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🌳 1 for the road: VP eyes country escape The rolling hills of Middleburg, Va. Photo: Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Vice President Vance is eyeing a grand farmhouse in Middleburg, Va., as a getaway from Washington, sources tell Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil and Mimi Montgomery. The 496-acre property, known as Wolver Hill Farm, is about an hour's drive from D.C. It includes a large stone house and abuts the upscale Salamander Resort. The Secret Service has talked with Middleburg police to coordinate security for the veep, a source told Axios. It's uncertain whether the family has signed a lease. NBC News first reported the family's interest in a Middleburg residence. Locals have spotted black SUVs and a Marine helicopter landing on the property. Over the July Fourth weekend, a neighbor saw the FAA post a no-fly drone zone on the site.

Apple sues OpenAI Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Apple is suing OpenAI for trade secret theft, alleging the AI giant deliberately and systematically solicited and stole confidential information from the iPhone-maker's current and former employees, Axios' Megan Morrone writes. Why it matters: Apple has lost significant talent to OpenAI as the AI lab prepares to unveil its first hardware device this year. Apple says over 400 former employees are now employed by OpenAI. 👀 The lawsuit alleges that Chang Liu, a former senior electrical engineer at Apple, kept a work-issued Apple laptop and discovered a bug that allowed him to access Apple's cloud file storage after leaving and while employed by OpenAI. The suit claims that while Liu was developing hardware for OpenAI, he accessed and downloaded dozens of confidential files from Apple's network, many labeled as confidential. Tang Tan, also mentioned in the complaint, is an Apple veteran who worked on iPhone and Apple Watch and now serves as OpenAI's chief hardware officer. He allegedly circulated a "Need to Know" Apple offboarding doc that he either retained or obtained to teach new OpenAI hires to dodge Apple's exit security checks, according to the filing. Jony Ive, Apple's former chief design officer who began collaborating with OpenAI in 2023, isn't named in the suit. Apple said in a statement: "Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple's secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products." An OpenAI spokesperson tells Axios: "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere." 41-page complaint ...

🇮🇷 Iran's supreme leader vows revenge Mourners touch the coffin of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during this week's funeral procession in Karbala, Iraq. Photo: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei announced today that revenge for his father's assassination "will most certainly be carried out," Axios' Barak Ravid reports. Why it matters: The statement was published after the burial ceremony for his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Throughout the weeklong funeral procession, there were massive public calls for the death of President Trump. Mojtaba Khamenei, who didn't appear in public during the funeral ceremonies, didn't specifically mention Trump. But earlier this week, Israel gave the U.S. information that suggested Iranian officials recently discussed the idea of assassinating Trump, U.S. and Israeli officials said. On his way back from Turkey on Wednesday, Trump traveled in the old Air Force One plane rather than the new plane that the U.S. received from Qatar. The New York Times reported that security concerns prompted the mid-trip switch in planes. What they're saying: Mojtaba Khamenei — who was seriously wounded in the attack that killed his father, and hasn't appeared in public since — pledged on his Telegram channel to "avenge your pure blood and the blood of all those martyred in these two wars by bringing the criminal and dishonorable killers to justice." Khamenei added that whether he is alive or dead, the revenge for his father's death "will be accomplished," and stressed that "soon, freedom-loving people throughout the world will each carry out part of this divine mission." Screenshot: Truth Social Shortly before midnight, Trump published a post on his Truth Social account referring to the Iranian threats against him. Trump said he has already given orders to the U.S. military "for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran." He ended his post with: "PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!"

🗞️ NYT reporters subpoenaed The New York Times' front-page headlines yesterday and today. The New York Times reports that the Trump administration issued subpoenas yesterday to several of the paper's journalists after they reported on security fears about President Trump's new Qatari-donated Air Force One. The subpoenas order the reporters — including Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt — to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday. "In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters' homes," The Times said. The subpoenas were issued by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Clayton was nominated by Trump to serve as director of national intelligence, although the confirmation process has been delayed. David McCraw, The Times' lead newsroom lawyer, said in a statement provided to Axios: "The appearance of Federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience. ... This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs." Read on (NYT gift link).

