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Israel is building a miles-long earthen barrier inside Gaza, entrenching its division The Israeli military is quietly but quickly building a giant earthen barrier separating the over 50% of the Gaza Strip it controls from the rest of the territory, according to satellite imagery, further entrenching the division of the tiny Palestinian enclave. Read more. Why this matters: When presented with the satellite images, Israel’s military confirmed to The Associated Press it has built a physical barrier in the area of the so-called yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October ceasefire deal with Hamas. The line was envisioned in the U.S.-backed agreement as a temporary division of the territory pending a fuller Israeli withdrawal. But as the truce stagnates, it appears Israel is digging in, heightening Palestinian fears that the line is morphing into a border. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US and Iran dig in over the Strait of Hormuz, showing the limits of intensifying airstrikes Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis say they will block Saudi shipping at Red Sea gateway

The men behind Trump’s $3.47 gas: An NFL coach, a GOP fundraiser and two New Jersey brothers President Donald Trump and his White House have enthusiastically promoted the Freedom Fuel Network. Read more. What to know: Records indicate the chain, which was launched last month, is run by a disparate collection of businessmen that includes an NFL kicking coach, a GOP fundraiser and a New Jersey entrepreneur who this year was ordered, along with his brother, to pay civil damages for unlawfully taking more than 200,000 gallons of fuel. How the stations got Trump’s attention remains a mystery, and the four businessmen declined to — or could not be reached for — comment. The White House denied Trump had any personal connection to the venture, but declined to say how the project was developed. It acknowledged having discussions with individuals who set up the network of gas stations. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Gas prices back up to an average of $4 a gallon as US and Iran launch attacks

Trump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, citing disputes over autos, alcohol and cheese The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump’s previous tariffs and must be held accountable. Read more. Why this matters: The White House said in a fact sheet that the tariffs would go into effect in 30 days, meaning there is time for negotiations as Trump has not always followed through on his announced tax hikes on imports. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that his government believes in the “benefits of free and fair trade,” having signed “more than 20 new economic and security partnerships.” He said Canada is prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration. “This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.,” Carney said. Still, the tariffs could escalate into a wider trade war as Canada seeks to defend its economy. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Darline Graham says she will run for a full term in Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat Officials sought phone records of NYT journalists and their relatives in an effort to unmask sources Senators demand ICE answers and body cameras after 2 fatal shootings in Maine and Houston Judge says Paramount and Warner must halt merger for at least two weeks, granting states’ request 2 more convictions thrown out in 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan governor Alaska wants to seize a pilot’s plane over a 6-pack of beer. The Supreme Court will hear his case White House: Trump to fly old Air Force One for about a month as Qatari-gifted jet gets ‘upgrades’

