The A.M. Update

https://www.patreon.com/TheAMUpdate

Birthright citizenship, Jessica Gorman, gas prices, and the Patreon launch headline today's A.M. Update. The Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship 6-3, overturning Trump's executive order, and Aaron says he spent a day furious about it before landing on a silver lining: it was one or two votes from going the other way, which was unthinkable ten years ago. The same SCOTUS session also upholds state bans on biological males in female athletics, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing in his concurrence that men with gender dysphoria are not women and using language to obscure that reality is lying to the public. Stephen Miller goes on Fox to call out Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts for caving to the left, and Aaron says the urgency right now has to be mass deportations, not waiting for the next ruling. Jessica Gorman, the mother of Sheridan Gorman, the 18-year-old Loyola University freshman shot and killed by a Venezuelan national in Chicago, delivers gut-wrenching testimony before the House Judiciary Committee and Aaron says he got chills. Trump and Scott Bessent both pressure gas stations to stop gouging consumers as WTI crude sits under $70 a barrel, and Aaron says the math on how fast prices go up versus how slowly they come down is pretty damning. Aaron closes with a framework for how to have an honest adult conversation about Israel, announces The A.M. Update's new Patreon at patreon.com/theAMupdate, and teases tomorrow's exclusive subscriber episode: what the A.M. Update would have sounded like on July 4th, 1776.

Trump v. Slaughter, the ballot-counting ruling, Chatrie v. United States, and Paris's heat wave blame game headline today's A.M. Update. The Supreme Court rules 5-4 that Trump can fire FTC commissioners at will, overturning 90 years of precedent protecting independent agencies, and Aaron says law professor Barb McQuade's outraged summary is basically his favorite part of the ruling. In the same session, the Court rules 5-4 that states can count mail-in ballots after election day if procedures are in place, Trump immediately calls it a tremendous loss and redoubles his push for the SAVE America Act, and Aaron says Senate Republicans need to feel more pressure than they currently do. The geofence warrant case Chatrie v. United States results in a 6-3 ruling that location data from Google counts as a Fourth Amendment search, Colorado's Supreme Court unanimously blocks a Democrat redistricting map that would have flipped three House seats, and inmates briefly seize control of a North Carolina jail before law enforcement retakes it. A JetBlue flight reports a drone strike at 3,000 feet over JFK, Aaron does the math on whether any consumer drone can actually reach that altitude, and Paris Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar blames American air conditioners for Europe's deadly heat wave — Aaron calls all of Europe losers for letting their politicians get away with it and tells them to demand better. Aaron closes with the Iraq anti-corruption arrests, the US-Israel-Lebanon trilateral framework, and a theory on whether Iranian proxies are quietly being dismantled, before making a full endorsement of an unnamed man in black who shot BB guns at nude cyclists in Los Angeles.

Iran ceasefire violations, JD Vance on Bill Maher, the Venezuela earthquake, and Mike Johnson's DSA warning headline today's A.M. Update. The US strikes Iranian missile sites again after Iran fires on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, JD Vance tells Bill Maher Iran's nuclear program is functionally destroyed even without full inspections, and Aaron says nobody with a working brain is surprised Iran broke the truce. Venezuela's earthquake death toll climbs past 1,450 as rescue crews race against time, the Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to end temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian nationals, and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine pushes back on CNN. Pete Buttigieg claims a politically motivated false CPS report targeted his family, and Aaron says the story doesn't add up either way. House Speaker Mike Johnson delivers a pointed warning about a wave of DSA-backed congressional candidates nationwide, reading directly from the Democratic Socialists of America's own platform, and Aaron lays out his theory that the fusion of Marxism and Islamism is functioning as a unifying anti-Christian ideology for the secular left. California State Senator Scott Wiener gets cursed out and driven off the stage at San Francisco's Trans March for not being radical enough, and Aaron uses the moment to revisit Wiener's legislative record, which he argues should disqualify him from being held up as any kind of moral or political role model. Aaron closes by calling out fringe online voices on the right who've descended into antisemitic conspiracy theory, saying that brand of "horseshoe theory" rot is squandering a real political opportunity.

