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[UPDATE] U.S. goes nearly a month without large Iran strikes as Trump shifts back to sanctions; Hormuz remains closed

The administration says its military goals are complete but is continuing an open-ended economic campaign against Tehran.

The U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28. The war spread to Gulf states, killed 18 U.S. service members, wounded more than 750 and shut the Strait of Hormuz to normal commercial traffic. The U.S. has not launched a large-scale attack in nearly a month; the administration is instead threatening severe sanctions on countries that trade with Iran.

ContextYesterday’s issue covered the war’s domestic and material costs: an AP-NORC survey of 1,165 adults conducted July 23–27 found 64% said it was not worth fighting; the conflict had cost $35.7 billion—more than half the Pentagon’s $67 billion emergency request—and Iran and Oman had proposed a Hormuz framework that would exclude warships. Today’s new development is the month-long pause in large U.S. attacks and Trump’s turn back to economic pressure, while the strait remains closed and negotiations remain stalled.

ABC NEWS13 sources

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[UPDATE] Judge blocks USPS from rejecting noncompliant mail ballots for 14 days; DOJ appeals

The Justice Department appealed to the 1st Circuit as states prepare to send the first midterm ballots next week.

The final rule would let USPS reject outbound ballot mailings unless states supplied voter lists and used prescribed envelope data and formatting. The Boston judge found no evidence of mail-ballot fraud, said the rule would likely disenfranchise voters and set a Sept. 3 hearing. The Justice Department appealed to the 1st Circuit.

ContextYesterday, the same judge lifted an earlier nationwide injunction after the Supreme Court called that challenge premature because USPS had not finalized the rule. Twenty-four states and D.C. immediately filed a new suit against the final version; this 14-day order is the first ruling in that case.

THE GUARDIAN12 sources

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Judge permanently blocks Pentagon’s Anthropic blacklist as unconstitutional

The Defense Department cannot enforce the supply-chain-risk designation while the administration prepares an appeal.

In a 59-page ruling, Judge Rita Lin found that the administration violated Anthropic’s First and Fifth Amendment rights, acted arbitrarily and lacked statutory authority for the designation.

ContextThe Pentagon labeled Anthropic a supply-chain risk and ordered agencies to stop using Claude after the company refused to permit domestic mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons while the Pentagon demanded access for all lawful purposes. The ruling still allows the government to stop using Anthropic through other lawful means.

REASON10 sources

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Trump orders a plan for a NASA-led U.S. Space Academy; commission has 120 days to design it

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will chair a presidential commission charged with recommending the academy’s governance, location, graduate service obligations and any legislation it needs. The proposal is meant to train engineers, scientists, technicians, operators and astronauts for NASA, the Space Force and the commercial space industry.

ContextNASA already selects small, highly competitive astronaut classes—10 candidates from more than 8,000 applicants in 2025—and gives them nearly two years of mission training at Johnson Space Center. The Air Force Academy already commissions officers into both the Air Force and Space Force through a 47-month undergraduate program. Trump’s order asks the new commission to design a separate institution for a much broader mix of military personnel, civil operators, engineers, technicians, scientists, pilots and astronauts; its structure, location and service requirements remain undecided.

NASA25 sources

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Interior weighs Yosemite land swap for a road to a Trump donor’s planned luxury homes

Kingsbarn Realty Capital wants a shorter road from property it owns in Stanislaus National Forest to a Yosemite service road so it can build upscale single-family houses. The Park Service said the company cannot buy park land directly but could acquire other land of equal or greater value and propose a swap.

ContextThe developer says it is working with Interior and is close to identifying exchange land; Interior says there has been no political pressure or predetermined outcome and promises public procedures if a proposal advances. Kingsbarn CEO Jeff Pori has donated to Trump and Republican committees, but the available reporting does not establish that those donations caused the review.

LOS ANGELES TIMES6 sources

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Park Service backs Trump’s 250-foot D.C. arch despite finding it would disrupt landmark sightlines

At 250 feet, the arch would stand about 2.5 times as high as the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial and less than half as high as the 555-foot Washington Monument. The report says it would disturb sightlines connecting those landmarks, the Jefferson Memorial and dozens of other historic sites, yet supports the location because the same symbolic landscape that makes it sensitive also makes it suitable for the project.

ContextThe report is the Park Service’s Section 106 assessment of the project’s effects on historic places, not final construction approval. The agency also circulated a draft agreement for resolving the identified harms and took public comments through July 30. It must complete that historic-preservation consultation before the project can proceed.

AP10 sources