The briefing for Tuesday, August 18.

President Trump has threatened to bomb Oman, a U.S. ally, if it "gets in the way" of his administration's separate negotiations with Iran, according to Fox News. The threat came as Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei saying an "understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route." The comments coincided with the expiration of a 60-day U.S.-Iran peace deadline set in a June agreement signed at Versailles.

The June memorandum called for a halt to military operations and gave Iran a vaguely defined role in facilitating Strait of Hormuz traffic, a clause Tehran has since used to claim greater control over the waterway. Iran effectively closed the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of global traded oil once passed, after Israel and the U.S. attacked the country on February 28. When asked by the BBC whether he sought to extend the deadline, Trump said simply "No." Trump also claimed the U.S. has a direct backchannel with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a claim an IRGC spokesman denied, calling it "fantasies caused by the delusions and nightmares" of a president facing "defeat and desperation in the war."

The standoff leaves Washington with few good options. Accepting Iran's terms on the strait would hand Tehran control over a critical international waterway and could look like an admission of defeat, while escalating the conflict would further drain U.S. missile interceptor stockpiles, jolt global oil markets, and raise gas prices ahead of the November midterms. Both sides appear to be waiting for the other to blink, with no sign of compromise on the strait or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is pitching a plan to subsidize liability insurance for state and local police officers deputized to enforce federal immigration law, according to a planning document published Friday and first reported by the AP. Under the proposal, officers would purchase up to $500,000 in personal liability coverage, with ICE reimbursing them roughly $250 annually to cover the cost. The agency is considering hiring a contractor to handle outreach, training, and insurance administration for its so-called 287(g) partnerships with local departments.

Nearly 1,600 agencies in 32 states currently participate in ICE's task force model, which lets trained local officers interrogate, arrest, and charge people suspected of being in the country illegally. Arrests through these programs jumped to an average of 3,000 per month in early 2026, up from a monthly average of 250 under President Biden. Some local departments have grown wary of joining because their standard insurance policies exclude immigration enforcement work — Pennsylvania's risk pool, for instance, recently excluded "proactive immigration enforcement activities" from coverage, forcing several counties to seek separate policies at added cost.

Critics say the insurance subsidy would further insulate officers from accountability. David Bier of the Cato Institute said the program amounts to ICE "going above and beyond to guarantee law enforcement does not have even the slightest risk of liability for violating Americans' rights." ICE has asked for industry feedback by Thursday, though a launch timeline and total program cost remain unclear.

The Justice Department's inspector general announced Monday a formal review of a DEA tactic in which agents allegedly let fentanyl reach the streets in order to build larger trafficking cases. The review, one of new Inspector General Don Berthiaume's first actions since being sworn in Friday, will examine wiretap investigations in which the DEA may have known of impending fentanyl deliveries but stood down rather than risk bigger prosecutions.

The inquiry follows an AP investigation that found DEA agents repeatedly monitored — but did not seize — major fentanyl shipments in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025, including a delivery of 74,000 pills in an Albuquerque mobile home park. DEA Administrator Terry Cole had requested a narrower internal review after that reporting, saying it should not be seen as reflecting a lack of confidence in DEA personnel. Whistleblower Agent David Howell, who filed the original complaint, said the tactic "poisoned our community to make cases" and expects the review to show federal authorities "endangered the public through willful inaction."

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has threatened to sue the Justice Department after it declined to turn over related records, and two additional DEA whistleblowers have come forward in recent weeks. One alleged that agents failed to seize 350,000 fentanyl pills identified during the first intercepted call of a 2024 wiretap — part of an investigation that ultimately produced the largest fentanyl seizure in DEA history. The review will determine whether similar practices occurred in other cities, at a moment when fentanyl remains the deadliest driver of the U.S. overdose crisis.

Civil rights advocates, including the ACLU, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, in a case that could set a new national standard for religious expression in classrooms. More than two dozen Texas families are challenging a split 9-8 ruling issued in April by the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the law requiring a state-selected, King James Bible version of the Commandments in every classroom.

The families' attorneys argue the law violates First Amendment protections separating church and state, writing that imposing scripture on "impressionable, captive-audience children" for up to 13 years of schooling "implicates the most fundamental guarantees of the First Amendment." The 5th Circuit had reversed a lower court ruling that blocked roughly a dozen Texas districts from posting the displays, noting that "no child is made to recite the Commandments, believe them, or affirm their divine origin." Because the law only mandates displays when posters are donated, conservative groups began delivering them to campuses as the school year began.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law, which took effect last September, as part of a broader Southern push: Louisiana passed the first such requirement in 2024, followed by Arkansas, Texas, and, this year, Alabama under Gov. Kay Ivey. The 5th Circuit separately upheld Louisiana's version in February. A Supreme Court decision to take the case could resolve a growing split over how far states can go in mandating religious content in public education.

The United States and Canada are negotiating to head off 50% U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday under Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Monday that "the negotiations are very intense and delicate," declining to discuss specifics publicly. Nearly 72% of Canada's goods exports went to the U.S. last year, and the tariffs would hit products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.

The dispute marks a sharp departure from the traditionally cooperative U.S.-Canada relationship, one built on deep economic and military ties, including nearly 330,000 people and $2 billion in goods crossing the border daily. Trump has repeatedly floated annexing Canada as the 51st state, fueling public backlash: a petition to expel U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has gathered nearly 218,000 signatures since July for allegedly normalizing such talk. The Supreme Court struck down an earlier round of Trump's broad tariffs in February for exceeding his authority, prompting the administration to seek other legal avenues, including the Depression-era Smoot-Hawley-style provision now in play.

Trade experts say both sides have strong incentives to reach a deal. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking Canadian purchases of F-35 fighters and participation in the "Golden Dome" missile defense system, along with greater access to Canadian critical minerals to reduce reliance on China. Canada wants relief from existing steel, aluminum, and softwood lumber tariffs. Analysts note the White House may also be wary of tariffs raising consumer prices ahead of November's midterm elections, at a time when voters are already frustrated with living costs.