“President Trump has a lot of obsessions. If you had to name the ones he cares about the most, the list would probably include imposing tariffs on imports, getting the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates (even if it means ousting board members who disagree), abolishing mail-in voting, ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, and—last but not least—fighting personal lawsuits brought against him since his first administration. And yet on every one of these fixations, the Supreme Court in its just-completed term dealt Trump a defeat.” (07/01/26)
“Canada Day is the Dominion’s national day and a statuatory federal holiday. It celebrates, not freedom from rule by the British Crown, but the anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. (On 1 July, 1867), merging the ‘United Canadas’ (Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The Confederation remained within the British Empire. Until 1982, when Canada got its own Constitution (by the Canada Act) and severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the UK Parliament in London, it was called Dominion Day. Although it is often informally referred to as ‘Canada’s birthday’ (parroting US ideas of Independence Day), it is not: Instead of an eight-year war and a peace treaty, it took a long time to reach the country’s full sovereignty.” (07/01/26)
“Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration Tuesday, seeking a court order requiring officials to preserve records related to investigations into him. If Brennan is later charged, preserved records could be central to any claim that the prosecution amounted to unconstitutional political retaliation. Brennan contends the investigation is part of Trump’s broader push to punish political adversaries — especially critics like Brennan, who has publicly clashed with Trump for years.” (07/01/26)
“Primary season is more than halfway over, after 31 states and the District of Columbia picked their nominees. There’s a three-week pause before intra-party contests start again with Arizona. That means it’s a good time to take stock of what’s happening.” (07/01/26)
“For the second week in a row—and for the fifth time since the beginning of the 119th Congress—a faction of House Republicans voted down a rule on the House floor. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was once again forced to send Congress home. It’s an embarrassing situation for Johnson. Worse, it’s coming during an election year, as Republicans try to hold on to their already slim majority. You’ve got to remember that the House suspends the rules to pass most legislation.” (07/01/26)
“German federal prosecutors have filed charges against a 50-year-old Ukrainian national over a series of explosions that destroyed two Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe in 2022. The federal prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the specifics of the indictment on Wednesday against the accused, who is identified only as Serhii K in court documents under German privacy rules. Serhii K is accused of attacking civilian energy infrastructure, causing an explosion, and destroying structures, according to the German public broadcaster ARD. The underwater explosions damaged both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines so severely that no gas could be transported through them, knocking out the key routes for Russian gas to Europe for months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.” (07/02/26)
“Why won’t Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can’t Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more.” (07/01/26)
