Saturday Afternoon News Updates: The Only Thing Trump Bombed Saturday Night Was His Big Speech — 7/25/26

Your Saturday updates are here.

U.S. President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt look on as mentalist Oz Pearlman entertains attendees at the WHCA Dinner, which was rescheduled from April after it was interrupted when a man tried to force his way through security and fired a shotgun, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Hi all, Ben here. It’s Saturday, and there is a lot to get through, so let’s get right into it. And if you’ve preordered our first book, WTF America, which is available in hardcover, audiobook, and e-book, remember to let me know it the comments!

Stories we’re tracking today:

• Trump reportedly told Israeli intelligence he was planning a major escalation against Iran overnight Friday, then backed off at the last minute

• The first night in nearly two weeks without a U.S.-Iran exchange of fire

• Houthis strike Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery in retaliation for Saudi strikes on Hodeidah, with satellite confirmation of the fire

• Saudi Arabia reportedly green-lights a major counter-operation against the Houthis

• Zelenskyy says Ukraine struck a Russian ship ferrying military cargo tied to Iran, plus a deep strike on a major Russian oil refinery

• Russia claims it destroyed multiple ships supplying Ukraine’s military

• Trump’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech bombs, and multiple jokes appear to be recycled from old, and in one case racist, material

• Katy Perry blasts the White House for using “Firework” to soundtrack military strike footage without her permission

• Buttigieg and others slam the administration for withholding the names of American service members killed in Iran

• Trump spends Saturday morning golfing and posting an AI meme mocking Canada over wildfires

• Alex Pretti’s mother marks six months since her son’s killing with no accountability and no apology from officials

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Now let’s get into it.