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🇻🇪 State Department's Venezuela blowup The Trump administration's official position about Venezuela's exiled opposition leader is simple: Don't help María Corina Machado gain entry to her home country. But Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau didn't appear to get the memo, Axios' Marc Caputo writes. Landau is suspected of twice miscommunicating U.S. policy to two countries about Machado, according to seven senior administration officials. Why it matters: Landau's alleged freelancing roiled the State Department for two days and led to internal arguments, international confusion and increased tensions with Machado supporters. 🥊 "There's a widespread belief that Landau went rogue," one of the sources told Axios. "And the evidence supports that belief." Said another: "Marco isn't happy" with Landau, who's second only to Marco Rubio at the State Department. 🔭 Zoom in: The controversy erupted after the June 24 earthquakes that rocked Venezuela and killed more than 3,500 people. Machado, living in exile in the U.S. without a valid Venezuelan passport, wanted to return to Venezuela to help with relief efforts. But administration officials interfered with her travel plans, telling Axios last week that they amounted to "gross political opportunism" that would hamper recovery and relief efforts. The intrigue: Landau, 62, is a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and the son of a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. He's suspected by senior administration officials of opposing U.S. policy toward Caracas and being too close to Machado's inner circle. Keep reading.

📉 Chip stocks slide Chart: Matt Phillips/Axios Chip stocks were hammered yesterday despite reassuring news from a major player — extending their recent slide into a second week, Axios' Pete Gannon writes. Samsung, the world's largest memory-chip maker, reported explosive revenue growth, but its shares immediately fell. Investors are worried the AI boom that's been driving up chip prices can't keep growing this fast forever. The sell-off continued in the U.S., where memory stocks like Micron (-4.7%) and SanDisk (-7.3%) were slammed. Get Axios Business Suite: 3 daily newsletters.

Republicans juice "red wall" spending Republicans are dramatically boosting campaign spending on Senate races in red states that, until recently, looked safely out of Democrats' reach in the November midterms, Axios' Alex Isenstadt writes. Why it matters: The GOP — alarmed by recent polls and voting trends — is juicing its efforts in Ohio and Iowa to reinforce a Senate "red wall" they believe can block Democrats' path to a majority in the chamber. The clearest evidence yet: One Nation, the conservative nonprofit aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), is reserving $28 million in TV advertising in Ohio and $11 million in Iowa, according to plans obtained by Axios. Republican candidates are locked in tough races in those states less than two years after President Trump won both by double digits. 🔬 Zoom in: Republicans are especially worried about Ohio Sen. Jon Husted's unexpectedly competitive race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has outraised Husted by more than 2 to 1. Keep reading.

Trump declares ceasefire "over" President Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran dead, saying negotiations may continue but dismissing them as a "waste of time." "I think it's over," he said today at the NATO summit in Turkey. Oil quickly jumped 6%. Why it matters: Both sides are launching attacks three weeks after signing a peace deal Trump described as "unconditional surrender." The deal is unraveling. Any sense of calm in the region has evaporated, Axios' Ben Berkowitz writes. Trump spoke hours after the U.S. conducted a new round of strikes on Iran, retaliation for renewed Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said of Iran: "I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum … As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them." 🛢️ By the numbers: The price of oil skyrocketed after Trump's comments, with the global benchmark Brent crude jumping 6% to nearly $79 in morning trading. At those levels, it's back above prewar prices after dipping just below. Get the latest.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 8 1951 Paris celebrates 2,000th birthday Paris, the capital city of France, celebrates turning 2,000 years old. The City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1853 Commodore Perry sails into Tokyo Bay 1898 Con man “Soapy” Smith killed in Skagway, Alaska 1990s 1994 North Korea’s “Great Leader” dies Asian History 1950 MacArthur named Korean commander Cold War 1954 Colonel Castillo Armas takes power in Guatemala Crime 1914 Labor activist and singer Joe Hill sentenced to death Sports 2000 Venus Williams wins Wimbledon for the first time Vietnam War 1969 First U.S. troops withdrawn from South Vietnam 1959 First Americans killed in South Vietnam World War I 1918 Ernest Hemingway wounded on the Italian front World War II 1941 German general’s diary reveals Hitler’s plans for Russia

US carries out another round of strikes on Iran after Trump says ceasefire is over DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. carried out another round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said that recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the fragile ceasefire. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-war-oil-july-8-2026-fee04dcea661c08de12c04914ff2751b?

Well you can't trust trump to hold to any agreement, especially when it's just a charade! Besides Iran isn't any better! He's got no plan and has no clue what to do. Should've left it alone, everyone but Israel's PM liked the original plan that Obama and the US had made with Iran, but it was working just fine!

