“The daughter of Senator Mitch McConnell has deleted her X account amid widespread speculation over the former Senate majority leader’s health, following a sudden June hospitalization. It is unclear when or why Porter McConnell, a progressive-leaning political activist who previously directed the Take On Wall Street campaign, deleted her account. … McConnell was found unconscious on June 14 and received CPR after suffering an apparent heart attack in his Washington, D.C., home, according to emergency records obtained by a variety of news outlets. Little else is known about his current condition.” (07/06/26)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Marie McMullan
“For nearly four decades, students in America’s public schools have experienced a straightjacketed version of the First Amendment. That’s due to the Supreme Court’s Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision. School administrators — who are government officials — have used Hazelwood to censor student expression, often prioritizing the school’s reputation over student voices. These administrators mark certain stories and topics as off-limits, including critiques of school boards or commentary on federal immigration policy. … Justice Samuel Alito’s recent dissent calling the Court to reconsider Hazelwood should be echoed, not dismissed.” (07/06/26)
“Today it is not revolutionary communists but so-called conservatives who wish to trample on human individuality in service of dreams of a remade society.” (07/07/26)
“When the U.S. launched a war against Iran in February, it sent the prices of goods like fuel and fertilizer skyrocketing. Hoping to remediate the damage, President Donald Trump issued a waiver of Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. Better known as the Jones Act, the statute says cargo moving between American ports must be carried on a ship that was built in America, with predominantly American owners and crew. … Since the waiver has been in effect, America’s shipping lanes have thrived—providing further evidence that we should scrap the Jones Act altogether.” (07/06/26)
“Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Monday that he has instructed his Cabinet to move toward a decision on recognizing Palestinian statehood. The move comes after the militant group Hamas announced earlier in the day that it would dissolve the body that has governed Gaza for the best part of 20 years. Hamas stepping away from power is one of Prévot’s prerequisites for Belgian recognition of Palestine.” (07/06/26)
“Is it selfish, asks Good Morning Britain, to want air conditioning? Yes, it’s selfish to want to live and prosper and be comfortable in 90 degree heat. And this ‘selfish’ cooling is bad because … ? According to ‘the experts’ queried by the Good Morning Britain presenters — which broadcasts using ‘non-green’ energy — it’s bad because ‘we know’ that the cooling of indoor air will heat up the outdoors — and therefore the planet. Catastrophically, of course. But we don’t know. It’s one of many unproven assertions about the future of weather that get tossed around to make us feel guilty about not wanting to live in caves and eat dandelions.” (07/06/26)
“The Palestinian movement Hamas announced Monday that it had dissolved its governing body in the Gaza Strip after nearly 20 years in power, paving the way for a technocratic committee to administer the territory. … The dissolution of the Hamas body paves the way for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), headed by Palestinian official Ali Shaath, to assume administrative responsibilities. The NCAG was established by the Board of Peace, which was in turn set up by US President Donald Trump when he brokered the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel last October. But it has remained based outside Gaza for months, reportedly due to Israeli objections to its entry into the war-devastated territory.” (07/06/26)
