'Why won't Biden enforce sanctions against Iranian oil?' Brian Hook in The Wall Street Journal Iran uses its oil income to underwrite a "war machine that is tearing apart the Middle East," says Brian Hook. And the Islamic Republic's oil exports just hit a six-year high. President Joe Biden has the "tools and authority at his disposal to undermine Iran's projection of power." Then-President Donald Trump "reimposed energy sanctions on Iran in 2018 when he left the Iran nuclear deal." The "sanctions remain in effect." Biden just has to enforce them.  Read more 'Applying to college shouldn't ..read more

What happened Turkey said late Thursday it has indefinitely suspended all trade with Israel over the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in Gaza. On Wednesday, Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara will join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and Colombia became the third Latin American country to sever diplomatic ties with Israel over its Gaza war, following Bolivia and Belize. Who said what Imports and exports to Israel "have been stopped, covering all products," until the Israeli government "allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanita ..read more

What happened President Joe Biden offered his first public remarks Thursday on the ongoing college campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza, striking a balance between safeguarding free speech and deploring unlawful behavior. Biden's unscheduled remarks followed days of criticism over his relative silence as hundreds of students have been arrested during increasingly fraught, and occasionally violent, confrontations with police and counterdemonstrators.  Who said what Students have a "right to protest but not a right to cause chaos," Biden said. The protests, along with what many have se ..read more

Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Europe for the first time in five years, amid rising tensions with the EU over trade and China's implicit support of Russia. China's president will make state visits to Serbia, Hungary and France, beginning in Paris on Monday. German chancellor Olaf Scholz last week visited China, his country's biggest trading partner, but Xi's return trip "may lay bare European divisions over trade with Beijing", said Reuters. The EU is threatening to "hammer" the Chinese electric vehicle and green energy industries with tariffs, in response to "huge subsidies", which the bloc ..read more

'Trump is likely to violate his gag order again. Jail him if he does.' Chris Brennan in USA Today Fining former President Donald Trump $9,000 for violating the gag order in his hush money trial isn't going to make the former president "control himself," says Chris Brennan. Trump has spent a lifetime "testing the limits of what he can get away with." If he keeps bad-mouthing witnesses, "New York Judge Juan Merchan must jail Trump for at least one night." That "might be the only way to get through to him." Read more 'Biden brings the gender war to work' Washington Examiner editorial board Presid ..read more

What happened The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are "nearing a historic pact" that would offer the Saudis advanced weapons and "security guarantees" and create an opening for possible "diplomatic ties with Israel" if its government commits to a path to Palestinian statehood and stops its war in Gaza, Bloomberg said Wednesday. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government balks, the Saudis want a "more modest plan B, which excludes the Israelis," The Guardian said. Who said what The "intense work" the U.S. and Saudis have done on "our own agreements, I think, is very close to comple ..read more

What happened The Arizona Senate voted 16-14 on Wednesday to repeal a pre-statehood near-total ban on abortion, sending the bill to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). The state House passed the measure last week. Three House Republicans and two GOP senators — including the wife of one of the Arizona Supreme Court justices who reinstated the 1864 ban in April — joined Democrats in voting for repeal. Who said what Scrapping "this total abortion ban" is "just the beginning of our fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona," Hobbs said. The 1864 law was the "best abortion ban in the nation," and call ..read more

What happened Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday after visits to Jordan and Saudi Arabia to help nail down a promising deal for a truce in Gaza. The plan would return Israelis hostages and avert an Israeli attack on Rafah, refuge to 1.5 million Palestinian civilians displaced by the war. Hours before Blinken's arrival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will invade Rafah regardless. Who said what "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas' battalions there — with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory," Netanyahu said. "All I can say is we ..read more

What happened House Democratic leaders said Tuesday that if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) follows through with her attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), they will help kill her motion to vacate. Who said what With Ukraine aid secured, "the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and two other top Democrats said. If Greene "invokes the motion, it will not succeed." Johnson is now "officially the Democrat speaker of the House," Greene said. Johnson said he hadn't "requested assistance ..read more

'Will Americans ever get sick of cheap junk?' Amanda Mull in The Atlantic America's closets and junk drawers "overfloweth," says Amanda Mull. "Maybe, one day, buying cheap stuff as a form of entertainment will run afoul" of a shared awareness that rampant consumerism is hurting our stressed planet. "People might begin to feel ashamed" about buying things they don't "really want as a salve for stress or boredom." But if we're waiting for "wastefulness to become uncool" we appear to have a long way to go before reaching "peak stuff." Read more 'Why US aid to Ukraine is still in jeopardy' Max Boo ..read more