Geopolitics
President Trump notified Congress on Friday that U.S. strikes on Iran resumed on July 7 under the War Powers Act. CENTCOM conducted strikes on approximately 140 targets. Iran responded with attacks on facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE, and struck two Emirati-flagged tankers. Trump announced a naval blockade effective July 14 and a 20% levy on cargo transiting the strait. Brent crude rose 3.5% to $78; WTI rose 10% in after-hours trading.
An independent analysis stated that the strikes support planned amphibious operations, with French and British forces moving into the Gulf following a joint statement with Germany. The same analysis noted that the prior pause allowed repositioning of U.S. systems and that Iran improved missile accuracy. Iran declared the MOU in terminal crisis.
Adding to escalations, Yemen’s Houthis fired missiles and drones at Abha International Airport after Saudi-backed forces struck Sanaa International Airport. Threats of closing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait are now back on the table. Some analysts on X speculate that any closure of the Strait would require Egyptian military involvement alongside Saudi Arabia.
Privacy & Surveillance
NEMA control nodes on streetlights are being upgraded to support cameras, license plate readers, microphones, sensors, and tracking systems. Washington, D.C., has upgraded about 75,000 streetlights, many during COVID lockdowns. The two-node architecture permits component changes over the equipment’s lifespan. Cisco supplies networking and edge platforms for these systems and holds Defense Department contracts. The LAPD did not renew its Flock contract after public opposition.
European Politics
Germany’s Bundesrat approved legislation that would make public denial of Israel’s right to exist or calls for its abolition a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison. If enacted by the Bundestag, the measure would amend Section 130 of the criminal code. Some German officials have argued that the bill conflicts with Article 5 of the constitution on freedom of expression. The Bundestag research service described rejection of Israel’s right to exist as a subjective value judgment. Amnesty International stated the proposal would endanger freedom of expression. Critics have argued that legally defining any state’s right to exist raises questions about free speech limits.
British Politics
MP Rupert Lowe stated on the Joe Rogan podcast that the Fabian Society, founded in 1884, has influenced Britain’s political direction. He noted its emblem, early members including George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells, past support for eugenics, and a claimed connection to Orwell’s 1984. Former Fabian research director Stephen Pollard wrote in The Telegraph that Lowe’s description is a conspiracy theory and that the organization now focuses on housing and publications.
US Politics
Former New Hampshire congressmen Charles Bass and Richard Swett wrote in a joint op-ed that populism exists in both parties and may reshape the Democratic Party. They compared recent New York Democratic primary results to David Brat’s 2014 primary win over Eric Cantor. The authors described populism as a response to declining institutional trust after the financial crisis, legislative gridlock, stagnant wages, and rising inequality. They stated that Republican populism focuses on immigration and globalization while Democratic populism targets concentrated wealth and corporate power, and predicted more unpredictable American politics.
Energy
In response to the Hormuz energy crisis, DP World is discussing a new port and container terminal in Fujairah on the UAE’s east coast, according to the Financial Times. Jebel Ali container volume fell nearly 95% during a prior closure of the Strait of Hormuz. UAE trade minister Thani Al Zeyoudi stated a goal of zero dependency on the strait. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline currently moves 7 million barrels per day to Yanbu. Analysts have noted that combined bypass infrastructure capacities represent only a fraction of typical Hormuz volumes.
An essay on critical infrastructure noted that CISA’s May 2026 CI Fortify initiative, Volt Typhoon advisories, lessons from the Colonial Pipeline incident, and concerns over transformer manufacturing indicate preparation for extended disruptions rather than short-term events. The author observed that recovery from infrastructure failures depends on the slowest critical system among electricity, telecommunications, satellite timing, cloud computing, and logistics, and concluded that resilience has become the primary planning goal.
Artificial Intelligence
Anthropic reported to the Senate Banking Committee that operators linked to Alibaba created nearly 25,000 accounts and submitted 28.8 million queries to Claude models between April and June to extract outputs for training a competing system. In a Real Clear Policy piece, Joseph Hoefer of Monument Advocacy argued that U.S. chip-export controls address model development but not model replication through API access. He recommended allowing labs to share threat information and applying sanctions similar to those for chip smuggling. A White House memo, a House Foreign Affairs Committee bill, and a Hagerty-Kim defense amendment are under consideration. Some commentators have pointed to U.S. firms’ own large-scale data practices as potential hypocrisy regarding concerns over data distillation.
Economy
Intel converted $9 billion in federal grants into a 10% government stake in August, and the Trump administration has directed customers toward the company. President Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed Intel production with Apple during tariff talks, after which Apple announced it would manufacture chips for Macs and iPhones at Intel facilities. NVIDIA invested $5 billion, SpaceX joined the Terafab initiative, and SoftBank provided $2 billion. Intel shares have more than quadrupled since these developments. Chips czar Bill Frauenhofer receives quarterly briefings from Intel’s CFO, and CEO Lip-Bu Tan visits Washington monthly. Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute stated that the arrangement could create problems if Intel underperforms, as political timelines differ from business cycles. Intel’s foundry business recorded $10.4 billion in operating losses over the past four quarters, while data-center CPU sales rose 22% year-over-year to $5.1 billion.
Sources
Trump’s Intel Bet Pays Off as White House Steers Deals
In one of the most remarkable examples of state capitalism in recent memory, the U.S. government became the chipmaker’s largest shareholder later that month when it converted $9 billion in federal grants into a 10% stake in the company.
Source (Paywalled) | Submitted by Shplad
Germany to Criminalize Denial of Israel’s ‘Right to Exist’
It would make Germany the first country in Europe to punish speech denying Israel’s “right to exist”.
Before the First Switch Goes Dark
The strongest systems are rarely the ones with the fewest weaknesses. They’re the ones that continue working after the first weakness has already been discovered.
Populism’s Unstoppable Tide Swamps Both Parties
The tide is rising. We may not be able to control it. But we would be wise to understand it.
28.8 Million Queries: China’s Front-Door AI Distillation Heist
Nobody broke in. And that’s exactly what makes this threat so difficult for Washington to address.
Dubai’s Fujairah Port Plan Erodes Iran’s Hormuz Leverage
We’re moving toward having zero Hormuz dependency and that’s regardless of whether it’s open or not.
Rupert Lowe Exposes Fabian Society’s Stealthy Grip on Britain’s Socialist Slide
Their emblem is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as if that doesn’t tell you what they’re doing.
Trump Notifies Congress as US-Iran Strikes Resume for Third Night
President Trump formally notified Congress last week that the U.S. has resumed military strikes against Iran, providing the Pentagon an extra 60 days to utilize U.S. forces in the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) theater absent congressional approval.
Houthis Strike Saudi Airport After Sanaa Airstrikes
“Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation,”
Trump Revives Iran Strikes, Courts Allies as Missiles Fly
Tonight, U.S. forces launched a new five-hour wave of strikes against Iranian targets in Bushehr, Chabahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas.
Streetlights Are Watching: NEMA Nodes Power Nationwide AI Surveillance Grid
Those unassuming little plugs on virtually every streetlight in America, silently turning your city’s lighting grid into an always-on, AI-powered surveillance mesh that knows exactly where you sleep, drive, and walk… every single night.
Egypt Dragged Into Iran War as Houthi Truce Collapses
It is the southern front of the Iran war igniting, and it ends with the Egyptian military in the fight.
In addition to sources submitted by community members, the following were also used in the creation of this report: @gaspricecheck and @BennyLam.
by aaronmckeon 
