The Hound | July 7

Hi there,

It’s Tuesday. In Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon, a Defense Department inspector general report described civilian protection efforts as largely "inactive," and ten members of Congress — including three military veterans — have now written to Hegseth warning that the administration is potentially violating federal law after gutting civilian harm mitigation by roughly 90%.

🖊️ Sign the petition to call on the media to cover Pete Hegseth's dismantling of civilian protections not as a Pentagon culture war, but as what lawmakers, military experts, and the law itself say it is: a violation of federal statute, a breach of international rules of war, and a threat to American lives.

The public deserves reporting that names the law being broken and demands answers with hundreds dying in U.S. strikes this year.

Also, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been in the hospital for weeks and his staff won’t say if he’s conscious or not. And Donald Trump intervenes with FIFA to get a red card reversed against U.S. soccer tar Folarin Balogun.

Read about this, and more, with today’s stories:

Amid Mounting War Casualties, Pete Hegseth “Defunded and Impeded” Efforts to Protect Civilians, Lawmakers Say (ProPublica)

McConnell is 'continuing his recovery,' but details are scarce after a lengthy hospital stay (PBS)

FIFA Gives Trump Exactly What He Wants (The Intercept)

U.S. Citizen Sues After ICE Hunted Him Down Over Critical Email (The New Republic)

Woman accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexual assault (The Guardian)

Supreme Court lets Texas restrict minors' access to app stores for the time being (NPR)

Until next time,

Harry from The Hound

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