Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026 - Hegseth Wants $1.5 Trillion More For Iran, Measles & Cyclospora Hit Record Highs, Trump Finances Going To BBC

Today's Headlines: Pete Hegseth went to Congress to ask for $1.5 trillion more for the Iran war — on top of the $37.5 billion already spent — while the Pentagon has been quietly underreporting troop injuries, with the New York Times revealing over 400 Americans have been hurt, nearly 100 just in July, which the Pentagon characterized as "mostly mild concussions" which is indeed, an injury. The 17 service members killed in a war we supposedly won several times were also not mentioned with particular urgency. In another Oval Office mess of an interview, Trump met with Lebanon's president to discuss the Israel-Lebanon peace agreement, then took press questions and downplayed Chinese election interference the week after his entire primetime election fraud circus, because consistency is not the vibe. On the election beat, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that a software glitch registered over 6,600 noncitizens to vote between 2023 and 2024, with fewer than 400 ultimately voting — a mix of Democrats, Republicans, and independents — the glitch was fixed in 2024, the vendor was fired, ineligible voters were removed, and Trump is going to love every second of this regardless of context. Graham Platner's replacement in the Maine Senate race is state legislator Troy Jackson, who secured the nomination and had reporting drop about his temper within 24 hours — including allegedly throwing a water bottle during a meeting about red flag gun laws. On public health, cyclosporiasis cases hit a record high with over 4,100 confirmed and 7,400 more under investigation, and measles cases reached a 35-year record with nearly 2,300 cases — the highest since measles was eliminated from the US in 2000 — and we're only halfway through the year. And finally, a judge ruled Trump must hand over detailed financial records for over 400 companies in a family trust as part of the defamation lawsuit he brought against the BBC over a January 6th documentary, which is the legal equivalent of suing someone and accidentally showing them your diary. Resources/Articles mentioned: WSJ: Hegseth Estimates Cost of Iran War at $37.5 Billion NYT: Pentagon Withheld Dozens of U.S. Military Injuries in Iran War WaPo: Trump meets with Lebanese leader, pledges support for peace efforts with Israel CNN: Trump downplays Chinese election interference five days after describing breach of historic proportions  WaPo: Nearly 400 noncitizens voted in elections in New Jersey, governor says WaPo: Democrat set to replace Platner in Maine led state Senate with a temper NYT: Cyclosporiasis Cases in the United States Hit Record High  WaPo: U.S. measles cases hit 35-year record with months left in 2026  Politico: Judge says Trump must hand over financial records to BBC  Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices