilot programs, reports and other acts of rule-making and industry guidance the law calls for. After last year’s purge of agency staff members, however, HUD is down about 30 percent of its work force in many of its key offices.

 

Middle East

1440 - Saudi Arabia confirmed yesterday it publicly joined the US' military campaign against Iran. The kingdom participated in a joint strike on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, reportedly killing at least 20 combatants. In announcing the strikes, the kingdom's Ministry of Defense cited Iranian attacks on its oil industry: Saudi Arabia blames Iraqi militias for up to half of the nearly 1,000 drone strikes it has weathered since February. Earlier this week, drones and missiles struck Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil facility (see map). Although Riyadh had not openly participated in military offensive action until this week, US officials say the kingdom has secretly participated in US-led attacks in the past.

Health

NY Times -  The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it intended to end a Biden-era program that for the past two years has helped tamp down the cost of monthly premiums for drug coverage for people on Medicare.

The decision means that millions of Americans 65 and older could face higher Medicare drug premiums next year, when the cost of living is already a major concern. That could be politically damaging for Republicans in the midterm elections. In the weeks leading up to November, Medicare beneficiaries could experience sticker shock while shopping for next year’s drug plan./

Voting

The Guardian -A new analysis of Black voters in the south indicates that Republican attempts to dilute their political power is driving them to the polls in larger numbers and shifting their counties further left.

After the supreme court effectively gutted section 2 of the Voting Rights Act protections in late April, Republican legislatures across the south rapidly pushed to disenfranchise Black voters by redrawing congressional maps. Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama all immediately worked to pass new maps, while the Mississippi governor has said that he wants legislators to redraw maps before the upcoming midterm elections.

The analysis by VoteHub, a data-focused election organization, indicates that the efforts have only motivated Black voters in the 78 Black belt counties it tracked. All but one shifted left in partisan turnout compared with 2024. Further, majority-Black counties that voted after Louisiana v Callais, the landmark supreme court decision that triggered the Republican-led redistricting efforts, had a surge in voter participation.

The trend was clear earlier this year when Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia held primaries after the supreme court ruling. Louisiana, from which the Callais decision stemmed, disregarded votes that had already been cast until the state was able to redraw congressional maps, while nearby Alabama quickly split its majority-Black districts.

Todd Blanche

The Guadian -     Todd Blanche’s hopes of becoming US attorney general seemed to be in jeopardy on Wednesday after the Department of Justice did not provide written assurances to a key Republican senator that a $1.8bn slush fund was dead.  The US Senate judiciary committee postponed a vote scheduled for Thursday on whether to advance Blanche’s nomination.

“Chairman [Chuck] Grassley works to set President Trump’s nominees up for success in committee, not failure. Senators [John] Cornyn and [Thom] Tillis want written assurances from the Department of Justice regarding the Trump-IRS settlement,” a committee spokesperson said in a Wednesday statement. “Tomorrow’s markup is postponed as work continues to secure sufficient support in committee to favorably report Attorney General-nominee Todd Blanche, who is highly qualified for the job.”

Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, is already serving as acting US attorney general. He needs the vote of every Republican on the Senate judiciary panel to advance his nomination to land the role on a permanent basis.

But a swing vote on the committee, John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters on Wednesday he would not support Blanche’s nomination until he received written confirmation that the fund was not moving ahead.

Cornyn also wants to clarify that a provision giving the president, his sons and related businesses blanket immunity from tax audits for all matters up until this year could not be applied to future matters, or to people who were not parties to the settlement.

“Maybe they think I’m just going to give up or, you know, go along, but they’re mistaken,” said Cornyn, a four-term Republican senator who lost a re-election bid earlier this year to a Trump-endorsed rival. “We actually sent them a red-line strikeout of what we need, and they just need to make a decision. And if they do, then we’ll proceed with the markup tomorrow.”

Economy

Bloomberg - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,100 points after the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates steady amid economic uncertainty from the Iran war. Wednesday was the Dow’s worst decline since April 2025, when Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs.

NY Times -   The American economy slowed in the second quarter of the year, expanding at an annual rate of 1.5 percent as the war with Iran upended prices, supply chains and energy markets.

Oil prices have receded from their peaks in the spring. But damage in the form of higher prices for gasoline and other petroleum-based products is still hitting households and businesses. Because G.D.P. is adjusted for inflation, these rising costs dampened the growth reflected in the data.

