The briefing for Tuesday, July 14.

President Trump announced Monday that the US is 'reinstating' a naval blockade of Iranian ports and will impose a 20% charge on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, effective Tuesday evening. The US military's Central Command said it struck Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities around multiple locations early Tuesday morning. Iran responded with attacks targeting US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait, as well as strikes on two UAE-associated tankers traveling through the strait, killing one mariner and wounding eight others.

The escalation came hours after Trump declared the US would be 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT' and charge for safe passage—a sharp break from centuries of American policy supporting freedom of navigation. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded that Iran has 'always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER,' suggesting Tehran would also charge for passage. At its narrowest point, the strait lies entirely within Iranian and Omani territorial waters under international law, making Trump's enforcement mechanism unclear.

Oil prices surged past $84 per barrel Tuesday morning, though still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict. The attacks further shredded a ceasefire from an interim agreement between the two nations, which is now halfway through a 60-day negotiation period. The strait previously carried about 25% of the world's oil and 20% of global liquefied natural gas before Iran effectively shut it down following earlier US and Israeli strikes in February.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster formally appointed Darline Graham Nordone to serve out the remainder of her late brother's Senate term on Monday, following pressure from President Trump and other officials. Graham Nordone, whom Senator Graham legally adopted after their parents died when she was 13, will serve through 2027. 'It is such an honour. Lindsey has always been there for me and now I will be there for him,' she said at the announcement.

Senator Graham died Saturday from an aortic dissection caused by cardiovascular disease at age 71. He had been running for re-election in November with the Republican Party's nomination. McMaster introduced Graham Nordone as Graham's 'darling little sister' who would 'finish his work for him now.' Several other Republican candidates have already announced plans to run for the seat in the regular election.

President Trump on Monday reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah by approximately 90% each, shrinking the combined protected area from more than 3.2 million acres to less than 303,000 acres. The reductions reverse protections established by Presidents Clinton and Obama and later restored by President Biden. The move opens areas containing coal and uranium deposits to potential development, which Utah officials have long sought.

Bears Ears was created in 2016 at the request of five tribal nations—Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute, and Uintah-Ouray Ute—that consider the land sacred. The monument contains ancestral villages, ceremonial and burial sites, and features in some tribes' creation stories. Davina Smith-Idjesa of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition called the action 'heartbreaking' and accused federal officials of sidestepping their legal responsibility to consult with affected tribes.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox praised the decision, saying 'this is a big day for Utah' and arguing that monument designations should cover 'the smallest area as possible.' His office assured that lands excluded from the modified boundaries 'remain protected under existing federal and state law.' The International Maritime Organization stated there is 'no legal basis' for mandatory tolls on international straits, though this statement referred to the separate Hormuz issue.

US District Judge Kathleen Williams voided a legal agreement Monday between President Trump and federal agencies that granted him immunity from tax audits and established a $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponisation' fund. Williams ruled that Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS—filed in 2026 after a contractor leaked his tax information—was filed for 'an improper purpose' and represented an action between parties with aligned interests rather than adversaries.

The judge wrote that the lawsuit 'was never about a party seeking judicial resolution of a legal issue' but rather an attempt 'to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President.' Williams noted that Trump pursued his claims only after appointing former lawyers to prominent Justice Department positions, who then negotiated on his behalf. The settlement was reached in May, shortly before the fund was abandoned in June following a separate court order.

The ruling prevents anyone involved—including Trump and his sons—from citing the settlement's terms in future proceedings, potentially allowing the IRS to proceed with future tax audits. Williams also referred Trump attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida bar for potential ethics violations and barred another lawyer, Daniel Epstein, from joining cases in the Southern District of Florida for at least a year. The leaked information had formed the basis of a 2020 New York Times investigation revealing Trump paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016.

A coalition of twelve states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit Monday to block Paramount's $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the merger would 'extinguish competition' in Hollywood. The states claim the deal would reduce consumer choices, increase prices, and lower content quality across streaming services, movie theaters, and cable television. Bonta said 'audiences on every sofa and in every movie theater seat would feel the impact of this unlawful merger.'

The merger would combine two of Hollywood's five remaining legacy studios, bringing together Warner's HBO Max, CNN, and libraries including 'Harry Potter' with Paramount's CBS and Paramount+ streaming service. The states are requesting that the companies not close the merger until after judicial proceedings conclude, with plans to file for a temporary restraining order if the companies refuse. The deal received shareholder approval in April after Paramount was acquired by Skydance last year.

Paramount responded that the lawsuit 'distorts settled antitrust law' and maintained the merger would create 'a stronger competitor against dominant streaming and technology platforms.' States joining California in the suit include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

The Trump administration issued subpoenas Friday to five New York Times journalists who reported on security questions involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One, with some delivered to reporters at their homes. US Attorney Jay Clayton in Manhattan is seeking to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury this week. The move follows a Times report citing anonymous sources that said the Secret Service urged Trump to use an older aircraft to leave a NATO summit in Turkey due to security concerns about the newer plane's antimissile capabilities.

The subpoenas were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House for approximately eight hours on Friday to discuss the matter, according to sources. Media analysts called the coordination from the White House itself 'unprecedented.' Frank Sesno, a former CNN White House bureau chief, said the tactic represents 'dangerous and uncharted territory' that 'graphically illustrates the pressure and influence the White House and president have brought to bear on law enforcement that is supposed to be independent.'

The Committee to Protect Journalists called the subpoenas 'an extraordinary escalation' in Trump's efforts to 'threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.' The National Press Club urged the Justice Department to 'immediately withdraw these subpoenas,' stating that 'when federal agents arrive at the homes of journalists with subpoenas, it is not ordinary law enforcement. It is an extraordinary assault on the freedom of the press that strikes at the heart of the First Amendment.'