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“Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued unabated in southern Lebanon, casting fresh uncertainty over planned talks between the US and Iran to permanently end the war in the Middle East and curb Tehran’s nuclear program,” Bloomberg reports.
“Iran postponed negotiations that were meant to begin in Switzerland on Friday because of the ongoing fighting.”
“President Donald Trump on Friday claimed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was intentionally vandalized and said law enforcement is actively investigating, as the administration has scrambled to fix the pool’s recent deterioration just days after Trump’s nearly $15 million renovation,” CNN reports.
“U.S. intelligence agencies have warned the Trump administration that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to take steps that will undermine President Donald Trump’s effort to reach a lasting peace deal with Iran,” the Washington Post reports.
“Israel appears intent on maintaining military operations against Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, an aim that would flout a core element of the fledgling agreement that calls for an end to hostilities in that country, according to intelligence reports, including one circulated this week.”
WSJ Poll: “Those in the wealthiest classes have lost faith that an economy that has benefited them can lift future generations. Some 86% of people who call themselves upper class or upper-middle class say they lack confidence that life for their children will be better than theirs has been.”
“That’s up from 64% in a 2019 survey and shows a level of pessimism that matches the views of less-fortunate groups.”
NewsNation: American dream attainable? Fewer in new poll say anyone can achieve.
“President Trump reinforced his criticism of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, after the pair traded insults following their interaction at the Group of Seven summit in France this past week,” The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “She was a big fan.”
He added: “But I don’t want her as a fan because she was not there — along with the NATO group — having to do with the strait.”
“The friendship between former first lady Michelle Obama and former President George W. Bush was on display again Thursday at the Obama Presidential Center’s opening ceremony in Chicago,” CBS News reports.
“Ahead of the ceremony, Bush gifted Obama a tin of Altoids in a callback to one of their viral moments at the funeral for Sen. John McCain in 2018. The former president was caught sneaking Obama what was later said to be a cough drop during the funeral.”
“When Gavin Newsom made the startling announcement on Monday that he and his wife were under federal investigation, the California governor turned to a well-worn strategy: making political hay out of confrontation with President Trump,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Newsom, a Democrat, said in a social-media video that Trump was behind the Justice Department probe ‘because I am considering running for president.’ Less than three hours later, Newsom’s political-action committee sent out a fundraising plea urging supporters to help him ‘stand up to Trump and fight off this political witch hunt.'”
“Since Trump’s return to the White House, Newsom has used his bully pulpit to position himself as one of the most prominent faces of the Democratic Party’s resistance to the president.”
Mediaite: Gavin Newsom rages at Trump amid DOJ investigation.
The Economist: “The news is full of how an ignominious peace deal with Iran exemplifies a decline in American power. That conclusion could hardly be more wrong.”
“On June 12th the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to block foreigners from Fable and Mythos, its latest and most capable frontier AI models. In an instant, everyone learned that the American government can decide who may use the world’s most important technology. You don’t get much more powerful than that…”
“America must decide how to wield this vast new power. The rest of the world must decide what to do about it. Even as it plans for an unreliable America in everything from defence to trade, it now has to cope with a new way of being captive to the world’s biggest economy.”
Fast Company: Trump keeps kneecapping the U.S.’s most promising AI models.
President Trump privately called Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick a “pussy” after Lutnick pushed back on Trump’s obsession with tariffs at the height of the “Liberation Day” chaos, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “I remember when you were thirty-five, you were a killer. And now, you’ve got your beautiful wife, and your big house, and you’re just soft. And you’re a pussy. You know what you are? You’re a pussy.’”
“The Reflecting Pool on the National Mall has become the country’s most high-profile science experiment, with workers battling against nature,” The Atlantic reports.
“After a week of combat, they have essentially killed off one type of algae infesting the pool, only to create the conditions for a new type to take over. And Scenedesmus, a genus of green algae nicknamed ‘Skinny Dead Mouse’ by scientists, is now flourishing.”
“The Justice Department on Friday refused to issue a signed declaration from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche verifying that it no longer intends to pursue President Donald Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund,'” ABC News reports.
“The DOJ’s refusal comes after a federal judge last week gave the administration seven days to verify in a declaration that it wouldn’t create the controversial fund.”
CNBC: DOJ rebuffs judge’s request to put in writing it won’t move forward with anti-weaponization fund.
“The Air Force on Friday unveiled the Boeing 747-8 that will serve as the new Air Force One, giving the public the first look at the $400 million luxury plane the U.S. accepted as a gift from the Qatari government last year,” CBS News reports.
“The Air Force said in a release that the aircraft will begin ‘commissioning flights’ before entering into active service to transport the president.”
NewsNation: White House officials bid farewell to Air Force One planes used since 1990.
President Trump raged on Truth Social on Friday about his fragile peace deal with Iran.
Said Trump: “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”
He added: “The War has diminished Iran! It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago. Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid can some people be???”
“If you give Donald Trump an IQ test with the other 45, 46, presidents that the United States has had, I guarantee he’d be either near the top or at the top. The entire American media in 2016 had convinced me, at least, that he was not a smart person.”
— Vice President JD Vance, quoted by the Daily Beast.
Wall Street Journal: “Within days of the pool’s reopening, algae blooms coated the floor with a thick residue reminiscent of the neon green slime left behind by the Ghostbusters. Some of that algae has floated to the top and is streaking the surface.”
“That has attracted a parade of onlookers eager to see and, in some cases, diagnose the situation. The pool’s evolving shades of green have caused a stir on social media with many mocking the results of Trump’s pet project.”
New York Times: “In the first three months of the year, President Trump’s brokerage accounts placed more than 3,600 trades, as they bought and sold a wide variety of stocks and bonds, according to a disclosure form released last month.”
“On the surface, it appeared to be an unusual trading spree. In prior months, Mr. Trump typically reported a couple hundred trades or fewer. One disclosure last year showed only 25.”
“The cost to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has ballooned to more than $14.65 million — exceeding the original estimated cost of the no-bid contract by more than $4 million, according to federal contract data,” ABC News reports.
“In addition to the repainting by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the National Park Service paid $1.74 million to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company, earlier this year to install a ‘nano bubble’ system to kill algae, using a similar no-bid contract to speed up the work in time for Fourth of July celebrations.”
Mediaite: Owner of company responsible for part of Trump’s Reflecting Pool renovation pleaded guilty to bribery.
“The relationship between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans neared a breaking point this week as he upended their efforts to speedily confirm one of his own nominees and said he would not sign the renewal of a key surveillance law unless they agree to new terms,” Associated Press reports.
“The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his massive package of spending and tax cuts.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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