Republicans' Maine offensive Republicans are preparing to welcome a potential Graham Platner replacement in Maine's Senate race with $8 million in negative ads, aiming to introduce the new Democratic nominee to voters on their own terms before Democrats can. Why it matters: Republicans are doing something Democrats wish they could: Move on from Platner. The progressive candidate, who said yesterday he is taking time to "reflect" on his next steps, remains officially in the race and is looking to leverage his status as the Democratic nominee to influence who could replace him. Republicans, meanwhile, see an opening: three weeks to prepare a campaign against a Democratic nominee who will have little time to introduce themselves to voters. 🚗 Driving the news: Pine Tree Results, the super PAC backing Republican Sen. Susan Collins, raised $10.5 million during the first half of the year — matching what it raised during the same period in 2025, according to a person familiar with the matter. The group pulled its anti-Platner ads today and has $8 million in cash on hand to define a likely fresh Democratic nominee for voters during a compressed campaign. Among the donors to the pro-Collins super PAC is Blackstone president Jon Gray, a longtime Democratic donor. He contributed $250,000 well before Politico and CNN reported sexual assault allegations against Platner. 📢 What we're hearing: Platner appears to be using whatever sway he might still have to try to choose his successor. "Graham still has to make the decision to leave the ballot. And folks are pretending that he has. And he has not," a person familiar with the campaign's internal discussions said this morning. "[It's] very clear that he cares about the movement more than the party." Another person close to Platner's adviser, Morris Katz, said Katz has discussed suspending the campaign with Platner and planned to meet him in Maine today to tell him it's not a question of whether he drops out, but when. The same person said Platner has told his team he built a movement and won a record-breaking number of votes, and he does not want his successor to be a "corporate" Democrat. 🤔 Between the lines: There have been conflicting accounts of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering. The New York Post reported today that a source said Katz is "still recommending Platner stay in the race." Katz responded on X that "no one in campaign deliberations or familiar with my thinking is talking to" the Post. Zoom out: Platner's implosion in Maine is scrambling the spending calculus for both parties, with consequences that could stretch as far as Alaska. Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, has publicly paused its spending in Maine to pressure Platner to exit the race. If Platner stays on the ballot, the $33 million the super PAC has reserved for Maine would likely be redirected to emerging Democratic pick-up opportunities, including Iowa, Ohio and Alaska. 💰 The intrigue: That shift could benefit Senate candidates such as former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio and former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska. Progressive energy is also likely to flow toward Abdul El-Sayed's Senate campaign in Michigan, where he is in a high-stakes showdown with Rep. Haley Stevens for the Democratic Senate nomination. The bottom line: Platner's indecision is fueling anxiety throughout the Democratic Party and exposing a divide between progressives and the party establishment that leaders had hoped to bridge before November. — Hans Nichols and Holly Otterbein

Trump Rips Female Ally He Thirsted After for Rejecting Him After lashing out at NATO and renewing his claim that the U.S. should control Greenland, the president took aim at Italy’s right-wing prime minister. Donald Trump has escalated his public spat with Italy’s prime minister, complaining she “just wasn’t there for us” as he sought to justify a bizarre post suggesting that she needed a restraining order. After landing in Turkey ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump continued to test the 77-year-old alliance with members—even renewing his claim that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark.” He also hit out at NATO members more broadly, including Italy and its right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni. Weeks after claiming Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at the G7 summit in France last month, Trump on Sunday reposted a meme of Meloni looking up at him, as though she was eager for his attention. “Restraining Order Needed,” the caption said. Asked by reporters on Tuesday to explain the post, Trump insisted Meloni was “a nice person,” but their relationship took a turn after she refused to throw her country’s weight behind his war in Iran. “I didn’t put a heavy press on her, but she refused to get involved,” he lamented, sitting alongside Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “So it soured my relationship with her a little bit. But I like her, I think she’s a nice person, actually. But I think she made a mistake… She just wasn’t there for us, and I wasn’t happy about that.” The swipe marks the latest twist in an increasingly strange relationship between two leaders who were once held up as ideological allies. Meloni, one of Europe’s most prominent right-wing leaders, has maintained cordial relations with Trump since his return to office. She visited the White House earlier this year, has praised his efforts to end the war in Ukraine, and has largely avoided publicly criticizing his administration. But Italy stopped well short of endorsing Trump’s decision to launch military strikes against Iran, instead pushing for diplomacy alongside other European allies rather than publicly backing the U.S. operation. Trump’s frustration spilled over after the G7 summit when he claimed that Meloni “begged” him to pose for a photo. Within minutes, Meloni took to her socials with a strong denial and a reminder to the president that “Italy and I do not beg.” Soon after, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani pulled out of a planned trip to Washington, raging that Trump had offended all of Italy. As revealed by The Daily Beast’s newsletter The Swamp, the diplomatic spat also left administration officials and global diplomats seething privately after a U.S.-Italy business and innovation forum scheduled for Miami collapsed in the wake of the feud. The June 22 event was set to be held at the prestigious Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio slated to headline alongside a roster of corporate heavyweights, government officials and diplomats from both countries. “The president couldn’t keep his mouth shut,” one exasperated source complained, summing up the mood inside parts of the administration. The latest post about Meloni came as he also took aim at America’s broader alliance with Europe. Discussing NATO, Trump questioned the value of allies who failed to support U.S. military action against Iran. “We’ve invested trillions of dollars in NATO, and I say that’s fine, but you’d think that they would be very willing to do something to help us, and they really didn’t,” he said. “We didn’t need any help at all, and in a way, I was testing people, I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there, because I’ve long said that we helped them, but I’m not sure that they’d be there for us,” he added. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rips-female-ally-he-thirsted-after-for-rejecting-him/? ps:What a pathetic little man!!

