The next Strait of Hormuz

Plus: Todd Blanche, traffic stops, and health trackers.

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In today’s edition, we run down the biggest headlines of the afternoon, tour the "other" Straits of Hormuz, and soft-pedal your health tracker. Have thoughts or feelings on what you read here? You can reach me directly by email. I’m at [email protected].

Caitlin Dewey, senior writer

If I had a nickel for every time President Donald Trump backtracked or changed course on Iran, I’d have…well, at least enough money for a gallon of $3.89 gas.

Trump has threatened attacks and postponed them. He’s praised Iran’s leaders in one breath and panned them as “scum” in the next. The latest about-face played out Tuesday morning, when Trump cancelled a controversial, short-lived plan to charge fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway at the heart of this whole mess.

It’s incredibly easy to get lost in all the back-and-forth. (Even as I write this, the US is still sanctioning Iranian oil sales, preventing ships from docking at Iranian ports, and bombarding the country with missile strikes.) But if you zoom out far enough, a clear narrative does emerge: Whatever the war might’ve been about in the beginning, it’s now very clearly a strait-up tug-of-war for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait is the world’s most important energy chokepoint: a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes through it. And now that Iran has shown it can shut down that traffic, whoever controls the strait will gain both a major potential revenue source and a powerful economic weapon.

These waterways run the world

The Strait of Hormuz is what’s known as a maritime chokepoint: a narrow waterway that handles an outsized share of global trade. Your daily life is almost definitely filled with and fueled by goods that pass through these channels. But you may never have occasion to consciously think about them until something — like a war or a stuck container ship — gets in the way. Here are a few of the other heavyweights (click to see a larger version here):

Traffic stops: Trump demanded that federal immigration agents resume traffic stops, just a day after two fatal shootings prompted ICE to suspend them.
Blanche hearing: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced tough questions from senators over a scrapped fund for Trump allies as he seeks confirmation to lead the Justice Department permanently.
On the podcast: The UK is about to have its seventh prime minister in 10 years. Listen to the whole thing here.

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➨ Health trackers offer a ton of data. And much of it is only good for raising your stress! Instead of obsessing over metrics like your daily resting heart rate or HRV, focus on the long-term trends. And don’t forget to pay attention to how you actually feel, as opposed to deferring to what your wearable says.

Did you know…that singing with a group of other people raises your oxytocin levels? This experiment was conducted in a choir rehearsal, but I’m personally and self-servingly gonna assume it applies to karaoke, as well.
Today’s trivia: Caribbean and Indian cooking traditions combined to yield what delicious wrap-style sandwich? (You can find this and other brain puzzles in Vox’s daily crossword. Look for the answer in tomorrow’s edition.)
Yesterday’s trivia: Yesterday we asked you for the bizarre human nickname that San Franciscans give their heavy summer fog. That would be Karl, a reference to the 2003 film Big Fish. The gag started on social media.

Today’s edition was produced and edited by me, Caitlin Dewey. Thanks for reading!

Have thoughts or feelings on what you read here? You can reach me directly by email. I’m at [email protected].

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The next Strait of Hormuz

Plus: Todd Blanche, traffic stops, and health trackers.

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