07/08/26
Good morning! It’s Wednesday, July 8th
National Ice Cream Sundae Day
A sundae day again?!
What a country we live in.
I mean… what a country we live in but also… what a country we live in!
And now, the news.
Update: Iran
Starting in Iran where, following the Iranian military’s attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the US first said they were revoking the waivers that allowed Iran to sell oil (those waivers were issued in the memo of understanding that got signed) and then, later on Tuesday, the US military announced that they’d launched a series of strikes against Iran, also in response to Iran’s strikes.
This just happened right as I started to hit record, and it’s the middle of the night in Tehran, so I don’t know what happens from here but I do think it’s noteworthy that the US called Iran’s strikes a clear violation of the ceasefire.
Trump + NATO
-via AP News
Trump, meanwhile, is at the NATO summit (NATO, of course, being the thing that Trump keeps trying to break out of so that’s gotta be a super awkward visit).
Tuesday was day one and he started strong right out the gate by… jumping right back on his Greenland game again.
That’s right.
I know we’d all thought he’d seen something shiny and he’d maybe forgotten about Greenland but, alas, someone must have reminded him about the island.
So there was that little gem. And then there was more plane stuff…
Turkey joined NATO in 1952.
In 2001, the US created something called the F-35 program. Basically, the goal of program was to streamline things. Instead of making different fighter jets for the Marines, Navy, Air Force, etc, this program made one family of aircraft and then things could be changed a little bit based on the needs of the different branches of the military.
Not every NATO country is a part of it, but Turkey was one of the original joiners.
That was until 2019, when the country went rogue and bought a Russian missile defense system, which raised fears that Russia could learn how to track the jet.
Russia is famously not a part of NATO. It’s also, famously, not a country you want knowing how to track military fighter jets.
Remind me who was president in 2019 and therefore gave the thumbs up on kicking Turkey out of the F-35 program?
Oh yeah… Trump.
Well Trump 2.0 is different (worse, actually) and at this NATO summit announced that he was lifting sanctions against Turkey and may even sell them jets again. But just because he wants it, doesn’t mean it’s a lock. As long as Turkey has those jets, there are still laws that make it difficult for Turkey to buy those jets. Not to mention the fact that lawmakers here in the states, as well as over in Israel, aren’t fans of Trump’s hopes and dreams.
Still though, this is a significant step in Trump’s friendship with a leader who has spent more than twenty years consolidating power by centralizing state institutions, limiting independent journalism, and expanding his executive control by reshaping the constitution. In other words… not exactly a guy you want Trump spending time around and learning lessons from.
Manhattan Building
-via ABC News
In Midtown Manhattan, several buildings have been evacuated after construction workers found that the beams of a huge office building that was being renovated into an apartment building were buckling at the 21st floor.
As of this recording, there is some movement in the building so it’s not stable yet. The fear is, obviously, a collapse of any kind. Here, it’s an internal one that would be most likely. The possibility of the building fully collapsing onto the street is unlikely, per the fire chief.
ICE Shooting in Houston
-via NBC News
In Houston, a man died in the hospital after being fatally shot by an ICE officer on Tuesday.
It happened during a traffic stop that the officer then attempted to turn into an immigration arrest.
From there he, according to ICE officials and stop me if you’ve heard this before… the man weaponized his vehicle, and the ICE officer shot in self-defense.
The FBI is investigating the potential assault on a federal officer… but not the shooting.
Great.
There were witnesses to the shooting, several of whom took pictures and video. We’ll see what actually happened when all of that comes out.
Sure, Mitch
As Mitch McConnell’s mysterious hospitalization carries well past its third week, with no actual answers about what’s going on, two Senate Republican leaders have decided to… well I’m not going to out-and-out call them a liar. But I think to take these statements on their face would be disingenuous.
First we’ve got Senate Majority Leader Thune saying they had what he says was a “lengthy and substantive conversation.”
And then the Senate Republican Whip said he spoke for 20 minutes with McConnell. The Whip’s aide said, “Sen. McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”
I… probably not!
Fully engaged?
Let’s play pretend. I’m not a doctor, I’m not there… but let’s pretend this dude’s healthy as a horse and even after being found unconscious on June 14th where the medics had to immediately start CPR, and now 3+ weeks later he’s still in the hospital…
Given all of those factors, plus he’s 84, but also, pretending that he’s incredibly healthy, we’re still looking at fatigue. Possible confusion. Reduced stamina, leading to shorter conversations.
And this dude isn’t exactly as healthy as a horse, ya know?
Again, I’m not going to call them liars but I’m not going to do you a disservice and just tell you what was said on Tuesday without telling you that we should be skeptical.
Oh, speaking of Senate news (and I guess men lying)… a second woman has come forward to describe the physical abuse she endured while dating Graham Platner, including saying that he repeatedly grabbed her, sometimes hard enough to leave bruises, and once locked her in her bedroom. She also said that, multiple times, he secretly removed his condom while they were having sex.
That IS a form of sexual assault. Platner might be able to lie to himself about that, but even if so, that doesn’t mean it’s NOT assault.
Platner calls these allegations false and politically motivated.
I call these women brave and Platner just a fraction of a man who needs to drop out and get therapy.
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Hey, I’m gonna take off the rest of this week and all of next week. I’ll tell ya why. It’s summer.
Am I doing things? Not technically, no. But, you know… I’m trying to write. I’m trying to… well no I guess that’s about it.
I’m just gonna take a cute little break. A cheeky little break. And then I’ll be back before you even know it.
I’m proud of sundaes. And Sundays. And word plays.
But more than all of that – because you top than a playful play full of sundae toppings on a Sunday… I’m proud of you.