Polls

 This new Quinnipiac poll is one of the worst yet for Trump: approval at 32 percent, and support for Iran policy (28), foreign policy (34), handling of economy (34), and handling of immigration (40) at abysmal lows. He’s 17 points underwater on immigration. Also—57 percent of Democrats say they’re more motivated to vote than usual; corresponding number for Republicans, 39 percent.

The Hill - It’s no secret that both political parties are unpopular.  This is particularly true of Gen Z, which polls suggest feels like it is set to inherit a political system riddled with partisan hostility and congressional gridlock.

A report from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University found that 62 percent of adults aged 18-29 said that the design and structure of our nation’s government needs significant changes, no matter which party is elected. Additionally, 58 percent said the party they identify with needs to dramatically change.

The study’s conclusions pointed out that older generations have longer histories with politics (duh) and have lived through a mix of both steady and unstable leadership. They have been able to ground themselves in the political framework produced by prominent leaders, like former Presidents Reagan and Obama, the study cites. 

Gen Z, in contrast, grew up or continues to grow up through volatility with fewer frames of political reference, which makes it harder to feel anchored by today’s politicians and system overall.

At the same time, Gen Z is less likely to describe the opposing political party as “evil” or “less than human.” While 39 percent of Gen Z respondents said the opposing political party is “evil” or “less than human,” 44 percent of millennials aged 30-44 and 61 percent of baby boomers who are 65 years or older characterized their opposing political party negatively. 

But if Gen Z is less likely to see their political opponents as “evil,” they see more justification for political violence. Forty percent of Gen Zers said political violence is justified to some degree, compared with 30 percent of millennials and 11 percent of boomers.

ICE

NY Times -   The Trump administration has begun arresting foreign citizens with expired visas, including spouses of Americans, at U.S. airports. The arrests, at check-in counters and arrival gates, have taken place in at least 15 airports in recent weeks, and footage of the encounters has flooded social media.

The effort appears to be an expansion of an arrangement between T.S.A. and ICE, which began by targeting people with deportation orders. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and visitors overstay visas each year, including many in a legal gray area who have active applications to stay in the country and have been issued work permits.

Such individuals were not prioritized for deportation in the past unless they had committed crimes, and they were rarely detained while waiting for visa extensions or green cards. But that has changed under President Trump, whose administration views all visa overstays as illegal.

The Intercept - Federal judges in Texas have sentenced 16 so-called antifa activists to a combined 560+ years in prison in a case stemming from a July 4 protest last year outside ICE’s Prairieland Detention Center.

Word

Joe Biden - "Netanyahu pushed me for war with Iran. I shut it down. Called him a war criminal and threw him out of office. He sold it to Trump. The rest is history."

Ranked choice voting

Fair Vote - Since July 14, city officials in Honolulu; Irvine, CA; and Longmont, CO all voted to put ranked choice voting (RCV) on the ballot this November. Honolulu is Hawaii’s capital, and home to nearly 70% of the state’s population. Irvine is home to over 300,000 people, and Longmont is one of our nation's fastest-growing cities. Together, these cities are home to 1.4 million Americans who could soon have better elections with ranked choice voting. 

 

Polls

Gallup -  Americans' approval of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing has fallen to a record low of 33%, driven by a steep drop in Republicans’ backing of the court since last year. The prior low approval rating was 39% measured a year ago.

Recessions

Of the 11 recessions since 1945, 10 have been caused by Republican Administrations… @thescoop.bsky.social

ICE

The Intercept - Federal judges in Texas have sentenced 16 so-called antifa activists to a combined 560+ years in prison in a case stemming from a July 4 protest last year outside ICE’s Prairieland Detention Center.

Health

The Guardian - Donald Trump is pushing the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine opponent, to be more aggressive on cutting vaccines in the US, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. Kennedy recently cut the routine childhood immunization schedule in an unprecedented move.

Trump has a long record of anti-vaccine statements. As senior leaders have downplayed the safety and importance of vaccines, measles in the US has surged to its highest rate in 30 years, and there has been a rise in deaths from whooping cough, flu and tetanus in recent years.

NBC News - Dr. Anthony Fauci declined to answer senators’ questions at a hearing on the origins of Covid and the government’s handling of the pandemic, saying he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid the possibility that Republicans could try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.  Fauci accused Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., of having an “unhinged obsession” with him and wanting him put “behind bars.”

