July 27, 2026 · The guns go quiet, the president fights on in AI-generated images, and an American rides home from space with two Russians

For the first time in nearly two weeks, the guns went quiet: the US did not strike Iran, and the administration says the pause may let talks progress. But read it carefully — the likely reason isn't peace, it's that America may be running low on missiles, and the Strait of Hormuz is still closed while Iran vows "a war of attrition that will not end." And here's the strangest turn of a strange war: during the pause, the president kept fighting — in AI-generated images, posting fabricated pictures of a strike on Iran's oil terminal and of himself seizing a tanker. A real war, low on real weapons, waged in synthetic ones. Plus: at the Correspondents' Dinner — held again after a shooting — the president put on a "Trump 2028" hat and "announced" a fourth-term run, insisting he "won three times" (he lost 2020) — a man who won't concede the election he lost, now joking about never leaving. And an American rides home from orbit with two Russians. Sourced; the analysis is Anna Dudley's.