Hey there, everyone. It's 4 o'clock in New York. Hours after taking the country and the world to the brink and being met with some of the sharpest rebukes within his own political party, along with calls to invoke the 25th Amendment, including from some members of

his political coalition. Donald Trump backed off his threat to take out an entire civilization

and agreed to a two-week ceasefire in his war with Iran last night. Trump is now trying to brand

that ceasefire as victory, declaring yesterday a, quote, big day for world peace, as if he did

not start the day threatening to order the U.S. military to carry out some of the most serious

war crimes. In the 12 hours between his threat and the announcement of a ceasefire, it's not clear

that Donald Trump achieved any of his objectives. Your Times reports Trump's deal, quote,

leaves a theocratic government backed by the vicious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

in charge of a cow population that has been pummeled by missiles and bombs

and finds itself still under the thumb of a familiar regime,

even if under new management.

It leaves Iran's nuclear stockpile in place.

And for the war itself, left Gulf allies reeling.

Gas prices have soared and it has left Trump's political base fractured,

with one-time supporters now accusing the president and his loyalists

of violating their promise not to get America tied up in unwinnable wars in the Middle East.

As for the Strait of Hormuz, the pause in fighting was premised on its immediate reopening,

that Iran showed today that it still maintains complete control over it.

According to the Associated Press, Iranian state media is

reporting that Iran has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israeli attacks on

Lebanon. Iran is demanding an end to those strikes, but Israel is claiming that the ceasefire

deal does not apply to Lebanon. Heading into peace talks, Tehran is demanding that it not only retained control of the

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