🚀 Society-wide AI moonshot Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes: In an essay in today's Wall Street Journal, I make the case for a society-wide mobilization to win the AI race and spread the benefits broadly. Give it a read and share your ideas with me. Why it matters to YOU: Leaders of all kinds — in every town, every organization, every campus — will be huge players in any solution. Like after World War II or 9/11, we need to mobilize on a shared national project with a clearly defined goal and a clear competitor to beat — this time, China. Read the essay, with seven society-level ideas to shape AI to benefit all (gift link).

Market mindset unravels Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images American political leaders on the left and right are rebelling against the market-first consensus that dominated Washington for four decades. Why it matters: The result is one of the biggest shifts in U.S. economic policy since the Reagan revolution, overturning decades of orthodoxy on trade, manufacturing, housing, health care and corporate power, Axios' Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin write. Between the lines: The shared skepticism of the old economic consensus masks vastly different visions for what comes next. 🐘 On the right: "American economic policy on the right is now much more Alexander Hamilton than it is Milton Friedman," Vice President Vance told right-wing political commentator Michael Knowles last month. Translation: Vance believes the GOP's intellectual center of gravity is shifting away from free markets to a more interventionist government that promotes domestic industry. He joked that President Trump threatened to seize an AI company's equity and "no one protested." In practice, the pivot means that Trump has embraced tariffs and taken stakes in individual companies, among other policies. This week, the president celebrated Walmart's decision to lower prices and urged other retailers to follow suit. 🫏 On the left: Democratic socialists, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, argue that government, not markets, should guarantee affordable housing, health care and other basic necessities. The movement is showing fresh political muscle following Mamdani's rise in New York, and a wave of DSA-backed victories in New York and Colorado that have establishment Democrats increasingly on edge. The new socialist candidates oppose the idea that markets should decide who gets health care, housing, child care or power at work — a close left-wing mirror image of Vance's belief that markets should serve broader social goals, not dictate them. The big picture: No single economic event explains the unraveling of the market-first consensus. Consider how slow-moving economic forces have built on each other: The China shock, the 2008 financial crisis, decades of soaring housing and health care costs, the pandemic and the inflation surge — all eroded confidence in the economic status quo. Social media amplified those shocks, giving Americans a window into how other people live, making wealth disparities, housing inequities and economic frustration feel more immediate and personal. 👀 Reality check: The shift is far from universal. Trump paired tariffs and industrial policy with traditional Republican priorities — including corporate tax cuts, deregulation and a generally business-friendly agenda. Even some democratic socialists have embraced supply-side ideas in housing, arguing that government should both build more homes and lower barriers to construction.

DSA candidates are winning Democratic primaries — can they do it in Florida? The recent electoral successes by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates in New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado has sparked vituperative responses from Republicans and establishment Democrats around the country. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/10/dsa-candidates-are-winning-democratic-primaries-can-they-do-it-in-florida/? 11th Circuit crushes Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’ at state universities Instead of the state determining what will be taught in university classrooms, students must be free to hear and consider even officially disfavored ideas presented to them by professors, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/07/eleventh-circuit-crushes-floridas-stop-woke-act-at-state-universities/? Florida suit against college accreditation process dismissed again A federal appeals court affirmed Monday dismissal of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2023 challenge to the college accrediting process, which he believes enforces diversity and related interests he considers “woke.” https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/07/06/florida-suit-against-college-accreditation-process-dismissed-again/?

