memeorandum: Oman Tells Allies Ships Going Through Hormuz May Have to Pay (Bloomberg)

1:00 PM ET, June 26, 2026

Top Items:

The Rogue Supreme Court Blesses Ethnic Cleansing — Thursday was a decision day at the Supreme Court, and the American people got to enjoy the familiar experience of waiting on tenterhooks yet again to see which rights were going to be deleted this time. The answer was residency rights …

Associated Press:

WATCH: Stephen Miller says 'America's doors are closed fully to asylum seekers' after Supreme Court rulings — The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Thursday to allow the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria …

Kate Shaw / New York Times:

The Supreme Court Is Unshackling the Presidency — We have just witnessed another example of the Supreme Court's unshackling of the U.S. presidency. On Thursday morning the court issued a decision allowing the Trump administration to cancel Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of individuals from Haiti and Syria.

Discussion: MS NOW and SCOTUSblog

Washington Post:
Nursing homes, factory owners and immigrants brace for fallout from Supreme Court ruling

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, OutsideTheBeltway, CBS News, The Hill, Ohio Capital Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Floridian and MS NOW

José Olivares / The Guardian:
Supreme court conservatives accused of advancing ‘white-supremacist agenda’

Axios:

Behind the Curtain: The cost of blind loyalty — President Trump trained elected Republicans to obey him, even when they disagreed. — Elected Republicans trained Trump to expect obedience, even as his demands grew impossible to satisfy. … You see it everywhere:

Discussion: Salon, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Associated Press, The Guardian, New Republic, The Hill, The Independent, NewsNation, The Status Kuo and NBC News

Tyler Pager / New York Times:

How Trump's Political Agenda Is Shaped by His Own Obsessions — President Trump's priorities seem increasingly detached from the concerns of voters and his party. — President Trump says he doesn't care about the midterm elections. He says he doesn't think much about Americans' economic hardship resulting from the war in Iran.

Discussion: Semafor, GV Wire, Bloomberg, MeidasTouch and Slate

Brittany Gibson / Axios:
Trump hits a wall on voter fraud

Discussion: MS NOW, Raw Story, New Republic, Associated Press, Fox News, The Daily Caller and New York Times

The Atlantic:
The Meltdown — A desultory, grievance-filled speech on what should have been a joyous occasion.

Discussion: Raw Story and CBS News

Calen Razor / Politico:
Capitol agenda: House GOP agenda gets tenuous Trump lifeline

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, KRDO and E&E News

Wall Street Journal:

Ukraine's Growing Drone Armada Is Overwhelming Russia's Air Defenses — Long-range air campaign is causing embarrassment for the Kremlin — Denys Shtylerman was surprised how many of his company's drones were getting through as he watched footage of them slamming into an oil refinery …

Discussion: Financial Times, Straight Arrow, Bloomberg, The Kyiv Independent, American Greatness, Associated Press, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Bulwark and Semafor

Associated Press:

Ukraine unleashes one of its heaviest drone bombardments of Russia — Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major nighttime attack on 12 Russian regions as well as the Russia-held Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CBS News, UPI, The Kyiv Independent, Scripps News, Al Jazeera, New York Times, KRDO, Bloomberg and Reuters

Andrew Osborn / Reuters:
Russian hawks urge Putin to escalate war, drop US talks as Ukraine strikes deep

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Wall Street Journal:

How Iran Devastated an American Naval Base—and Caused a U.S. Recalculation — Satellite imagery reveals for the first time the extent of what Iran destroyed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain — When the Iranian missiles and drones came for the nerve center of America's naval operations …

Discussion: emptywheel and The Times of Israel

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton expected to plead guilty to retaining national security information — Bolton served as White House national security adviser during Trump's first term. — Former national security adviser John Bolton is expected to plead guilty in federal court on Friday …

Discussion: Reuters, Fox News, CNN, Washington Post, USA Today, CBS News, The Hill, The Guardian, RedState, The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, UPI, The Independent, KRDO, MS NOW and Washington Examiner

Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:

Ex-national security adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to illegally retaining classified information — Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term.

Emily Davies / New York Times:

Vance Downplays Watergate and Compares Himself to Nixon — The vice president said that the scandal that ended Richard Nixon's presidency would be “like a 12-hour news story” if it happened today and that the “deep state” had taken down Nixon. — Vice President JD Vance downplayed …

Discussion: GV Wire and Election Law Blog

Jordan Fabian / Bloomberg:
Vance Says Nixon's Watergate Wouldn't End a Presidency Now

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Washington Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, Newsweek, New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and HuffPost

Garrett Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
JD Vance and the Latest Nixon Cover-Up

Discussion: MS NOW, PREVAIL and Mediaite

Paul Kane / NOTUS:

A Far-Left Freedom Caucus Would Be a Nightmare for Jeffries — Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-New York) has a message for the far-left Democrats who won in Tuesday's primaries and are all but guaranteed to join Congress in January: tone it down. — But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) …

Discussion: The Mahablog and Fox News

ABC News: Can Democratic veterans running for Congress reclaim the patriotism narrative from the GOP?

