Wednesday, July 8th, 2026 - Iran War Is Back On, Platner Won't Leave, Trump Is Redecorating Again

Today's Headlines: Graham Platner still hasn't dropped out of the Maine Senate race despite Bernie withdrawing his endorsement and a second sexual assault allegation — this time from an ex-girlfriend who says he removed condoms during sex without her consent, which is classified as sexual assault in several countries — and his campaign's response was to call it politically motivated and bring up Brett Kavanaugh. Even better, Platner is now reportedly negotiating what he wants in exchange for leaving, including demanding his replacement come from Bernie's political orbit, while the Maine Democratic Party has told his campaign they have no role in the process. Trump is at the NATO summit in Turkey where he's mad at the alliance, mad at Meloni again, wants Greenland again, appeared to fall asleep and needed Erdogan to physically steer him around the room, and seems willing to sell Turkey the F-35 jets Netanyahu specifically asked him not to sell — so the girls seem to be fighting. Meanwhile the Iran war Trump declared over at Versailles last month is very much back on, with Iran attacking three ships in the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, the US responding with "powerful strikes," and the administration revoking the sanctions waivers that allowed Iran to sell oil, making the memorandum of understanding worth approximately nothing. And Trump announced he's building a granite helipad on the White House lawn, paid for by Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky, with no timeline for completion, because a helipad is what matters while the world is on fire.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

WaPo: Ex-girlfriend of Graham Platner says he removed condoms without consent during sex

WaPo: Bernie Sanders calls on Graham Platner to drop Senate bid

WaPo: Trump’s NATO-bashing casts shadow over U.S. pledge to defend allies

Axios: Trump signals openness to selling Turkey F-35 fighter jets

CNBC: U.S. resumes 'powerful strikes' on Iran after Hormuz Strait ship attacks, CENTCOM says

Axios: U.S. revokes Iran oil waivers after attacks in Strait of Hormuz

AP News: Trump says he's building a White House helipad for a new, more powerful Marine One

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