First Thing: Trump chastises oil companies for ‘making too much money’ from his Iran war
US president takes aim at profits as oil companies worldwide benefit from US-Iran conflict
Good morning. Donald Trump has criticised oil companies for “making too much money” from the global energy market disruption caused by his war on Iran. The US president took aim at the windfall profits revealed last week by ExxonMobil and Chevron, and claimed the companies would “give some of that back to the public”.
The US oil companies made profits totalling more than $26bn for the three months to the end of June. Chevron reported its highest ever quarterly profit of $12.2bn, a fivefold increase on the same period last year. ExxonMobil reported a profit of $14.5bn in the second quarter, double what it made in the same period a year ago.
Is it just US oil companies profiting from Trump’s war? Europe’s largest oil company, Shell, doubled its net profit to almost $10bn in the three months to June. The crisis helped the Saudi oil company Aramco to a 44% rise in net profits, to $32.69bn, in the same period, despite disruption in the strait of Hormuz. BP has reported its highest quarterly profits since the first year of Russia’s war on Ukraine, though its new chief executive, Meg O’Neill, said there was “more to do” because BP was “not making the most” of its potential.
What is happening with Trump’s new trade tariffs? A coalition of 25 US states sued the Trump administration on Monday over new tariffs pegged at 10%-12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes that were struck down by the supreme court in February. According to the states involved in the action, tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union imposed last month cover 99.4% of US imports.
Immigrant death at Delaney Hall marks 22nd in ICE custody this year
An immigrant being held at a New Jersey ICE detention center died on 1 August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, is the 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year, according to agency data.
Lopez-Cornejo, who is originally from El Salvador and first came to the US in 2006, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainfield, New Jersey, on 18 June and sent to Delaney Hall detention facility to await deportation. Less than two months later he had an unspecified “medical emergency” and was later pronounced dead by University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, ICE said.
What else has happened in ICE detention this week? Attorneys for a man detained in a California immigration detention center have released footage showing him holding up a bottle of water from inside the facility that appeared to be contaminated with worm-like creatures. Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Los Angeles man who has been detained for months at the Adelanto ICE facility north-east of LA, said the water was given to detainees to drink.
‘Completely hollow’: critics denounce Blanche deal to halt Trump slush fund
A compromise between Todd Blanche and two Republican senators that potentially cleared the way for Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general is weak, Democrats and several experts have said, because it makes promises Donald Trump can easily reverse.
Blanche, the acting attorney general, posted two documents on Sunday evening showing he was withdrawing an 18 May order that had allowed for the creation of a $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund and clarifying that broad tax immunity the justice department granted to Trump only applied retroactively to the president, his sons and businesses.
Trump accuses Jeanine Pirro of ‘folding’ by dropping reflecting pool charges
Donald Trump accused the US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella”, amid reports he was considering removing her from her post. Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said: “Frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious.” He added: “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.”
Trump refused to answer a follow-up question from a reporter on whether he was reconsidering her role, instead saying: “You’re fake news. Don’t ever talk again.”
In other news …
The US House of Representatives ethics committee has recommended that the Republican congressman Chuck Edwards face censure after determining he “fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment” by giving gifts and lavishing attention on two young female staffers.
Two people have died from cyclosporiasis in Michigan, marking the first fatalities in the largest US outbreak of the intestinal illness.
Crews building Trump’s border wall in drought-hit New Mexico have been ordered to stop drilling wells after it threatened the water supply for residents and ranchers nearby.
The UFC fighter Allan Nascimento has been found dead at home at the age of 34, the organisation has announced, after apparently having a heart attack in his sleep.
Palantir’s earnings surged past expectations, with yearly revenue up 93%, even as opposition grows to the company’s role in Trump’s immigration agenda.
Stat of the day: Far-right Republican accused of stiffing student debate champion of $8,000
Student Briana Whatley won $11,000 in scholarship money from a company founded by the Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback. She claims he broke off communication after she questioned why a promised instalment was not paid, and is suing for the outstanding $8,000, plus interest and costs. Fishback has told the Guardian it was “an oversight on my part”.
Culture pick: How Harlan Coben became the king of potboiler TV
The crime author Harlan Coben’s latest Netflix thriller, I Will Find You, has become one of the streamer’s most-watched shows of all time – but what’s his secret? Stuart Heritage thinks he knows.
Don’t miss this: ‘Fortnite on steroids’ – the virtual gaming worlds transformed to train British soldiers
The British army is using virtual worlds to train soldiers on the second-order consequences of battlefield decisions – how combat might affect logistics networks, critical infrastructure, and the behaviour of a human population. Aisha Down speaks to some of the tech companies behind it.
… or this: Can you tell if someone is filming you with Meta glasses?
My Australian colleagues have put together this video showing how you can determine if you are being covertly filmed.
Climate check: Wildfires rage across Washington as drought and heat fuel painful summer
Firefighters in Washington state are battling wildfires that have forced 60,000 people to leave and destroyed hundreds of buildings as drought and extreme heat fuel an “extraordinary” fire season in the Pacific north-west. David Upthegrove, the head of Washington’s department of natural resources, told reporters: “It’s not a normal season.”
Last Thing: Why are vinyl albums becoming so different from their digital versions?
Records are expensive, elaborate – and may not contain all the music. After Olivia Rodrigo, Charli xcx and more sent out incomplete or unfinished vinyl versions, fans say it’s a matter of respect.
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