Trump and Senate GOP, NATO's Mark Rutte, Zohran Mamdani's primary sweep, and Grand Theft Auto 6 headline today's A.M. Update. Outgoing Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy reportedly gets into a shouting match with Trump at a Senate GOP lunch just weeks after losing his primary by a historic margin, and Aaron says picking that fight on his way out the door makes no sense. Trump also announces he won't sign the bipartisan housing bill until the Senate passes the SAVE America Act, even though it already cleared Congress with supermajorities, and takes a swipe at NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte over gas prices not falling fast enough at the pump. All three of Zohran Mamdani's endorsed candidates sweep their New York primaries, including a Democratic Socialist who knocked off a five-term incumbent, and Aaron lays out his theory for why the combination of Islamism and Marxism is proving so potent with young, secular voters. Grand Theft Auto 6 opens pre-orders for its November launch, and Aaron does the math on its reported $2 billion budget, more than it cost to build the Burj Khalifa, and questions whether that much talent and money going into a video game says something about misplaced priorities. Aaron closes the week with the poll of the week results on who's actually following the World Cup.

Trump's Pennsylvania speech, the Supreme Court, Todd Blanche's fraud sweep, and John C. Reilly headline today's A.M. Update. Trump sounds energized at a Pennsylvania factory speech focused almost entirely on cost of living and border security, briefly noting gas prices are down 60 cents a gallon, while Marco Rubio reaffirms no country can charge tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and crude oil drifts back toward $73 a barrel. The Supreme Court rules 6-3 that DHS can strip green card holders of legal status if they travel abroad while facing pending criminal charges, while two separate district judges, Amy Berman Jackson and Sparkle Sooknanan, block other Trump administration policies on SNAP benefits and a federal citizenship verification database. Acting AG Todd Blanche announces 455 healthcare fraud defendants charged since June 8th totaling $6.5 billion in false claims, and acting DNI Bill Pulte reportedly begins mass layoffs of Tulsi Gabbard-aligned staff. Actor John C. Reilly calls empathy a superpower and the cornerstone of civilization in a podcast clip, and Aaron picks the argument apart point by point, asking why that empathy never seems to extend to people like the Colorado baker who's been in court for over a decade.

Iran negotiations, Keir Starmer's resignation, Jennifer Honka, and Jeremy Clarkson headline today's A.M. Update. JD Vance says talks in Switzerland accomplished four key goals: keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, building a de-confliction mechanism for the regional ceasefire, securing UN nuclear inspections, and establishing a direct communication line with Iran, while Scott Bessent confirms a 60-day licensing window for Iranian oil sales and Trump says crude is flowing at record volumes through the Strait. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces his resignation, making him the seventh British PM in ten years, and Aaron ties the chaos directly to the country's collapsing Christian foundation, where only 6% of adults now identify as practicing Christians. A sixth suspect, Jordan W. Rinker, is publicly identified in the foiled drone and sniper plot against the UFC Freedom 250 event. A Denver Public Schools teacher named Jennifer Honka is fired after an administrative law judge finds she graded students on same-sex kissing skits in French class, and Aaron asks what kind of worldview produces an adult who thinks that's a reasonable lesson plan. Aaron closes with Jeremy Clarkson's cancer remission news and a deep dive into Clarkson's Farm, using a healthy pregnant cow killed over an inconclusive tuberculosis test as a window into Britain's broader collapse into bureaucratic self-worship.