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
The Democrats' true plan to control Congress doesn't involve socialists

Discussion: Mediaite, Townhall, NBC News and Jewish Insider

Adam Crafton / The Athletic:

FIFA clashes with Iran, Egypt over rainbow symbols at World Cup Pride Match — The Iran Football Federation wants FIFA to prevent any “ceremonies or promotional activities” in support of the LGBTQ+ community at a much discussed “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran on Friday in Seattle …

Discussion: Telegraph, The Guardian, Straight Arrow, KRDO, The Hill, PinkNews, Al Jazeera, The Post Millennial, Breitbart, Mediaite, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Examiner, Outsports and Forbes

Andrew Destin / Associated Press:
Iran and Egypt avoid talking about World Cup ‘Pride Match’ in Seattle

Discussion: Advocate, Bangor Daily News, PinkNews, RTÉ, twitchy.com and Outsports

Kobe Yank-Jacobs / The Argument:

Elon Musk's zero accountability life — Elon Musk goes berserk if you talk about USAID — Elon Musk really doesn't want you to say he's responsible for the deaths of millions. — Earlier this week, Musk threatened to sue Rep. Ro Khanna for charging him with destroying the U.S. Agency …

Discussion: The Daily Wire

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:

Judge orders DOJ to release more Epstein files — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to release additional unredacted Jeffrey Epstein records or explain by July 2 why it can't. … - The department has already released 3.5 million pages under the law …

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill, Straight Arrow, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Diane Ravitch's blog and The Independent

Politico:
Todd Blanche ‘conceded’ violating law on Epstein files, judge finds

Discussion: MS NOW, Talking Points Memo, Civil Discourse …, New York Post, Newsweek, Straight Arrow, Forbes, ABC News, Washington Times, NOTUS and Raw Story

William H. McRaven / The Atlantic:

Americans Deserve Answers From Hegseth — The president and the secretary of defense have a right to remove officers, but also an obligation to explain their actions. — In September 1862, General George B. McClellan, the general in chief of the Union Army, had just repelled …

Discussion: Stars & Stripes

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Trump says Iran violated ceasefire with drone attacks on Strait of Hormuz ships … President Donald Trump on Friday accused Iran of violating a ceasefire agreement with the United States by launching attack drones at ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, including a cargo vessel that was struck off the coast of Oman on Thursday.

Discussion: Bloomberg, CNN, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, Mediaite and Washington Times

Matt Peterson / CNBC:

Trump eases pressure on Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh as inflation tops 4% … With inflation topping 4%, the Trump administration is easing off its long-standing calls for the Federal Reserve to immediately cut interest rates. That is giving new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh an extended political grace period …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner and Deseret News

Michael Scherer / The Atlantic:

A White House Makeover, Brought to You by Struggling National Parks — Park projects are being defunded to cover President Trump's Washington renovation spree. — The pathway that connects the White House residence to the Oval Office has long been paved in Tennessee flagstone.

Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:

The Lincoln Memorial should be green with envy: This reflecting pool stayed clear … Still blue waters, abundant waterfowl, promenading tourists and barely a whiff of mildew — that is the vision President Donald Trump has struggled to turn into reality this month at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washingtonian and Business Insider

CNN:

FEMA official who claimed he teleported to Waffle House ousted from agency, sources say — Federal agencies Fighting disinformation — A top FEMA official who had drawn scrutiny for bizarre past remarks — including claiming he teleported to a Waffle House — has been pushed out of the agency, four sources tell CNN.

Discussion: MS NOW, Washingtonian, Rolling Stone, Raw Story, Washington Post, KRDO and Mediaite

Sam Levine / The Guardian:

Alarm over ‘extreme’ sentences for anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism — First amendment groups call 50-to-100-year prison terms chilling as legal experts say sentences unusually long — The decades-long prison sentences for a group of Texas activists convicted of terrorism …

Discussion: Common Dreams, Townhall and The Gateway Pundit

Rena Rowe / Washington Examiner:

DC to pay ‘significant amount’ to man who played Star Wars ‘Imperial march’ behind National Guard — A partial settlement has been reached in a First Amendment lawsuit filed by a Washington, D.C., man who was detained after protesting National Guard troops by playing the “Imperial March” from “Star Wars” behind them last year.

Discussion: The Hill and NPR

Bloomberg:

Oman Tells Allies Ships Going Through Hormuz May Have to Pay — Oman has told European officials there's no way of going back to the pre-war status quo with the Strait of Hormuz and transiting ships may have to be charged some fees, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Washington Times, Al Jazeera, Reuters and Mediaite

Mihir Zaveri / New York Times:

Mamdani's Rent Freeze Is Approved by New York City Board — Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pledge to freeze rents for rent-stabilized apartments became a centerpiece of his campaign. Six months into his first year, a city panel delivered. — A New York City panel voted on Thursday to freeze rents …

George Steer / Financial Times:

Donald Trump Jr set for Kalshi windfall after prediction platform gave him stake — Privately owned company's valuation has soared as US administration has adopted a light-touch approach to the sector — Donald Trump Jr was handed about $300,000 worth of equity in Kalshi after joining …

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