July 21, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. The Houthis — a militia Iran backs — returned to the wartime theater in the wider Middle East yesterday. The group said it would impose a blockade on Saudi ships trying to enter the Red Sea. That could open a new front in the war. It’s a conflict that has largely been fought remotely, with drones and missiles. Since it began, an estimated 1,700 or more Iranian civilians have been killed. I want to start today, though, with the American dead. Pvt. Isabella Gonzales and First Lt. Tyler James Feehan. U.S. Army, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images and Associated Press Lives lost We learned the names yesterday of two of the three American service members killed during the latest intense exchanges of fire with Iran. They were First Lt. Tyler James Feehan, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, of Carrollton, Texas. Feehan was 25, Gonzales just 19. They were both killed when Iran launched missiles at the military base in Jordan where they were serving, Gonzales on Friday and Feehan on Saturday. The Pentagon has not yet identified the third U.S. service member, who was also killed on Saturday, during the disposal of a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq. Theirs were the 15th, 16th and 17th confirmed deaths of U.S. military personnel since the United States and Israel started fighting with Iran on Feb. 28. They left families shattered, as The Times discovered in Texas: On Monday morning, at a tidy brick home in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton where Private Gonzales grew up, her mother answered the door in tears. She was glad her daughter’s name had been made public, she said, but she was not ready to talk about her yet. An American flag hung from the front of the home. A few other people arrived to be with the family, including several children. “She was a soldier,” Private Gonzales’s uncle, Ricardo Moniz, said, before returning inside. “We’re going to remember her like that.” The Pentagon. Kenny Holston/The New York Times Operational security The Pentagon’s protocol for publicly identifying slain service members is to wait 24 hours after the notification of their next of kin. The military shares the name, rank and not much else about the fallen. Nearly five months into the war, with the cease-fire collapsing, the Pentagon hasn’t said much about its current strategy. Officials last gave a major news briefing in May. The Trump administration hasn’t disclosed the extent to which the war has drained U.S. supplies of expensive weapons, nor discussed how Iran has kept or rebuilt its ability to launch missiles at U.S. bases in the region. And the Pentagon hasn’t released information about dozens of injured troops. They’re not required to, a U.S. military official told The Times, especially when the soldiers quickly return to duty. As ever in war, there’s a tension between the government’s need to keep operational details secret and obligation to update its constituents on how the conflict is going. Telling the American people where troops have been injured, another official said, could lead Iran to focus its ballistic missiles and drones on those bases. Note: The exact locations of the helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea, the refueling aircraft crash and the Iranian drone detonation are not known. Bora Erden and Lazaro Gamio/The New York Times Congressional undersight Republicans in Congress aren’t happy about any of this. The collapse of the cease-fire and the resumption of a hot war have inflamed the debate over the president’s war powers at the very moment the administration seeks tens of billions of dollars to pay for the fighting. “That has presented Republicans with a political worst-case scenario months before midterm elections in which their majorities are at stake,” writes Robert Jimison, who covers Capitol Hill: “They are being asked to vote to fund an unpopular war over which they have had no meaningful oversight, and which they have never voted to approve.” Many have pledged to do just that, though. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, said on CNN last week: “We’re going to supply the needs for America’s national security.” “The greatest fighting force on the planet, the last great superpower must be fully equipped,” he said, “and that’s the job of Congress, to make sure it’s done.” President Trump, for his part, has ignored votes in both the House and the Senate that directed him to seek authorization for the war. Last week he told lawmakers that fighting had resumed under his direction as commander in chief. Yesterday afternoon he doubled down. “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” he wrote on social media. More on the war Suspected Iranian strikes have targeted the U.S. military in at least four countries since the cease-fire began unraveling, according to satellite imagery and videos verified by The Times. After a U.S. strike on a tanker last month killed three Indian sailors, the Pentagon said the ship had been violating America’s blockade of Iranian oil. Times reporters found evidence that suggests the ship’s engine was off when it was hit. THE LATEST NEWS Trump Administration Trump ordered a 50 percent tariff on goods from Canada, restarting a trade war with one of America’s closest allies. He claimed that Canada had discriminated against key U.S. industries. The Trump administration subpoenaed phone records in its effort to unmask the sources in a Times article about security on the new Air Force One. They include records from one Times reporter’s mother and another’s spouse. The White House said the new plane would be out of service for a month this fall for upgrades. Trump rejected nearly 6,000 clemency applications this month, from people who mostly lacked political connections, even as he awarded pardons and commutations to allies. Politics Senator Darline Graham Kent Nishimura/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Darline Graham, sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, said she would run to succeed him for a full term. She was sworn in to fill the seat temporarily last week. Troy Jackson, who is the front-runner to replace Graham Platner as Maine’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, started in politics as a Republican. Read how he changed into a progressive Democrat. The number of people in Arizona receiving food stamps has dropped by about half in less than a year. In the video below, our reporter Jason DeParle explains why, and what the bigger impact could be. Click to watch. The New York Times Around the World Andy Burnham and his wife, Marie-France van Heel. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is promising changes to the country’s economy. He’s already facing a significant backlash from his opponents and the markets. Egg prices have fallen in the United States, but in China they are at a 10-year high. Some people there are blaming Trump. After a nearly two-year vacuum, Hamas picked a new leader. He is Khalil al-Hayya, who steered talks with Israel during the Gaza war. In response to street protests in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has held discussions with military commanders and offered the defense minister he fired a new job. Protesters in Kyiv, Ukraine, last week. Jędrzej Nowicki for The New York Times Other Big Stories Google used to champion the “open web.” But now it is funneling users toward A.I.-generated answers rather than other websites. As Cyclospora cases spike, the F.D.A. said it was continuing to investigate the role of Taylor Farms in the outbreak. A NEW VIBE Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times Apple’s App Store is growing. If it had shelves like a grocery store, the apps added since the start of this year would demand about 712,000 extra square feet of floor space — 12 football fields. But bigger isn’t necessarily better. The bulk of those apps, pumped out in a hurry by A.I.-wielding “vibecoders,” aren’t being used: As the number of new apps doubled (or, for math nerds: grew 100 percent), downloads inched up 2 percent. After the App Store opened in 2008, it grew at a blistering pace for nearly a decade. By 2017, it began to stagnate as consumers consolidated around a handful of apps, most of which you probably know: Instagram, Twitter, Gmail, etc. Now the App Store is ballooning again, but only a handful of newcomers like ChatGPT and Claude are among the most downloaded. Read more about the mostly unhelpful flood of vibecoded apps. OPINIONS Nicolás Maduro’s case is due back in court tomorrow. An international treaty from 1922 could pause proceedings, and then perhaps set him free, writes Michael Rips, a lawyer. Money has triumphed over art as fashion brands consolidate and algorithms drive consumption. This is the age of faceless clothing slop, writes Amy Odell, the author of a biography of Anna Wintour. Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. MORNING READS Runners in Kenya. Brian Otieno for The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. Chasing a dream: Hoping for a personal-best marathon finish, a Times reporter headed to Kenya’s Great Rift Valley to learn from some of the world’s best runners. Daring escape: Nine members of a North Korean family — including two children and a pregnant woman — risked their lives to find freedom in the South. Here is their remarkable story. In Venezuela: Two boys dug every day for 26 days to find the bodies of their mother, brother and grandmother. We recommend you see these photos. Required reading: Texas has introduced a list of books that it will ask all public-school students in the state to read. It includes a lot of classics, parts of the Bible and “L is for Lone Star: A Texas Alphabet.” See the whole list. TODAY’S NUMBER 450,000 — That is how many wine corks were ground up to make “slightly cushioned” new pathways at a Brooklyn public housing project. “Everybody’s loving that cork,” said the head of the tenants’ group. SPORTS Track and field: Josh Kerr broke the men’s mile record, running it in 3:42.66. The previous record, of 3:43.13, was set 27 years ago. M.L.B.: A Los Angeles Angels scout who called himself “The Baseball Spy” got caught filming the coaches of the Colorado Rockies. He lost his job — all for a leg up in a series between two of the league’s worst teams. Read the story. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about the Argentina team’s bad behavior after losing the World Cup final. RECIPE OF THE DAY Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times I’ve been making Jamie Oliver’s chicken in milk for more than 20 years. It only took me 19 or so to figure out that I shouldn’t follow his directive and ditch the fat used to brown the chicken at the start of the recipe, but strain and save it instead, for use in the mashed potatoes that are the dish’s best companion. What a fantastic meal. BODEGA REALISM “Cool Machine,” the final installment of Colson Whitehead’s Harlem crime trilogy, is out today. With it, our critic Dwight Garner writes, you’ll have a chance “to drink in Whitehead’s intellectual breadth, his ambivalent irony, his moral seriousness and pinball verbal play.” For myself: I inhaled it, smiling nearly from first page to last. More on culture What’s the latest trend in American car culture? Bulletproofing. The comedian Cat Cohen had a stroke at 31. Lying in her hospital bed, she thought, “This is going to be great material.” Three years later, her one-woman show “Broad Strokes” is up in New York. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Illustration by Leesa Allmond; Videos via Disney Revisit the family-friendly 2004 heist adventure “National Treasure,” starring Nicolas Cage. It’s the latest Hollywood movie we’re declaring so bad it’s good. Hear us out. Get more out of running. Leave your fitness tracker at home. Roll your clothes when you pack a suitcase. Or fold them. The travel agents at Wirecutter tested both methods and discovered advantages to each. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were millionth and monolith. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren

