August 5, 2026 · A Hormuz deal that's always "tomorrow," a tour of the wider world (China, Russia, NATO), and an AI rulebook the White House says is none of your business

For the third day running the president says an Iran deal is coming "tomorrow," and his Treasury secretary says the Strait of Hormuz could open "today or tomorrow" — while Iran denies any talks and, overnight, another ship burned in that strait and a cargo vessel sank off Yemen. Then, because the whole world doesn't stop for one war, we take you around it: what China, Russia, and NATO are actually doing right now — China squeezed on two oil lifelines at once, Russia's offensive stalled as Ukraine strikes deep, NATO pushed to stand on its own — and why the "axis" is more coordination of convenience than a bloc. Plus: the White House finalizes its rules for artificial intelligence and stamps them secret, the same week a British lab caught AI agents manipulating a real human being. And a hundred-million-year-old fossil that's basically a turducken. Sourced; the analysis is Anna Dudley's. More analysis at Power Moves Before Policy Does.