“Conservative Keiko Fujimori gained an insurmountable lead in Peru’s presidential runoff late on Tuesday, setting her on track to assume the presidency. Fujimori, a four-time presidential hopeful and the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, now has 50.11% of the votes, putting her ahead of leftist rival Roberto Sanchez by 43,386 votes. There remain only 40,213 potential votes to be counted, according to data from Peru’s ONPE electoral authority. The electoral authority has yet to officially declare a winner and plans to do so in mid-July. Fujimori’s expected victory deepens Latin America’s rightward shift, following outsider Abelardo De La Espriella’s election in Colombia on Sunday. Voters concerned about crime have flocked to hardline candidates. Earlier on Tuesday, Sanchez alleged that ‘fraud was underway,’ without providing evidence, and said he would refuse to recognize the results of the election, raising the prospect of a prolonged political crisis in Peru.” (06/24/26)
“As unhappy as Israel may be about it, there appears to be a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) between the United States and Iran. The MOU isn’t a final deal. It really only functions as a framework. Of course, it’s fragile. The durability of the MOU remains uncertain given broader regional tensions, including Israeli operations in Lebanon. Negotiations for a formal agreement are underway in Switzerland, and progress has been reported. The elephant in the room is what the MOU says, specifically regarding reconstruction, economic development, and sanctions relief.” (06/23/26)
“There is a lot of ongoing discussion about eliminating personal property taxes. There have been bills introduced to eliminate them. It’s a major topic of debate around the state, particularly in St. Charles County. Personal property taxes are the taxes levied on your car, boat, livestock, business equipment, farm equipment, and more. … if personal property taxes were eliminated, the Hancock Amendment would allow local governments to then raise real property taxes by the amount lost in personal property taxes. So, if the state eliminated all personal property taxes statewide, it would likely end up as a revenue-neutral switch where we taxed land and buildings slightly more and taxed mobile assets not at all while removing a tax that most people find particularly annoying. I think that would be a modestly beneficial switch; I just don’t want to sell it as a tax cut.” (06/23/26)
“A former U.S. Marine reservist and seven others were sentenced Tuesday to decades in prison over a shooting last year that wounded a police officer during a demonstration at a Texas immigration [concentration camp]. Prosecutors called the crime an act of terrorism and said the eight were linked to the leftist militant group antifa. The defendants’ attorneys denied any antifa ties and family members expressed shock and anger over the stiff sentences. Benjamin Song, the Marine reservist who was convicted of opening fire during the July 4 demonstration outside the Prairieland [concentration camp] near Dallas, was sentenced to 100 years in prison, the maximum punishment. The seven others sentenced in Fort Worth courtrooms received prison terms ranging from 30 to 70 years.” (06/23/26)
“Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted to place a charter amendment on the November 3 ballot to facilitate giving noncitizens a vote in city elections.” [editor’s note: Presumably “noncitizen” means “noncitizen of the US,” not “noncitizen of LA.” Sort of like how, as a US citizen, I get to vote in US elections whether I’m also a citizen of France or not – TLK] (06/23/26)
“The Senate on Tuesday approved a House-passed resolution directing President Trump to withdraw U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran after four GOP senators broke ranks and voted to undercut Trump’s authority as commander in chief. The Senate voted 50 to 48 to approve the resolution, which passed the House 215-208 earlier this month. The measure came straight to the Senate floor Tuesday for an up-or-down vote on final passage. It does not need Trump’s signature because it is a concurrent resolution.” [editor’s note: Many media outlets claim that this is “symbolic” or “does not have the force of law.” The War Powers Act says it is non-symbolic, does have the force of law, and is non-optional for Trump. It’s likely to end up in court – TLK] (06/23/26)
“This week marks the 21st anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New London. This landmark case allows local governments to take private properties by eminent domain, then transfer those properties to developers to promote economic development. Urban planners describe eminent domain, if used correctly, as a tool that can promote blight abatement, job creation, and tax base expansion. The Court did not express agreement with this in its ruling, but it said that as long as a local government’s plan for economic development was crafted through an open democratic process, then using eminent domain for economic development serves the public and is therefore legal. Taking homes and businesses by majority vote. If this strikes you as an idea ripe for unintended consequences, that’s because it is. Since Kelo, local governments across the country have advanced creative notions of public purpose.” (06/23/26)
