Today
SPOKANE IS ON FIRE — 700 STRUCTURES GONE, 65,000 UNDER EVACUATION, TRUMP CALLED OFF WHAT HE CALLED “THE BIGGEST ATTACK SINCE WORLD WAR II” ON IRAN, 25,000 IMMIGRANT CHILDREN JUST LOST THEIR LAWYERS — AND A 29-YEAR-OLD SOLDIER CAME HOME IN A COFFIN

Spokane is burning. On Saturday, three wildfires broke out in and around Washington’s second-largest city. Winds gusting 45 miles per hour drove the flames across neighborhoods, over the Spokane River, and into thousands of homes. By Sunday night, more than 700 structures had been destroyed. At least 65,000 people were under evacuation orders.

The three fires… the Old Trails Fire, the Autumn Lane Fire, and the Fairview Fire… burned a combined 7,700 acres with zero percent contained as of Sunday. Walls of flame tore through the Indian Trail area. Homes exploded. Cars jammed every road heading east. Loud blasts echoed through the smoke as gas lines ruptured.

Mayor Lisa Brown called it “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.” Governor Bob Ferguson declared a statewide fire emergency and activated the National Guard. “There are just so many Washingtonians who have literally lost everything in a very, very short period of time,” Ferguson said.

The fires hit during a red flag warning that had been posted for days. Temperatures in eastern Washington had stayed above 100 degrees. Scientists say the conditions that fuel these fires would be “virtually impossible” without climate change.

The federal government spends roughly $4 billion a year on wildfire response. It spends $250 million a day on the war in Iran. A city of 230,000 people is watching its homes burn. And the machine has not held a press conference, not canceled a trip, and not declared a national emergency.

700 STRUCTURES. 65,000 EVACUATED. 7,700 ACRES. ZERO PERCENT CONTAINED. AND THE NATIONAL GUARD WAS ALREADY DEPLOYED SOMEWHERE ELSE.

BREAKING

Trump Called Off a Major Attack on Iran Over the Weekend and Says Negotiations Begin Monday — No Deal Has Been Reached

On Saturday, the president announced he had called off a major bombing campaign against Iran. He claimed the attack would have been unlike anything since World War II. On Sunday, aboard Air Force One, he told reporters that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday to try to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “We’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation,” Trump said. “I’d love to do that. We’d save a lot of lives.”

A regional official involved in the talks told the AP that the proposal calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, halting attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Jordan, and the Gulf states, and ending the U.S. naval blockade on Iran so it can export oil again. No deal has been reached. The mediators have been working for weeks.

The last round of talks ended when Trump declared the ceasefire “over” and ordered strikes on 80 targets. The round before that produced a ceasefire that lasted six weeks before both sides broke it. Eighteen Americans are dead. More than 624 are wounded. The war has cost $37.5 billion in five months.

CNN reported Friday that the U.S. was planning fresh strikes “as soon as this weekend.” By Saturday, Trump said he pulled them back. By Sunday, he was on Air Force One talking about a deal. The war that has cost 18 lives and $37.5 billion almost got much bigger… and the window between “locked and loaded” and “let’s negotiate” was less than 48 hours.

EXPOSED

25,000 Immigrant Children Just Lost Their Lawyers — a Federal Contract Expired on August 1 and Was Not Renewed

On Friday, a federal contract expired. It was the contract that paid for lawyers to represent children… some as young as five… in immigration court. The government did not renew it. As of August 1, roughly 25,000 children who came to the U.S. alone now face their hearings without legal help.

These are not adults. They are children who crossed the border without a parent. Under federal law, they have a right to a hearing. They do not have a right to a lawyer. The contract was the only thing filling that gap. Now there is nothing.

Immigration judges have said for years that unrepresented children cannot meaningfully take part in their own hearings. A child who does not speak English, does not understand the law, and does not have a parent in the room is now expected to defend themselves in federal court.

The government had money for the contract. It chose not to spend it. The war gets $250 million a day. The Saudi nuclear deal unlocks billions. And 25,000 children just lost the only adult in the room who was there for them.

“There are just so many Washingtonians who have literally lost everything in a very, very short period of time.”

— Governor Bob Ferguson, on the Spokane wildfires

DEVELOPING

Staff Sgt. Angel Rampersad Was 29 Years Old. She Was Killed in Iran. Her Family Says She Knew from Childhood She Wanted to Serve.

NPR reported Friday that Staff Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad is one of the latest American service members killed in the war with Iran. She was 29 years old. Her family told NPR she knew from a young age that she wanted to serve in the military.

There is no national memorial wall for this war yet. There is no running count on cable news. The Pentagon updated its casualty database once… and split the numbers into two lists. Eighteen Americans are dead. More than 624 are wounded. The war has lasted five months. And the president just said he almost launched what would have been the biggest attack since 1945.

Angel Rampersad did not make the decision to go to war. Congress did not make that decision. The public did not make that decision. One man made that decision. And one family is now planning a funeral.

The machine counts the money it spends. It counts the missiles it fires. It counts the targets it hits. It does not hold press conferences for Angel Rampersad.

 Connecting the Dots 

▸ The Bigger Picture

Four stories from one weekend. A city of 230,000 people watched 700 of its homes burn while the government that spends $250 million a day on a war has not declared a national emergency. The president said he almost launched the biggest military operation since 1945… and told the country after the fact. A contract that gave 25,000 children a lawyer in court expired and was not renewed. And a 29-year-old soldier who wanted to serve her country since childhood came home in a coffin.

The press covers each on its own page. A “weather event.” A “foreign policy update.” A “budget item.” An “obituary.” But the thread is the same in every one.

The machine has money for everything except the things that protect people. It has $250 million a day for the war. It has billions for nuclear deals. It had an attack “locked and loaded” over the weekend. But it does not have a renewed contract for children’s lawyers. It does not have a national emergency for a burning city. And it does not hold press conferences for the soldiers it sends. The budget tells you what the machine values. The gaps tell you who it forgot.

The machine has money for wars it chose and silence for people it lost. That’s the Seventh Floor.

They rely on the shadows.
It’s time to turn on the lights.