Friday Afternoon Update: The MOU is Collapsing and Trump Sparked a New Diplomatic Crisis — 6/19/26
Here's the latest.
Hi all, Ben here. It’s Friday, and there is an enormous amount happening. Remember to like and restack to spread the word.
Before we dive in, today we celebrate Juneteenth, marking the day news of emancipation finally reached the last enslaved Americans in Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s a reminder that freedom delayed is still injustice, and that none of these rights are ever permanently secured.
Let’s get into the news.
Top stories we’re tracking:
The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding is collapsing as Israel escalates strikes in Lebanon
Iran’s IRGC says it’s closing the Strait of Hormuz, though Iran’s Foreign Ministry disputes this
A reported Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire was announced and immediately ignored by Israel, which kept bombing Lebanon
The Guardian reports 47 killed and 97 wounded in Friday’s strikes alone
Israeli officials Ben Gvir and Smotrich call for catastrophic escalation in inflammatory, genocidal rhetoric
Trump tells Axios he can control Israel because “they have a lot of respect” for him
Trump sparked a diplomatic incident with Italy, falsely claiming PM Giorgia Meloni “begged” for a photo with him
Meloni fires back, saying Italy “never begs”
New excerpts from the book “Regime Change” reveal Trump compared himself to Hitler, Stalin, and Napoleon, and called Howard Lutnick a degrading name during the tariff fight
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, despite Trump’s insistence it’s “crystal clear,” remains visibly green
Pentagon says it needs $80 billion or military operations could shut down this summer
Ukraine continues drone strikes on a Moscow oil refinery, expanding war pressure into the Russian capital
Now let’s get into it.
Before I go any further, if you haven’t yet joined as a paid subscriber, consider doing so now by clicking here to support our work. This is how we grow. It will give you access to all recaps like this, our exclusive Ask-the-Editor series, and more. Plus, it is the best way to help support the growth of this network.
Trump’s Reflecting Pool Reality Problem
I want to start with something symbolic of where we are right now. While the Iran deal he just signed is falling apart in real time, Donald Trump spent part of his morning posting AI videos of himself near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, insisting it’s “perfectly blue” and “crystal clear,” with “no algae anywhere.” Anyone who has seen a photo of that pool this week knows that is not true. It is green. It has been green. And as I’ll get into later, there’s now a fairly damning explanation for why.
