“The Department of Justice and 17 state attorneys general filed suit against five egg producers for alleged ‘unlawful coordinated manipulation of egg prices,’ a press release said Tuesday. The department’s Antitrust Division filed suit against Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Egg Ranch, Centrum Valley Holdings, Versova Holdings and Versova Management Cooperative for unlawful coordinated manipulation of egg prices, the release said. … the complaint alleges that Cal-Maine, Hickman’s and Versova coordinated to artificially inflate the daily quotations of Urner Barry Publications, a market reporting company whose publications affect prices that grocery stores, restaurants and others pay for eggs nationwide, the release said.” (06/30/26)
“Delivering a major blow to President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked his contentious attempt to limit citizenship at birth for those born on U.S. soil. The court, divided 6-3, ruled that the executive order Trump issued Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, was unlawful. Five justices said the order fell foul of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted to bestow birthright citizenship on almost anyone born in the United States. One justice, conservative Brett Kavanaugh, [pretended] the order violated federal law but not the Constitution.” [editor’ note: I wish I could say I was surprised to see supposed “originalists” Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch drop trou, squat, and defecate all over the plain text, clear meaning, and indisputable history of the US Constitution. But that stopped surprising me long ago – TLK] (06/30/26)
“The democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated long-serving US representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary elections held on Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile victories for the party’s insurgent left. The Associated Press reported that Kiros had defeated DeGette for the Democratic nomination in the deep-blue first congressional district centered on Denver. … Kiros made concerns about US support for Israel prominent in her campaign. In an interview with Colorado Public Radio (CPR), Kiros accused the country of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and called for the United States to impose an arms embargo.” (07/01/26)
“Ukraine said on Tuesday it hit one of Russia’s largest satellite communication centers for the second time in just over a week, as Kyiv ramps up long-range drone attacks to pressure the Kremlin to end its four-year-old war. The Dubna Satellite Communications Centre to the north of Moscow, some 500 km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, is used for intelligence gathering and the coordination of Russia’s armed forces fighting in Ukraine, President Volodymr Zelensky said. Russia hasn’t confirmed the Dubna communication center was struck, but the governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyov said a drone had hit an ‘administrative building’ in the town with no reported casualties. Vorobyov also said a six-month-old baby died on Tuesday after a drone crashed into a home in Yegoryevsk, southeast of Moscow, trapping people under rubble.” (06/30/26)
“A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Virginia from enforcing a new law that would prohibit federal [gang members] — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol — from wearing masks while carrying out [harassment and abduction] operations, siding with the Trump administration in a dispute over federal authority. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the law from taking effect Wednesday while the legal challenge proceeds. The injunction will remain in place while the case is litigated.” (06/30/26)
“Iran has not received any of the $6 billion in frozen assets the US pledged to dole out in exchange for progress made implementing the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Qatar confirmed Tuesday. While Iran has argued the funds should be delivered in a lump sum, the US intends to make small, incremental payouts — directly to vendors — as Iran progresses in key negotiation areas such as opening the Strait of Hormuz and making nuclear concessions. ‘So far, no funds have been transferred,’ Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Tuesday. It came a day ahead of an Iranian delegation’s planned trip to Doha, where Iranian sources say Tehran intends to hammer out how to access the frozen funds.” (06/30/26)
“The European Commission unveiled quotas under the new system to limit duty-free steel imports into the EU, in a move designed to protect the bloc’s steel sector and increase its capacity utilisation. Under the new rules, the European Union’s annual tariff-free import quotas are slashed by 47% to 18.3 million metric tons, while an out-of-quota duty of 50% is introduced for 26 categories of steel products imported into the EU.” (06/30/26)
“The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether cities and states may ban people from owning AR-15 rifles and similar semi-automatic weapons, taking up a major Second Amendment dispute that it had previously declined to address. One of the appeals involving certain semi-automatic rifles came from two Illinois residents who want to purchase AR-15 style rifles but are blocked from doing so by an ordinance in Cook County that makes it unlawful to sell or possess any ‘assault weapon [sic] or large capacity magazine,’ specifically listing dozens of models that were off limits. Ten states have similar bans in place, according to the [victim disarmament] group Everytown for Gun Safety.” (06/30/26)
“Italian police on Tuesday arrested four people suspected of carrying out an October bomb attack targeting a prominent journalist who had been threatened by the mafia. The blast in a residential neighborhood of Pomezia, about 12 miles south of Rome, destroyed two cars belonging to Sigfrido Ranucci, known for investigations into corruption and the mafia. Ranucci had just returned home at the time, and his daughter had walked by a half-hour before, his employer said at the time. … The explosion targeting Ranucci occurred on the eighth anniversary of the car bomb slaying of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who wrote extensively about suspected corruption in political and business circles. Like Ranucci, she had faced dozens of libel suits intended to silence her reporting.” (06/30/26)
“Tom Kean Jr, a Republican congressman who disappeared from the Capitol for nearly four months with little explanation, re-emerged on Tuesday and said that he was absent while dealing with depression. ‘Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression,’ Kean said in a speech on the floor of the House Tuesday morning. Kean, who represents a swing district in New Jersey, had last voted on 5 March before disappearing, with his office in late April saying only that he was dealing with a ‘personal health matter’ and would be back ‘soon.'” (06/30/26)