Trump Lays Out His Own Assassination Revenge Fantasy The president explained the “instructions” to be acted upon should he fall victim to an Iranian plot. President Donald Trump delved into the “instructions” he has left behind in case Iran assassinates him, and they sound like one of his furious Truth Social posts. Trump, 80, spoke about his plans for posthumous revenge in an interview with The New York Post, as his war with Iran stretches into its fifth month and after he called a tenuous peace agreement “over” due to the resumption of hostilities. “I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” Trump said, echoing comments he made this week in Ankara, Turkey, at a NATO summit. “…The only thing is, I’ve left instructions—if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before,” he continued. There have been Iran-linked threats to Trump dating back to at least 2020, when a U.S. drone strike killed one of the country’s top generals, Qasem Soleimani. When Trump was in Turkey this week, according to CNN, Israeli intelligence informed U.S. officials of an Iranian plot to assassinate him. Trump hurriedly left the country on a different plane than the one he flew in on, telling reporters later that they were still on a “dangerous” flight “because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with.” At least one version of Trump’s instructions to hit back in the event of his death in an Iranian attack has been around since shortly after he took office for a second time in January 2025.“If they did that, they would be obliterated,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office then. “That would be the end. I’ve left instructions.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether any details in Trump’s instructions have changed since the war began. Some of Trump’s social media posts about an elusive peace deal have been just as dramatic as his instructions to his successor. In early April, he warned that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again”—unless a deal was reached. Chief negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, have been criticized for failing to bring an end to the conflict. “They’re business guys. They have not been effective in Ukraine, not been effective in Gaza. They have not been effective in this,” Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said this week. “They can’t have three portfolios to begin with. We have a State Department for a reason.” The duo could continue trying to negotiate with Iran, Trump said, but it’s “just a waste of time dealing with them.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-lays-out-his-own-assassination-revenge-fantasy/?

New York Yankees team up with a national nonprofit to provide lawn care to neighbors in need. (More) Eight-year-old girl fights through tears to complete the final stage of her black belt test. (More, w/video) Fisherman rescues 220-pound sea turtle tangled in thick ropes. (More, w/video) England fan who spent his life savings to take his grandfather to the World Cup gets a surprising deposit in his bank account. (More) Man dives into the Maldives waters to retrieve an engagement ring for his now-fiancée. (More, w/video) Today, we're sharing a story from reader Matt K. in Maine. "My neighbor and I disagree vehemently about almost everything: religion, politics, sexuality, etc. But when I had a water leak, he came over and helped me replace all the damaged flooring. (More accurately, he did most of the work and I helped!) That's what real community is."

Meta ditches Muse Image AI feature because it ‘misses the mark’ on users’ privacy Meta was criticised for feature launched on Tuesday that automatically lets users generate images using content from public Instagram accounts https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/11/meta-ditches-muse-image-ai-feature-instagram-privacy?

Man arrested on suspicion of Ann Widdecombe’s murder is released Devon and Cornwall police say 26-year-old man no longer part of investigation after former MP found dead at home in Haytor https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/11/man-arrested-on-suspicion-of-ann-widdecombes-is-released-not-part-of-investigation?

Europe considering proposals to allow navigation fees in strait of Hormuz Plans specify tolls must not be compulsory as US officials urge Iran to make public guarantee of safe passage for shipping https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/11/europe-considers-proposals-navigational-fees-strait-of-hormuz-iran-us?

The first movie ever to put out a motion-picture soundtrack was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. James

Trump is enabling Musk and DOGE to flout conflicts of interest What is the potential cost to U.S. families? https://www.epi.org/publication/trump-is-enabling-musk-and-doge-to-flout-conflicts-of-interest-what-is-the-potential-cost-to-u-s-families/? The right wing has always had an asymmetric power to destroy—DOGE makes it much worse In parliamentary systems, winning an election gives one party control of both legislative and executive powers. This means there are big policy swings after elections when parties switch. In the United States presidential system, the separation of powers combined with legislative chokepoints—like the Senate filibuster—means that opportunities for very large policy swings are much less common. https://www.epi.org/blog/doge-power-to-destroy/? At least 26 states have launched their own version of DOGE The Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has wrought havoc on the federal government, diminishing its ability to perform essential work—like administering Social Security benefits for retirees, weather forecasting to predict tornadoes, and environmental pollution cleanup—while creating new inefficiencies and increased public costs. Now, many Republican governors and state lawmakers are demonstrating their loyalty to the Trump administration by setting up state-level versions of DOGE. https://www.epi.org/blog/at-least-26-states-have-launched-their-own-version-of-doge-these-states-are-simply-rebranding-longstanding-efforts-to-undermine-government-in-service-of-the-wealthy/? What is DOGE doing to Social Security? Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attacks on Social Security aren’t about efficiency. The word “efficiency” may be in the name of his initiative to reduce the size of the federal government, but a more accurate description of what President Trump’s advisor is doing to Social Security is sabotage. https://www.epi.org/blog/what-is-doge-doing-to-social-security/? ps:These are a little more than a year ago, but still relevant!!