Trump Hit With Devastating Poll as Republicans Lose Faith As the midterms loom, Republicans don’t need reminding that it’s the economy, stupid. Even more Republicans now think the economy is headed in the wrong direction. An affordability crisis is now in effect, according to 95 percent of Americans, as high gas and grocery prices hammer people’s wallets. The new Harris Poll revealed that just 27 percent of Republicans think the economy is traveling in a positive direction, down from 49 percent in February. In February, just 22 percent of Republicans thought the economy was getting worse, but that number has now shot up 16 points to 38 percent in the latest poll, conducted for The Guardian. Democrats have become further entrenched in their belief that the economy is not moving in the right direction, up to 71 percent from 62 percent in February. Independents, meanwhile, aligned far more closely with Democrats than Republicans, swinging 10 points since February up to 63 percent. The drop in confidence comes after President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, which had massive knock-on effects for the global economy. At the center of the catastrophe is the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran successfully closed. It tied up about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, driving gas prices up toward $5 a gallon at the pump nationwide. It also led to fertilizer shortages, which have and are expected to continue to have knock-on effects for the cost of farming, and ultimately groceries. Meanwhile, 49 percent of Republicans said that the cost-of-living crisis will not be solved by the federal government. Overall, two-thirds of Americans felt the same way. Despite some positive economic signs, such as a strong stock market and a stable labor market, Americans in rural areas said it had become increasingly difficult to find work, the new study found. Some 41 percent of people in rural areas thought job opportunities were disappearing, compared with just 28 percent in urban areas. Meanwhile, the U.S. only added 57,000 jobs in June, half of the 115,000 forecast, according to the latest jobs report. The drop in confidence in the economy—often cited as the single most important factor in deciding elections—comes just months before the midterms. The GOP is clinging to narrow margins in both the House and the Senate, and most predictions suggest that the Democrats are likely to make gains. Republicans are beleaguered, too, by a historically unpopular president in Trump. The 80-year-old has sunk to astonishing lows in his approval ratings. CNN’s poll of polls pitched his mid-June approval at just 37 percent. In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said: “With oil and gas prices plummeting following President Trump’s [memorandum of understanding] with Iran, overall inflation is set to fall and real wages are set to rise.” “As trillions in investments continue pouring into American industry and the Administration’s broader agenda of tax cuts and deregulation continues taking effect, Americans can rest assured that the best is yet to come,” Desai added. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hit-with-devastating-poll-as-republicans-lose-faith/? ps:Even if his approval ratings are going down, it shouldn't bother the elections, the gerrymandering that has been unleashed will probably offset trumps bad approval ratings!! Besides he's not running!!!

Well that didnt take long, looks like 'Peace' on one side then 'War' burst out again on the other side of the Middle East... "Trump threatens Iran and says truce is over, as Iranian minister warns of 'fearless' response" https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c17y1vnn2qxt

Yes, my guys tended to do that, but then you have a hard time with getting support for any issues. It works but its like changing from Samsung Android phone to Apple IPhone IOS, takes a while to learn the ropes.

"We are loud, we are proud and we know that we are on the right side of history. God is walking with us each step of the way. For more info on the Adventist queer community who is not apologizing for being genuine, contact me at: info@sdakinship.org" Kinship spokesman Loud, proud, unapologetic-- the attitude of homosexuals who should be beating their chests and asking for mercy. If the church at the individual, local church, and administrative level doesn't take action against these people, they won't stop until their goals are achieved. One of those goals is involving SDA youth in alternative sexual expression.

