Good Wednesday morning! We are learning of an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump (separate from last weekend’s shooting), Nikki Haley is urging GOP unity at RNC, and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) found guilty on all counts in a corruption trial.

First time getting the Mo Newsletter?Subscribe now.

Good Wednesday morning,

You know what’s Supa Dupa Fly? The fact that Venus has now heard Missy Elliott’s famous song. It’s the first time deep space has heard hip hop!

• 📡 “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” traveled nearly 14 minutes through space, a distance of about 158 million miles, via radio antennas in California, to Venus.

• Why? NASA chose the song because of its “space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals” in her music videos.

• And it’s a big deal: It’s only the second time a song has been sent to deep space.

  • The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” was sent to the North Star, Polaris, in 2008.

How about the Mo News podcast next? Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

PS: A reminder that today is the last Amazon Prime Day. Make sure to check out the Mo News Book Picks, as well as Alex’s Best Prime Day Deals.

(*we may receive a small commission on purchases)

📌 TRUMP SHOOTER INVESTIGATION: FINGER POINTING, ROADBLOCKS, & AN IRANIAN THREAT

The Secret Service continues to face backlash following its failure to stop the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday.

• New information shows that the agency potentially had reports of a suspicious person before Trump even started speaking.

Beyond that, we have learned that security around Trump had been recently beefed up after intelligence revealed an Iranian assassination plot targeting the former president. Though, there is no known connection between the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and the Iranian plot.

THE IRAN PLOT
On Tuesday, US intelligence agencies revealed that they have been tracking an Iranian plot to kill Trump.

• National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson noted that there have been Iranian threats against Trump and his administration officials for years in an attempt to “seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Suleimani.”

  • Back in 2020, then-president Trump ordered the killing of Suleimani, who led the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Quds Force.

  • Iran is claiming that accusations of a plot are false, and they want to hold Trump “legally responsible” for the killing.

• The Iran threat had prompted the Secret Service to increase its security around Trump in recent weeks, including PRIOR to his rally on Saturday. Due to concerns about threats, the Trump campaign had even briefly stopped making impromptu stops.

INVESTIGATION INTO SATURDAY’S ATTACK
Despite having access to Crooks’ phone and finishing the sweep of his house and car, officials say they still haven’t figured out an apparent motive.

• As for the weapon, ABC reports that Crooks’ father owns more than a dozen firearms of different types. On the day of the shooting, Crooks asked his father if he could borrow his AR15-style rifle, saying he was going to a shooting range. His father said yes.

  • We also learned that on the day of the shooting, Crooks bought a five-foot ladder from Home Depot and 50 rounds of ammunition from another store.

  • The Washington Post has put together a 3D recreation of the rally site and found that a partially obstructed view may have delayed the Secret Service response.

• A NEW CONCERN: The FBI is now warning about possible retaliatory attacks following the shooting.

THE WARNINGS
Bystander cell phone video from Saturday shows rally-goers alerting authorities to Crooks on the roof a full two minutes before the 20-year-old fired at Trump.

THE BLAME GAME
Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, took responsibility for the security lapse on Saturday, saying the “buck stops with me.” However, in an interview with ABC News, she also pointed a finger at local law enforcement.

• What happened? Cheatle said the Secret Service was in charge of securing the inner perimeter of the event. And the local police were assigned to safeguard the outer perimeter, which included the building where the shooter set up on the roof.

  • She even said that there were local police officers INSIDE that building.

• ABC News asked her why there wasn’t an officer stationed on the roof of the building. Cheatle said it was a safety issue: “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof… the decision was made to secure the building from inside.”

• ALMOST: A local officer saw Crooks looking through a rangefinder (used to determine the distance of a target), took a photo of him, and sent it up the chain of command minutes before he tried to assassinate the former president, an officer told CBS News.

• WHAT’S NEXT: Cheatle will appear before Congress next week, where lawmakers will ask her more about security lapses. She says that the “Secret Service is not political” and is focused on “people's safety.”

CONSPIRACIES TAKE HOLD
Despite US officials clearly stating that Crooks acted alone, conspiracy theories have proliferated online. One theory: that there was another shooter. Others have said that Secret Service agents’ actions show that it was an inside job. There is no evidence for either theory. Experts say they worked together and followed protocol.

• In the initial hours following the attack, about 12% of posts on X and the Telegram platform discussing the shooting included conspiracy theories, according to PeakMetrics, a company that monitors online threats.