I was fortunate to learn from Jewish teachers who treasured the word of God, especially torah and tehillim, [Psalms]. The torah teacher employed a sort of call and response. He would translate English verses recited back into Hebrew to locate the verse, then respond. If prayers for the dead did any good, he would be way up on my list. The other gentleman who was kind of a tzaddik taught me enough Hebrew that we could read the Bible together. I would read the verse in Hebrew, then he would free translate it into English and we would discuss it. Another great soul I hope to see in heaven. Learning Hebrew from him was a real spiritual experience, not an academic one. As a young man, he learned Yiddish so he could talk with his Polish grandfather.

Kinship's current president, on the Spectrum blog, recently boasted about having sex with another man. Kinship is no longer simply a "safe place" for GLBTQ people. It has become a marketing platform for homosexuality: Sex is great… but attractions are ultimately about love and then whatever results from that love. Floyd Poenitz comment on Spectrum article “An Adventist physician examines same-sex attraction.” April 29, 2026. When Floyd refers to "whatever happens from there" it reminded me of a guy who hit on me in the laundry room at Andrews University. He invited me to his home to listen to music, hug, and "see where it goes from there." There was an implied threat of violence in my response. Now some people will lament the unChristian attitude of an implied threat of violence. They are ok with a guy looking to get sodomized and perform oral sex on another [young] man? Violence is generally eschewed by Christians but so is homosexuality. I'm not advocating violence against the gay community. The less sanctified, however, might experience that as a gut level response. Hiking around the high desert, I immediately killed rattlesnakes when I saw them, It was a gut level reaction, like swatting at a mosquito buzzing in my ear or killing cockroaches. Real brotherly love leads to prayer, praise, and God's word, not homoeroticism. On another occasion, I was fooling around in W. Hollywood one evening. I happened into a shop which sold products for gay sex. These included special lubricants and might have included devices to mitigate the physical damage caused by homosexual activity. I said to the proprietor that I understood brotherly love but thought the gay community was taking it too far. He responded "~This isn't about love, its pure lust."

I figured that! What I've notice from pretty much all Jewish Rabbis, or those that consider themselves Bible experts pretty much quote and/or use there own writings instead of what the Bible says or the first 5 books in the Bible!!

The “Poisoned Breakfast” Legend of Medieval France A popular historical anecdote claims that in a certain French city during the Middle Ages, married women would slip a small dose of poison into the breakfast they prepared for their husbands each morning. Later, in the evening, when the men returned home, the wives would serve them an antidote, ensuring they remained healthy. How the Practice Was Supposed to Work Morning: Wives added a harmless (or very mild) poison to the husband’s food. Evening: Upon return, the wife would give the antidote, neutralizing the poison. If the husband stayed away too long: The antidote would be missed, and the poison’s effects would appear — symptoms like nausea, headaches, depression, vomiting, pain, or shortness of breath. When he finally returned: The wife would unknowingly “cure” him, and he would feel better within minutes. Purpose and Effect The idea was to create the impression that being away from home caused illness and despair, while home and the wife restored health. This was meant to encourage husbands to return promptly, strengthening marital loyalty and domestic order mysuperliving.wordpress.com+1.Historical Context and SkepticismWhile the story is widely told in folktales and popular history, there is no solid historical evidence that this was a widespread or documented practice in medieval France Skeptics Stack Exchange. The Affair of the Poisons (1679–1680) did reveal that poison use was common among French society, but it involved criminal and occult activities, not marital control Britannica. The “poisoned breakfast” tale is more likely a folkloric or apocryphal story than a verified historical fact.SummaryThe “French omen” you refer to is a legendary tale about medieval wives using poison and antidote to keep husbands close. It’s a clever, dramatic story about control and love, but historians generally treat it as a folk tradition rather than a confirmed historical practice.

