“On June 12th the Trump administration ordered Anthropic to block foreigners from Fable and Mythos, its latest and most capable frontier AI models. In an instant, everyone learned that the American government can decide who may use the world’s most important technology. You don’t get much more powerful than that…”

“America must decide how to wield this vast new power. The rest of the world must decide what to do about it. Even as it plans for an unreliable America in everything from defence to trade, it now has to cope with a new way of being captive to the world’s biggest economy.”

Fast Company: Trump keeps kneecapping the U.S.’s most promising AI models.

Said Trump: “I remember when you were thirty-five, you were a killer. And now, you’ve got your beautiful wife, and your big house, and you’re just soft. And you’re a pussy. You know what you are? You’re a pussy.’”

“After a week of combat, they have essentially killed off one type of algae infesting the pool, only to create the conditions for a new type to take over. And Scenedesmus, a genus of green algae nicknamed ‘Skinny Dead Mouse’ by scientists, is now flourishing.”

“The DOJ’s refusal comes after a federal judge last week gave the administration seven days to verify in a declaration that it wouldn’t create the controversial fund.”

CNBC: DOJ rebuffs judge’s request to put in writing it won’t move forward with anti-weaponization fund.

“The Air Force said in a release that the aircraft will begin ‘commissioning flights’ before entering into active service to transport the president.”

NewsNation: White House officials bid farewell to Air Force One planes used since 1990.

Said Trump: “We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did. They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”

He added: “The War has diminished Iran! It doesn’t, any longer, have an Air Force, a Navy, Antiaircraft Equipment, Radar, or practically anything else, and yet the Dumocrats say that Iran is better off now than it was four months ago. Can you imagine getting away with that??? How stupid can some people be???”

— Vice President JD Vance, quoted by the Daily Beast.

“That has attracted a parade of onlookers eager to see and, in some cases, diagnose the situation. The pool’s evolving shades of green have caused a stir on social media with many mocking the results of Trump’s pet project.”

“On the surface, it appeared to be an unusual trading spree. In prior months, Mr. Trump typically reported a couple hundred trades or fewer. One disclosure last year showed only 25.”

“In addition to the repainting by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, the National Park Service paid $1.74 million to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company, earlier this year to install a ‘nano bubble’ system to kill algae, using a similar no-bid contract to speed up the work in time for Fourth of July celebrations.”

Mediaite: Owner of company responsible for part of Trump’s Reflecting Pool renovation pleaded guilty to bribery.

“The open tensions are an almost complete reversal from a year ago when Senate Republicans worked closely with Trump on a complicated effort to push through his massive package of spending and tax cuts.”

— James Carville, on NewsNation.

“The U.S., on the other hand, only secured the reopening of a waterway — the Strait of Hormuz — that was operating normally before the war, and got concessions on Iran’s nuclear program that Tehran has made before.”

Los Angeles Times: Long list of U.S. concessions to Iran raises specter of a “lost war.”

“The strikes on Moscow left part of the city’s biggest oil refinery in flames. An immense blast sent the top of a fuel storage vessel soaring into the air — and blew the roof off the idea that Russia could continue to shield Muscovites from the war.”

Bloomberg: Ukraine’s biggest strike on Moscow brings fears of fuel shortage.

Semafor: US warns Israel against disrupting deal with Iran.

Said Obama: “We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off.”

New York Times: The costs of the Iran war: thousands of lives and billions of dollars.

Think you were paying attention this week? Put your political knowledge to the test with our Weekly News Quiz.

From the biggest headlines to the details that slipped past everyone else, it’s a quick way to see how closely you followed the week’s events.

“In essence, Hegseth was telling the Europeans things they already know.”

“The list included their hike in defense spending, investment in industry to boost the production of military equipment, best use of lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, and the need to buy or develop drones, air defense systems and long-range weapons.”

CNBC: Hegseth warns NATO allies that some nations will ‘fail’ U.S. defense review.