Today’s edition of quick hits:
* U.S. allies are outraged by this, while Iranian hardliners are thrilled: “President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to terminate the Iran nuclear deal if Congress doesn’t strengthen it, warning the agreement was merely a ‘temporary delay’ in Tehran’s quest to obtain nuclear weapons.”
* Wildfires: “Some of the worst wildfires ever to tear through California have killed 31 people and torched a vast area of the state’s north this week, but the reach of the blazes is spreading dramatically further by the day, as thick plumes of smoke blow through population centers across the Bay Area.”
* I get the feeling the picture out of Las Vegas is growing murkier, not clearer: “The chronology of events in the Las Vegas music festival shooting shifted again Friday when authorities said a hotel security guard injured by the gunman was struck just as the massacre unfolded, and not minutes earlier.”
* It’s Trump’s party now: “A state lawmaker in Indiana has drafted a measure to require licenses for journalists akin to those that pertain to handgun owners, a proposal legal experts says directly violates the First Amendment.”
* Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “has no plans to fill the No. 2 slot in his department after two candidates for the job dropped out of the running. The department made the surprising announcement after Brian Brooks withdrew from consideration for deputy Treasury secretary, according to several people familiar with his decision. In May, Goldman Sachs executive Jim Donovan dropped out due to family concerns.” * Keep an eye on this one: “Republicans are worried about Thad Cochran. The Mississippi senator has been recovering the past several weeks from a urological procedure. And concern is growing on and off Capitol Hill over whether the 79-year-old lawmaker will return to work on Monday when the Senate comes back from recess — not to mention how long he’ll be able to continue leading a high-profile committee or even remain in the Senate.” * And Donald Trump said today he’s “met with the president” of the U.S. Virgin Islands. That’s nice, but Trump is the president of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