💩 1 for the road: D.C.'s "humanure" DC Water bills Bloom soil (above) as: "Good Soil. Better Earth." Photo: Courtesy of Bloom Flowers outside the National Cathedral. Tomatoes in community gardens. Lush fairways at Andrews Air Force Base. Their secret ingredient? D.C.-made "humanure," Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel writes. Why it matters: A decade after launching Bloom — a compost alternative made from treated wastewater — DC Water has turned No. 2 into a No. 1 business. Many cities pay to haul treated biosolids away. D.C. transforms them into fertilizer it sells throughout the region, generating millions in savings and drastically cutting carbon emissions. Keep reading ...

Rise of whites-only "heritage communities" Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images A white separatist group is openly planning a network of whites-only settlements across rural America that aim to withstand legal challenges by operating essentially as private clubs, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: The communities are launching in the Ozarks, Appalachia and the South as the Trump administration has backed off prosecuting some civil rights cases. The big picture: For nearly three years, state and federal authorities have largely watched from the sidelines as the separatist group Return to the Land unveiled plans and took applications for residents. Those plans amount to an intentional challenge to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned housing discrimination. They've been inspired in part by recent decisions from the conservative Supreme Court and the Trump administration's reversal of much of President Lyndon Johnson's civil rights legacy. Keep reading.

🏡 New math finds fewer homeowners Data: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis calculations based on 2024 American Community Survey data. Chart: Emily Peck/Axios A new way of measuring America's homeownership rate finds that it is far lower than commonly understood, especially for young adults, Axios' Emily Peck writes. The traditional measure reflects the share of occupied housing units where the owner is a resident. The new measure is the share of the adult population who owns their home. Why it matters: The findings show "that younger people are having an even harder time buying a house than traditional data would suggest," according to a note by TD Cowen housing policy analyst Jaret Seiberg. 🧮 By the numbers: The new measure, calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, finds that only about 53% of American adults own their own homes — not the commonly cited homeownership rate of 65% calculated by the Census Bureau. For adults under age 35, it's bleaker: Only 22% are homeowners under the new measure, compared with 37% under the traditional one.

🏒 Trump targets Canada The Trump administration imposed an additional 50% tariff on certain Canadian goods yesterday — including hockey sticks, wine and cement — accusing the country of discriminating against U.S. exports, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes. Why it matters: The move ratchets up tensions in an increasingly bitter trade dispute between two of the world's closest economic partners. The tariffs, which take effect next month, will be imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 — a never-before-used authority. The duties cover roughly $20 billion in annual Canadian imports. A senior administration official said the tariffs aren't the wildfire tariffs that President Trump had earlier threatened. The official said those options remain under consideration. Keep reading.

Trump's Iran choice President Trump is nearing a decisive fork in the Iran war, with U.S. and Israeli officials envisioning only two viable endgames, Axios' Barak Ravid reports: Option 1: Pursue a new 10-day ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Option 2: Launch a massive joint military campaign with Israel to force Tehran's capitulation. Why it matters: Trump hasn't decided yet. But officials believe the next few days will determine which path prevails — with little room left for the grinding, open-ended conflict paralyzing the Gulf. Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan and other regional mediators have presented the U.S. and Iran with a 10-day ceasefire proposal, two regional sources with direct knowledge of the effort told Axios. The Trump administration is exploring the proposal and has urged Israel to avoid steps that could close the diplomatic window, U.S. officials say. But Washington is simultaneously preparing for the talks to fail. The U.S. military has sent dozens of fighter jets and refueling aircraft to the region in recent days, assembling the forces needed for a major escalation. Israeli sources say the IDF is on high alert and preparing for a possible expansion of the war into a full-scale, coordinated campaign within days. 🖼️ The big picture: Ten straight nights of U.S. bombing have failed to break Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, dragging Trump deeper into a war he has repeatedly declared won. At least three U.S. service members have been killed in the renewed fighting. Trump said yesterday he had ordered the Pentagon to make Iran pay "many times over" for every American death. Oil briefly broke $90 a barrel this weekend as Iran widened its strikes on commercial ships and Gulf infrastructure. Gas prices are rising again, compounding the domestic backlash to an already unpopular war. State of play: Neither Trump nor Iran has accepted the ceasefire proposal, and both sides appear determined to gain leverage through further strikes before committing to a ceasefire. A senior U.S. official said talks are continuing, but said Trump has yet to finish retaliating.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 21 1861 The First Battle of Bull Run In the first major land battle of the Civil War, a large Union force under General Irvin McDowell is routed by a Confederate army under General Pierre G.T. Beauregard. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1865 Wild Bill Hickok fights in first quick-draw western shootout African History 1970 Aswan High Dam completed Arts & Entertainment 1899 Ernest Hemingway is born 2007 Final Harry Potter book released 2023 Blockbuster films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" released on the same day Cold War 1955 President Eisenhower presents his “Open Skies” plan Crime 1925 “Trial of the Century” reaches final day, draws unprecedented attention European History 2005 Bombers attempt to attack London transit system Inventions & Science 1960 Germany passes controversial “Volkswagen Law” Natural Disasters & Environment 365 Tsunami hits Alexandria, Egypt Space Exploration 2011 NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end World War II 1944 Hitler to Germany: “I am unhurt”

Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. New King James Version

July 21, 2026 Our Natural and Glorified Bodies “It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15:43-44) In this portion of this great chapter on the resurrection—first that of Christ, then the future resurrection of the redeemed—death and resurrection are compared to seed-sowing and harvest. When a seed is planted in the ground, it is as though it has died and is buried. For a long time after its “death,” the seed cannot be seen, but eventually it rises again as a beautiful flowering plant, sheaf of grain, or even a lovely tree. Jesus made this same analogy in His teaching. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24-29; note also Mark 4:26-29). Our human bodies, because of sin and the Curse, will eventually die and be buried. But one day, like the planted seed, they will appear again renewed and far greater than they were before: now immortal and glorified—that is, of course, if their real inhabitants (their eternal created spirits) have been born again through faith in the already-resurrected Savior. Our new bodies rising from the grave will be real physical bodies (like that of Jesus after He was raised). They will be “fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). Although “it doth not yet appear what we shall be . . . when he shall appear, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). Then in our glorious, powerful bodies, we as “his servants shall serve him” in love and joy forever (Revelation 22:3). HMM

⛰️ Parting shot: California sunset Photo: Phil Spector Reader Phil Spector of Delray Beach, Fla., sent us this mountain view from a summer trip to Napa Valley. 🍽️ It was taken last week on Darms Lane, which is about 5 minutes south of Yountville — home of Thomas Keller's iconic restaurant The French Laundry.

💰 House GOP's edge Data: Axios reporting; Chart: Kathleen Hunter/Axios The House Republicans' campaign arm brought in $17.6 million in June, leaving them with $92.7 million in cash on hand, we told you earlier today. Why it matters: The National Republican Congressional Committee is entering the final midterm stretch with a cash advantage over House Democrats, giving GOP leaders another talking point as they try to defy the historical trend that typically favors the party out of power. The NRCC outraised its counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, by $1.2 million in June. That helped them top the DCCC's $79 million in cash-on-hand as of June 30. Yes, but: The DCCC outraised the NRCC in the full second quarter, bringing in $37.4 million, compared to $35.4 million for NRCC. 💬 What they're saying: "Republicans are building a campaign machine to win. Democrats are still holding clown show socialist auditions for who gets to lose in November," NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella told us in a statement. DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement that the group's "strong quarter of fundraising combined with the incredible results of our frontliners and challengers show that across the battlefield, Democrats are assembling people-powered campaigns ready to win in November and make Hakeem Jeffries the next speaker of the House." 🔎 Zoom in: The NRCC's fundraising edge hasn't translated to individual candidates. Twenty-five GOP incumbents — and Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.), a former Republican — were outraised by a Democratic challenger in the second quarter of 2026, according to Punchbowl News. Zoom out: The Supreme Court's ruling last month allowing unlimited coordinated spending between national party committees and candidates supercharges the NRCC's fundraising advantage. Instead of being constrained by coordination limits, the committee can now funnel more of its financial edge directly into competitive House races. — Kate Santaliz

Senate watches the House Senate Republicans are warming to the idea of using a third reconciliation package to replenish the Pentagon's depleted weapons stocks. Why it matters: They still view reconciliation 3.0 as Plan B. ⛸️ For now, though, they're willing to let House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) attempt the legislative equivalent of a slushy triple axel: passing a rule, a short-term government funding bill and a budget resolution to unlock reconciliation. "The tale of the tape is going to be what the House can do," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said. "Can the House pass it? I don't think that's a done deal. It's not offset, so I think there's going to be some troubled water there." ⚡️ But Republican senators aren't slamming the door on Johnson's plan, looking to keep Senate options open. "It's pretty clear that [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer would like to play shutdown politics," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said. "So I don't have any problem with using reconciliation for that." "But beyond that, it gets pretty narrow, what I'd be willing to support." 🚗 Driving the news: President Trump is ramping up pressure on House Republicans to support the budget resolution ahead of a pivotal week on Capitol Hill. "I am asking all House Republicans to VOTE YES this week on the Budget Resolution, which is an important first step towards getting a Budget Bill," Trump wrote today on Truth Social. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought will try to close the deal at the Republican conference tomorrow. The move is a clear signal the administration wants a fallback plan if the normal appropriations process isn't done by Oct. 1 — which looks increasingly likely. 🪖 Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee tomorrow to defend the administration's supplemental funding request, including tens of billions of dollars to replenish munitions used in Iran. Between the lines: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is cautioning that reconciliation 3.0 still faces a steep climb, even if it clears the House. "Easier said than done," Thune told reporters. And not every Senate Republican is on board. "I am not a big fan of reconciliation whether it's 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0," Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said. Zoom in: The White House has sent a list of spending anomalies to appropriators — a necessary step for Congress and OMB to advance a short-term continuing resolution. The move is a clear signal the administration expects Congress to rely on a stopgap spending bill to avert a shutdown. That remains senators' preferred path. "I'd love a clean CR to get us through the election," Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said. Zoom out: Vice President Vance's private appeal to House Republicans last week did little to change the political math. Johnson faces a difficult challenge. The skepticism extends beyond the House. Some Senate Republicans want a larger package with more defense funding, while others insist that at least some of the roughly $95 billion in new spending be offset. The House proposal includes about $60 billion to replenish munitions and weapons stocks depleted by U.S. operations against Iran. The bottom line: The Senate is waiting on the House while pursuing a two-track strategy: keep appropriations moving while keeping reconciliation in reserve if negotiations break down. "We either need to keep appropriations moving," Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told us, "or it's reconciliation 3.0." — Hans Nichols and Kate Santaliz

