U.S. Navy Commander Declared Dead as Trump Reignites Iran War

A U.S. soldier who went missing in the Arabian Sea was declared dead just as Trump reignited his war on Iran.

The missing soldier was identified Tuesday as Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 commanding officer Gabriel Edwards. He and three other soldiers were forced to emergency-land their helicopter in the Arabian Sea on July 1. While the others were rescued, Edwards was declared officially dead after 102 hours—over four days—of searching.

“Commander Gabe Edwards was the epitome of selfless leadership, who dedicated himself to service and sacrifice for the last 20 years,” Captain Matthew Lewis said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our deepest gratitude and sympathy go out to his family, who should know that Gabe led his squadron, the HSC-5 ‘Nightdippers,’ with integrity and fortitude.”

The cause of the incident remains under investigation, but the Navy insists that Edwards’s death was not caused by a hostile act.

Nevertheless, Edwards’s disappearance and death coincides with a once again active war between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump on Wednesday declared any deal with Iran null and void, following the worst exchange of fire between the two countries since the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, was signed. Iran targeted tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. bases, and the U.S. bombed several coastal cities in Iran.

“To me? I think it’s over,” Trump said of the MOU at the NATO summit in Turkey. “They’re scum. You know what scum is? They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

Thirteen U.S soldiers have been confirmed to be killed in Iran, although that number has been alleged to be an underestimate.

President Trump rejected FEMA disaster aid requests from four blue states last Friday, after accepting the aid requests of six red states just two days before, according to Politico. This continues his blatant trend of prioritizing petty political beef over sorely needed FEMA funding—putting Americans at risk in the process.

New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island were all denied after requesting a total of $227 million in aid following the brutal blizzard in February. All four states were well past the damage threshold required to trigger aid consideration.

“After months of waiting, President Trump today denied our request for a Major Disaster Declaration following the blizzard that pummeled New York City, Long Island, and the Mid-Hudson in February of this year,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement last week. “New York’s communities … deserve to have access to every resource available to recover and rebuild. Instead they have a President who is turning his back on his home state.… We will appeal to ensure New Yorkers receive the federal assistance they deserve.”

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the rest of the state’s congressional Democratic delegation similarly condemned Trump.

“After months of inaction, on July 2, President Trump denied Rhode Island’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration related to the record snowfall and cold temperatures,” the delegation wrote on Monday.

The letter also noted that Trump bragged about granting over $846 million in disaster relief funds to Republican states on Truth Social the same day he denied their request—further proof of Trump purposefully withholding funds from blue states.

“Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation believes the Trump Administration improperly rejected the Ocean State’s request, pointing out that President Trump has politicized disaster assistance for states over the last year and made it exponentially harder for so-called ‘blue states’ to get disaster funding under the highly partisan Trump Administration than it is for so-called ‘red states.’” They demanded he reverse the decision.

The president also denied disaster relief requests from Vermont, Illinois, and Maryland last year, and from Colorado and California around that same time—all while continuing to deliver aid to states where more people voted for him.

The U.S. president has indicated that he’s done negotiating with Tehran, that the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is over, and that the public can expect more strikes to be exchanged between the two nations—a decision that is bound to rack up some monumental costs.

A new analysis of U.S. expenses through the four-month war thus far, conducted by Popular Information’s Stephen Semler, found that Trump officials have dramatically lowballed Congress on the real cost of the conflict (Semler also co-founded the U.S. foreign policy think tank Security Policy Reform Institute).

Last week, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought told the House Appropriations Committee that the U.S. had spent $30 billion on the Iran war. According to Semler’s estimates, the true cost is closer to $103 billion.

Semler argued that Vought himself must have been aware of the figure’s inaccuracy. Days before his House testimony, Vought wrote and signed a formal request “on behalf of the president” for $88 billion in supplemental funding from Congress, including a $72 billion increase for the war effort.

