“A state funeral has been held in Iran for about 60 people, including military commanders and nuclear scientists, killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel. Coffins draped in the Iranian flag, bearing portraits of deceased commanders, were flanked by crowds near Tehran’s Enghelab Square. The conflict ended with a ceasefire earlier this week, after the US became directly involved by bombing key nuclear sites in Iran. Huge crowds of mourners dressed in black chanted slogans, waved Iranian flags and held portraits of those killed. Ahead of the event, a media campaign urged people to participate, with authorities providing free bus and metro rides. Government offices were shut for the day.” (06/28/25)
“Overnight, the Senate radically altered its Big Beautiful Bill, zeroing in on one state and one Senator in an attempt to buy her vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) expressed several concerns about the Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps) cuts to the bill. A joint op-ed from the legislative leadership in Alaska in The New York Times explained that 40,000 residents would lose health coverage and thousands more would lose SNAP benefits. ‘The shift in costs from the federal government to the state will plunge our budget into a severe deficit, cripple our state economy and make it harder to provide basic services,’ state House Speaker Bryce Edgmon and state Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel wrote. The changes to the latest text made to attract support from moderate concerned about the deep nature of the budget cuts were largely performative.” (06/28/25)
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News, seeking $787 million in damages for allegedly falsely accusing him of lying about a key phone call with President Donald Trump before the deployment of the National Guard. The complaint, filed in Delaware Superior Court on Friday and obtained by SFGATE, alleges Fox News knowingly fabricated statements and doctored footage to falsely brand Newsom a liar. The governor is seeking $787 million in punitive damages, a nearly identical figure to what Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems in its 2023 settlement, as well as a court order barring Fox from continuing to post or broadcast the contested segments. ‘Freedom of speech does not grant the right to knowingly fabricate false and intentionally poison our democratic processes,’ the complaint reads.” (06/27/25)
“What were the Democrats in New York thinking? Eight months after being humiliated by Donald Trump, they’ve chosen a devout socialist to run for mayor of arguably the country’s most important city. Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old leftwing state senator who defeated disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, sounds like Fidel lite. But he’s already been branded a ‘Communist lunatic’ by President Trump. Among the many bad ideas Mamdani successfully ran on were promising to open city-owned grocery stores, imposing more rent control and raising taxes on the rich people who haven’t already split for Florida. The Democrat Party is beyond sad. It hates Trump so blindly it is willing to nominate a mayoral candidate who is to the left of AOC and her fellow regressives.” (06/28/25)
“For most citizens, the release of Supreme Court opinions is about as exciting as watching paint dry, particularly in a case dealing with the limits of district courts in issuing universal injunctions. Yet Friday’s Trump v. CASA case included a virtual slugfest between Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The decision was one of the biggest of the term. The Court moved to free the Administration from an onslaught of orders from district judges seeking to block the President in areas ranging from the downsizing of government to immigration. However, it was the departure of the normally staid court analysis that attracted the most attention. The tenor of Jackson’s language shocked not just many court watchers, but her colleagues. It seemed ripped from the signs carried just a couple of weeks earlier in the ‘No Kings’ protests.” (06/27/25)
“Astronomers studying a distant galaxy cluster stumbled upon ancient radio signals that might hold clues to the formation of the early universe. While studying the distant galaxy cluster known as SpARCS1049, astronomers detected faint mysterious radio waves, according to a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and available on the pre-print server Xrxiv. The discovered radio waves, which took 10 billion years to reach Earth, originated from a vast region of space filled with high-energy particles and magnetic fields. These vast clouds of high-energy particles are known as a mini-halo. A mini-halo has never been detected this deep into space before, according to the study. Mini-halos are described in the study as faint groups of charged particles. These groups are known to emit both radio and X-ray waves. Mini-halos are typically found in clusters between galaxies.” (06/28/25)
“In a letter to faculty and staff, Stanford University announced $140 million in budget cuts for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year, which it said will require staff layoffs. ‘This is difficult news to share,’ university President Jon Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez wrote in their letter on Thursday. ‘… We face significant budget consequences from federal policy changes.’ President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’ passed by the House on May 22, proposes a 21% tax on some universities’ endowments, which would apply to Stanford, and would be an increase from Stanford’s current rate of 1.4%, according to student newspaper the Stanford Daily. If it becomes law, the change could represent an estimated $750 million tax annually, a significant hit to the university’s operating budget, according to the publication.” (06/28/25)
“President Vladimir Putin signed a law June 24 that could spell the end of internet freedom in Russia. On the face of it, the law would simply push a new state-controlled app that Russians would need to use for all public services. But it may eventually lead to what Mr. Putin calls ‘a national messenger.’ That may then allow the government to ban all private internet communications, creating a digital iron curtain. As the war in Ukraine continues to go badly for Mr. Putin, he increasingly seeks to restrict independent news of the conflict, especially news of high troop losses. Last year, he throttled access to YouTube after already banning Facebook, Instagram, and X. With the new platform, he may soon block Russia’s leading messaging services, WhatsApp and Telegram.” (06/27/25)
“A village council meeting was unusually packed on May 12 as people across the lower peninsula called for officials to stand against the reopening of an immigrant detention center just north of Baldwin. The 1,800-bed, maximum-security North Lake Correctional Facility, owned by the for-profit prison corporation Geo Group, would become the largest such facility in the Midwest and second-largest in the nation. Several were concerned that an increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence would hurt Michigan agriculture. Others spoke of habeas corpus and humane treatment. ’We really don’t want Michigan to have a Dachau,’ said another, referencing the Nazi concentration camp. ‘I understand everyone’s concerns,’ Harold Nichols, Baldwin village president, assured the room before stating that the village council had little power to stop Geo Group, which operates 16 ICE facilities across the United States and was a large Trump donor.” (06/25/25)
“After spending nearly two weeks in a secret bunker somewhere in Iran during his country’s war with Israel, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, might want to use the opportunity of the ceasefire to venture out. He is believed to be holed up, incommunicado, for the fear of being assassinated by Israel. Even top government officials apparently have had no contact with him. He would be well advised to be cautious …. When – or indeed if – he does emerge from hiding, he will see a landscape of death and destruction. He will no doubt still appear on state TV claiming victory in the conflict. He will plot to restore his image. But he will face new realities – even a new era.” (06/26/25)
