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Why this matters:

• A spokeswoman for Texas Sen. John Cornyn, one of the senators holding up Blanche’s nomination, confirmed the deal, which comes ahead of a Tuesday confirmation vote for Blanche’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  
  

• Blanche said at a June hearing that the Justice Department would not move forward with the fund, as he faced bipartisan outrage over the possibility that rioters who attacked police on Jan. 6 could be considered for payments. But Cornyn and Tillis, both members of the Judiciary panel, have said they wanted to see the promise in writing before they endorsed Blanche's nomination — especially as Trump continued to express support for the idea.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Sen. Bernie Moreno says former son-in-law Max Miller should not serve in the House
• Senate leaders reach funding deal to avoid shutdown during campaign season
• Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House, has died at age 83
• Darline Graham promotes Trump’s agenda in her political debut ahead of special Senate primary
• Trump’s housing regulator Bill Pulte says he’ll hand over intel reins to Jay Clayton on Monday

US NEWS

Fires in Washington state have burned 600 structures and forced 60,000 evacuations

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 8.2 square miles over the weekend. Read more.

What to know:

• These blazes were among dozens of wildfires across the Western U.S. that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. Meanwhile, crews were fighting a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles in western Idaho and eastern Oregon. 

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• WATCH: Spokane mayor says federal resources deployed
• How to protect yourself from the bad air caused by wildfires
• WATCH: Washington governor says he talked to Trump about wildfires
• Photos of wildfires in the US and Europe
• Water-dropping aircraft take off to tackle major Greek wildfire, after 2 killed in crash

WORLD NEWS

Trump once again threatens massive escalation against Tehran only to walk back

On Friday, President Donald Trump warned of a strong military response against Iran. But by late Saturday night, he declared on social media that there were signs of progress on negotiations and that he was calling off massive strikes for the time being. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Trump may still come to the conclusion that a massive escalation in the conflict with Iran is necessary. But critics say his hesitation also might reflect an unspoken understanding inside the administration that U.S. military might alone may not be enough to compel Iran to back down and bring an end to a now monthslong war that Trump had earlier downplayed as a weekslong excursion.
  
  

• While Trump has reveled in the U.S. military decimating layers of Tehran’s leadership and devastating its air force and navy, Iran is betting it can outlast Trump as he faces diminished stockpiles of munitions and the difficulty of executing a war that is unpopular with the American electorate ahead of November’s midterm election.