Axios - Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said the hearing is part of a "campaign against science" that "has made this country less safe." "If there are valid scientific questions about the origins of this pandemic ... they should certainly be addressed, but not in a show trial, not as part of a continuing vendetta against a single individual." More

What's News  -The Trump administration plans to end a subsidy program that helped hold down premiums for Medicare prescription plans, known as Part D, after 2026.The move could leave many encouraged insurers to raise rates, knowing the government would pick up the extra cost, according to a Trump administration official. He said that other policies that help hold down Part seniors facing higher rates for their prescription coverage next year. The extra subsidies D costs remain in place and that seniors should be able to find lower premiums if they switch plans. Healthcare affordability is expected to be a focus in the midterm elections.

Climate

NPR - The water quality in Iowa has become so concerning that it could affect the November midterm election for governor. Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the U.S., according to the latest report from the Iowa Cancer Registry — and rates continue to rise. Discussions about how the state's water quality may be contributing to cancer rates have become a political talking point. Both gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn, say more needs to be done to improve the state’s water. They have largely focused on voluntary and incentivized measures to improve water quality, but some farmers say these approaches are insufficient. While farmers are not endorsing either candidate in the race, they have agreed to meet with both Sand and Lahn to discuss the problem.

Middle East

NPR -  Fighting between the U.S. and Iran resumed after Iran launched missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East yesterday, just before 6 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The U.S. intercepted all missiles. U.S. and Saudi forces responded with attacks on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, marking a rare show of force from Saudi Arabia in this conflict. The escalation in violence happened on the same day President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy at the White House. Netanyahu wanted to use his meeting with the president to mend the U.S. and Israel's rocky relationship.

Five months into a war Israel and the U.S. launched together, both sides face conflicting priorities, NPR's Franco Ordoñez tells Up First. Israel wants to continue fighting to address security threats from Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel does not want Trump to sign any agreement that would hinder its ability to defend itself, Ordoñez says. Trump supports maintaining Israel's security, but seeks a swift end to an unpopular war. He also wants to open the Strait of Hormuz and tackle rising gas prices. Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution tells Ordoñez that Trump and Netanyahu have a cooperative relationship, complicated by the fact that neither side knows how to end the conflict.

An admiral helps Hegseth in his political moves

NY Times - Adm. Daryl Caudle saw an opening to land the Navy’s top job last year, and he seized it. Before Pete Hegseth had even been sworn in as defense secretary, Admiral Caudle, then the head of a major Navy training command, offered to help Mr. Hegseth prepare for his politically contentious Senate confirmation hearing, according to current and former defense officials.

The outreach was a breach of military ethics, the officials said. Senior military officers are supposed to avoid any hint of partisan bias or political activity.

Nothing came of the offer. But soon after Mr. Hegseth took office, he fired the first woman to lead the Navy: Admiral Caudle’s boss. Days later, a senior officer on Admiral Caudle’s staff contacted Mr. Hegseth’s team in another breach of protocol. His pitch: Mr. Hegseth should choose Admiral Caudle to be the next chief of naval operations, the current and former officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

\

Via ajresister

Biden vs. Trump

Via Jeff

Health

 Time -  Measles is an old scourge that’s rapidly re-emerging as a new one. According to numbers released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 24, there have been 2,318 cases of measles reported nationwide so far in this year, already exceeding the 2,289 cases reported in all of 2025. The current figure is the highest incidence of measles in 35 years, a record set back in 1991 when there were 9,643 U.S. cases.

California rejects nearly 150,000 ballots

Huffington Post-   Data compiled by the California secretary of state's office shows nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected from the state's June primary, accounting for 1.73% of all the state's mail-in ballots.  A majority of them (93,479) were rejected for arriving too late, with voting experts telling the Associated Press that changes at the U.S. Postal Service — specifically, changes that affect when ballots are postmarked — are likely to blame.

"Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count," Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, told the AP.

An additional 44,000 ballots were rejected because the voter's signature didn't match what county officials had on file, 8,300 had no signature, and in 743 cases the voter had already cast a ballot in-person. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found mail voting fraud is exceedingly rare, accounting for about four cases out of every 10 million mail-in votes.

Weather

Newsworthy News -  Weather forecasters report that a powerful heat dome has settled over the central United States, driving a dangerous and possibly record-setting heat wave from the Plains through the Midwest and toward the East. Under this dome of high pressure, millions are seeing daytime highs in the upper 90s and 100s, with “feels-like” temperatures above 105 degrees once humidity is included. The National Weather Service has warned that more than 90 temperature records could be tied or broken in a matter of days.

