Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) called for an “end all U.S. military aid to Israel now.”

Said Massie: “Nothing can justify the number of civilian casualties (tens of thousands of women and children) inflicted by Israel in Gaza in the last two years.”

“Ukraine launched audacious drone attacks on four military airports inside Russia, destroying more than 40 warplanes in the biggest blow of the war against Moscow’s long-range bomber fleet,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The attack, dubbed ‘Spider’s Web,’ took a year and a half to prepare, officials at Ukraine’s main security and intelligence agency, the SBU, said on Sunday. Ukraine’s drones targeted Russia’s Belaya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo and Olenya air bases, all of which house Russian military planes.”

“The bombardment is a significant victory for Ukraine’s deep-strike program, which uses drones to target crucial materiel on Russia’s soil.”

Associated Press: Ukraine destroyed more than 40 military aircraft in a drone attack deep inside Russia, official says.

“The Israeli military announced on Saturday night that it had killed Muhammad Sinwar, one of Hamas’s top military commanders in Gaza, during airstrikes this month that targeted the vicinity of a hospital in southern Gaza,” the New York Times reports.

“Iran has continued to produce highly enriched uranium at a pace of roughly one nuclear weapon’s worth a month over the past three months despite talks between Washington and Tehran on a new nuclear deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“U.S. officials say it could take Iran less than two weeks to convert this highly enriched uranium into enough weapons-grade 90% fissile material for a nuclear weapon.”

“A trade truce between the U.S. and China is at risk of falling apart, as China’s slow-walking on rare-earth exports fuels U.S. recriminations that China is reneging on the deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Getting the pact together in Geneva earlier this month hinged on Beijing’s concession on the critical minerals.”

“The people say the U.S. trade negotiators presented their Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, with a demand that Beijing resume rare-earth exports. In return, the U.S. would agree to a 90-day tariff truce. He agreed to the demand in the final hours of marathon discussions with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.”

“The flurry of punitive measures taken against China by the Trump administration over the last few days was prompted by a belief among U.S. officials that China has failed to live up to commitments it made in trade talks earlier this month,” CNN reports.

“This week the administration made moves to revoke visas for Chinese students and suspend the sale of some critical technology to Chinese companies.”

“The officials said they are frustrated that China failed to follow through on the commitments that were meant to deescalate the trade conflict between the two countries, as they seek an overall deal by the middle of August.”

President Donald Trump on Friday said that China has “totally violated its” preliminary trade agreement with the United States, and suggested he would take action in response, CNBC reports.

Said Trump, on Truth Social: “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” 

“President Trump’s trade team is readying its Plan B,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The administration’s tariff strategy was undermined when a court this week found it was illegal for Trump to impose sweeping duties by using emergency economic powers. A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed his duties to stay in effect while the administration’s appeal moves forward, but U.S. officials are weighing their options should they need to find a new legal authority to impose the president’s steep tariffs, which he argues will help rebalance trade in America’s favor.”

“The potential pivot reflects the challenges to Trump’s aggressive trade policy, which relied on a novel interpretation of trade law. Typically, tariffs are imposed using targeted authority delegated to the president by Congress, but Trump’s team relied on little-used emergency powers to impose the bulk of his wide-ranging second-term tariffs quickly.”

“With that strategy under threat, the president’s team is weighing a twofold response.”

Washington Post: Trump’s use of emergency law to enact tariffs imperils trade war strategy.

Bloomberg: Trump’s tariff options slower, more complex if court fight fails.

“One day after a federal court declared many of his tariffs to be illegal, President Trump and his top aides rushed on Thursday to resuscitate the centerpiece of the administration’s trade agenda, seeking to restore their ability to use the threat of eye-watering import taxes to force other nations into submission,” the New York Times reports.

“Shortly after the ruling, the administration petitioned two sets of judges to allow it to continue imposing its tariffs, reflecting a growing fear throughout the White House that a legal defeat could severely undercut its capacity to wage a global trade war.”

Another federal judge has blocked President Trump’s tariff policy as unlawful.

This is a separate injunction by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. which is unrelated to the block issued yesterday by judges on the federal trade court.

Janan Ganesh: “For a movement that talks a good game about sovereignty, that defines itself against ‘globalists,’ MAGA is absolutely obsessed with foreign countries.”

Glenn Kessler: “Given numerous news reports about people dying because they stopped getting American aid, you would think Rubio’s staff would have prepared him with a better answer than ‘lie’ and ‘false.’ His cleanup response wasn’t much better. The issue is not that other nations are reducing funding — but how the United States suddenly pulled the plug, making it more likely that people would die.”

“There is no dispute that people have died because the Trump administration abruptly suspended foreign aid. One might quibble over whether tens of thousands — or hundreds of thousands — have died. But you can’t call it a lie. Rubio earns Four Pinocchios.”

“Russia has gathered 50,000 troops, including some of its most battle-hardened forces, on Ukraine’s northern border for an imminent offensive,” the Times of London reports.

Paul Krugman: “Presumably the Trumpists will try to undo this judgment, one way or another — exploiting other loopholes in the law, maybe trying to bully the Court into submission, maybe just defying the Court altogether. But this is a huge political defeat, and Trump has nobody to blame except his own overreach.”

“You can bet that trade negotiators around the world are snickering, and maybe celebrating with TACOs for lunch.”