THE THREATDOWN: The price of oil is rising again after Houthi rebels in Yemen claim to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as the Iran war spreads to a second choke point for the oil industry.

Saudi officials said one of the tankers was on fire.

President Trump is making drastic threats to Iran, while also claiming that they desperately want to make a peace deal. Trump posted on his Truth Social in all caps as if that will make them take him more seriously: “FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, ANY TIME THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN SHOOTS AT A SHIP IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, WHETHER IT BE BY MISSILE, ROCKET, DRONE, OR ANY OTHER DEVICE OR WEAPON, THE UNITED STATES WILL BOMB AND DESTROY ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, INCLUDING THOSE LOCATED NEXT TO, OR IN, THE CAPITAL CITY OF TEHRAN.”

The NY Times analyzed satellite photos and video, finding that despite near-daily claims by the administration that Iran’s military is all but wiped out, Iran has hit nine US installations across the Middle East in the last two weeks, inflicting damage to living quarters, work areas, drone shelters, and radar systems.

THE WAR BILL: The House yesterday passed its $1.15 trillion defense policy bill that would cover the rising costs of the Iran war by a margin of only four votes. It dedicates $95 billion to the war. Six Democrats supported the measure, and seven Republicans opposed it.

The bill could stumble in the Senate.

Republicans who spoke in support of the funding bill said little about its primary purpose, funding the war. Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas described the effort as “supporting our troops in their time of need” and that it was just a matter of “base-line battlefield readiness.”

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE: President Trump is capitalizing on the admission by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill that a programming flaw at the motor vehicles department resulted in 6,600 non-citizens being registered to vote and 400 of them actually voting. He posted, “A CROOKED ELECTION SYSTEM!!! SAVE AMERICA!!!”

The problem occurred under Sherrill’s predecessor.

Trump also posted that, “35,152 IS THE NEW NUMBER JUST RELEASED BY HOMELAND SECURITY OF NON-CITIZENS REGISTERED TO VOTE IN NEW JERSEY. THESE ARE JUST THE ONES THAT GOT CAUGHT. THE REAL NUMBERS WILL PROVE TO BE MANY TIMES THIS AMOUNT. THEY ARE ALL DUMOCRATS!”

The Homeland Security estimate did not say the non-citizens are all Democrats or how it arrived at that number.

ROGUE INTELLIGENCE: As engineers in Silicon Valley race to make artificial intelligence smarter than humans, ChatGPT maker OpenAI reports an incident that feeds the fear of AI capabilities.

The company says it is still investigating the “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of a segregated testing environment and hack into another AI company.

OpenAI said Tuesday two of its most capable AI models were responsible for carried out the cyberattack targeting AI startup Hugging Face.

INFINITE SCROLL:

— Before attending the dignified transfer of the bodies of four soldiers killed in the Iran war last weekend, President Trump told reporters, “all of them said very strongly we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

At least 18 US service members have been killed. Trump did not reveal the opinions of the other 14.

— The Trump administration is deploying a previously unused tool to force undocumented immigrants to leave the country of their own volition … fines for overstaying their welcome.

The law sets a fine of $998 for each day a person stays in the US after a judicial order that they must leave. The NY times reports that as many as 100,000 people have received notices that the government plans to collect, including seizing tax returns. Such fines have been the law since 1996 but no previous administration has enforced them.

The Times cites one woman who was informed that she owes $1,820,352. The immigrants who have overstayed face financial ruin or abandoning the lives they have built in the US. Customs and border protection is offering forgiveness for people who choose to “self deport.”

— Programs to fight teen pregnancy are having their funding cut by the Trump administration, which claims they are promoting sex and safe sex rather than the surest way to prevent conception … abstinence.

THE SPIN RACK: Protests broke out in Madison, Wisconsin last night after a police officer shot and killed a man during an attempted arrest. Police say the man confronted the officer with a knife. Graphic video taken by a bystander spread quickly online. — The former head of the Miss Hall’s boarding school for girls in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has been indicted on charges of reckless endangerment accusing her of trying to squelch reports of sexual misconduct by members of the staff. One former teacher faces rape charges. — European Union regulators hit Google with a $1 billion fine, accusing the company of illegally undercutting competition through its dominance as an internet search engine. — The BBC reports that in a world of rising temperature even camels, “the ships of the desert,” are suffering and dying in extreme temperatures. — Sony pictures is re-opening the iconic Cinerama dome theater in Hollywood, which closed in 2020 during the covid pandemic.

BELOW THE FOLD: Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who’s 76, openly advised the 80-year-old President Trump to take off the month of August. He said, “I’ve noticed that he is hunching over a little bit and, that’s normal. you get older, every malady in the world is going to visit you.”

He suggested that Trump spend August playing golf.

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