📌 NEW JERSEY SENATOR CONVICTED OF CORRUPTION, ACTING AS FOREIGN AGENT

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was convicted yesterday of all 16 felony counts for taking an array of bribes like cash, gold bars and even a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for helping foreign governments. .

The once powerful chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and still sitting US Senator, vowed to appeal the jury’s verdict. He insists that the unanimous verdict puts “every member of the United States Senate” at risk. His Senate colleagues disagree, and are insisting he resign immediately or face expulsion.

THE CASE
Menendez, his wife, and three New Jersey businessmen were federally charged in a multi-year scheme to use the senator’s position to advance Egyptian military interests, interfere in criminal prosecutions on behalf of allies, and secure investment from Qatari officials.

• During the trial, Menendez, 70, tried to shift the blame to his wife, Nadine. His lawyers argued she kept him in the dark, had expensive taste, and wasn’t upfront with her mortgage troubles. Prosecutors said she was just the go-between.

  • Her trial was postponed indefinitely amid her breast cancer treatment.

• The punishment could include decades in prison and bar him from public office. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct 29.

  • Some legal scholars say recent Supreme Court rulings narrowing the scope of federal bribery laws could potentially work in his favor as he appeals the verdict.

CALLS TO STEP ASIDE
Fellow Democrats say time’s up. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer quickly called on Menendez to resign after the verdict. New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, also said Menendez should step down.

• Congress can expel Menendez — like the US House did to former New York Rep. George Santos—though they are initially giving him a chance to resign. So far, Menendez has indicated he plans to stay in office.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Nikki Haley gives full endorsement to Trump at RNC, urges GOP to unite around former president (MO NEWS)

📌 California bans schools from telling parents about child’s gender change (NPR)

📌 Downtown Chicago sees tornado, as storms rip through Midwest (NBC NEWS)

📌 Police kill knife-wielding man near Republican National Convention (WISN)

📌 Democratic California Congressman tells donors party loses if President Biden stays in race (FOX NEWS)

📌 Neo-Nazi charged in plot to poison Jewish children in NY (GUARDIAN)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Exiled Chinese billionaire, ally of Steve Bannon convicted on fraud charges (AP NEWS)

📌 Macron accepts French PM’s resignation, with no clear successor in sight (CNN)

📌 Traces of cyanide in cups of six people found dead in Bangkok luxury hotel (AP NEWS)

📌 Police dogs sniff out over 6 tons of cocaine hidden in banana shipment headed for Europe (CBS NEWS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Elon Musk says SpaceX and X headquarters moving to Texas, blames California trans student law (CNBC)

📌 Trump considering JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon for Treasury Secretary (REUTERS)

📌 Treasury Department sanctions companies allegedly linked to timeshare fraud by Mexican cartel (ABC NEWS)

📌 Amazon's Prime Day a 'major' cause of worker injuries, Senate probe finds (NBC NEWS)

📌 Former TV host Carlos Watson convicted in trial over collapse of Ozy Media startup (THE WRAP)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Country singer Ingrid Andress says she’s checking into rehab after viral national anthem performance: ‘I was drunk’ (CNN)

📌 Jack Black ends Tenacious D tour after bandmate’s Trump shooting comment (AP NEWS)

📌 HGTV star Christina Hall and third husband Josh file for divorce after nearly 3 years of marriage (NY POST)

📌 Richard Simmons' death is under investigation, pending cause of death, LAPD says (NBC NEWS)

The news never stops, and neither do we. Support Mo News and help us keep our coverage going and growing.

✓ Access the privateInstagram, including weekend news coverage, the weekly news quiz, issue deep dives, AMAs and video Q&A’s with Mosh
✓ Listen to the member-only podcast for early access to interviews, as well as exclusive and BTS episodes
✓ Support Mo News and help us provide independent, non-partisan news coverage

🗓 ON THIS DAY: JULY 17

• 1902: American mechanical engineer Willis Carrier completed drawings for what would become the first modern air conditioner.

• 1981: Journey releases the ‘Escap’e album. It includes their most popular hit, ‘Don’t Stop Believin’

• 1984: President Ronald Reagan signs the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, effectively raising the national drinking age to 21. It was 18 in many states prior to that.

• 1995: Hootie & the Blowfish release their song ‘Only Wanna Be with You’.