5 Big News Stories Overnight - Thursday, July 16, 2026

Goldman's Kathryn Ruemmler Grilled in Congress Over Her Emails Joking With Jeffrey Epstein

The WSJ reports:

Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler was grilled by members of Congress over her correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein and criticized for responding that she was joking with the convicted sex offender about massages and prostitution. 

Several Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, during a break from Wednesday’s closed-door session, said they were disgusted by Ruemmler’s responses to their questions about emails that she and Epstein sent to each other. 

During initial hours of questioning, committee members focused on several emails, including one 2016 exchange in which Ruemmler wrote to Epstein: “Best massage ever, but not your kind of massage.”  

In seismic shift, more than 100 House Democrats vote to end Israel aid

Politico reports:

Nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid to Israel Wednesday, underscoring a seismic shift in political support for the longtime U.S. ally.

The amendment to a State Department spending bill would have eliminated $3.3 billion in funding, and thanks to strong Republican support for the Jewish state, it failed 314-104 . But the vote served as a moment of reckoning for House Democrats who have had to confront years of voter outrage about Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza.

“There’s also a real sense that the status quo cannot continue,” the House’s No. 2 Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, said in an interview before voting for the amendment.

The vote came after months of contentious primary elections where progressive candidates toppled incumbent after incumbent by publicly eschewing spending from pro-Israel groups and promising to recast America’s relationship with the nation.

Iran threatens to cut off vital seaways in response to Trump's renewed blockade

France 24 reports:

Iran’s ​Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to close “all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies”, Iranian media reported, after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz and the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

“Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s IRNA state news agency on Wednesday.

Analysts have said Iran has been signalling it may use ​its Houthi allies in Yemen ‌to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and putting two of the world’s most vital energy arteries at ⁠risk.

The narrow gateway links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass.

A senior Houthi official warned on Monday that the group was prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait – a move he said could send oil prices ‌soaring to $200 a barrel – if Saudi Arabia continued to attack Yemen, according to a report on Iran’s Press TV website.

SpaceX stock sinks below $135 IPO price for the first time

CNBC reports:

SpaceX shares fell for a fourth-straight session on Wednesday, briefly dropping below their $135 initial public offering price for the first time as hype around the reusable rocket maker fizzled.

Shares have whipsawed since the reusable rocket maker’s historic IPO last month, which raised a record $86 billion and cemented founder Elon Musk as the first trillionaire.

The stock dipped about 1% on Wednesday and closed at $135.27 per share.

SpaceX’s unwind comes ahead of the company’s 13th Starship test flight, slated for Thursday, and suggests enthusiasm for the aerospace company is already cooling off about a month after its blockbuster debut.

Trump Administration Fires U.S. Attorney Minutes After His Appointment

The New York Times reports:

The Trump administration fired a federal prosecutor on Wednesday, less than an hour after he was appointed to lead the United States attorney’s office in Seattle, a move that sets the stage for a likely legal battle.

Federal judges in the Western District of Washington had unanimously appointed Roger Rogoff to be the Justice Department’s top official there, filling a vacancy that the president has never addressed. But the Trump administration has largely defied attempts by federal judges to fill vacancies, leading to Mr. Rogoff’s swift dismissal, via email, after 54 minutes.

Unlike in similar Trump administration firings, Mr. Rogoff has retained an employment law firm and is weighing a legal fight over his dismissal.

Such a challenge would almost certainly entail a lengthy, difficult court battle and raise the extraordinary prospect that a U.S. attorney could operate quasi-independently of the Trump administration. It could also mean that Charles Neil Floyd, the first assistant United States attorney who has been the Trump administration’s pick to lead the office, could eventually have to answer to Mr. Rogoff.