DHS chief’s early missteps and an AI-generated version of ‘The Odyssey’: Morning Rundown

Tension is brewing between the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, sources say. The Secret Service is seeing a drastic increase in threats to the people it protects. Plus, how “The Odyssey” is helping reshape the moviegoing experience.

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Tension between Markwayne Mullin and White House appears to be growing, sources say

There appears to be a growing tension between Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and the White House after some early missteps, according to a senior Trump administration official and a senior Department of Homeland Security official.

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These include last week’s call for ICE officers to temporarily pause vehicle stops and concerns about his choice to lead the immigration enforcement agency, the officials said.

Mullin, the former Oklahoma senator who is only four months into his role, was brought in to lead a department at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s signature domestic policy — immigration — and as the administration is trying to reboot its mass deportation effort.

One supposed misstep happened last week, with Mullin’s order temporarily suspending vehicle traffic stops after two fatal shootings by ICE officers in Houston and Maine. Trump reversed the order a day later. An administration official said Mullin’s sudden rule change was “100%” a bad move.

And Mullin’s decision to nominate one of his allies, Lance Schroyer, to run ICE, has “a lot of people” talking, a DHS official said. Schroyer has no direct experience with federal law enforcement or immigration enforcement, and a senior Trump administration official said several officials “aren’t particularly thrilled with him.”

How Mullin and the DHS have responded to questions about the alleged rift.

Secret Service officials say threats are rising at alarming rates

As the Secret Service prepares for the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner tomorrow, officials say threats on the people the agency protects have risen significantly. Over 10,000 investigations have been opened this year, a 40% increase over the same period last year. Director Sean Curran said the number of threats is “off the charts,” and the volatile political climate is at a level he’s never seen.

Though Trump has been the target of at least three assassination attempts and Iran continues to call for his death, Curran and other senior leaders said they feel confident in their security plans ahead of the dinner. Officials also said drones are emerging as a new threat.

More on the response to the uptick in threats.

More politics news:

Trump’s deal with Saudi Arabia reverses longtime U.S. policy

The U.S. signed a landmark agreement with Saudi Arabia to support the creation of a nuclear power program in the kingdom. It’s a coup for Riyadh, which has long pushed for access to U.S. atomic technology, and a potential boon for U.S. industry. But critics say it could open the door to the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and beyond.

For decades, U.S. presidents have worked to counter the spread of sensitive nuclear technology, but the agreement signed this week appears to break with that policy and sets a “corrosive precedent,” said Darryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington, D.C.-based policy group. And the agreement could undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment work, Kimball and other arms control analysts said.

The latest on the Iran war:

Tropical Storm Bertha makes landfall in Louisiana and moves toward Texas

Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in Louisiana and was southwest of New Orleans while moving west toward Texas early this morning, after closing beaches on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi.

The storm made landfall yesterday afternoon in St. Bernard Parish about 40 miles east of New Orleans. The storm was forecast to reach the upper Texas coast today before dissipating inland by tomorrow.

The wind and storm surge were the main threats for the Deep South states. Parks and piers were closed up and down the coast, as were some low-lying roads. A tropical storm warning stretched from Alabama to Louisiana, including New Orleans where extreme heat was adding to misery.

The storm is unlikely to leave behind widespread damage, Louisiana State Climatologist Jay Grymes said, adding that the impact should be manageable for coastal communities.

Gov. Jeff Landry called the forecast “encouraging” but also warned residents to be prepared for some flooding.

Inside Hollywood’s race to outgrow your living room

How does Disney's Infinity Vision compare to IMAX?

Movie theater owners and studios are taking note as audiences this summer have flocked to the biggest and best screens to watch big releases like “The Odyssey” and “Toy Story 5.” Some fans have traveled hundreds of miles to the nearest IMAX 70 mm screens — there are only 41 in the world — to see Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the epic. (But not everyone’s a fan — more on that below in today’s Staff Pick.)

The demand for premium format movies will create a traffic jam later this year, when “Dune: Part III” and “Avengers: Doomsday” open on Dec. 18 — a showdown that people online have already dubbed “DUNESDAY.” But the newest installment of “Avengers” won’t be shown on IMAX on the release date because of a deal already made with Warner Bros. The dilemma led Disney to create a premium non-IMAX format, called Infinity Vision, to screen the movie.

Add that to the dozens of different brands of screens — 4DX, Regal Cinema’s RPX and Cinemark’s X-D, to name a few — and you get a shift in the moviegoing experience that’s reshaping how studios market their tentpole films.

Senior Hollywood reporter Rebecca Keegan dives deeper into the trend.

Staff Pick: Critics of ‘The Odyssey’ turn to a new AI-generated film

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has rankled right-wing crowds who, in protest of the film’s casting and other choices they see as Hollywood’s “woke” creative direction, are saying they’d rather watch an AI version instead. Now, some online — including Elon Musk — are touting AI generation tools as an avenue to realize their preferred vision of the classic epic.

I spoke to the creators of “Odysseus: The Fall,” a fully AI-generated adaptation coming out later this summer about the comparisons to Nolan’s version as both films are dragged into an online culture war, as well as how they envision the future of AI filmmaking. — Angela Yang , trending reporter

Read All About It

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