AccuWeather and other private services estimate that around 200 million people could experience 90 to 100 degree heat as the dome grows and shifts during the early part of summer. In practical terms, that means entire metro areas from Dallas north toward the Dakotas and east toward the Great Lakes are under heat advisories or excessive heat warnings for several days in a row. These alerts highlight the risk of heat stroke, dehydration, and power strain, especially for older Americans, outdoor workers, and families without reliable air conditioning.

Meanwhile. . .

World's Most Dangerous Cities 2026

Tariffs

 Bloomberg - The White House’s latest tariff escalation is bewildering for many reasons, not least because the levies imposed up to now have so visibly failed, Bloomberg’s Editors write. The risk that Washington will come to rely on tariffs to postpone a fiscal calamity might be the most insidious of all the dangers posed by the trade policy.

Immigration

NPR  -  Thousands of Haitians and Syrians in the United States could soon face deportation after the Supreme Court earlier this year permitted the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for those groups. To remain in the country, these immigrants will need to find other legal options. More than half of the nearly 30,000 Haitian immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, rely on TPS. In nearby Springfield, Ohio, where Trump and his allies made false accusations that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs, around 12,000 are on TPS.

Many immigrants in Ohio are feeling out of sorts as they await clarity on their legal status, says George Shillcock of NPR network station WOSU. Yola LaMarre from the Haitian Community Network tells him that many are organizing their affairs and seeking alternative legal avenues to remain in the U.S., where some have lived for more than a decade. The Department of Homeland Security tells Shillcock that conditions in Haiti have improved enough for Haitian nationals to return. The U.S. Secretary of State's Office considers the country unsafe for travel. Commercial flights from the U.S. to the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, are suspended, and the travel advisory highlights risks of crime, kidnapping, terrorism and limited healthcare. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has criticized the Supreme Court's ruling and has defended immigrants' positive contributions to the state's economy, specifically in the restaurant and healthcare sectors.

Trump meets Netanyahu and Zelenskyy over Iran and Ukraine

MS NOW - President Donald Trump is meeting with two key allies in Washington at a critical moment when once-distinct wars in Ukraine and Iran are now colliding — and the U.S. military commitment to aid its friends is in question.  As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu head to the Oval Office for separate meetings with the president on Tuesday, both men will seek commitments of support from Trump as their now shared enemies in Tehran work to weaken them across multiple fronts.

The leaders are visiting Washington to honor a common ally who long championed their causes: the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a man both Zelenskyy and Netanyahu had leaned on as a key intermediary who could gain Trump’s ear with his hawkish positions on Ukraine and Israel.

Congress

The Hill  - President Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) clashed on Monday over the idea of canceling the Senate’s August recess to debate the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, Trump’s No. 1 legislative priority.

Thune warned against wasting time on a bill that has already failed multiple times on the Senate floor, while rebuffing Trump’s repeated demands that the Senate abolish the filibuster to pass the election reform bill.

The Republican leader noted that Trump has already heard directly from other GOP senators that there aren’t enough votes to change the Senate’s rules.

Trump legal issues

The Hill - The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Monday to lift a judge’s block on President Trump’s executive order that seeks to restrict mail-in voting, calling the halt premature.   Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the courts have no power to intervene yet because the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and other involved agencies are still sorting out how they’ll implement Trump’s directive.

ICE

Alternet America - A new study logged 25 ICE and Border Patrol officers charged or convicted of sex or violent crimes in 2025 and 2026 alone, most involving children. The Pentagon quietly invented a new casualty category to avoid admitting 18 US troops have died in the Iran war. A DEA assessment found Trump’s boat strikes that have killed 221 people haven’t dented cocaine supply or price at all. And the Trump administration told a federal court that it canceled $7.5 billion in clean energy grants “based solely” on whether a state voted for Kamala Harris.

Oil prices drop

NBC News - Oil prices tumbled today as the United States and Iran paused their escalating strikes to make “space” for diplomacy.  The two sides halted fire over the weekend, following 13 consecutive nights of attacks that shattered their deal to end the war and threatened new pain for the global economy.  International oil benchmark Brent closed down by 8.7%, at $88.36 per barrel, while U.S. crude fell by 7.5% to $82.61 per barrel. The moves were a sharp and rapid reversal from last week, when prices gained more than 9% and Brent rose as high as $102.