Iran nuclear site assessment and DOJ fires Maurene Comey: Morning Rundown

A recent assessment suggests Iran would be able to resume nuclear enrichment within months, sources say. The Senate passes a spending cuts package that pulls funding for public news outlets NPR and PBS. And a surrogate speaks out after she found out the couple she bore a child for had 21 kids.

Here’s what to know today.

Iran could resume nuclear enrichment within months, U.S. now assesses

A recent assessment of the destruction caused by the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites last month determined that one enrichment site was mostly destroyed, but two others were not as badly damaged.

The sites have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment said. The assessment was briefed to some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials and allied countries in recent days, four of the sources said. 

A current U.S. official and two former U.S. officials also told NBC News that U.S. Central Command had developed a much more comprehensive plan to strike Iran. It would have involved hitting three additional sites in an operation that would have stretched several weeks instead of a single night. President Donald Trump rejected that option because it was at odds with his foreign policy instinct to extract the U.S. from conflicts abroad, as well as the possibility of a higher number of casualties on both sides, one current official and one former official said.

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While Trump has called the strike on Iran a “spectacular military success” that resulted in Iran’s key enrichment facilities being “completely and totally obliterated,” the reality gleaned through intelligence so far appears to be more nuanced.

It’s possible the U.S. could find itself back in a conflict in Iran, two of the sources said, and there have been discussions within both the American and Israeli governments about whether additional strikes could be necessary if Iran doesn’t restart nuclear deal negotiations, or if there are signs that the Islamic Republic is trying to rebuild at one of the less-damaged facilities. 

The U.S. strikes in June targeted three enrichment sites in Iran: Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. Much of the Trump administration’s public messaging about the strikes has focused on Fordo, which has long been viewed as a critical component of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Even if the Iranian sites were not completely destroyed, U.S. officials and Republican advocates of the operation believe it was a success because it has changed the nuclear equation for the country.

Read the full story here.

Senate passes $9 billion rescissions package

A sweeping spending cuts package is back in the House for another vote after the Republican-led Senate passed the measure early Thursday. The rescissions package requested by Trump cancels previously approved funding for foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. The 51-48 Senate vote followed a 13-hour series of votes on amendments, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining all Democrats in opposition to the final bill. 

The package needs to pass again in the House before Trump signs it into law. Senators amended the measure to remove $400 million in cuts to a foreign aid program to combat HIV/AIDS. Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Vice President JD Vance offered an early glimpse of how Republicans sell Trump’s domestic policy package to voters ahead of the 2026 midterms.

• A new report warns that Medicaid cuts in the megabill could result in more than 1,000 additional deaths and nearly 100,000 more hospitalizations every year.

• The Transportation Department said it’s revoking $4 billion in federal funding for California’s high-speed rail project.

• Fundraising reports filed this week shed new light on the battle for control of Congress in 2026. Here are five takeaways.

• Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite telling a room full of Republican lawmakers that he was considering doing so.

DOJ fires an Epstein prosecutor and daughter of Trump foe

The Justice Department has fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, according to four sources familiar with the matter. Comey, who worked in the Southern District of New York, prosecuted Sean “Diddy” Combs and played a role in the prosecution of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. While it is not clear why Comey was fired, one source said that Article II of the Constitution, which establishes the executive power of the president, was cited.

Trump previously accused Comey’s father, former FBI Director James Comey, as well as former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, of making up Epstein documents, without citing evidence. The Justice Department last week confirmed a criminal investigation of James Comey, though exactly what prompted that decision is unclear.

The latest firing comes as Trump is under intensifying political pressure from his MAGA base to release information related to the Epstein investigation. The president yesterday disavowed his supporters, calling them “weaklings” who have bought into “bull—-“ about Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose 2019 death by suicide has fueled conspiracy theories. His comments have also put MAGA-aligned media in a bind, with outlets and figures torn between the president and his base.

Surrogate horrified to learn couple she bore a baby for had 21 kids

Kayla Elliot said she thought she was helping a family who couldn’t conceive when she agreed to be a surrogate for a couple in California. Now, she’s working to gain custody of the child she birthed after police discovered 21 children, some of whom were born to different surrogate mothers, living in a Los Angeles-area home.

The home’s residents, Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan, were arrested in May on suspicion of felony child endangerment and neglect after a local hospital called police to report that a 2-month-old baby had arrived with head injuries. The investigation led to the discovery of more than a dozen children in the couple’s Arcadia home, northeast of Los Angeles. A warrant has been issued for a nanny who worked with the couple and is suspected of violently shaking the child.

Elliot said in an interview yesterday that something seemed off when she gave birth in March. But she was still surprised to learn about the allegations against Zhang and Xuan. “You just don’t expect that you’re going to go through a pregnancy and a delivery and then hand the baby over to their parents and then all of a sudden find out that there was abuse and neglect going on,” Elliot said.

Read the full story here.

Read All About It

• One person died and 13 others were injured after a group of people were struck by lightning at a New Jersey archery range.

• The ICE agent who oversaw the arrest of Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Öztürk said in a federal trial that the Trump administration’s request was so unconventional that he asked a lawyer if the arrest was even legal.

• Trump said Coca-Cola has agreed to start using cane sugar in sodas sold in the U.S. — but the company hasn’t explicitly said it would.

• Three current and former Louisiana police chiefs, a U.S. marshal and a businessman were federally charged with participating in an immigrant visa fraud scheme.

• Barack and Michelle Obama laughed off divorce rumors on a recent episode of her podcast.

Staff Pick: The 33-second scene deemed ‘overly sensual’ in India

July has been a blockbuster month in India for Hollywood. “Superman” and “F1: The Movie” have been a hit in the country but cinemagoers I spoke to there have been furious at Indian censors due to abrupt cuts in both movies. In James Gunn’s Superman, a 33-second midair kiss between Lois Lane and Clark Kent was deemed “overly sensual,” and Indian authorities also took issue with the middle finger in F1, replacing it with a fist in a scene that showed it as an emoji. Censorship is routine for Indian cinemagoers, who accuse authorities of forcing arbitrary and moralistic changes on Hollywood films, while adopting double standards for Bollywood films, which are often laced with innuendoes, misogyny and sensual scenes.

— Mithil Aggarwal, reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Are plant-based cleaners as effective as bleach when it comes to cleaning your bathroom? NBC Select weighed the benefits and drawbacks of different types of shower cleaners. Plus, the team shares the best filtered showerheads for sensitive skin or dry hair.

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