There is not a problem with respecting the leader of the country and being patriotic. Americans may prefer various immigrants, legal and illegal, marching around with flags of the nation they renounced when they became citizens or guests in America, or just criminals. Citizens of countries such as Thailand and China respect their leaders. Try marching around with a foreign flag, fighting the police, denouncing the country's leader, find out what it is like to be arrested and deported. In a place like China, where the Taiping rebellion took place, authorities have good reason to be wary of Christianity. The leader of the Taiping was reputedly a Sabbath keeper, claimed to be the brother of Jesus. Later, Adventists, in particular, were hated by the communist administration when Mao came to power. Had the SDA preached Christ instead of denouncing Mao as an antiChrist, the history of SDAs in China might be different. Emphasizing with the political implications of Daniel, instead of the purging of the conscience by the blood of Christ has consequences.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/07/report-10000-christians-arrested-china-as-xi-jinpings/ Christians across Communist China are being arrested, detained and effectively “disappeared” for worshipping outside state-controlled churches, according to a major investigation by The Telegraph. The report details accounts from underground Christians who say police have raided homes in the middle of the night, separated families and imprisoned pastors as the regime intesifies its campaign against independent religious groups. One Christian identified only as “TJ” recalled police smashing into his home before dragging away his wife. “They grabbed my clothes and grabbed my hands so I couldn’t move. I could hear my daughter crying so much in the room next door but I couldn’t go to her, I couldn’t hug my wife.” His wife remains in custody, according to The Telegraph. China officially permits Christianity only through churches controlled by the Communist Party, where congregations are expected to display portraits of Xi Jinping and demonstrate loyalty to the regime. X trackers and content blocked Your Firefox settings blocked this content from tracking you across sites or being used for ads. Content from blocked embed Police have arrested thousands across China in a drive to shut down underground churches. The Telegraph spoke to six Chinese Christians who have either been targeted by the CCP or have incarcerated relatives. These are their stories ⬇️https://t.co/qCQwBUJZ5p pic.twitter.com/1G9M63RYMZ — The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 12, 2026 Millions instead worship in underground churches, placing them at risk of arrest. According to The Telegraph, ChinaAid founder Bob Fu estimates more than 10,000 Christians have been arrested during Xi’s rule. Recent raids reportedly targeted Beijing’s Zion Church and the Early Rain Covenant Church, with dozens detained. Pastor Jun Yang told the newspaper authorities spent months attempting to build cases against church leaders before arresting members. “They were trying to look for excuses to see if they could set a trap for me.” Yang escaped only because he was overseas when police raided his home. His wife was arrested instead. China’s embassy rejected allegations of persecution, insisting it “manages religious affairs in accordance with the law” and accusing “anti-China forces” of spreading disinformation. But Christians see little hope while Xi remains in power. “Once Xi Jinping is still the chairman in China, I don’t think anything will be better and if the persecution is not better, that means we cannot have our church and we are in danger anytime,” he added.

