“In an era of information overload, genuinely fresh news and concepts can occasionally get obscured by the ‘slop’. But eventually, thought-expanding data and perspectives rise to the surface and into wider public attention. This appears to be the case with a Yale University study on aging in America published in an academic journal in early March. The findings of ‘Aging Redefined’, now being reported in mainstream media, defy – and can help redefine – long-held and limiting views about the United States’ older demographic. Collecting data on some 11,000 participants over a 12-year period, the researchers found that nearly half of American adults age 65 or older became physically stronger, mentally more acute, or both. ‘If this finding was extrapolated to the entire US population, it would suggest that more than 26 million older persons are experiencing [such] improvement,’ the study’s authors noted.” (07/01/26)
“The Trump administration concluded a recent mineral deal with Kazakhstan that, not surprisingly, enriches not only President Donald Trump’s own family but that of his secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick. Trump’s two eldest sons, part owners of Dominari Securities, are set to profit from the Kazakh tungsten deal. So is Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment firm run by Lutnick’s two sons. As The New York Times pointed out in its investigation of the scheme, ‘Their sons were soon doing business with partners in a deal that their fathers were negotiating, continuing a pattern of self-enrichment in the second Trump administration that has few precedents in American history.’ The phrases (‘self-enrichment’ and ‘few precedents’) are interesting ways of characterizing this latest instance of the administration’s corruption. Isn’t self-enrichment a good thing, in the sense of profiting from your own hard work?” (07/01/26)
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
by Michael Waldman
“How will we remember this Supreme Court term? For Louisiana v. Callais, which demolished the 1965 Voting Rights Act. For near misses, too, as when the Constitution’s plain-language guarantee of birthright citizenship was recognized by only a bare majority of the justices. (As JD Vance crowed, that core protection is now ‘hanging by a thread’.) I think the term may be remembered most as a time when the supermajority of very conservative, very pro-business justices bent the shape of American government. It was a power grab in legal garb, undermining Congress, granting presidents more authority, but with key decisions ultimately in the hands of the nine unelected officials now redesigning government. In 2005, The New York Times Magazine published a story about a cadre of intense anti-government legal activists. They bemoaned ‘the Constitution in exile’, what they saw as an epic wrong turn in the 20th century.” (07/02/26)
“While it is difficult to generalize, many current and would-be socialist officeholders share several common traits. Most of them represent a relatively small slice of American life. Almost all are urban, with little knowledge of small-town or rural existence. Their world is subways, buses, high-rises, Uber, taxis, and proximity to corporate, academic, and financial institutions—yet often with little understanding of where their food, fuel, water, or everyday goods originate, or where their waste and sewage ultimately go. Their worldview is shaped more by consumption than production, as though goods simply arrive in and depart from cities on autopilot. A disproportionate number of our most prominent radicals are either first- or second-generation immigrants, most originating from failed or illiberal states in what was once called the Third World. They or their parents left their homelands in search of wealthier countries, fairer societies, greater opportunity, and, in many cases, safety and freedom.” (07/02/26)
“For a quarter century, Jane Calvert has been on a mission shared by few scholars of the Revolutionary War era. She has championed a founder mostly remembered, when remembered at all, as the man who wouldn’t sign the Declaration of Independence — the lawyer and statesman John Dickinson. ‘It has been a constant struggle’, says Calvert, a former associate professor at the University of Kentucky who has written often about Dickinson and is the founder of the John Dickinson Writings Project, which aims to make his works widely available. For much of the country, the 250th anniversary of independence on Saturday is a time for celebrating and debating the country’s birth. But for Calvert and others, it’s also a moment to challenge the lingering image of a man who at times has been ignored, ridiculed or literally cast aside.” (07/02/26)
“After musician after musician pulled out from President Donald Trump’s ‘Freedom 250’ concert, he was left with Lee Greenwood, an opera tenor, a couple of military bands, and Kash Patel’s girlfriend. The anthem that made Greenwood a star, ‘God Bless the USA,’ was written in 1985 during the height of the Cold War. It begins with the specter of loss: ‘If tomorrow, all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life/ And I had to start all over with my children and my wife . Then the wounds disappear before they’re felt: ‘I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today/ Because the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away’. Ronald Reagan made the song his campaign theme while launching a new age of American inequality by systematically busting unions and cutting taxes for the wealthiest.” (07/02/26)
“Rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from a collapsed basement early Thursday, ending a grueling days-long operation that became a symbol of hope after the devastation of twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days earlier. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores was extracted safely after being trapped since June 24 under the rubble in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the coastal town in La Guaira. Rescuers initially made contact with him over the weekend. Teams carrying flags from across the world cheered as rescuers carried Gil, wearing an oxygen mask on a stretcher covered in an orange tarp, through throngs of people into a Red Cross ambulance. A group of men in red Costa Rican Red Cross uniforms embraced and laughed in relief, while others broke out into applause. The rescue was considered a small miracle cutting through a week of tragedy.” (07/02/26)
“We’ve had a pretty good run as a country. Sure, it’s not been a millennium or anything like that, but for a republic in the modern age, the United States turning 250 years old is a pretty major accomplishment, one worth celebrating. That’s what makes it so odd that half the country not only isn’t celebrating, but they’re actively mourning our nation’s continued existence. These people are broken and deserve all the bad that comes their way. Don’t just celebrate July 4 despite them; celebrate it to spite them. Go to any antique store or mall, and you will see countless items from the bicentennial. Everything from blankets to ashtrays can be found. While it’s weird to think that just 50 years ago smoking was very common, it’s weird to think that today love of country is not. But that’s the state of Democrats today.” (07/02/26)
“Albanian police clashed with protesters Thursday as an anti-government demonstration — part of protests triggered by plans for a luxury development linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner — turned violent. Police fired tear gas and pepper spray at protesters who were pelting them with rocks, eggs and other objects. Authorities said 12 police officers were injured and 18 protesters were detained. The gathering was part of daily protests, dubbed the ‘flamingo revolution’, that began more than a month ago in opposition to plans for a luxury coastal development project linked to Kushner. While the protests stemmed from environmental issues related to the development project, they have morphed into more general political demonstrations voicing opposition against the government and Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.” (07/02/26)
“Asian supermarket chain 99 Ranch has been hit with a federal lawsuit alleging that the company racially discriminated against non-Chinese employees when it wrongfully terminated staff based on their race. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint on Tuesday alleging that 99 Ranch’s parent company, Tawa Supermarket Inc., started discriminating against non-Chinese employees as early as 2016, when the employees were not promoted or were paid less than their Chinese colleagues. The lawsuit alleges that several non-Chinese employees were terminated without reason while their Chinese colleagues remained employed. Catherine Eschbach, acting general counsel for the EEOC, said in a statement that the chain’s Asian ownership did not give it an excuse to discriminate against non-Chinese workers.” (07/02/26)
