The Daily Brief — July 21, 2026
Nearly 100 US troops injured, Red Sea blockade, more tariffs on Canada
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Nearly 100 US Troops Injured
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that nearly 100 American troops have been injured in multiple Iranian airstrikes on US bases across the Middle East since July 7. He said the troops suffered varying degrees of injuries, including minor concussions, and added that 96% have returned to duty.
Parnell also denied a New York Times report alleging the Pentagon withheld the true extent of the injuries caused by three earlier undisclosed strikes.
Separately, the Pentagon has identified a soldier killed in Iraq as Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina. He died while helping carry out a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance left by a downed Iranian drone, bringing the total known US military death toll to 17.
Red Sea Blockade
The Houthi militant group in Yemen, which is backed by Iran, said it has imposed a blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, a move that could draw a US military response and further widen the conflict in the Middle East since Saudi Arabia is an ally of the US.
The Houthis said the move is retaliation for a Saudi-led strike on an airport in Yemen’s capital. In 2024, the US carried out strikes against Houthi forces to protect Red Sea shipping.
Saudi Arabia relies on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, to ship oil. An estimated 4 million to 6 million barrels of oil — not just from Saudi Arabia — pass through the strait each day. Saudi Arabia has relied more heavily on this route following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
It is not clear whether the group can enforce the blockade, but if they do, it would likely push oil prices higher. Iran’s restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade of Iranian ports have already disrupted global oil supply.
Tariffs on Canada
President Trump imposed an additional 50% tariff on most Canadian goods, accusing Canada of unfairly discriminating against American motor vehicles, alcohol, and dairy products. The country has imposed tariffs on certain US cars and cheeses, and several provinces have stopped selling alcoholic beverages from the US.
Trump is relying on a rarely used provision of the Tariff Act of 1930 that allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 50% on imports from countries found to be uniquely discriminating against US products.
Before the latest announcement, the US had already imposed tariffs ranging from 25% to 50% on Canadian steel and aluminum, as well as a 10% tariff on Canadian softwood lumber.
Newsbreak
If you love discovering little-known Black history, make Runner your next read. This historical fiction novel — written by The Preamble’s executive editor, Ashton Lattimore — immerses readers in the vibrant early 20th century Black communities of Martha’s Vineyard. Grounded in deep archival research, oral histories, and real locations, the novel offers a fresh lens on a place often overlooked in historical fiction, all while tracing the lives of unforgettable characters as they survive in the dangerous waters of Prohibition-era New England.
Judge Dismisses Case Against Minnesota
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration that tried to force local Minnesota officials to cooperate with ICE on immigration enforcement. The suit challenged state and local laws and policies, including a Minneapolis ordinance passed in December. That measure bars police from detaining people to enforce federal immigration law and restricts the state’s ability to share immigration status data with federal agents.
The judge said forcing state and local officials to enforce federal immigration law violates the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which establishes the balance of power between the federal government and individual states. The Trump administration had argued that Minnesota’s policies were unlawful because they create obstacles for federal agents and discriminate against the federal government by subjecting its officers to restrictions not imposed on other law enforcement agencies. But the judge, appointed by Trump, disagreed, pointing out that the state and local laws do not prevent the federal government or its contractors from enforcing immigration laws.
DNI Nominee Advances
The Senate Intelligence Committee advanced Jay Clayton’s nomination to be director of national intelligence by a vote of 9–8 along party lines, with all Democrats and those caucusing with the party voting against him.
Clayton is the current US attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair. Currently, the acting DNI is Bill Pulte, who has no intelligence background or experience and is also the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The next step will be a full floor vote in the Senate.
DOJ Sought NYT Phone Records
The Trump administration sought the phone records of several New York Times journalists and some of their relatives, according to court filings unsealed yesterday. The Justice Department says it requested the records from phone companies as part of an investigation into confidential sources for reporters who wrote about Trump’s use of a Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.
According to the newspaper’s filings, however, two of the subpoenas seek phone records dating back to Jan. 1, 2026, long before the Air Force One stories were ever published. The newspaper has asked a federal judge in New York to quash the subpoenas, arguing that the requests amount to an attempt to “forage for information about the Journalists’ source relationships more broadly.”
The Justice Department already subpoenaed several Times reporters — separately from the subpoenas seeking phone records — to compel them to reveal the identity of their sources for reports that Trump switched to the old Air Force One when he departed a NATO summit in Turkey after the Secret Service raised security concerns about the new plane.
Biden Loses in Court
A federal appeals court rejected Joe Biden’s request to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of interviews he gave to his memoir ghostwriter before becoming president. But the court temporarily stayed its ruling until August 3 to give Biden time to seek further review.
The material includes roughly 70 hours of recorded conversations and transcripts from 2016 and 2017 interviews with Mark Zwonitzer, the ghostwriter of Biden’s memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. The Justice Department plans to release the material to both the House Judiciary Committee and the Heritage Foundation, which sought the records through a Freedom of Information Act request. Biden sued the Justice Department in May to stop the release.
In a 2–1 decision, the Washington-based appeals court ruled that there is a “substantial” public interest in releasing the material. The majority said any legitimate privacy concerns could be addressed through targeted redactions rather than by withholding the recordings altogether. Biden had argued the release would unnecessarily invade his privacy.