July 11, 2026 Good morning. We think and dream and fuss and project entire worlds into existence. Meanwhile, the earth’s orbit continues and the sun goes on shining. María Jesús Contreras Gravitational pull By Melissa Kirsch Earlier this week, the earth reached its greatest distance from the sun, a point known as “aphelion.” It seems counterintuitive that Earth reaches aphelion in summer, but it’s the planet’s tilt, not its proximity to the sun, that gives us the season. At aphelion, we’re about 94.5 million miles from the sun, a distance so vast as to be unfathomable. What we can fathom: our two feet pressing into Earth, taking up just inches of space. We’re here, now, in this room, in this house, in this town, a body and a mind and five senses taking in as much as we can. We’re so small, but so powerful that we can think and dream and fuss and project entire worlds into existence. And then we think those worlds are the entire universe. Meanwhile, the earth’s orbit continues, the sun goes on shining. Easier to conceptualize: On July 2 at noon, we reached the exact middle of 2026, 182.5 days on either side. We can’t feel this any more than our distance from the sun, but we understand days. We understand the year and its cadence. We can picture the calendar in our minds, our equal distance from last January and next December. I picture the year as a sea, and I’m treading water right here in the middle, two shores equidistant. Of course, there’s no choice but to head for the far coast; the tides will have it no other way. This coming Friday, Christopher Nolan’s cinematic interpretation of “The Odyssey” opens. Odysseus is hardly a man to tread water in the middle of a punishing sea, but he gets aid from the gods when he’s drowning: “The current ceased; the River God restrained / the waves and made them calm. He brought him safe / into the river mouth.” It takes Odysseus 10 years to make it home from the war. Ten aphelia, 10 summers, 10 midpoints from which to look forward and look back. Once you know we’re around the midpoint of the year, taking stock becomes irresistible. How’s the year going? According to plan? What’s happened so far? What’s done and what’s still to be done? This sort of audit feels productive; we mustn’t waste time! But what if we’re just here in the middle, observing without judgment, without toiling in one direction or another? There’s a brief moment in the tidal cycle called “slack water,” when the current is momentarily still, neither going out nor coming in. The cycle of flooding and ebbing stops as the tide changes direction. It’s a reset, a breath-taking, a brief pause in the action. If the ocean can cease for a moment its relentless surging, then it certainly seems possible that we can too. THE LATEST NEWS Immigration A memorial at the site where an ICE agent shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo this week. Meridith Kohut for The New York Times An ICE agent shot and killed a Mexican immigrant who officials said had tried to run over an agent with his van. But three witnesses disputed the government’s account, and the mayor of Houston says the city will investigate the shooting. The shooting highlighted a surge in ICE activity: Daily arrests doubled in the last week of June and continue to climb. Detainees at an ICE detention center in Newark complained about dirty, unhealthy living conditions. Records obtained by The Times corroborate their claims. Homeland Security said it had deported an immigrant just weeks after Minnesota state officials pardoned him for a 2005 child abuse conviction. An aging assassin helped plot a car bombing that killed two people in 1976, but then became a U.S. ally in the Cold War. Fifty years later, he’s been detained. Will ICE deport him? Climate The Trump administration moved to allow farming, drilling and mining in the habitats of endangered animals. Environmentalists called it the most severe cut to wildlife protections in 50 years. The E.P.A. fired an official who wrote a memo requiring a fish farm to track microplastics, accusing him of trying to embarrass the agency. The Trump administration picked a climate science critic with no training in climate science to lead an official report on how climate change affects the U.S. More on Politics The bipartisan housing bill became law late last night, after President Trump refused to sign it but also chose not to veto it. The new Air Force One donated by Qatar, which President Trump flew on to Turkey this week, was not retrofitted with the same defensive features as the old model, officials said. On Friday, the Trump administration issued subpoenas to Times reporters who wrote about the plane. Maine Democrats plan to hold a convention in two weeks to replace Graham Platner, who suspended his Senate campaign after a rape allegation. Middle East Since the fragile cease-fire in Iran broke this week, the U.S. has ramped up its attacks, striking more than 170 targets over two days. Those include air defense systems, drone and missile storage and a railway bridge. Iran’s supreme leader has been conspicuously absent, fueling speculation. Other Big Stories Hundreds of people had to be