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President Donald Trump has replaced several days of concerts to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with one boring MAGA rally—and this time, he’s picking the music. Trump announced Monday that he plans to mark the Fourth of July with a “Trump Rally” designed to celebrate the president’s ego more than the country he’s running into the ground.  It seems that Trump has had enough of celebrity musical acts canceling on him. Instead, the president is turning to the only acts that can’t bail: military bands and ceremonial units. “This ensemble will be the largest formation of Joint Military Music and Ceremonial performances in History,” he wrote. Trump also teased an appearance from his personal playlist that would have “none of those people that put you to sleep and constantly complain!” Meanwhile, the original website announcing several days of concerts as part of Trump’s Great American State Fair has been completely removed. And anyone with a flight in or out of Washington, D.C., on July 4 should look into rescheduling. Trump promised even more “incredible Flyovers and Airshows,” even after the similar festivities for his birthday disrupted local air traffic.“To conclude the program, and commemorate this Historic Occasion, I will be launching, what will be, the LARGEST FIREWORKS SHOW IN HISTORY, right here in our Nation’s Capital,” Trump wrote. Trump also promised to deliver a keynote address that is sure to be wildly political. The president has previously used major addresses to push dangerous partisan rhetoric.Simply put: This bread is dry, and these circuses are lame! 

The Strait of Hormuz will not be reopening long term and toll-free, contrary to President Trump’s assertions.Vice President JD Vance was asked on CNBC Monday about Trump’s claim that the strait will fully reopen under the tentative deal with Iran, and his words exposed the truth.“Well, our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long term, and that’s the sort of thing that we’re going to figure out in these technical negotiations. You know, there are a lot of very important details to figure out that we’re actually going to sit at the table and discuss together, and figure out a path forward on these details,” Vance said, revealing that nothing has actually been decided yet.🚨 Wow. JD Vance sidesteps confirming a long-term, toll-free reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by stating that those details would be determined in upcoming technical negotiations:“Well, our expectation is that the strait is going to be opened in a toll-free way for the long… pic.twitter.com/h6qxL4WbQm— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 15, 2026Shortly after Vance’s interview, Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had both signed the memorandum of understanding. But the text is still not public—with Trump saying it may be released “some time after Friday” or “some time in the very near future.”When Trump announced the peace deal with Iran on Sunday, he said that he fully authorized “the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”On Monday, Trump claimed that ship traffic had returned to the strait, but Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that fees would still be charged for ships traversing the strait.“Our goal is to pave the way for a secure passage in this waterway,” Baghaei said. “We need a certain period of time to discuss with the other sides this important matter.”All of this indicates that a return to how the strait ran before the war is still weeks and months away, with an actual agreement between Iran and the U.S. far from settled.

The Trump administration’s narrative on the Iran war is changing by the day.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was caught in his own lie by CBS News’s Margaret Brennan, who reminded him Sunday that America’s depleted missile stockpile was not a media fabrication but actually a material reality that he testified to before Congress.“​​Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy was on this program a few weeks ago,” Brennan said. “He made a plea, not just for more interceptors, but for the ability to produce them, for friendly governments to be able to produce Patriots. Some Republican lawmakers support this idea. Do you?”“Nobody makes better and more munitions than the United States of America, and we are open to co-production wherever we can,” Hegseth said.“And because of this administration, we’re supercharging our arsenal of freedom, building more, building faster, opening up the Pentagon, ripping through the Pentagon bureaucracy to force industry to move faster so—” the secretary added before Brennan interjected.“But there is a crisis with those stockpiles right now?” pressed Brennan. “There is a crisis with those stockpiles right now in private industry. You have testified to it in front of Congress.”“No there’s not,” Hegseth replied. “That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle. And ultimately, we are, our stockpiles are great, and they’ll only get stronger,” he continued, before Brennan pressed again that Hegseth had testified under oath that it would take years to rebuild U.S. munitions stockpiles.“You don’t have to read back to me what I testified, I speculated some munitions take more time than others,” Hegseth said. “We’ve got lots of them, we’re building more than ever before. The Biden administration gave away hundreds of billions to Ukraine, and so President Trump had to refill, and he has, and we have in real time.”“So, the answer to Zelenskiy’s request is a no or a yes?” asked Brennan, regarding Ukraine’s ability to produce Patriot systems.But Hegseth dodged the question.“Ultimately, we’ve worked with them, and Ukraine is buying munitions that Europe pays for, and it’s great to see Europe finally step up and pay for those,” he responded.BRENNAN: But there is a crisis with those weapons stockpiles right nowHEGSETH: No there is not. That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddleBRENNAN: You have testified to it in front of CongressHEGSETH: You don't have to read back to me what I testified pic.twitter.com/sxqM9l4Lca— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 14, 2026Mere days into the Iran war, Hegseth appeared before U.S. lawmakers alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine in a closed-door meeting that reportedly discussed the rapid decline in America’s long-range precision-guided missile supplies.At the time, the two Defense officials relayed that the U.S. had used a considerable amount of its wildly expensive interceptor missiles to thwart Iran’s seemingly infinite supply of Shahed attack drones. By late April, the Pentagon had used at least 45 percent of its Precision Strike Missile stockpile, at least half of its THAAD missiles, and nearly 50 percent of its Patriot air defense interceptor missiles, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.The White House has, nonetheless, invariably insisted that U.S. munitions are well stocked.

