DOGE slashed State Dept staff who would have gamed Hormuz closure and had industry ties. “In a normally functioning administration, I don’t know that we would have gotten here," said an ex official "because there would have been a process that would have examined the... effects."

The Shelby County (Missouri) Herald predicts that “television” will prevent people from ever leaving their homes.

So war aim one is to repair the damage caused by the decision to go to war in the first place?

Two Kushner stories today. 1. He’s raising billions from foreign governments while serving as Trump’s Mideast envoy. 2. Mediators in Iran talks view him as an Israeli asset who may have torpedoed deal to pull US into war. Is there even precedent for this level of corruption?

The Senegalese government has called for an "independent international investigation" into "suspected corruption" at African football's governing body after it stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and awarded it to Morocco. bbc.co.uk/sport/football…

Qatar is stuck as a bystander here -- just as it was when it was attacked twice in 2025. Just as the GCC writ large is, having to figure out how to navigate their comparative lack of agency as to the security of its own region.

For the record, the president of the United States is now simultaneously claiming that he has won the war, is currently winning the war, needs help to win the war, and needs no help to win the war. All to destroy the nuclear program he claims to have already destroyed last year.

BREAKING: Qatar says that its Ras Laffan industrial city, home to a massive LNG plan, was hit by Iranian missiles. "Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires, as extensive damage has been caused." Note the wording: "extensive damage"

If Saudi Arabia joins the US-Israeli war on Iran, it will activate its mutual defence pact with Pakistan and potentially lean on the South Asian country’s nuclear arsenal, a Saudi Arabian analyst told Canada’s CBC News middleeasteye.pulse.ly/f8on1tjgqp

WSJ: Arab governments were furious about Israel’s attack and the U.S. failure to head it off, officials said. They had aggressively lobbied the Trump administration to stop U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and now feel a target has been put on their

NBC News Exclusive: Some DHS contractors told White House officials they were asked to pay Corey Lewandowski. From Julia E. Ainsley Jonathan Allen Julie Tsirkin Laura V. Strickler nbcnews.com/news/us-news/d…

The US may soon remove sanctions from ⁠Iranian oil that is stranded on tankers to help lift global supplies ⁠and reduce prices, US ⁠Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says.

Five years. This is a crisis with a very long tail.

Prominent figures in the region view Trump claims about the war as an actual joke

Dubai tourism reels from Iranian missiles ft.com/content/113379… via @ft

The Gulf states are coordinating with one another and mutually supporting each other. This spirit is no surprise, especially at times of crises. But this unity needs to deepen and sustain itself beyond the conflict. Unity is key if we are to take ownership of our region and work

Consider this nightmare scenario: Trump keeps at it for few more weeks/months, fails to dislodge IRN regime and works out a deal instead: a partial restoration of shipping & side payments to IRGC. The global economy adjusts, but the Gulf states stay held to ransom by Iran.

Important story 👇 (The reporting backs our story by Kareem Shaheen from Wednesday newlinesmag.com/running-notes/…)

his clocks don’t seem to mean very much. and many things he says, he says something that contradicts it a few hours later. think a lot of what he says is about influencing markets.

This is a career that should not be defined by “Trump.” Should be a footnote