rescued after torrential rain led to flash flooding in southeastern Missouri, officials said. New York City officials have opened a preliminary criminal inquiry into what caused columns inside a Midtown building to buckle this week, The Times has learned. The U.S. approved plans to test a giant satellite mirror, whose purpose is to reflect sunlight toward Earth and illuminate areas during the night. THE WEEK IN CULTURE Film and TV From left, Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in a scene from “The Invite.” A24, via Associated Press Olivia Wilde’s raucous dinner-party sex comedy “The Invite” is a model of comic tension. Watch her dissect an icy scene with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton. The live-action remake of the 2016 animated film “Moana” has nothing to add to the original, and winds up subtracting from it instead, our critic writes. A man who invested $300,000 in the studio behind the hit Christian historical drama “The Chosen” said he and thousands more investors were cut out of profits. “Survival of the Thickest,” the Netflix rom-com series, showed how clichés can be transgressive — thanks to an irresistible performance by Michelle Buteau, our critic writes. Music Justin Bieber and Burna Boy will join Madonna, Shakira and BTS in the inaugural halftime show for the World Cup final on July 19. Dolly Parton is celebrating her 81st birthday with a Broadway musical about her life. More Culture The New York Times The Lebanese National Theater in Beirut has sheltered displaced families during the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Our reporter Christina Goldbaum met with some of those families. Click above to watch her video. French and British police forces transported an 11th-century embroidery known as the Bayeux Tapestry — regarded as one of the world’s great artworks — to the British Museum in a secret nighttime operation. In Pathologic, the horror video game series, eerie theatrics unfold in a Russian town overrun by plague. And no matter how good you are, failure is inevitable. Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. REAL ESTATE Don Schroeder in Arlington, Va. Caroline Gutman for The New York Times The Hunt: After unexpectedly losing his wife, Don Schroeder had to do something he’d never considered — find a home for just himself. What did he choose? Play our game. Pick your favorite: For $1.4 million, choose from a Queen Anne Revival in St. Paul, Minn.; a 1920s house in Central Valley, N.Y.; and a midcentury ranch in Miami. ‘Disaster mansion’: First-time buyers won an abandoned house at a Kingston, N.Y., tax auction. Eight years later, they’re still restoring it. LIVING Cameron Blaylock Saving green: A Houston couple and their architect used “common materials in an intelligent way” to create an efficient home. Even with floor-to-ceiling windows, their energy bills are only a couple of dollars a month. D.I.Y.: You should know how your house works. Here’s a guide. For the host with the most: Invited to a party this summer? These ikebana vases, botanical paper crowns and themed napkins make creative, thoughtful gifts. ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER Your pillow is probably too soft If you find yourself waking up with a sore neck, it might be time to reconsider your pillow. Our heads are like 10-pound bowling balls, and our pillows need to be firm enough to support them and maintain neutral spinal alignment through the night. Some tips: Try lying on the pillow for at least 30 minutes to see how it compresses. Consider swapping down for latex or foam, which research suggests are the best at reducing morning neck pain. And remember that pillows have a break-in period — so be patient before you decide whether it’s a keeper. Wirecutter’s experts have several favorites to kick-start your search. — Shaena Montanari NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was bottleful. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week’s headlines. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Crossplay, Connections and Strands. 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THIS DAY IN HISTORY July 11 1804 Aaron Burr slays Alexander Hamilton in duel In one of the most famous duels in American history, Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shoots his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton near Weehawken, New Jersey. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 1970s 1978 Gas fire incinerates crowded campsite, killing hundreds American Revolution 1782 British evacuate Savannah, Georgia Arts & Entertainment 1960 “To Kill a Mockingbird” published Black History 1905 Members of the Niagara Movement meet for the first time Civil War 1861 Union notches a victory at the Battle of Rich Mountain Cold War 1945 Soviets agree to cede power in sectors of Allied-controlled Berlin Space Exploration 1979 Skylab crashes to Earth Sports 1914 Babe Ruth makes MLB debut U.S. Government and Politics 1995 U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with Vietnam U.S. Presidents 1767 John Quincy Adams is born World War II 1944 Hitler is paid a visit by his would-be assassin