Years ago [1990s], I started working in the West Hollywood gay community as an infusion R.N. At that time, there were a few gay organizations working to draw attention the AIDS problem as well as serve those afflicted. There was AIDS Project Los Angeles [APLA], AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power [ACTUP] Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation [GLAAD], and others. These groups included militant, activists as well as more professional public relations types. Some of the methods they devised in those days to draw attention to homosexuals in the world are now being brought into Adventism to normalize homosexuality in the denomination. Kinship is especially active in this endeavor. They are no longer simply a support group. Their agenda has become more militant, openly advocating/promoting homosexuality. In addition to lobbying for SDA youth to be introduced to the gay agenda, a more recent post on Spectrum issued an open challenge to the church and heterosexual community to "do something" about the gay agenda in Adventism: "The Seventh-day Adventist church is what it is only because of the queer, LGBTQIA+ members that helped shape it. We are here. We are queer. We will always be here. The church can try to ignore us, but we comprise more than 10% of the membership. Heterosexual members continue to pump out queer babies… gay, trans, and non-binary. Thank-you. Erton Köhlner should ask to speak with SDA Kinship 2 so he can better understand what he is refusing to deal with. We are not invisible and we will not be silent to make Erton and others more comfortable. We are loud, we are proud and we know that we are on the right side of history. God is walking with us each step of the way. For more info on the Adventist queer community who is not apologizing for being genuine, contact me at: info@sdakinship.org" The SDA church was not shaped by queer members. Church members are not "pumping out" queer, trans, and non-binary babies. In church, we shouldn't be comfortable with men/women who perform unspeakable acts upon one another as long as they remain unrepentant. Charming or not, homosexuality is "unclean." "We are here, We are queer, We will always be here" is a modification of an activist slogan which stated "We are here. We are queer. We are coming for your children." What is going on now in the denomination is right from the gay playbook on normalizing homosexuality in the world. The SDA church has now become a target. The militant homosexual types, campaigning for the normalization of the gay/lesbian agenda should be banned from the congregations. They shouldn't "always be here" if "here" refers to the church.

There was never, in the history of ancient Israel, a question of IF God would save, the only question was "when", when would this happen.

Zero harm or distress here my friend.

Of course He did. God came to save us - God didn't come to "try" to save us. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me where Scripture teaches that God put Himself on probation to slog it out with Lucifer with the outcome being undetermined. This concept is alien to Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. It's only present in Islam and Restorationist groups such as the Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day Adventists. Granted that Arius (famous for Arianism) believed this.

🚀 Musk's market Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images Wall Street analysts published a slew of bullish reports on SpaceX today as Elon Musk's rocket, communications and AI conglomerate joins the Nasdaq-100 Index. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase all issued "buy" or equivalent ratings on the space behemoth, Bloomberg reports. At the same time, analysts acknowledge the company could spend more than it takes in for years to come. 📈 Why it matters: SpaceX joining the Nasdaq-100 should be a boost for the stock because of the large number of funds that track the benchmark. 🔮 While Wall Street sets eye-popping price targets on the stock, analysts don't have crystal balls. Plus, sell-side analysts often skew bullish. But SpaceX shares kept falling today and are now just under the $150 price where shares started trading last month. Bloomberg gift link.

AI safety retreat Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios Even as AI models grow more powerful, the companies behind them are weakening key safety commitments, Axios' Ina Fried reports from a Future of Life Institute report. "AI companies are sprinting toward a cliff," FLI chair Max Tegmark said in the institute's release. "Despite acknowledging the great risks of artificial superintelligence, they continue racing to build it." 🚧 The reviewers said Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Meta had weakened earlier commitments to pause development if the systems neared certain danger thresholds. 📊 The rankings: Anthropic took the lead in the Institute's latest AI Safety Index — but received only a C+ overall. OpenAI and Google DeepMind both scored Cs. At the bottom were xAI, DeepSeek and Mistral, all receiving failing grades. ⚠️ Companies are weakest on existential safety, per the report. It comes a day after UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a blunt warning: "We may be the last generation able to set the terms on which humanity and machines coexist." The fine print: The grades are based largely on public policies, research, reporting and company disclosures. The institute has long advocated aggressive action against catastrophic AI risk. 👀 What we're watching: How the recent attention toward Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 impacts the conversation around safety practices. Read the report ...

Judge rejects Justice Department attempt to get names of 2020 election workers in Fulton County ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice cannot have the names and personal contact information for every person who worked during the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. https://apnews.com/article/2020-georgia-election-workers-trump-justice-department-22ed0f675d7793a272c9acb6048a4417?

35 Hidden Windows 11 Features Microsoft Never Told You About Stop settling for the default Windows experience. These 35 hidden features unlock smarter workflows, better customization, and surprisingly useful tools already built into Windows 11. https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/35-hidden-windows-11-features-microsoft-never-told-you-about?

Lionel Messi leads Argentina to 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt and spot in World Cup quarterfinals ATLANTA (AP) — It was another World Cup epic from an Argentina team that simply doesn’t know when it’s beaten. https://apnews.com/article/argentina-egypt-world-cup-score-5129f0693b78e1ca7efeee87c46cc4cb?