But even that $72 billion figure doesn’t offer a complete image of the war’s total price tag. Semler noted that Popular Information had previously calculated the war cost nearly that much—about $71.8 billion—during the first 60 days. The Trump administration is expected to ask for even more money to fund the conflict through upcoming reconciliation bills.

In order to build an independent analysis of the Pentagon’s expenditures, Semler analyzed procurement information, operating and support data, open-source intelligence, statements from U.S. officials, and media reports.

Over the first 120 days of the conflict, Semler tallied $28.5 billion in mobilization, administrative, and immediate combat costs; $46.7 billion spent on missiles, interceptors, and bombs; $20.3 billion on damaged or destroyed military assets; $2.9 billion spent on Israel’s bombs and interceptors; and an additional $4.8 billion on war costs to nonmilitary U.S. agencies.

Yet no one in charge of the government—from the White House to top congressional Republicans—has posited exactly how the U.S. will pay for the war. Whereas taxes were raised in previous wars (such as World War I, World War II, and the Korean War) in order to fund conflict, the current administration has so far offered no such solution.

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of the $5.8 million that President Trump owes E. Jean Carroll.

After the Supreme Court declined last week to hear Trump’s appeal of Carroll’s successful defamation case against him, the president has made excuses and tried to get out of paying her. Trump has already provided the money through a fund set up during the appeals process. However, the interest has grown since then, raising the total sum past the initial $5 million verdict.

Shortly after Judge Lewis Kaplan issued his ruling, Trump appealed the decision.

In 2023, a jury found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in 1996 in a Manhattan department store, and defamed her after she went public with her story. The jury ordered $5 million in damages, and Trump put the sum, plus interest, in a court-controlled account shortly after losing the case.

Still, Trump insisted that he didn’t know Carroll and accused her of political and financial motives, and continued to defame her by claiming she fabricated her story. That repeated defamation resulted in another lawsuit that Trump lost, with a jury awarding Carroll $88.3 million.

Carroll is still awaiting payment from a man notorious for many years for not paying his bills. He’s pulling out all of the stops to avoid paying funds that he already deposited, and that are a tiny fraction of his net worth thanks to his successful efforts to use the presidency to enrich himself. Trump can’t admit when he’s lost, whether in court or at the ballot box, and he likes to hoard his ill-gotten gains.

This story has been updated.

It was a bad idea, right?

Olivia Rodrigo is mobilizing her fans to vote against the Trump administration after Homeland Security officials used one of her songs as the soundtrack for their deportation propaganda.

The singer of “the cure” launched a contest Wednesday that will offer fans a chance to win VIP tickets to her Daisy Chain Fields festival. The only entry requirement: prepping for the 2026 midterm elections.

Headcount Organization, the entity running the sweepstakes, partners with musicians and music events to help Americans understand their civil rights and register to vote. The winner will have all festival expenses paid for, including travel and hotel accommodations, according to Headcount’s website.

The nonprofit offers participants three buttons to enter the competition, labeled “Check your registration status,” “I’m not registered to vote,” or “Election info.” The page notes in fine print that actually following through on the vote is not necessary to win.

“You may enter the sweepstakes by clicking any button above without taking a civic action,” the page reads. “Voting, registering to vote, or being a registered voter is not required.”

Rodrigo’s massive, all-women, late-August lineup will include Chappell Roan, Doechii, Santigold, Sarah McLachlan, Mitski, The Breeders, Bikini Kill, and Stevie Nicks. The event will also feature nonprofits sharing educational resources on a range of issues including reproductive rights, maternal health, economic empowerment, domestic violence prevention, and gender equity.

Partnering organizations include the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, among others.

The sweepstakes come several months after DHS used Rodrigo’s song “all-american bitch” without her permission in a video calling for immigrants to “LEAVE NOW and self-deport.”

“I was just scrolling on my phone,” the three-time Grammy winner told Dazed last month, recalling the incident. “It was so deeply disturbing to see that propaganda, and the fact it was my song in there made me feel even more enraged. What they’re doing is so awful and barbaric and cruel. I am really sad to be in a country that thinks that’s OK.”