In the second half of his interview with Current Affairs, Dr. Norman Finkelstein discusses the changing political landscape surrounding Palestine, the growing critiques of Israel among right-wing commentators, and why he remains unconvinced by both the one-state and two-state solutions. The political scientist also explains why his latest book, Gaza's Gravediggers: An Inquiry Into Corruption in High Places, focuses less on Israeli propaganda and more than on the failures of prominent human rights organizations to stop a genocide. Because these intuitions are meant to possess a certain "moral authority," Finkelstein says, "it's those betrayals that anger me 10,000 times more."

Rep. Dan Goldman has disavowed donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — while accepting money from an apparent AIPAC front group.

The strangest storyline emerging from the UFC fights on Sunday night came not from the White House lawn but from a former UFC fighter’s Twitter page. A few hours before the fights, Daniel Cormier, a heavyweight fighter who retired in 2020, posted screenshots of D.M.s between him and Eric Trump, in which the president’s son asks if any of the bouts are going to be rigged so he can bet on them.“I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for bringing this to light, however I refuse to stay silent,” Cormier wrote. “The UFC is a sport that I am deeply passionate about. I will not tolerate this type of insider behavior. Shame on anyone trying to ruin this beautiful event.”Cormier quickly deleted the post, but it was captured by many online, including a few journalists. The younger Trump claimed the screenshots were “AI generated,” that he has never spoken to Cormier, and that the fighter deleting his post was proof the messages were “clearly fabricated.” But Trump’s denial raises more questions than it answers. (Trump recently deleted this post as well, while leaving up other vague rebuttals.)First off, Cormier deleting the post has no bearing on whether the messages are real or not. Using that as an excuse is obviously weak. Trump also insinuated that Cormier was unaware the messages were fake—but the messages included those sent by Cormier, and Cormier himself posted them! So that also doesn’t make much sense.Cormier intentionally posting fake messages also doesn’t add up. He is currently a UFC commentator, as well as a coach. Fabricating something like this would destroy all his professional credibility and probably get him fired. And for what—to create a minor scandal for Eric Trump that he probably wouldn’t face any repercussions for anyway? The younger Trump is already no stranger to grifting through shady crypto deals.Cormier has now backtracked and said the messages are fake, as well. “I got hacked or something. Who believes stuff like that? That’s crazy,” he told journalist Nicholas Ballasy while leaving the fight. Here is an excerpt of the private messages Cormier tweeted out. You can come to your own conclusions:TRUMP: You placing any bets?CORMIER: Nah I’m actually not allowed to bet on any cards or anything.TRUMP: Are any of the fighters injured that you know of?CORMIER: I’m not quite sure why you’re asking me this but I think they’re all in good shape..TRUMP: I’ll just cut to the chase. Are any of the fights tomorrow rigged? I’ve been eyeing the Lopes fight and I think an upset wouldn’t be too unrealistic. $$CORMIER: No none of our fights rigged and honestly I am appalled that you would even ask me something like that.