WTF Just Happened This Week

Curated by Matt Kiser, WTF Just Happened Today

7.13.26/ Today in One Sentence
A federal judge ruled that Trump filed his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in bad faith to “manipulate the judicial process”; ¶ an ICE officer shot and killed a man during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine; ¶ the U.S. resumed strikes on Iran and reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports, while Trump claimed that America will now be “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and charge a 20% fee on all cargo passing through it; ¶ South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone to serve the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s Senate term, who died Saturday at 71 after “a brief and sudden illness”; ¶ and Mitch McConnell said a fall left him briefly unconscious and hospitalized for nearly a month, but offered no timetable for returning to the Senate.

Today's Top Top Story
A federal judge ruled that Trump filed his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in bad faith to “manipulate the judicial process” by manufacturing legitimacy for a deal that would shields him from tax audits while creating a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization” fund. Judge Kathleen Williams said “there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy,” because “the Lead Plaintiff and the Government are one.” Williams barred Trump, his family, the Justice Department, and the IRS from citing the agreement as a legitimate settlement in any official proceeding. Williams, however, didn’t explicitly void the audit protections, but said the provision “directly contravenes” federal law barring political interference in tax investigations and described the arrangement as an effort “to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President” while also earmarking billions for grievances “not defined in the law.” Williams referred Trump lawyer Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar, restricted Daniel Epstein from appearing in the Southern District of Florida for a year, and directed that the ruling be sent to New York and Washington, D.C., bar authorities investigating acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. She also called Blanche’s testimony about the court’s inability to review the deal “at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous.” (Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times / CBS News / Politico / Washington Post / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / NBC News / CNN / CNBC / Axios)

7.9.26/Today in One Sentence
Trump, despite the Supreme Court already rejecting his attempt to end birthright citizenship by executive order, said he wants the court to reconsider its decision; ¶ the family of a Mexican national fatally shot by an ICE agent during a traffic stop in Houston called for an independent investigation into his death; ¶ Iran retaliated after the U.S. struck about 90 military targets along Iran’s coast overnight in what Central Command called an effort to “degrade” Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; ¶ Graham Platner suspended his Maine Senate campaign after a woman he previously dated accused him of raping her in 2021; ¶ former Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty to a felony charge that he damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool; ¶ and Trump’s EPA proposed weakening pollution rules for heavy-duty trucks and buses.

Today's Top Story
Trump, despite the Supreme Court already rejecting his attempt to end birthright citizenship by executive order, said he wants the court to reconsider its decision, calling the ruling “absolutely insane” and warning it would “destroy America” if the justices don’t reverse their ruling. The court ruled 6-3 last week that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to nearly all children born in the U.S., invalidating Trump’s order denying automatic citizenship to babies unless at least one parent was a citizen or lawful permanent resident. Rehearings, while technically allowed within 25 days, are almost never granted. The last rehearing was in 1965, and the court has only once reheard a case and reversed itself. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / The Hill)

7.8.26/Today in One Sentence
The U.S. launched a second round of strikes against Iran after Trump said the ceasefire was “over”; ¶ the White House announced 25 “Freedom Fuel” gas stations selling gas at $3.47 a gallon “for our 47th President” as oil prices jumped more than 5% and gasoline remains well above its pre-war level; ¶ Trump left the NATO summit claiming there was “a lot of love” and “tremendous unity” after saying “I’m not happy with NATO”; ¶ Affordable Care Act health insurance plans are expected to increase about 14% next year; ¶ Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked Mitch McConnell to publicly update Kentuckians on his health and ability to serve after the 84-year-old senator has spent more than three weeks in a hospital for undisclosed reasons; ¶ and Graham Platner is reportedly refusing to quickly drop out of Maine’s Senate race after a woman accused him of rape.

Today's Top Story
The U.S. launched a second round of strikes against Iran after Trump said the ceasefire was “over” and warned that “it will get much worse” if ships in the Strait of Hormuz are attacked again. U.S. Central Command said the strikes were meant to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strait. The U.S. said the attacks were retaliation for strikes on three commercial vessels. Iran hasn’t claimed responsibility for those attacks, but said it targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after earlier U.S. strikes. Despite a memorandum of understanding last month to reopen the strait and keep negotiating toward a permanent ceasefire, Trump said dealing with Iran was “just a waste of time,” calling its leaders “scum,” “liars,” “sick people,” and “vicious, violent people,” before saying: “I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them […] Let’s just finish the job.” (Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / NPR / CBS News / CNBC / CNN / Bloomberg)

7.7.26/Today in One Sentence
The U.S. launched new strikes against Iran after U.S. Central Command said Iran attacked three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the attacks “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire”; ¶ the U.S. reportedly gave Tehran details on Iranian asylum seekers while trying to deport them back to Iran; ¶ Trump said he’d consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and lifting sanctions tied its purchase of a Russian S-400 air-defense system; ¶ Trump suggested he could pull U.S. troops out of Europe after NATO allies refused to support his demand that the U.S. should control Greenland; ¶ Top Democrats urged Graham Platner to drop out of Maine’s Senate race after a woman accused him of raping her in 2021; ¶ Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for more than three weeks and his office won’t say why; ¶ 60% of Americans say Trump is using his office for personal gain; ¶ and 95% of Americans believe the U.S. is suffering an affordability crisis, with half saying they’re having trouble affording everyday necessities, like gas and groceries, and two-thirds saying they have little faith that the federal government will improve the cost-of-living.

Today's Top Story
The U.S. launched new strikes against Iran after U.S. Central Command said Iran attacked three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the attacks “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.” The strikes came after a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker, a Saudi oil tanker, and a third vessel were hit near the Omani route through the strait, where Iran has insisted that ships use its approved route and argued that it should be able to charge passage fees. A U.S. official characterized the military strikes as “not proportional,” and saying: “This is punishment. It won’t be over for a bit.” Separately, the Trump administration revoked its temporary waiver allowing Iran to sell oil in global markets. The U.S. said Iran “will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior” and that its actions in the strait were “wholly unacceptable.” (Bloomberg / Associated Press / NBC News / CNBC / New York Times / CNN / New York Times / Axios / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNN / CNBC)