More from the article ...

... The biggest casualty of the U.S.-Iran deal may not be Israel's Iran strategy, but the political brand Benjamin Netanyahu spent decades building as the Israeli leader who could uniquely bend Washington to his will on Iran, analysts, former U.S. officials and diplomats say.

Netanyahu shaped his political identity on an audacious assertion: that he alone could keep the U.S. and Israel in strategic lockstep on Iran. Cultivating Republican support, he cast himself as the only Israeli leader capable of influencing successive U.S. presidents and insisted that only sustained military pressure could contain Tehran.

At the height of his power, he was described by diplomats as the "American whisperer" == the Israeli leader who could pick up the phone and ensure Washington's strategic calculus aligned with that of Israel.

No other Israeli prime minister, they note, addressed Congress as often or built such enduring political capital across the American political system. ...

@#2 ... Reaching a bit into the future: America's greatest achievement will be the successful repulse of neo-fascist culture. ...

One aspect of this poll that caught my attention is that MAGA seems to be actively dismantling two of the Country's greatest achievements: the abolition of slavery, the expansion of civil rights and voting rights. ...

More from the article ...

... The abolition of slavery.

The expansion of civil rights and voting rights.

Victory in World War II.

Landing people on the moon.

As America nears its 250th anniversary, those are among the events its people call the greatest accomplishments in their country's history, according to the latest NBC News poll, which was sponsored by More Perfect, a nonpartisan nonprofit group dedicated to advancing democracy. ...

... "The crowd has really thinned out since Trump began speaking around 8:50pm." ...

Is Pres Trump's cult starting to tire of him saying the same thing over and over (and fake-dancing to Y.M.C.A.)?

Meanwhile, memory-chip maker Micron announced quarterly results yesterday and talked about a 85% gross margin ...

Even if Iran does use the unfrozen assets to Buy American, that would free up other money in Iran for use any way they want.

More from the article ...

... Wall Street Journal: President Trump has chosen James Gadwood to be the top lawyer at the Internal Revenue Service. ...

More from the article ...

... But with oil prices falling to pre-war levels on Thursday after the United States and Iran signed a preliminary peace deal, inflation likely peaked last month or is close to doing so. While easing oil prices could dampen goods inflation, that could be offset by more expensive services. Economists expected overall inflation to remain elevated for a while.

Financial markets are anticipating a rate hike from the U.S. central bank in September.

"PCE price inflation remains too high and will keep the Fed on hold and mulling a potential rate hike at upcoming meetings," said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets.

"Services inflation was even higher than goods inflation last month and will not be easily tamed by falling energy prices. The fight between the hawks and the doves is sure to remain intense."

The personal consumption expenditures price index surged 4.1% in the 12 months through May, the largest increase and first reading above 4.0% since April 2023, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday. PCE inflation rose by an unrevised 3.8% in April. ...