Tropical Storm Bertha drifts toward land as Hurricane Fausto forms in the eastern Pacific NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tropical Storm Bertha formed Monday evening in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle as it drifts erratically toward populated coastal areas bearing a threat of heavy rain, storm surge and damaging wind gusts, forecasters say. https://apnews.com/article/gulf-tropical-depression-flooding-c5f0b7264dad58ae7450fdd87436ec09?

The Price of Hubris (Andrew Harnik / Getty)   View in browser You could, if you were so inclined, tell a story of the Donald Trump era via memes. Pepe the Frog, “This Is Fine” Dog, “Covfefe,” Leopards Eating People’s Faces—things of that nature. One of the essential examples would be an October 2016 Twitter post by Jesse Farrar, parodying the enduring belief that the walls were closing in on Trump: The conviction that Trump was on the brink of final collapse remained popular in some quarters for years after Farrar’s post—as anyone who remembers the fevered anticipation around Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report and the subsequent letdown can attest—but at some moment, the tweet transformed from a riposte to naive pundits into a shorthand for the strangeness of American politics. During the previous decade, Trump weathered a series of scandals that would likely have been career-ending for any other politician: the Access Hollywood tape, in which he boasted that he would “grab” women “by the pussy” without consent; the firing of then–FBI Director James Comey; his indiscreet sharing of intelligence with Russian officials in the Oval Office; an impeachment for attempting to extort Ukraine; an egregious approach to COVID-19, followed by a bout with the disease that reportedly nearly killed him; a series of attempts to steal the 2020 presidential election, culminating in the January 6 insurrection; his absconding with sensitive documents to Mar-a-Lago after his term ended; and 34 felony convictions. Despite all of this, Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. The notion of his invincibility became canon. Perhaps Trump himself came to believe it. But the war in Iran has dealt a serious blow to the idea that Trump can slip out of any bind easily. Over the past three days, three American service members died in that conflict: two in Jordan, where Iranian missiles struck a military base, and a third in Iraq, killed by debris during the intentional destruction of an Iranian drone. The official American death toll in the Iran war now sits at 17. That number is low—still less, for example, than the toll from the 1983 invasion of Grenada—although the military appears to have been keeping quiet just how many troops have been injured. As my colleague Tom Nichols wrote over the weekend, the president’s limp attempt at consolation (“It’s a very sad thing,” he said) is especially dismaying because “Trump has offered no comprehensive explanation about why his administration is ordering U.S. military personnel to put their lives on the line.” And the death toll may begin to rise, because Trump appears to be on the verge of being drawn into a larger war. As the defense analyst Brynn Tannehill wrote in The Atlantic last week, the president faces only bad choices. The United States could effectively cede control of the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, accepting a fee system that breaks global precedent and centuries of American policy and granting a hostile power the opportunity to close an important shipping lane at any future moment. Or the White House could embark on a major ground war, because fighting over the past few months has shown the limitations of relying on air power. That would be politically hazardous, likely lead to more American deaths, and suck the U.S. into a long-running presence in the region, and it might still fail. Meanwhile, the conflict threatens to grow even larger as Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen threaten to close some traffic to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Deciding what to do is hard when you don’t know what you want. Trump has vacillated over whether the point of the war is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and whether the war has already achieved that. He’s offered different answers about whether one goal is regime change, and whether that has been achieved. He has suggested that the purpose is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, even though it was open before the war and even though that may no longer be manageable. The administration has also struggled to explain to skeptical members of Congress why it needs more war funding. In short, Trump’s misadventure in Iran is a story of hubris. The president didn’t bother to plan or consider the dangers before he started a war, and now it has spiraled to a point where even he seems unable to find a way to wriggle out of a jam. For the first time in a very long time—to some extent, the first time in his life—Trump appears to be facing the consequences of his actions. These circumstances might give Trump’s critics and opponents a chance to feel some delicious schadenfreude if the results of the blunder were not so terrible. The costs are measured not only in the blood of American service members but also in the deaths of Iranian civilians and of merchant mariners trying to sail through the Persian Gulf, in the damage to the global economy, and in the erosion of American alliances and a long-standing global order. Being confronted with a snare that he can’t escape must be unpleasant for Trump, but people around the globe will face misery because of it. Related: Trump owes Americans a better explanation about Iran. The U.S. has only terrible choices with Iran.

