“A coalition of public health groups sued the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, seeking to block a new policy that could allow a wave of new flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to enter the market without completing the required scientific review. … Led by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the American Lung Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Academy of Pediatrics.” [editor’s note: You know what’s already “allowed?” Actual tobacco. Apparently these groups are worried about the diseases they claim to oppose going away – TLK] (07/14/26)
“China’s economic growth slowed sharply between the start of April and end of June as weak domestic demand and the Iran war’s impact on oil prices overshadowed the country’s strong exports. Official gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed the world’s second largest economy grew in the second quarter by 4.3%, below Beijing’s annual target, and after a 5% rise in the first quarter. … The announcement represents the first full quarter of GDP data since the start of the Iran war on 28 February and marks the lowest quarterly expansion since the end of 2022, as China was emerging from its strict Covid-19 restrictions.” (07/15/26)
“President Donald Trump’s holding company took a $2 million payment last year from a top investor in a South Korean aluminum firm as the company was fighting a trade case before Trump’s Commerce Department, highlighting the president’s business ties to companies with business before his administration. The payment from Base Co. LTD was part of a ‘letter of intent’ and a ‘nonrefundable development fee,’ according to the president’s latest financial disclosure. The New York Times first reported the transaction. Base Group is a key shareholder in Korea Aluminium, one of several companies that the Commerce Department has accused of circumventing duties imposed on Chinese aluminum. The company has also had a years-long business relationship with the Trump family business, selling Trump-branded wine in South Korea.” (07/14/26)
“President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States no longer believes it needs a military presence in Iraq, arguing Iran has been weakened enough for Baghdad to stand on its own as the U.S.-led coalition mission approaches its planned Sept. 30 conclusion. … Trump said the U.S. partnership with Iraq would shift away from military cooperation toward investment and energy development, while [Iraqi Prime Minister Ali] al-Zaidi said: ‘The 30th of September, the U.S. forces would be out of Iraq. While U.S. companies will be inside Iraq.'” (07/14/26)
“British counterterrorism police on Tuesday said Ann Widdecombe, a right-wing politician who was killed last week, had been the victim of a ‘targeted attack.’ Widdecombe, 78, was found dead at her home in Haytor, in Devon, southwestern England, on Thursday, having sustained serious injuries. A 28-year-old British man from Rotherham, a town in northern England around 270 miles away from the crime scene, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Saturday. On Monday, the police said they were also holding him ‘on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.'” (07/14/26)
“The federal government agreed to temporarily hold off on construction of a planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement [concentration camp] in Northern California. The voluntary pause until Sept. 9 comes after the California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County officials sued the Trump administration last month to block the facility from being developed near Gilroy. The lawsuit remains ongoing. … Community members and advocates for immigrants swiftly opposed the project. ICE has consistently looked to increase its detention capacity in California, where eight [concentration camps] can now hold a combined 9,000 people, though the state has long been a thorn in the agency’s side.” (07/14/26)
“A federal judge on Tuesday blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a policy that targets foreign nationals who study disinformation and hate speech on social media for visa denials and deportation. Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington sided with the Coalition for Independent Technology Research in finding that the administration’s policy likely unlawfully burdens the speech of non-citizen researchers in the United States in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. The group’s lawsuit alleged that the U.S. State Department, while claiming it is fighting online censorship that Trump’s allies have argued has affected conservative speech on social media, had been engaged in a far-reaching campaign of censorship targeting researchers and anti-disinformation advocates.” (07/14/26)
“Several people have been killed in Russian attacks on port infrastructure in Odesa and Mykolaiv, and Ukraine said it launched drone strikes on 20 Russian vessels as the warring sides escalated their battle over the Black Sea and key trade routes. Odesa region Governor Oleh Kiper said on Wednesday that a ‘massive’ Russian drone and missile attack on the southern region continued for a fifth day, with civilian, industrial and port infrastructure coming under attack. At least three people were killed and three others wounded in the Russian strikes on Odesa, the city’s military administrator Serhiy Lysak said on Wednesday. … Moscow said on Tuesday that it was preparing to redirect exports following waves of attacks on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the Ukrainian attacks on shipping ‘terrorism’.” (07/15/26)
“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to close ‘all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies’, Iranian media reported, after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports. ‘Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,’ the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s IRNA state news agency on Wednesday. Analysts have said Iran has been signalling it may use its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and putting two of the world’s most vital energy arteries at risk. The narrow gateway links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass.” (07/15/26)
“Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist who was detained for months as the federal government sought to deport him, sued Trump administration officials and others on Tuesday, alleging a conspiracy to persecute. The case, filed in federal court in New York, has been brought under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and claims that top administration officials conspired with private organizations such as the conservative Heritage Foundation to terrorize and make an example of Khalil and other noncitizens to intimidate and weaken the pro-Palestinian movement. The case names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, senior presidential adviser Stephen Miller, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, acting attorney general Todd Blanche, former secretary of homeland security Kristi L. Noem, and John Armstrong at the State Department. Khalil also sued the Heritage Foundation as well as Canary Mission and Betar — which describe themselves as defenders of Israel — and their leaders.” (07/14/26)