Iran's Strait closure, the Fauci files, JD Vance in Switzerland, and a forfeited pride night headline today's A.M. Update. Iran announces another closure of the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, citing continued fighting in southern Lebanon, even as JD Vance meets face to face with Iranian officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian's delegation in Switzerland to hammer out the technical details of last week's memorandum of understanding. Trump tells Axios that Netanyahu owes his job to Trump's restraint and admits he has to keep him "a little bit sane," and Aaron prays for fewer casualties as the whole situation continues to look messy. Outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard releases a trove of documents showing Dr. Anthony Fauci briefed CIA officials in 2021 on Wuhan gain-of-function research weeks after denying funding it under oath, and says she believes a path to prosecution still exists despite his Biden-era pardon. Pennsylvania's York Revolution forfeits its own pride night game and throws several of its players under the bus in a public statement after they refused to wear rainbow-themed jerseys, a story Aaron says is even better than last week's Giants scripture-hat saga. JD Vance also goes deep on the abolitionist versus incrementalist divide inside the pro-life movement on Allie Beth Stuckey's podcast, and Aaron closes with the rabbit hole he fell into this weekend chasing a mysterious tower on the Iowa horizon: a Cold War-era AT&T Long Lines microwave relay station.

It's AOTMA Friday on The A.M. Update. Aaron answers listener questions on faith, current events, and sports, including a viral Congressional Baseball Game catch, a closely watched abortion bill overseas, and an update on the show's ongoing podcast distribution issues.

Iran MOU, Kevin Warsh, B-52 victims, James Talarico, and John Kennedy headline today's A.M. Update. The 14-point Iran memorandum of understanding leaked via CNN and corroborated widely, and Aaron says the detractors were largely right — it reads like capitulation, though he pushes back hard on critics who can't answer what they actually wanted instead, and closes with a drill-baby-drill silver lining: WTI oil at $75 a barrel could mean $2.50 gas by Labor Day. Kevin Warsh chairs his first Fed meeting, holds rates for the fourth straight time, but nine members signal a rate hike is coming, markets sell off, and Trump says it keeps the country down before adding he's guided by his guy. Edwards Air Force Base releases the names of all eight men killed in Monday's B-52 Stratofortress crash: Col. Gregory Watson, Lt. Col. Gabriel Estrella, retired Lt. Col. Miles Middleton, Maj. Alexander Davis, Maj. Robert Dee, Maj. Brad Hovey, Jeromy Smith, and Christopher Rischar. Radiological materials including uranium and thorium samples are found stashed in a locked cabinet at San Francisco's Hunters Point Naval Shipyard by a rogue employee of Navy subcontractor RSI Antec. John Kennedy takes a shot at JD Vance's mother in a one-liner about the Iran deal, James Talarico surfaces old footage praising a radical anti-fossil fuel group called Third Act as the most important work in Texas, and an ICE officer in Pasco County dives fully clothed into a community pool to save an unconscious child.

Tyson Proper, Heidi Beirich, JD Vance, Brendan Sorsby, and Hillary Clinton headline today's A.M. Update. The FBI disrupts a multi-state terror plot targeting the White House UFC event, arresting five people in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and California after 19-year-old Tyson Proper admitted to planning drone-delivered explosive attacks with stage snipers, with Republican senators including Marsha Blackburn and Shelley Moore Capito named as targets. A DOJ superseding indictment identifies former SPLC Intelligence Project director Heidi Beirich as the official who allegedly funneled $1.2 million in donor money to her neo-Nazi informant lover, the same organization Aaron has been covering for weeks that refuses to remove TPUSA from its hate map. Fifteen Minnesota protesters face federal charges for using vehicles and blocks of ice to obstruct ICE operations. JD Vance goes on The View, rejects a vague Emmett Till premise by simply asking what specifically she is talking about, then flips the immigration inhumanity argument by pointing to tens of thousands of children sex trafficked under the previous administration. Brendan Sorsby folds under a Big 12 federal lawsuit and opts for the NFL supplemental draft, Hillary Clinton adds Joe Biden to her list of people she regrets, Trump promises to read the Iran MOU verbatim at a press conference, and a Chicago college student admits he built and burned his own cross in Grant Park to protest Trump.