British prosecutors charge a man with murder in the death of former politician Ann Widdecombe British prosecutors charged a 28-year-old man with murder Monday in the death of former politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe. Read More.

Pamela Smart, serving life, seeks a new trial as a New Hampshire judge weighs her latest petition Lawyers for Pamela Smart, who is serving life in prison for orchestrating the murder of her husband by her teenage student in 1990, urged a New Hampshire judge Monday to allow her latest petition for a new trial to move forward. Read More.

China's new AI model halts new subscriptions as demand swamps capacity The new, powerful Chinese artificial intelligence model Kimi K3, which has caused a stir in the U.S. tech industry, has suspended new subscriptions after a flood in demand overwhelmed capacity within days of the launch. Read More.

Trump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, citing disputes over autos, alcohol and cheese WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. https://apnews.com/article/trump-canada-50-tariff-autos-alcohol-cheese-ca268ef24992b16695954c4c2e5eae6a? ps:How much more pathetic can he get?? Ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool gets Sept. 28 trial date A judge in the nation's capital has set a trial date in September for a former Olympic canoe racer charged with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the site of a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by President Donald Trump. Read More. Officials sought phone records of NYT journalists and their relatives in an effort to unmask sources President Donald Trump's administration sought phone records of several New York Times journalists and even those of some of their relatives, according to a motion unsealed Monday — an unusually aggressive attempt to unmask the confidential sources of reporters who wrote about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Read More. Feds advance plan to open 2,800 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to fracking The federal government took a major step forward Friday toward opening more than 2,800 acres of Ohio’s only national forest to oil and gas development. Read More.

Ex-soldier started a fire and fired a pellet gun outside a New York federal building, FBI says NEW YORK (AP) — A former U.S. Army soldier toting an anti-ICE sign set off fireworks, lit a fire and shot a pellet gun Monday morning outside a Manhattan federal office building, injuring three people before security officers subdued him, authorities said. https://apnews.com/article/incendiary-new-york-federal-building-immigration-e3b62b5cafb5ea777f5918670c48da72?

Trump’s Gas Price Boasts Blow Up in His Face The president’s victory lap over falling gas prices may have been premature as tensions with Iran threaten another spike. Donald Trump’s bragging about gas prices has blown up in his face following his renewed attacks on Iran. The temporary peace deal had given the president his first sniff of making good on his promise to lower gas prices following a dramatic spike caused by the outbreak of his war in late February. Prices at the pump have flirted with the $5 mark nationally and, in parts of California, exceeded $6. Now things are moving in the wrong direction once again for the White House, after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, and its government’s military wing, the Revolutionary Guard, said “this passage will ⁠not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop ‌of oil and gas,” the Guardian reports. It comes despite a bullish Trump writing on Truth Social in late June, “GAS PRICES COMING DOWN, FAST! REPORT ANY ABUSES AT RETAIL LEVEL!!! President DJT.” On Monday, the AAA put the national average price at $4.0030, up from Sunday’s $3.9980, which was up again from the average a week ago at $3.8720. That, in turn, was a far cry from the average one year ago, at $3.1410. The U.S. has once again imposed a blockade of the strait, dashing any optimism about prices that had sprouted last month during the brief pause in hostilities. While prices have not yet reached the highs seen earlier in the conflict, Axios reports that Trump was in the Situation Room with top advisors on Tuesday, where they discussed the possibility of expanding the scope of the operation. His actions appear at odds with his words, clashing with the narrative the president has peddled throughout his conflict that high prices would be but a blip. In March, eight days after the first bombs fell, he wrote in another Truth Social post, “Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!President DJT.” Now Americans are in their fifth month of being stung by the conflict, and as relations between Washington and Tehran worsen once again, it is feasible that consumers might not have respite any time soon. On the last day of June, he blamed high prices on someone else: retailers and the California government. In a shouty Truth Social post, he said, “Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! “There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead! Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number, and California should stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline. “Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous Taxes, and by their own Government. President DONALD J. TRUMP” In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, “As the U.S. military degrades the terrorist Iranian regime’s ability to attack commercial vessels and disrupt the free flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas prices will plummet back to pre-conflict levels. “President Trump remains committed to unleashing American energy dominance, cutting costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-gas-price-boasts-blow-up-in-his-face/?