A Symbol of Power (Samuel Corum / Sipa USA / Reuters)   View in browser Donald Trump summoned the National Guard to Washington, D.C., last August in an attempt to “rescue” the city from “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.” Since then, the number of soldiers in the capital has ebbed and flowed as states have lent their own Guardsmen to the cause. A month ago, there were just under 3,000 members of the National Guard in the area; now there are more than 5,000. Officially, this “summer surge” was framed as a way to address an anticipated spike in visitors and activity around the capital for America’s ongoing 250th-birthday celebrations. But the National Guard is also involved in a much broader project known as the Safe and Beautiful mission—a federal initiative to clean up the city that Trump once described as a “rat-infested, graffiti-infested shithole.” Troops from across the country are currently stationed in the city, but their remit is not entirely clear, and their effect on violent crime remains limited. Eleven months into Trump’s experiment, they remain an ever-present symbol of the administration’s power. Last year, Trump declared a “crime emergency” in the city. Crime is a real problem in D.C., as it is in all cities. But the president’s framing of the situation as an emergency meriting the immediate assistance of outside forces (which are usually called in for dramatic upticks in civic unrest) doesn’t align with the numbers: Around the time when Trump first sent in the National Guard, violent crime in D.C. was hitting 30-year lows, in line with a national trend. The precise tasks involved in keeping D.C. “safe and beautiful” have so far been ill-defined; troops have spent time directing traffic, clearing out homeless encampments, raking leaves, and mulching flower beds. Their presence has had mixed results on crime in the city. In May, the Niskanen Center released data showing that the deployment seemed to have decreased opportunistic property crime, such as theft, by 24 percent—a notable downturn. The data also showed that the deployment had had no measurable effect on violent crime, which had already been declining when the National Guard arrived. (The Guardsmen whom Trump deployed to D.C. are not authorized to make arrests, but they can detain individuals.) The advantage of the National Guard is its flexibility, Richard Hahn, one of the study’s co-authors, told me. D.C. police have been “struggling to hire police officers for 10 years,” he said, but with the Guard, “you can command these soldiers to go to the city and police it.” Trump’s decision to deploy these soldiers has thoroughly spooked a populace that already distrusts the president. Roughly 80 percent of D.C. residents opposed the arrival of Guardsmen last year, according to one survey. The fear, as my colleagues Ashley Parker and Nancy A. Youssef put it at the time, is that “Washington is being used as a test case—the blueprint for Trump to deploy the National Guard across the country as a paramilitary police force—and that Americans are being conditioned to accept authoritarianism.” In February, a report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security indicated that the National Guard was using a variety of advanced data-collection tools (including the Defense Department’s AI-enabled Maven Smart System) in support of its duties, raising “potential privacy and civil liberties concerns.” Ever since the National Guard arrived in D.C., troops have been criticized for seeming to spend a lot of time just standing around. Just standing around can be a component of law enforcement—being a visible presence on the street is one way to deter opportunistic crime—but it also generates unease. Jeffrey Butts, the director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told me that the fear this deployment has created is likely part of the point. “This is not about crime, and it’s not about policing,” he argued. “It’s politics and demonstrations of state power.” Many Republican-led states have dispatched their Guardsmen to the capital, but a few states with Democratic governors have also quietly lent their support. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer sent approximately 170 of her state’s Guardsmen to D.C. as part of the summer surge. This week, a coalition of watchdogs and observers signed a letter urging her to withdraw the state’s troops and expressing concern that Guardsmen are carrying out operations unrelated to the July 4th celebrations. “When the governors put their Guard forces in the hands of the Trump administration, they are trusting the Trump administration not to misuse their Guard forces,” Elizabeth Goitein, a contributor to The Atlantic and a senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice—an organization that signed the letter—told me. “The administration, to put it mildly, has not earned that trust.” Whitmer herself has expressed some skepticism about the administration’s plans for the troops. About two weeks ago, she wrote her own letter to the head of the Michigan National Guard warning him to “take all necessary measures” to keep the state’s troops focused on bolstering security for the festivities—and to keep them away from the more nebulous Safe and Beautiful mission. She added that if Michigan National Guard leadership is unwilling or unable to keep them focused solely on security for the anniversary festivities, she plans to withdraw the troops altogether. Another blue-state governor, Tim Walz, recently made the decision to pull Minnesota’s Guardsmen from D.C. earlier than expected, although a spokesperson for the state’s National Guard told the AP that the decision was due to “the successful conclusion of festivities.” The AP also reported this week that the one member of the Kentucky Guard who’d been sent to D.C. had been diverted away from the 250th-anniversary celebrations “without the knowledge or consent” of the state’s governor or its Guard command, per a spokesperson for the Democratic governor. The Guardsman returned to Kentucky before the main events began. Hawaii’s adjutant general, Major General Stephen F. Logan, confirmed to me that the state’s troops, who began their duties in D.C. on Monday, will not be supporting the Safe and Beautiful mission either. The longer these troops remain in the city, the more fear and anger they may inspire. The tension between the people and the troops has already exploded into violence; in November, two Guardsmen were shot and seriously injured. The deployment may have reduced some kinds of crime, but there’s more than one way to measure its effect on the city. Related: A terrible and avoidable tragedy in D.C. Why is the National Guard in D.C.? Even they don’t know. (From 2025)

US demands Iran publicly state that Strait of Hormuz is open and Tehran won’t attack ships anymore WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is demanding that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor won’t be attacked anymore, senior U.S. officials said Friday, adding that internal Tehran power struggles have made it difficult to reach and keep a deal. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-israel-war-hormuz-july-10-2026-4bf4fdd1f4d782ff08f60d152909faee?