Republicans Defy Trump’s Senate MAGA Power Grab Senate hopefuls aren’t waiting around for Trump’s preferred Lindsey Graham replacement. Republican Senate hopefuls are ignoring Donald Trump’s attempt to put his finger on the scale in the race to replace the late Senator Lindsey Graham. The president, 80, made the push for Graham’s sister, newly sworn-in Senator Darline Graham, to run for a full term after she was appointed to fill her brother’s seat for the remainder of his current term last week following Graham’s unexpected death. But a growing number of GOP members are rejecting the president’s bid to clear a path for her in the special primary election next month and are instead jumping into the race. On Monday, Rep. Russell Fry, who represents South Carolina’s 7th congressional district, announced he was running for the seat. It comes after Rep. Ralph Norman shared over the weekend that he would run in the special election as well. Graham, who died just over a week ago, was running for reelection in November. While his sister was appointed to fill his seat through the current term, a special primary election must be held to choose a GOP candidate for the midterms. The special election will take place on August 11. Candidate filing opens on Tuesday and remains open through July 28. In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump praised Senator Darline Graham Nordone, who has never held elected office, as a “spectacular person” and “WINNER all of her life.” He wrote that if she chose to run for a full term, she would have his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” But on Saturday, Rep. Ralph Norman, who recently lost the primary for governor, said he was jumping into the race and that the state needed a true conservative. Even as Republicans are ignoring Trump’s attempt to be the kingmaker in the primary, they are looking to align with him as they try to win over GOP voters in the short campaign season. “I’m running to represent the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate because we need a fighter who will stand with President Trump and carry on Lindsey Graham’s legacy!” Norman wrote. “I’ve spent years fighting for the Palmetto State in the state house, in Congress, and now I want to get the SAVE America Act passed in the Senate!” While Norman admitted he asked Trump for his endorsement and did not receive it, he said he would not drop out if Graham decides to run for a full term and that he was in it to win. In his own announcement early Monday, Fry touted his MAGA credentials. The banner image on his X page notably features him standing alongside the president. “We need a conservative fighter in the Senate who delivers real results. I will be your conservative MAGA candidate in the special primary Senate election this summer,” Fry wrote in his announcement post. Fry ran uncontested in his House primary last month, so he is running for two seats at once. If he wins the special election primary, it would leave his safe Republican House seat exposed or vacant come November. The new Senator Graham has not shared publicly whether she would officially run for a full term after barely a week in the Senate. In an open letter to South Carolinians shared over the weekend, she wrote, “Now, it’s time for me to step up for South Carolina” and “In the most challenging of times, I’ve learned God often calls on ordinary people to do extraordinary things.” She added that she is not her brother and has her own way of doing things, but they were raised with the same values. While she thanked the people of the state and asked for their prayers, she did not specifically share what her plans might be going forward. Trump’s endorsement has proven to be powerful in the 2026 GOP primaries, but it has not always resulted in his preferred candidate’s victory. In the South Carolina Republican primary for governor, Trump’s original endorsement went to Lt. Governor Pam Evette, but she did not get enough support to avoid a runoff last month. In the end, Trump copped out and made a double-endorsement of both candidates in the runoff, including Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ended up winning. Trump’s endorsements in other 2026 primaries have also resulted in mixed results in recent months. However, the president was an early backer of the late senator in his reelection bid and helped him avoid a nasty primary despite facing well-funded GOP challengers. Graham won the June primary with more than 56 percent of the vote, but his closest challenger, Mark Lynch, still received nearly 29 percent, with more than 134,000 votes. https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-defy-trumps-senate-maga-power-grab/?